Storm photo. Photo by Shelby Taylor
Teena, Gina and I decide on Ottoman Cuisine for a Sunday girls only lunch one day. The weather looks promising this Sunday. It’s a sunny (relatively) balmy day in Sydney. I am running ten minutes late and I rush past the MCA which is crowded with tourists enjoying Sydney’s sun. Suddenly little pieces of white specks blow over everyone and black grey cloud passes over the sky. Everyone scrambles in different directions and all I can say is “I wish I was filming this!”. My friend Shelby took the above photo from her place-fantastic huh?
Dip platter and bread
Moral of the story? Well if I had been on time I would have completely missed the sudden storm but as it turns out I was caught in it so I cabbed the final way to Ottoman Cuisine on Pier 2 of Dawes Point. We are partaking of their Sunday Lunch where you get a nine course tasting menu for $55. Ottoman Cuisine started off in Canberra where it became famous and the location here is a lovely waterfront one with all floor to ceiling glass views of the harbour.
Dip platter
We start off with the colourful dip platter which features four house made dips beetroot, crushed eggplant, babaganoush & hommus. They’re all delicious but the eggplant is definitely the favourite with its slight smokiness and the well rounded flavour with chilli and carrot. The beetroot is rather striking and it’s a combination of yogurt, dill and beetroot. The bread is soft and fresh and we order some more to mop up the dips.
Trio platter
There are some changes to the menu today. Our next course is a selection of three things. There is a lamb sausage which is very nicely seasoned, some char grilled zucchini pieces and there are three dolmade halves which are wonderfully fresh, warm and stuffed with rice and pine nuts. Some olives round off the platter. Teena and Gina order some wine and it comes out in a very generous sized glass.
Zucchini flowers
Another change to the menu is stuffed zucchini flowers filled with goat’s cheese. They’re done well with a crispy outer although we were hoping for something a bit more Turkish.
Etli borek
The more Turkish comes in the form of the Etli Borek which I recall trying one year at the Taste of Sydney event. Here they are crisp home made filo rolls filled with slow braised veal shank, currants & pine-nuts, served with pomegranate & yoghurt sauce. I recall the filo being thinner and more spring roll pastry like when I had these at Taste of Sydney launch whereas the pastry here is a tad thicker and bubblier. It’s still good and the pomegranate and yogurt give this an interesting aspect although I wish there was a bit more of the sauce.
Mantar
Now you don’t expect to enjoy char grilled mushrooms as much as we enjoyed these. In fact these were one of my favourite courses. They’re tossed in a moreish combination of cumin, oregano & mild Aleppo chilli. Pure umami!
Dolma
Our last entree is the dolma which is salmon, crayfish & prawn wrapped in vine-leaves, lightly battered, served with savoury piquant sauce. It’s quite tasty with the salmon being moist although I find myself hoping that this will be the last deep fried course as this is the third one.
Izgara balik
Our mains come out and despite being told that we will get chicken, the char grilled fish arrives. The fish is moist and cooked through and is served with preserved lemon mayonnaise. It also comes with rice and a delectable pomegranate and cos lettuce salad which is highlighted with a touch of mint which I really enjoy.
Rice
Pomegranate and lettuce salad
Veal
Our last main dish is the pounded veal which comes out like a schnitzel without the breading in three large pieces. It is tender and has us full but not burstingly full. I’m glad Mr NQN didn’t come along as he might be hungry.
Karisik tatli
We finish off with our desserts, a lovely hand rolled baklava and Turkish delight which comes in two flavours, a rose and an orange flavour (which has tones of strawberry and mango). It comes with some lightly sweetened cream.
Turkish Coffee
Our final round? A Turkish coffee of course! Thick and syrupy, I adore Turkish coffee!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you enjoy storms and rainy weather?
Ottoman Cuisine
Pier 2
13 Hickson Rd
Dawes Point New South Wales 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9252 0054
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41 Comments | Add your own
Those zuccini flowers are so pretty!
Storms and rainy weather are fine if you are indoors, but not if you are stuck outside (which often happens to me LOL).
I love turkish food, and i have rarely seen it so beautifully presented. If I lived in Sydney, I’d totally go there.
*kisses* HH
Love watching a good storm! So you only got half a dolmade each? Looks like a good spread, nonetheless
That really looks like a fantastic meal!
I am really just learning about this cuisine and that of Persia… I do love the flavors. The mushrooms would be my fav since I do love Aleppo pepper but then any sort of dippy eggplant dish is a winner for me and I have never thought of using beets that way… hmmm time to play with that idea and some of the preserved lemon mayo.. yum!!!
You had me at the zucchini flowers!
That storm photo is breathtaking, Lorraine! The meal is pretty fantastic too (love the zucchini flowers!) and Turkish coffee is indeed the perfect ending!
I think storms ar gorgeous, so long as I’m not caught in them!
