Turkish Indulgence
Turkish cuisine is often regarded as one of the greatest in the world. Its culinary traditions have successfully survived more than 1,300 years and are largely the heritage of and influenced by the great Ottoman Empire. Inspired by the heritage and his love for his own country, Chef Sezai Zorlu, known as one of the most talented chefs in Jakarta and the owner of the Turkuaz Restaurant in the Gunawarman area, with his lovely wife, Yanti Zorlu, recently opened Warung Turki by Turkuaz in the Kemang district.
Warung Turki is like the mini version of Turkuaz, offering authentic Turkish cuisine, but with a different menu from Turkuaz. Some of the menu items came from Chef Sezai’s family heritage. Warung Turki serves authentic Turkish home cooking such as babaganuc, humus, doner kebab, peynirli gozleme and much more. The famous Turkish tea and baklava are also available here, not to mention Turkish Delight, which is imported directly from Turkey. For those who have never tried baklava, it is made of layers of fillo pastry, butter, pistachio and homemade syrup. There are a few different flavours available, priced at IDR50,000 per 100 grams. The baklava is a very delightful sweet treat for every sweet-toothed guest.
All foods are authentic and freshly made and the interior is quite similar to Turkuaz with mosaic tiles, colourful glass lamps, Middle Eastern ornaments and an open kitchen. Warung Turki is spacious and can accommodate around 150 guests and has a semi-private dining room. The first floor is a smoking area and you can see the giant wood-fired oven and a painting of Chef Sezai’s mother. The second floor is for non-smoking guests and has an intimate ambience. The top floor, which is semi-outdoors, is the perfect spot to hang out with friends while enjoying the night with sisha, or for a small gathering or private event.
One Turkish signature dishe is bread. Either it’s wrapped in bread or filled with stuffing. The must-try menu item is Peynirli Gozleme for starters. It’s a thin Turkish bread stuffed with fetta cheese and mozzarella and topped with parsley. You can really taste the melted cheese fresh from the wood-fired oven. It might be a little bit salty for some, but it definitely gives a true cheese experience. For meat lovers, try the Tavuk Doner, a shaved chicken doner and sumach onion salad, wrapped with thin bread. There’s also babaganuc, wood-charcoal grilled aubergines, tomatoes, chilli peppers and garlic served with bread, and hummus, pureed chickpeas and tahini with organic extra virgin Turkish olive oil, also served with bread. Not to be missed is its traditional thin Turkish bread topped with seasoned lamb called Kuzu Pide, which tastes so rich and delicious! And there’s Pide Ekmegi, an all-time favourite Turkish bread with sesame, and the Tavuk Doner, shaved chicken doner kebab and sumach onion salad.
After the delicious meal, guests can relax and enjoy sisha in various flavours or a wonderful Turkish tea or Turkish coffee. The Turks are famous for their tea and Turkey has many tea plantations. Turks drink it anytime and everywhere: just like in old Turkey’s proverbial saying, “Caysiz sohbet, aysiz gok yuzu gibidir” (Conversations without tea are like a night sky without the moon). Tea has become part of the daily routine. At Warung Turki, Turkish tea is served in a tulip-shaped glass and with an apple flavour. Warung Turki is the perfect place to enjoy Turkish ambience and enjoy the hearty and delightful Turkish cuisine. Warung Turki opens Monday to Thursday from 11.30AM to midnight and Friday to Saturday from 11:30AM to 2AM.
(www.warungturki.com)
