So it's a little funny, but what for me all being a Singaporean who knows her way around Raffles Place, Boat Quay, Shenton Way and Clarke Quay, I had no idea that right in the middle of the famous Boat Quay shophouse stretch was a restaurant serving up good Turkish food.
That is, until this afternoon when a late lunch date brought me to Sahara Bar & Restaurant- a place that my friend told me had come recommended, and had been said to be really good.
He wasn't wrong.
The food was good.
The ambience too.
Perhaps the place might have seemed quieter than expected- I mean, by that time the lunch crowd had gone- but I actually liked it better than, say, at night, when I'm pretty sure music would be playing, and drinks flowing.
It was a good place for a conversation.
It was also a good place to have mains, and dessert.
Given that my friend had gotten recently interested in the breads which the Turkish make, we ordered a Spinach Pide.
Then because it is difficult to come to a Turkish place and go without either meat or vegetable, we agreed on a kofte lamb kebab, with butter rice.
And finally, what with my current craze for Kunefe, we had one, complete with ice cream, for dessert.
Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if we'd had nothing else but the Kunefe and the Kunefe alone (filo pastry counts as a proper meal, doesn't it) but there's too much they have on the menu to consider nothing else.
I was rather attracted by their appetizers.
Maybe because I do have a especial liking for Babaganoush, which roasted eggplant blended with tahini, garlic and yogurt, I've not had for a long time.
Maybe because their Halloumi Cheese and Falafel seemed to be particularly good.
And despite it being a weekday, I wouldn't have minded an entire Mussaka casserole baked with (more) eggplant, potato, capsicum, carrot, and chicken all to myself.
But then on the table there was this delicious-looking Spinach Pide right in front of me, and I wasn't going to give it up for anything else.
I hope I won't come off sounding rude, but maybe I've been used to Pide looking like an open-faced sandwich, or a pizza, and so I was a little surprised when the Pide came to the table looking like a sliced-up crusty wrap stuffed with tasty vegetable and cheese.
Whatever surprise there was disappeared the moment I took the very first bite.
I had been afraid that the fillings would fall out, and they might have had, but then I decided to stuff the entire slice into my mouth, and all at once I felt the crisp of the hot, crusty, crunchy, slightly burnt bread crust melt with the hot mush of soft, thoroughly-baked spinach and cheese.
Like a warm embrace, it was unforgettable.
After that, however, I decided I wanted to savor the Pide better and so peeled off the top crust and ate it first, leaving the filling to be eaten on its own.
What I loved best about this Pide was the portioning.
They didn't scringe.
They also didn't scringe when it came to the Kofte Lamb.
Not in terms of size (the portion was just right), but in terms of flavor where every single piece of sausage-shaped meat on the plate was rich with the warm, rounded flavors of ground lamb marinated in a concoction of herbs and spices.
I loved just how soft the meat was, and how perfectly grilled all of them were.
So occupied was I in relishing the kebab that I didn't know just how many pieces I'd eaten, and only when told that I'd taken one too many did I realize.
I guess that's what happens when your senses get lost chomping through a meat that's not tasteless, coarse or dry.
So good was it that I didn't even need the sauce, and simply accompanied it with the cold chopped cucumber salad, and the rice thereafter.
I can't remember whether we finished the rice.
Maybe we did, maybe we didn't.
But there was the dessert right after, and I was not going to miss out on it for the world.
Kunefe has become my newest favorite dessert and just like the one I had at this place in Far East Plaza not long ago, here at Sahara Bar & Restaurant this one I too fell in love.
I don't know whether it's the thin filo pastry- the way that it crumbles when you eat it- that makes this dessert so moreish.
Or that it has (familiar) dairy in the form of evaporated milk mixed together with the distinctive taste of finely chopped pistachios and walnuts to give the added crunch.
I love the savory, milky taste of this dessert.
I love how the pastry soaks up the milk and becomes a bit of a melty mush when I place it in my mouth.
It's one's choice whether you want to have it savory or sweet.
Some like the contrast of both together at the same time.
Some don't.
Me, I like both, but I decided to balance out the flavors with the ice cream that we'd also ordered this afternoon.
It might seem a little strange to others who go for either one or the other, but I decided to ratio out the dessert per spoon 70% Kunefe, 30% ice cream just so I could enjoy- at the same time- both the salty, and the sweet.