By
Trevor Pepys reviews Taste of Istanbul
Is it possible to find a decent feed at a nondescript suburban strip mall? Hell yeah.
There was a time in his pompous past when Trev would probably have disputed the above claim, but that all ended years ago when, during a Southern California sojourn, he discovered Yes Vietnamese, conveniently but hideously situated in a corner of a car park at a super-sized shopping mall just off the 405 Freeway in Huntington Beach. Yes (now LePho, and nowhere near as good, so I’m told) had horror show written all over it until you stepped inside and walked through a pretty internal rock garden to a quiet and tasteful room serving the best Vietnamese Trev had ever eaten.
That joint became a regular and never disappointed. Taste of Istanbul, also inhabiting a smallish room in what passes for a strip mall in Noosa, tucked away in the backblocks of Noosaville, might have to work a bit harder to hook Trev completely, but we’re off to a good start.
Having been tipped off by a colleague that Taste was worth a visit, Trev and the missus made the long haul out past Bunnings where the trams don’t run on a midweek early evening and were pleasantly surprised to find that the joint was jumping, even before dark. Almost a half of the table-space was filled with an extended family group of Turkish-Australians clearly loving the huge spread before them. A good sign, surely.
The colleague had also mentioned the vast quantities of food that constitute a main course, so when we noticed that even the natives were calling for doggie bags, we decided we’d stick to the starters for this visit, and ordered a bottle of Oyster Bay rosé ($36) to sip while we made our selection. And a word to the wise here: while you’d probably expect a relatively new place in the ‘burbs to offer BYO, Taste of Istanbul is fully licensed and doesn’t. However, they do offer a small but considered wine selection at affordable prices. While Trev’s preference is for the Provencal pinks, Oyster Bay is producing one of Marlborough’s best, and this was a very fair price for it.
When Trev was a young man learning his chops as a cub reporter on the murky police rounds of Sydney and earning two-fifths of bugger-all, his favoured eating haunts were mostly the cheap Lebs on Cleveland Street, where he learnt that some crusty bread and hummus and a plate of falafel, washed down with some flagon wine, would go a long way, despite the fact that no meat was involved in the equation. (And before Trev’s nit-picking critics point out that there are subtle differences between Lebanese and Turkish cuisine, let’s just remember that it was all the Ottoman Empire once, and I challenge anyone to a blind falafel tasting to settle the matter.)
So, we decided to relive those halcyon days, ordering Turkish garlic bread ($5.50), grilled Halloumi cheese slices ($16), a falafel plate ($21) and the stuffed vine leaves, or dolma ($16).
The charcoal-grilled Halloumi in fresh herbs came served with fresh tomatoes, black olives, a side salad and Turkish bread, and was delicious. The falafel, home-made, deep-fried chickpea balls seasoned with herbs and spices and served with hummus and Tabouli, was a little dry for our taste, even when smothered with the tasty hummus. The dolma, vine leaves stuffed with herbed rice and cooked with olive oil, were tasty but the grape vines were a little stringy.
The verdict: Overall, Trev left full and happy enough with his first Taste experience, knowing that his thirst for nostalgia had led him to old school selections that probably didn’t do justice to the extensive offering. Next visit he’ll fast for 24 hours and tackle the mains.
Taste of Istanbul, 6-8 Swanbourne Way, Noosaville. Phone 5302 7640.