Entree Kibbles: IstanBlue Meze & Grill @ Baghdad Street near Haji Lane & Sultan Mosque in Singapore

Tuesday, February 08, 2022

IstanBlue Meze & Grill @ Baghdad Street near Haji Lane & Sultan Mosque in Singapore

The area surrounding Sultan Mosque in Singapore is renowned for its high concentration of halal restaurants and it's not limited to just Muslim food; there are cuisines from Hong Kong, Sweden, Japan and specific to the topic today, Turkey.

Strongly recommended by my cousin, it's quite easy to spot IstanBlue Meze & Grill. Just look out for the corner shop with wall that was painted blue and dotted with the symbol of nazar; said to ward off the evil eye.

Even though it was decorated with beautiful Turkish mosaic lights and traditionally designed crockery, the first level was in reality nothing to scream of.

Second level, where the washroom was co-located, would be the better representation of my expectations on the interior design for most houses in Turkey! Let's go up!

Prettier right? I absolutely love the Turkish mosaic chandelier and even had the intention to procure similar lights, but as lamps for my house a few years ago. Pity I have very practical purpose for my lights; it's solely for illumination.

Scene outside from level two. Heavy rain, or was it a light thunderstorm? Haha, anyway, it's time for food. I don't really know what's recommended and deferred to my cousin's suggestions.

Creamy Mushroom Soup - this was a "want" by Alex and since he was the paymaster that night, we had absolutely no objection to his request for this chef-recommended soup, said to be "a mixture of mushrooms and milk".

We didn't like it. Like a thickened form of the canned Campbell mushroom soup with a saltier taste and mixed in with some Middle Eastern spices, my cousin described it succinctly in a few words; it was like eating baby food.

Hummus - a classic Turkish starter and eaten together with bread, my first thought when it was placed on my table was its similarity to the complimentary appetizer I had at Miznon, an Israeli eatery in Singapore.

Tahini is in fact one of the ingredients for Hummus, together with chickpeas, lemon juice and olive oil. Texture wise, it was more a paste than a dip.

With the pita bread that was served piping hot from the oven, this was incredibly shiok under the cold, rainy weather. The dip was creamy, nutty and zesty; I bet this would be a good replacement for mayonnaise!

Mixed Grilled Platter for Two - said to be "a selection of slowly grilled lamb and chicken shish, adana kebab, lamp chop served with rice and vegetables".

I had to google for the meaning of adana kebab; it's seasoned minced lamb skewer and shish simply means a "meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat". Scratching my head here since I wouldn't consider chicken wings as "cubes of meat"..

Took out some portion and placed them on my plate for ease of eating, and for hygiene reasons. Didn't remember much about the rice so I guess it's forgettable. I did enjoy the seasoned onions; they often perked up the flavor!

Lamb chop was utmost delicious; moist on the insides and blessed with light, crisp edges. Other meats were alright; loaded with spices yet pretty bland on the palate. Good thing was that the meat didn't taste very gamey, given the use of lamb.

Baklava - are you a fan of this "layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey"?

Despite having a sweet tooth, I don't like this popular saccharine pastry for a few reasons; usually, they would be overly oily, too sweet and tasted overpoweringly milky. The only thing I enjoy, frankly, would be the chopped up pistachios.

Turkish Coffee - I love watching travelogues on television and whenever the country is Turkey; Turkish coffee would likely be introduced. To me, coffee is subjective and the best coffee in my opinion is our local coffee which has a comfortable, hardly discernable, level of acidic sourness.

This famous coffee from Turkey was too strong for me but it's the aftermath that captivated me whenever I caught those televised travelogues. See that thick coffee sediment at the bottom of the tiny guy? It's fortune telling time!

According to instructions (refer to menu): turned the cup upside down on the saucer, pick both up and make three circles with the cup in a clockwise position, place them back on the table and wait for between five to ten minutes.

I have no idea what to make out of this.