Bosphorus

October 2009

Malls give me claustrophobia. I’ve never liked shopping in them, and as a rule I don’t enjoy eating in them. But I’m already eagerly anticipating my next visit to Bosphorus. For a serving of the restaurant’s kunefe, I would brave a thousand crowded KL Pavilions. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

With high ceilings, walls of glass decorated with vaguely Ottoman motifs, white tablecoths, and sleek furnishings in a muted pallete with splashes of Iznik blue, Bosphorus boasts a décor that’s anything but mallish. It’s a pleasant spot in which to devote a couple hours to a meal bookended by meze and Turkish coffee.

To start, cobble together a selection of hot and cold meze (Turkish small plates) instead of ordering the indecisive man’s option of soguk meze tabagi, which consists of a fine cumin-y hummus but also an uninspiring eggplant salad (more garlic and salt, please) and a stuffed eggplant that’s wonderfully silky but a tad bland. Acili antep ezme is, by contrast, a bright-tasting dip of chopped red capsicum, parsley, garlic and Aleppo pepper lightly soured with vinegar. The lahmacun (aka Turkish pizza), too, is delicious: flavourful lamb and tomato paste smeared atop a thin, crispy crust (best with a squeeze of lemon). Based on these two meze I have a good feeling about Bosphorus’ cacik (yogurt dip), imam bayildi (the infamous ‘imam fainted’, an over-the-top olive oily combo of eggplant and tomato), and borek (a sort of Turkish lasagne). Lesson learned. Next visit I’ll order differently.

I have fond memories of long balik izgara (ikan bakar) lunches on Buyukada (a favourite Istanbul daytripper destination), so I was sorely disappointed to find no whole grilled fish on the menu. (Red snapper, maybe?) Nevermind. Turks have a way with lamb, and Bosphorus more than delivers in the red meat department. Lightly charred chunks of grilled meat star in the lamb shish; the surprisingly tender morsels are served with sumac-rubbed sliced red onion and grilled tomato and green pepper.

Veggies are as expertly grilled as the meat and I’d like to see more of them on the plate. (I’d also replace the tissue-thin piece of dough underneath the meat with a wedge of the fantastic bread that arrives with appetizers.) Hunkar begendi (literally, ‘the sultan approved’, no doubt why the dish became an Ottoman classic) is a truly imperial dish of lamb stewed with tomatoes and onions and served atop pureed eggplant enriched with cheese. Bosphorus’ puree was a bit too cheesy for my taste – I prefer versions that rely more heavily on mild-flavored béchamel than sharp cheese for sumptuousness – but it complements the lamb; the two eaten together are sublime. With a rustic gameyness balanced by onions and tomatoes sweetened and mellowed by long stewing, the stew is one hundred per cent a la Turku; it tastes like it was pulled off an Anatolian grandmother’s wood-fired stove.

After choosing baklava and kadayifi for dessert we were informed by the manager that it wasn’t to be; baklava was freshly baked but wouldn’t yet be crisp enough to eat yet, and the other, he said, was too old. ‘Have the kunefe instead. You’ll love it.’ Did we ever. Made to order, the dessert arrives warm, a bird’s nest of crispy toasted thin noodles soaked with sugar syrup and hiding a center of tangy white cheese, resting in a pool of fresh cream, its crown dusted with ground pistachios. It’s easily one of the best desserts I’ve eaten in the last year. The way in which it found its way to our table is a good indication of the Turkish hospitality that awaits at Bosphorus. Robyn Eckhardt

Awards

Bosphorus was shortlisted in the Best European Restaurant category of the Time Out KL Food Awards 2009. Our food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL. This way, we guarantee that popularity and consistent performance is rewarded.