Claypot Turkish Lamb Stew with Butter Rice Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine is an establishment that we go to know whilst scrolling around the phone one day — these folks are located within the coffeeshop at Blk 496 Jurong Wet Street 41; notable tenants located within the same coffeeshop would include Latiffa Huri that is best known for their Malay-style Nasi Lemak. In fact, Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine takes up a stall that is located just right beside Latiffa Huri. Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Food should be easily identifiable; the stall itself may be blocked by a display chiller that is stocked with their Kunafa and Baklava offerings, though the stall does feature a rather brightly-coloured yellow signboard that one should notice since it faces out directly to the pathways outside the coffeeshop. Establishments serving up Turkish and Mediterranean fare have started to sprout up all around the island but they do seem to be relatively rare in this part of the West — the food menu at Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine does feature more common offerings like Pita, Kebab and Burrito, though it also consists of other more uncommon dishes like the Pide, Claypot dishes, Hawashy, Adana Kofte Lamb etc. being some of the dishes that are lesser found in a stall within a coffeeshop setting.
Skimming through the menu, the Claypot Turkish Lamb Stew with Butter Rice was an item that caught our eye before we had even visited the establishment — this does seem to be an item that is rather uncommon amongst establishments serving up Turkish and Mediterranean fare all across the island; even more so for one that operates in the environment of a coffeeshop. Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine does not describe on the elements that are being featured in the Claypot Turkish Lamb Stew with Butter Rice that they serve up, though it can be observed that the Claypot Turkish Lamb Stew does come with a Pita-like pastry that covers the stew within the claypot. Within the claypot, one can find cubes of lamb, potatoes and carrots within a tomato-based stew; the Butter Rice accompanying the Claypot Turkish Lamb Stew on the side. The stew itself can be described to be a little bit like a minestrone; a light, tomato-based stew that comes slightly refreshing with a bit of a tang that just cuts through the lamb about right. Soaking the pastry into the soup helps to soften the pastry, and is pretty much the vehicle for one to enjoy all of the stew that came along with it. The cubes of lamb does come with a slight gaminess, but the meat is absolutely tender and that the gaminess itself wasn’t particularly intimidating especially since the lamb had already soaked up quite a bit of flavours of the stew itself — almost not much different to the likes of beef that doesn’t require much effort to chew apart since the fibre of the meat had been broken down. The cubes of potatoes and carrots were soft; again not much effort required to chew through. The butter rice does come fragrant with a distinct buttery hint whilst coming with an aroma of the different spices such as the traces of Star Anise that came along with it; also came with the same cubes of carrots that can also be found in the stew.
The Pita is available in various meat options — the Chicken, the Beef or the Mixed that comprises of both chicken and beef; we found ourselves going for the Chicken option which features Chicken Shawarma that is freshly shaved off the grill, as well as shreds of lettuce and carrots all within a pita bread that is sliced open into half, whilst also coming with a dollop of what seems to be sour cream within. The Chicken Shawarma does come flavourful but not overwhelming; the slices of the chicken being tender and juicy with much of the flavours coming from the spice rub — that being said, the Pita does seem to be the highlight here being toasted to a crisp exterior, yet coming with a fluffy interior that provides that texture that we are looking for in an good Pita bread. Meanwhile, we also gave the Baklava at Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine a go; we liked how they serve up their Kunafa with cream on the side that worked particularly well to balance the notes of the pistachios and sugar syrup to further enhance those flavours of the dessert. What made the Baklava at Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine pretty enjoyable was the crisp and flaky pastry that wasn’t too tightly packed with the pistachios so that it was easy to chew through, while the Baklava was also not overly sweet that gels well to the general acceptability of sweetness of locals here. Noting how establishments serving up Turkish and Mediterranean fare typically aren’t the most wallet-friendly spots around, the same can be said about Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine where prices of the dishes that they offer range from $5 to $15; the lowest-priced being the Chicken Kebab whilst the highest-priced would be the various Pizza offerings. With this being said, Mr. Sam Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine does serve up pretty decent Turkish and Mediterranean fare when compared to other establishments around the island — also adds as an interesting dining option that adds to the variety of what one can go for whilst in Jurong West.
