With fresh salads, delicious grills, flavourful mains and decadent desserts, what’s not to love about Turkish cuisine? This month, Farah Baig checked out the sensational ‘Turkish Night’ which was recently launched at Le Méridien City Centre Bahrain.
As an avid traveller, I can easily say that visiting Turkey was one of my most memorable travel experiences. The rich history, sites, culture and absolutely delectable cuisine made it a trip to remember. It comes as no surprise then that I was overjoyed when I found out that Le Méridien City Centre Bahrain had launched a ‘Turkish Night’ at their restaurant Baharat – an ode to Turkey’s lip-smacking cuisine.
On touring the many stations set up by the Baharat culinary team, it was clear that they had prepared quite a feast! The team, led by Turkish Chef de Cuisine Onder Shahin, explained that select ingredients were imported from Turkey to ensure the authenticity of the flavours. Apart from the wide selection of salads, mains and desserts, Baharat has set up fantastic live stations for grills, Turkish pastries (pide), shawarma and vegetarian wraps (cig kofta).
On being seated, our host offered us a unique Turkish beverage made in-house – the Turkish Omani Sharbat. The refreshing drink is made from fresh berries and a selection of spices including cloves and cinnamon which come through with every sip.
To start our feast, we selected a number of unique salads including the traditional Cilbir – a salad made with yogurt and poached eggs. While the selection of salads included some classic cold mezze, we appreciated the fact that it allows diners to experience something completely new with the traditional Turkish salads featuring ingredients like bulgur, molasses, roasted eggplant, finely minced chicken and seafood too!
The cig kofta which is made with a mix of bulgur and loaded with pickles, freshly chopped vegetables and more was especially tangy and flavourful. Next, we tucked into a bowl of fresh lentil soup which was made to perfection – smooth and flavourful.
The turks are known for their fantastic selection of meats, so we were thrilled that Baharat has a live station where grills can be made to order. We thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Shashlik, grilled lamb liver and juicy beef sirloin. All the meat were perfectly grilled to retain their moisture while having that perfect grill char.
The Turkish mains are quite authentic at Baharat and feature ingredients like pastrami, white beans, bulgur and manti. The manti, which is in essence mini lamb dumplings, were pure comfort food. We enjoyed them with generous dollops of thick yogurt and a drizzle of tomato sauce. The Topkapi chicken, which is named after the historic palace in Istanbul, was a sensational dish of stuffed chicken which had very delicate flavours.
In true five-star style, the Baharat team has outdone themselves with the selection of desserts. We were spoiled for choice with kunafa, fruit tarts, cakes, baklava, rice pudding and Le Meridien’s ever so popular Stick Date Pudding. Each of the desserts was delightful, making it the perfect end to our Turkish feast.
The Turkish Night can be enjoyed every Wednesday from 7pm to 11pm. We’ll certainly be returning to tuck into more of their fantastic fare!