A little took much fried stuff there…
That storm was worth catching – magnificent! This food looks amazing – I like this kind of cuisine – that and Asian are my favourites. I enjoy rain and storms if I am safely inside looking out at them. I also like to dance in the wild wind before a storm – crazy or not, I love it.
Lovely restaurant! The dips were particularly appealing..
Oh this looks like my kinda dinner! Love Turkish coffee too!
Were the white specks snow?? I grew up in San Francisco, where I think I experience snow maybe three times in my lifetime so far. We’d always get excited and scoop the meager dusting off the street to try to form a snowball somehow, some way. Hey, snow’s a big deal when you don’t get it every day or every decade.
I like storms and the rain when it isn’t happening all the time. Sydney is becoming very much like South East Asia – our summer is now very humid. Whatever happened to southerly busters???
I went to Ottoman for a wedding in 2007 and really enjoyed it.
Not a fan of storms or rain! Love the look of Ottoman though!
I LOVE Ottoman! We had the liver last time and it was spectacular – and I don’t even like liver! And even though it’s not very Turkish we always order the zucchini flowers.
you have made my day, and possibly year! i love canberra ottoman and did not know it was sydney – however living OS for the past 4 years is a good excuse. have booked lunch for next weekend! bliss.
Looks like delicious and modernised turkish cuisine. I think I may have drooled on the keyboard when I saw those zucchini flowers… Mmmmm!
I love a good storm – almost as much as I love any food with Middle Eastern or Mediterranean origins and this looks great!
Frank LOVES storms, but I am rather scared of thunder and lightning. I want to hide under the bed like my dog used to!
What a lovely meal. Turkish food is having a bit of a burst of popularity at the moment, and it’s easy to see why. Those zucchini flowers look so beautiful, light and crispy *drool*
Its a mood food for me Persian food, but I’ve truly enjoyed Ottoman here in Canberra a number of times, I hear the Sydney Ottomans is just as good. Don’t mind watching a good storm (from the safety and comfort of indoors) either.
This is a nice way to enjoy time with friends.
Rainy days are perfect for occasions like this!
I love a good storm, providing that I’ve got a good cookbook and the house does not feel like it’s going to be blown away.
I love the Ottoman in Canberra and have not been to the one in Sydney. Looks like it’s time to try it
*laughs* You were so right! We ate almost nothing the same! (I am, of course, referring to my blog post about the Ottoman in Canberra
)
I like storms… but only when I’m inside with a good book, chocolate, and coffee, and don’t have to go out in it!
I adore storms! (Probably because, according to family legend, I was born during one.) And I love how they make you stay home and curl up with a hot cuppa, a blanket, and a good book.
Incidentally, what’s the difference between baba ganoush and crushed eggplant dip? Isn’t baba ganoush made with eggplant, too?
I only enjoy storms if I am safely indoors, tucked up in bed with a DVD and a good book! I love turkish food, spent many happy months there in my younger days.
That looks like an amazing lunch, oh and the baklava, wow!
What delicious looking food! I love more and more the idea of shared plates and communal eating. It makes having lunch as a group a lot more fun and interesting!
I do love a good storm, but only when I am rugged up inside with a hot chocolate, a book and the kittens!
Those zuccinni flowers look delicious! I didn’t really appreciate being woken by the storm we had in the middle of last night – but don’t mind one at a more reasonable hour!
Gosh- check out that storm! At least the food was good- I always have room for dip and flaky baklava!I want!!!
Perfect girl-size servings! I think you’re right about Mr NQN being hungry afterwards but definitely more than enough for me!
I love a good storm – we live in a house of glass so we can watch it all around us. Don’t like being out in it though!
That food looked fabulous – must give it a try!
Sounds like the mixups didn’t ruin the meal, but still a bit disconcerting! I’ve been to the Ottoman here in Canberra a few times and it is always top class.
The photo is fantastic too! When it storms we put chairs out on the deck and watch the clouds roll in accross the mountains. Bliss…
Only if tucked up in bed
I’m so looking forward to the Showcase Dinner at Ivy on Sunday night which will be Middle Eastern Cuisine. Don’t like Turkish coffee though
The etli borek and the pomegranate salad looks really good. I love turkish coffee too!
Oh i’m in Sydney this weekend, but live in Canberra, so might try Ottoman there, yummo, love Posie
I just plan to go to Istambul in a few weeks !pierre
I enjoy storms and rainy weather – but only if I have the luxury of being able to stay indoors. Rain and having to get to work is not a nice thing!
I have much to learn about Middle Eastern cuisine, I know way too little. That char grilled fish looks great!
I love a good storm when i’m not stuck in it!
Love the look of the zucchini flowers & etli borek. Yum!
I really enjoy this style of food, though I think I’d be wishing for the end of deep fried things when you did as well!
I love rain as long as I am not out in it. It is raining today and I’m heading to the One Movement Music Festival this afternoon so I’m not really loving it right now
We’re taking our two friends out as a belated engagement gift plus one other friend, so 5 people in total. Could you please recommend a nice affordable restaurant? Thanks
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