Had come across the existence of the new 17 Doner Turkish Kebab in the Broadway Food Court at Sim Lim Square — the food court had seen quite a high turnover rate ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, with many of the stalls that were previously operating having moved out from their premises. This also means that there are a few new stalls that had opened up in place of the old ones in recent times; another new stall in the food court includes a minced meat noodle stall that occupies the second stall unit as one walks in from the entrance to Broadway Food Court from the car park. Taking over the former premises of the western stall that was situated in the food court, 17 Doner Turkish Kebab is pretty much a one-man show; the stall serving up a good variety of Turkish fare with items like Kebab Rolls, Kebab Salad with Fries / Rice and Tombik being served up here. Apart from the these usual mains which one can find at other establishments, there also some rather interesting sides and desserts that are also served up at 17 Doner Turkish Kebab; this includes the Sigara Borek, Kunefe and even the Ayran (a yoghurt-based beverage) just to name a few.

We had first came across the Tombik when we visited Turkish Atas Kebab at Fortune Centre prior to the change of management — this change of management led to the original founder of Turkish Atas Kebab opening up a new establishment named A-Mor Turkish Kebab at North Bridge Road instead. That aside, the Tombik at 17 Doner Turkish Kebab is available in two different variations — one being the Chicken Kebab Tombik, while the other one would be the Beef Kebab Tombik. Patrons can get to pick the vegetables which they would like for their Tombik to come with — think the idea of this as being pretty similar to what one would expect in a Subway setting, while patrons to get a sauce of their choice with Sesame, Ketchup, Chili or a Spicy sauce to choose from.

We went with the Chicken Kebab Tombik, and opted for all of the vegetables which they have to be included; our choice of sauce would be the Sesame sauce — a little bit of a mistake since the chef-owner had a heavy accent and we mistook it for something more exciting (we would have went with the Spicy if so). We did also find it rather interesting that the chef-owner does allow patrons to pick which Tombik bread on the tray they would prefer having, though there isn’t anything different with the exception of the aesthetics of each individual Tombik. Taking a bite into the Tombik, we were pretty much sold by the texture of the pita bread itself — the pita bread is pillowy soft, fluffy and dense here; provides for a substantial bite and a good chew with all of the elements that come in between. We visited 17 Doner Turkish Kebab for lunch on a weekend during a time where there wasn’t a lot of meat left on the kebab grill. That being said, the chicken kebab was juicy and moist; while it was not particularly smoky nor too savoury, we did appreciate the somewhat clean notes here with the sauces being able to compensate for it. The selection of the greens included were also pretty fresh; the lettuce provided for a good crunch and that the tomatoes gave a juicy and refreshing bite when chewed upon — the whole Tombik also was not too drippy from the sauces as well, making it quite a good eat for its price.

It does seem like the Bencoolen / Bugis / Rochor area is starting to become one of those neighbourhoods that is becoming an enclave for Turkish fare in Singapore — the neighbourhood has started to see an uprising of such establishments such as that of Turkish Atas Kebabs and A-Mor Turkish Kebab which we had mentioned above in recent years, and the addition of 17 Doner Turkish Kebab seems to add on to number of establishments serving up such fare. Having tried not only the Chicken Kebab Tombik, but also the Chicken Kebab Salad with Fries during our visit to 17 Doner Turkish Kebab, we do feel that the stronger offering here would be the Chicken Kebab Tombik; this is in part due to how good the Tombik was on its own — this was also the item which seems to be most popular amongst its patrons from our observations while seated around the stall’s vicinity. One thing that we have noticed about 17 Doner Turkish Kebab is how there just seems to be rather popular with the patrons of the food court — no doubt that the establishment somewhat garners a longer queue than most stalls there since the movement of the queue can be a little slow from its one-man operation, but there is always a constant flow of customers queueing up at the stall nonetheless. With prices of their dishes such as their Chicken Kebab Roll and Chicken Kebab Tombik going from $7 all the way to the Beef Kebab Salad with Fries / Rice going at $10, 17 Doner Turkish Kebab might not be the cheapest option in the food court, though it does make for a wallet-friendly alternative with prices comparable to the price western cuisine anyway; the Chicken Kebab Tombik being something which we are most likely to return to 17 Doner Turkish Kebab for again!