What comes to your mind when you hear about Istanbul dishes or Turkish cuisine in general we are indeed lucky because there is this (relatively) new food place in SM Clark that caters to offerings from 'that' side of the world. I am referring to A LA TURKA, located at the back of the mall near the 'fountain'. To be more specific, it is right next to Extreme Expresso and Starbucks. Got your bearing?
The thing is, how many of us have an understanding of what to expect with these kind of offerings? I myself only know very little from the stories of my mom (she worked in the middle east before --- Kuwait and Cyprus, where similar cuisine are more available and prevalent). So i searched my ever loyal internet for quick backgrounders that I can share with you and i got a good one from
http://www.wan-press.org/article3008.html. Here is the excerpt:
Turkish cuisine is seen as one of the three richest and oldest
cooking traditions of the world together with French and Chinese cooking.
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| Baklava |
While it has come to be associated
with kebap, baklava, lokum and rakı there is a rich and variegated tradition of
soups, olive oil dishes, rice pilafs, stuffed vegetables, pastries, puddings
and syrupy desserts underlying these popular dishes. It offers unique tastes in
spicy and tart appetizers, pickles, fruit preserves, compote, sherbet, boza (a
thick beverage made of barley) and coffee.
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| Simit |
The diversity of Turkish cuisine
reflects the cultures of the populations living in regions highly dissimilar in
geography and climate. This has led to an abundance of ingredients and cooking
styles. The Southeast and the East are known for the dishes based on cracked
wheat and meat with hot spices, the Aegean, for olive oil dishes enhanced with
local herbs, the Black Sea region, for varieties of anchovy and collard, and
Istanbul is a world unto itself with, among others, eggplant dishes which come
in no less then 41 sorts.
The latest trend in İstanbul
restaurants is the fast food version of the traditional simit (kind of bagel)
and börek (pastry).
Stuffed vegetables and wraps
They constitute a unique aspect of
Turkish cuisine. The classical wrap is meat or rice wrapped in vine, cabbage or
collard leaves although lettuce, nut, chestnut, cherry and even violet leaves
are sometimes used. There are about 15 varieties of vegetables stuffed with
meat today.
Meat dishes
There is a rich variety including
gyros type dishes, grills, fried meats, kebaps, stews, meat cooked in a crock
or pan. There are also boiled meats, meat balls, vegetables stuffed with meat
and meat dishes cooked with fruits.
Olive oil dishes
They are an integral part of lunch
and dinner especially in the summer. They can be served warm or cold. Olive (or
vegetable) oil can be used to fry eggplants, peppers and zucchini or cook them
in an onion and tomato sauce and letting them simmer.
Ramadan tables
The food is less heavy than it once
was but still consists of a long menu including soup, a meat dish, choice of
pastry, pilaf or pasta, olive oil dish, salad and dessert. The tradition of
inviting friends and relatives to elaborate dinners to break the fast
continues. Food is accompanied by the pides which can be bought hot at the
neighborhood bakery on Ramadan afternoons.
Istanbul cuisine
It is the cuisine of an imperial
city featuring a wide variety of ingredients and cooking styles. It includes
dishes and ideas from the cuisine of Jews, Greeks and Armenians who were an
integral part of Ottoman society.
Going back to my feature of A LA TURKA, they have a rather simple selection in their menu. I did not have the chance yet to photograph their menu but it is pretty simple to understand. Here are some of the photos from my visit:
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| Tables remind you of a cafe, but the middle ones are eclectic |
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| One of their wall art provides a 'History' of Doner (Shawarma to us) |
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| The 'BEST' Doner/Shawarma I tasted so far... The price is worth it |
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| 3 Options for the condiments (L-R --- rising 'hotness' haha) |
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| Humuus... for only PhP100, it is to die for |
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| Yes, I had to have a second picture of it.. that's olive oil so it's a healthy food |
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| Spicy Pomodoro... i think, hehe |
I so love their humuus that I will surely return for that reason alone. Note to future self too, I need have it in take out too for my mom to taste. One bad thing though is that none of their traditional turkish/istanbul desserts are available. Especially the Baklava that has received good reviews from other bloggers who have visited this place :( And what's worst, the servers can't tell when it will be available. It was even 'crossed' out in its menu... so double frown face for that.
Anyway, as a bonus for those who want to try and make their Humuus, I was surprised to find out that it is quite easy to make and not much fancy ingredients. Here, try it and tell me more:
