Lokma Turkish cuisine

I asked my friend if we could grab take away from her local shops at Casey Market town, which seemed to be forever expanding. Lokma is one of Casey’s newest eateries and when we arrived Friday afternoon to grab take away, we saw ten staff members zooming around so we were not the only ones with the same idea.

I couldn’t fit all staff members in one shot as they kept running around because it was so busy, it was impressive to watch!Banquet (minimum 2 people $22.00 pp) dips, zucchini fritters, borek, pide, chicken skewers, kofte, rice, salad, bread and baklava (not pictured). I was really surprised that we were able to choose any three small dips with our banquet for three people; we chose hummus, beetroot and carrot. Sweet chilli chicken pide marinated chicken with mixed vegetables and sweet chilli sauce ($4.00 extra). We paid a little extra for our pide as it was one of the more expensive ones but we didn’t realise this until we went to pay. I’ve never had a pide with sweet chilli sauce so I thought it was unusual, I think I’ll order a more traditional filling next time. The pide was massive! We weren’t even close to finishing all the food but it was expected as no one I know has ever left hungry from a Turkish banquet. I thought the grilled meats were better at Sultan’s in Gungahlin but I was astounded and impressed with the value for money for the vast variety of food you get, which can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home (or a friend’s!).

It was so busy that night that our order took over 30 minutes to prepare but we just strolled around to check out the other stores. Despite looking like chaos, our order had everything packed and ready to go when our name was called. I would like to go back to try their kebabs and snack packs as they were very generous with their fillings and toppings.

 

Venue: Lokma Turkish Cuisine

Address: Casey Market Town, Shop 2A, 15 Kingsland Parade

Phone: (02) 62595267

Opening times:

Monday – Thursday and Sunday 9am – 9pm

Friday – Saturday 9am – 10pm

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Sultan’s Turkish Pide

I found myself going empty handed to a friend’s house for cheese and nibbles and I thought you could never go wrong with a pide. A work colleague who is a Gungahlin local, recommended Sultan’s Turkish Pide restaurant.

Heading there around 5:30pm on a Thursday afternoon, it appears that everyone but me knew about this place because it was packed and also very busy with takeaways. There was a short wait while my pide was being made fresh, but I didn’t mind because I thought it was fascinating to watch the workers generously pile the fresh kebab fillings mile high and effortlessly roll it into kebabs.

Entering the store, the aroma of grilled lamb, freshly fried chips and salads fill the air. It was hard to concentrate on what I was there for, especially when there was so much on the menu to choose from.Tavuklu roasted chicken, parsley and cheese ($18.00). I didn’t see any parsley so it was just really chicken and cheese; a little boring and not usually the flavour I would go for. Next time I would try lamb or even the tandoori chicken pide but I really want to come back and try their kebabs or halal snack pack (oh I’ve been craving one because of cbr foodie) !

Delivery is available for selected suburbs  (Amaroo, Bonner, Casey, Crace, Forde, Franklin, Harrison, Jacka, Kaleeen, Moncrieff, Ngunnawal, Nicholls and Palmerston between 5-9pm) for orders over $39.00.

Venue: Sultan’s Turkish Pide

Address: Shop 9/30 Hibberson Street Gungahlin ACT

Phone: (02) 6156 5617

Website: www.sultansturkishpide.com.au/

Opening hours: 7 days 9:00am – 10:00pm

Mezze

It isn’t that often that TimmyC will hear about a new restaurant before I do but that was the case this time when he took me to Mezze in Manuka, which is located next to the cinema where Camellia used to be.

I don’t usually like having Turkish with one other person because it really limits you to what you can order, but we tried to be smart with our ordering, so we avoided eating a lot of bread and more delicious grilled meats.

We were going to order two grilled meats plates but after doing some quick calculations we realised it was much more economical getting the platter for two which encompassed what we wanted to order and many more delicious things. After we ordered the waitress asked us if we knew that the price was $40 per person and we said we were aware. There must have been awkward situations before that have led to clarification of the price before ordering.

 

Kebab platter minimum two people sis tavuk, sis kebab, kofte, pirzola with rice, salad, garlic bread and zucchini balls ($40.00 per person).

Zucchini balls. They were hot, crispy and fluffy but nothing special.

Garlic bread. I know I said we weren’t going to go bread heavy but there was a bit of bread in the banquet. I thought it was unusual that they were serving garlic bread at a Turkish restaurant but the twist is that they serve it on Turkish bread. I know this dish sounds simple but the bread was flatter than usual, it was really hot and crispy and it had a strong garlic flavour. We ate this so fast with no regrets! I’m craving some more as I write this.

 

The platter. I was surprised to see that one of the chefs came out to present us with our platter. Everything was super freshly cooked and very hot. Even though we had gorged ourselves on popcorn before, we ate everything on the platter but only left a bit of rice and salad. We were getting full but we couldn’t help ourselves.

The chicken kebabs and kofte were so moist and succulent, the lamb skewers were a little chewy (definitely eat them while they are hot) but the lamb chops albeit were overcooked, were still very delicious. It was refreshing to have the fresh salad, char grilled vegetables and rice on the side as the platter was rather meat heavy. I think my favourite thing on the plate were the kofte with spoonfuls of hot rice.

This is not a ‘buy a banquet for two which really serves four’ type of place, the servings are still on the larger size but it is about quality over quantity. Service was fantastic even though there was only one waitress, she was friendly and efficient and I also liked how the chef presented his food with pride. I would be curious to see what they serve for ‘Turkish breakfast’ on weekends.

Venue: Mezze

Address: Shop 8 Capitol Theatre BLDG, 17 Franklin St, Canberra ACT 2603

Phone: (02) 6295 8185

Opening hours:

Monday – Friday 11:00am – 11:00pm

Saturday – Sunday 8:00am – 11:00pm