Delights for Every Ottoman
Many people associate Turkish food with kebabs and… well, kebabs. However, one foot inside the door of new heavyweight, Alaturka Restaurant, is where all preconceived notions will cease to exist. Alaturka is stylish, with modern, comfortable furnishings and large paintings of the Ottoman Empire.
We met owner Birtan Erkut, or "Birt", and with piercing blue eyes, he passionately narrated our magic carpet ride through Alaturka's delightful menu. Birt has been in Australia most of his life. He fondly remembers life as a small boy riding on the train with his brother, lugging huge pots of soup and delicacies into Flemington, Sydney, where his father owned a Turkish Diner.
He explained that Turkish food is very healthy, fun and tasty. In fact all his food is 'halal' - food seen as permissible according to Islamic law, one of Turkey's dominant religions. Birt says Turkish flavours are not too complex, nor too spicy. What interested me was that Turkish food has been influenced by a variety of cultures. North African, Middle Eastern, Balkan or "Rumeli" food as it's known in Turkey, has pooled and mingled with Turkey's own flavours and recipes.
We began our meal with 'Hot Bread and Dips'. The fresh homemade bread was aromatic and we sopped up three delicious dips, the most unusual being Turkish Spoon Salad. I enjoyed the simple taste of the red tomato and the burn of fresh garlic on my tongue, enhanced well by our not-too-dry wine, the 2008 Goundrey Riesling (Mount Barker, WA). A tongue-tweaking start.
Next we tried the 'Zeytinyagli' or cold mezze, which was a large, colourful platter of vegetables. There were 'dolma' of vine leaves and of capsicum, stuffed with aromatic rice - delicious with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The beetroot and feta salad was a great combination with the crunch of beetroot and smoothness of the cheese. The bean salad with tomato and onion was full of flavour and texture. Salty black olives and sweet pomegranate made for a very interesting finale to this atypical, twist-and-turns type of platter.
We had a cleansing Turkish beer called 'Efes' to cut through the olive oil. It was light and slightly sweet and worked perfectly between courses. Next, the hot mezze, 'Sicak', was beautifully presented. Great for a business lunch. There were feta-stuffed mushrooms, a superb combination; soft, moist chicken kofte, chilled vegetable stack, and our favourite- zucchini fritters, brown and crisp outside and smooth as silk inside, gorgeous with the riesling.
We tried Tavada Sucuk, slices of warm, tasty lamb sausage, made especially in Melbourne- red from paprika, but not hot; salty and moist, not greasy. The red wine, 2007 Starve Dog Lane Shiraz Viogner (Adelaide Hills, SA), brought out the subtle spices.
For main I had Alaturka Ev Mantisi. Manti is traditional Turkish pasta and is unique in WA, as it’s handmade by Birt’s mother using a 200-year-old recipe passed down through the generations of their family. The lamb-and-onion-filled mantisi looked like little fez hats. The taste was heavenly and exotic; I enjoyed the creamy yoghurt and buttered tomato paste and the unique spice sumak. The mantisi were tender and cooked with a lot of love. The wine, 2007 Houghton Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River, WA), was a perfect match for this stunning dish, its dryness cutting through the Manti’s creamy sauce nicely.
My friend had the Lamb Kofte, served on fluffy pilav rice with a crisp salad. The meat was tender yet not overpowered by five spices, and the salad crunchy with a tart beetroot dressing.
To finish, we indulged in the sweets and Turkish delight platter – what an array of sweets! It was plated up beautifully, like it was meant for an embellished genie. The baklava was the best I have ever had, crisp pastry with juicy filling exploding in my mouth. Hand made by a man once from Gaziantep on the border of Syria, served with Bannister Downs double cream - orgasmic! The Turkish delights came in many flavours and colours. We loved the double hazelnut and the orange.
Birt says that Alaturka's turkish delight is the best you will get in Australia, as it’s not made with any gelatine which makes it become awfully gooey and expand in your mouth. It also excludes animal extracts. Our sweet finale was beautifully rounded off with small cups of the best Turkish coffee! Wow, I’ll be back for this alone! This is the real thing, 'cooked' and served properly, it was heated at our table and deliciously strong and sweet.
Alaturka is a must-have food experience. It's easy to find (right next to the Colonnade in Hay St, Subiaco) and is licensed and open daily for lunch and dinner, 9am 'til late weekdays, and 10am 'til late weekends.
By Frances Myshell
How to be feature Cafe
To find out how to be the featured cafe please us.
