Sofra Turkish Cafe and Restaurant: At last! A Decent Donar Kebab!
One of the things I must always have whenever I back to my family home in Sydney is to have a Donar Kebab. You can get one at almost every street corner and most of them have quite a decent tasting Donar Kebab. The very very best one I ever had was in a little Turkish/Middle Eastern enclave in the town of Auburn where I spent 3 months working in Auburn Hospital A&E. There is nothing quite like a Donar or a Chicken Kebab after a hectic 8 hour shift pretending to be as debonair as George Clooney (ER). They also had a killer Turkish Pide (Pizza) with spicy sausage and egg which was a Holy Grail experience.
Unfortunately, the standards of the Donar Kebab in Singapore is quite appalling and I have yet to taste one that is even half the standard of the ones in Auburn. That is until now.
Sesame Bread $2.80 with Hommus $3.60
The starter was a promising sign of things to come as we were greeted with this attractively enticing sesame bread which was served with a Hommus dip. One thing that I abolutely love is freshly baked bread with Hommus. It is one of those purely vegetarian meals that I can have without feeling that some animal must die to satisfy the carnivore in me. Give me some freshly baked bread, Hommus and some grilled vegetables and I will be quite happy not to shed blood.
The Hommus here is just about the best I have ever tasted. It was creamy and nutty with just the right balance of zest. I never liked Hommus with too much lemon juice. For me, there should only be enough tang to get your salivary glands working but not so much that you can taste the lemon juice. This is one Hommus that you can really appreciate the beany flavour of the chickpea. Fantastic with the warm sesame bread. 4.5/5
Chef's Kebab Plate: $15.90
Of all the meats in the Chef's plate, the Donar Kebab was the most outstanding. They have a mix of beef and lamb in the Donar kebab and you can really taste the lamby flavour in the sliced meat. The meat had that great "Middle Eastern" spice quality about it that made it really addictive. The rest of the platter was decent but I would gladly trade in the rest of the meats for the Donar Kebab. 4.5/5 for the Donar and 4/5 for the chicken and minced meat.
Pide $8.90
The Turkish Pide was the only real let down that day. The pizza base was far from the chewy and fragrant bread that I was accustomed to and the flavour of the topping was too localised that it lacked that Middle Eastern Spice Ooommph. Apart from its unique shape, one could mistaken it for a run of the mill phone order pizza. 3.5/5
Conclusion
Even though it isn't as good as the Middle Eastern food I had in Auburn, it is closer than anything I have had in Singapore so far. Not everything is great but some items do stand out. When I go back, I would just order the Donar Kebab set, Sesame bread and Hommus dip. That would really make my day.
Sofra Turkish Cafe and Restaurant
100 Beach Road
#02-42/44
Shaw Tower (Prince and Jade)
10 comments:
I have been there many times in the past 8-10 years (can't remember exactly when I first went) and I liked the food and also the prices.
Overall I think ALATURKA is better but SOFRA is good too.
Been there some years back, it offers a good dining experience, personally enjoyed its crafted cutlery... and food too
"The earliest mention of spoons and crafted made from precious metals is found in the Book of Exodus, when Moses is commanded to make dishes and spoons of pure gold for the Tabernacle. Moses asked Bezalel (the first spoon-maker known to us by name in history) to work in gold, silver and brass. Since Bezalel had come with Moses out of Egypt, he must have learned his trade there.
Hi, there ia also a good Authentic Turkish Food at affordable price at East Coast Parkway call "KEBAB STATION (Next to East Coast MacDonald).... perhaps you would like to go and try.... but they only accept CASH.
i agree with you about the lack of good Middle Eastern food in Singapore. It's all been "localised" with substandard meat and bread.
I miss the stuff I could get at street corners when I was in Brisbane.
Besides Sofra, there used to be another "not too bad" one at Far East Plaza... but I haven't been there for a long time, so I'm not sure if it's still there
i think that'd be alaturka? personally i prefer sofra though.
I feel the restaurant beside Kampong Glam Cafe (at Arab Street) is way better than Sofra. Sofra's prices have increased over the years and the opposite for the food portion.
For good donar kebab, you should try Sultan Kebab at Peace Centre (it's located at the entrance of the building). It's opened by three Turkish, which explained it authenticity. It's really value for money.
i went to SOFRA recently and i was quite disappointed with the portion and also the handling of food.
for that price, id rather go to alaturka in kampong glam! =)
they have a website
alaturka.com.sg
I've tried SOFRA & raved about it for awhile till I tried Cafe Le Caire. http://www.cafelecaire.com
Sofra, step aside & bring in the KING of Turkish food! The fare is authentic, aromatic and simply delightful! A must try is their lamb chops ($16) and their Sirloin steaks ($13). Thick, juicy, charred & well-marinated, they're unbelievable good! You MUST ask for the tahiti sauce which brings all the flavour together. The hummus (chick pea dip), gibna mahrus (feta chese dip) & kavadeh (cold hibiscus tea) are other dishes/drinks you just gotta dig into. The arab pita is awesome so do ask for some olive oil & drizzle it on for that extra flavour. Affordable, good service & a cosy ambience, what more can you ask for?
yo doc i bet ure talkin abt Mado at Auburn yeah? Anyhow, the middle eastern fare has got to improve in Singapore. KL has got awesome middle eastern food! and also lemme know if Aston's ever goes Halal. i die die must try the grade 9 wagyu.
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