Bosphorus Turkish Kebap (Golden Mile Food Centre)

Turkish food may be a type of cuisine that is not particularly difficult to find around the island, though it does seem that most authentic Turkish stalls in Singapore tend to be standalone eateries or restaurants — there have only been a handful of Turkish cuisine stalls that operate out of a hawker centre; this includes familiar names such as Zuzu Kebba located at Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, as well as Sultan Kebab at Maxwell Food Centre. Another one of such spots serving up Turkish cuisine within the hawker centre setting in Singapore would be Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled; located at Golden Mile Food Centre, the stall has been in operations since a couple of years ago — we found ourselves winding up at Golden Mile Food Centre after diverting from yet another establishment nearby which was closed on the day of our visit. Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled is actually one of the stalls that we had long wanted to give a try at Golden Mile Food Centre — much like the other hawker stalls serving up Turkish cuisine around the island, it is pretty easy to identify the stall with its Moroccan-style lighting that is hanging behind the counter; this is also apart from the stall having a fancy signboard which has its name in 3D and lit from the backlighting in the light box. It is interesting to note that unlike most other establishments serving Turkish cuisine around where patrons can opt between kebab featuring two different types of meat, Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled only serves up a chicken kebap here; patrons can opt for various carbs and starches to enjoy with their chicken kebap — this includes the kebap being served in the form of a roll, or with fresh garden green salad, grandmother’s crispy potato fries or pasta, just to name a few. Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled also offers vegetarian options, while the Baklava will be the only dessert item on the menu.

We took quite a while to screen through the menu at Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled, especially considering that there were other stalls that we were also initially thinking of dining at when we stopped by Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled to take a look. Being a stall run pretty much by a one-man show, the stall owner had been recommending us with his item number 5 that is being listed on the menu as the item which we should be going for as patrons whom have yet to try them out before. Item number 5 on the menu board refers to their Chicken Kebap with Butter Rice; the menu describes the Chicken Kebap with Butter Rice to come with elements such as chicken kebab, long-grain buttered rice, seasoned salad, green chilli, olive, cherry tomato and Turkish sauce.

Receiving our order after a short wait where the chef-owner plates up everything upon order, we noticed that the Chicken Kebap with Butter Rice does come in quite a proportionate portion of individual elements, though came together as being pretty generous. Excitedly going for the chicken kebap first, we were actually surprised how the chicken kebap here isn’t particularly greasy — it was also especially tender, considering how we had made our visit during a weekday dinner service and the chicken kebap would have been rotating around the grill for the entire day. Equally impressive was the long-grain buttered rice; it came with a very evident savoury note from the butter, though we really liked how the rice wasn’t particularly wet — easy to eat without having feel like it has been excessively soaked in butter nor greasy, with each grain distinguishable from one another. Both elements went well with the tomato-based salsa that comes on the side — probably referred to as the “Turkish sauce” on the menu. There is something with that tomato-based salsa that is not only just tangy, but also a slight umami — there is some sort of complexity going on that we cannot quite put our finger to. Meanwhile, all the greens that accompanied the dish were really fresh; some providing a refreshing crunch whilst some had a refreshing burst of flavours to cut through the heavier elements of the dish; the yogurt further enhancing those flavours further.

A tagline that has been repeated in the signages of Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled mentions “Healthy Food — Cook from Heart — Hygein” sums it up pretty well. On first look, the counter space is neat and tidy despite even almost a full day of operations. Describing about how they serve up healthy food, it can be said that at least the Chicken Kebap with Butter Rice did not feel particularly jelat despite how heavy butter rice can potentially feel. One thing despite the generous portion sizes here is how the food does not make one feel too overwhelmed with sauces or grease — they pretty much nailed it with this one. It is also noted from the menu board that they have included the number of calories each dish comes with; this might be mandatory for F&B operators in some coffeeshops and hawker centres to provide such information for some or all of their offerings on the menu, though it does seem to be done voluntarily by Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled in this case. There is no question to whether the food is cooked from the heart as they claim — it seems that the chef owner is passionate about cooking, and especially so for his patrons; we could also see much of the effort being placed in their various offerings, which is something that can only be achieved by one who is dedicated to their craft. Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled also calls their food “Hotel Class Food — Hawker Centre Prices” — not having been to Türkiye before, it would probably not be for us to comment if the food at Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled is authentic. That being said, they do probably serve up one of the better Turkish kebaps that we have come across thus far. Prices are also kept affordable despite the quality of their food — whilst it would be unfair to expect true-blue hawker prices where each dish is priced at $5 or below, all mains at Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled are priced from $6 to $12. Considering all the circumstances above, Bosphorus Turkish Kebap & Grilled is a spot that is worth making a trip to Golden Mile Food Centre for — definitely one to note down for those interested to give Turkish fare a go!

The Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar is back after a three year hiatus due to the Big Coof. However, the triumphant return has been severely marred by disgustingly exorbitant rents, which does distract from the fact that 2023’s Ramadan pasar malam has a mind boggling variety of food available. Despite being sorely tempted to write a rant post about the absurd rents & human greed, I’ll stick to writing about the food. For now.⠀
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Kebabs are an iconic pasar malam staple, and the Geylang Serai pasar malam has about a dozen kebab merchants. @bosphorusturkishkebab is probably the most famous of them all, as this is the same hawker stall from Golden Mile Food Center. I initially wanted a kebab, but the allure of their chicken butter rice ($8) was too charming to resist.⠀
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A copious portion of chicken sliced off the slowly rotating vertical rotisserie is loaded onto a bountiful bed of butter basmati rice. The chicken and rice are then obscured by lots of lettuce, a couple of the most beautiful tomato slices I’ve ever seen, and showered in a tangy sauce that suggests a yogurt based sauce. It’s a truly gargantuan serving, and fully worth the eight bucks on size alone.⠀
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Bosphorus’ chicken butter rice ain’t just big in size, the flavours are equally massive. The chicken is definitely the juiciest and most flavourful kebab chicken I’ve had, and each soft shred of chicken is super savoury, and jazzed up with the aromatics of cumin, nutmeg and possibly paprika. It’s the perfect combination with the brilliant butter rice, which is incredibly fragrant thanks to the butter it’s been cooked with, and it’s fluffy and so incredibly satiating to both your palette and your carb cravings.⠀
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The veggies are more than amply dressed with the yogurt(?) sauce, which is salty & subtly tangy, breathing luscious life into boring veg. I’ve always been an admirer of olives, and the single green olive in here gave me such joy. For a very reasonable eight bucks, you’re getting the healthiest and heartiest meal at the entire bazaar.