Dining Out: Sigara Boregi, Adana Kebab, Etli Pide, and Trilece Cake at Turkish Flames

When my friend Ronsee and I were deciding on where to go for dinner, he mentioned that he had been randomly craving pide for weeks, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out the newly-opened Turkish Flames.

Sigara boregi

We decided to share the sigara boregi (Turkish-style fried spring rolls stuffed with feta cheese), the adana kebab (a mixture of ground veal and lamb with Turkish spices), and the etli pide (thin bread topped with a ground meat and vegetable mixture). Though I don't think you can really go wrong with deep-fried cheese in any culture, the Turkish spring rolls were incredible. Super crispy, perfectly golden shells filled with delightfully creamy feta cheese. You can't go wrong. I could've honestly eaten, like, three orders of these. And in hindsight, I probably should've.

Adana kebab
The adana kebab was decent in flavour, though it was both drier and tougher than I expected. I've eaten similar kebabs from other Middle Eastern cultures (Afghani, Lebanese, Persian, etc.) so maybe I was expecting it to be more like those — juicy, tender, almost soft enough to cut with a spoon. Maybe the chef was having an off day, or maybe these were sitting around for a while, but I wasn't particularly impressed. I would try one of the other kebab or doner options over this one.

Etli pide
What was truly disappointing, though, was the pide — the very reason we even went to Turkish Flames to begin with. I'm not sure if it's specifically the ground meat variation (etli) that we ordered or if it's the same for all the different ones they offer, but ours was severely lacking in flavour. It was my first time trying pide and I was genuinely shocked at how bland it was — I asked Ronsee, "Is it just my tastebuds or does this have no flavour?" — because Middle Eastern food in general usually utlilizes a plethora of spices. But Ronsee agreed and said that this pide was definitely under-seasoned (if seasoned at all?), and we ended up having to add quite a bit of salt on our own to it to give it even a modicum of flavour. Again, not sure if this was a one-off, but I definitely can't recommend the ground meat pide here. 

Trilece cake
To try to make up for the general disappointment of the dinner, we thought we would get one of the desserts, so we asked the server for a recommendation and she whole-heartedly suggested the trilece — the Turkish version of tres leches — and thankfully, it was excellent. To be quite honest, I don't know how it differs from the Latin American version because they taste identical to me, but whatever, good cake is good cake. And at least we had a good ending to an unfortunately mediocre meal. But I'm actually surprised at how disappointed I am with this meal because Turkish Flames has quite a high rating on Google. Not sure if it's because we went when it wasn't busy or if the chef was having an off day (and I'm definitely not an expert on Turkish food), so I'm not going to write this place off yet, but I think I need to try another Turkish restaurant to do a little compare and contrast.

Turkish Flames

7677 Markham Rd.

Markham, ON L3S 3J9

(905) 471-6111

New York City 2023 Travel Log: Day 3 — A Little Midtown International Food Crawl

The best thing to do with a free afternoon in NYC when you just like eating? A little international food crawl across midtown:

Chicken tikka masala naan wrap from Mysttik Masaala at Bryant Park Winter Village
Adobada corn tortilla tacos from Los Tacos No. 1
Chicken and beef gyro platter from The Halal Guys
Kaya butter toast from Kopifellas at Urban Hawker

Everything was incredible, but especially those adobada tacos from Los Tacos No. 1, which are easily my new favourite tacos of all time. If the long line-up out the door on a super-cold November day is any indication, it's everyone else's favourite tacos, too. And speaking of international, I just gotta mention how crazy huge The Halal Guys have gotten. The first time I ever ate there was when I was visiting my brother in 2008. He was working at BlackRock at the time (which used to be located at Park Avenue Plaza), and he was like, "I'll take you to my favourite lunch spot." So we walked a few blocks to this little cart with a giant line-up and I was like, "Really?" And he just said, "Trust me." Indeed, the chicken and rice was one of the most tasty, satisfying, and cheap (it was $5 back then) meals I'd ever had. I went back a few more times on that trip. And since then, I have trusted my brother on all his food picks.

Mystiik Masaala

Winter Village at Bryant Park

W 41st St. and 6th Ave.

New York, NY 10018

(917) 438-5166

Los Tacos No. 1

Times Square

229 W 43rd St.

New York, NY 10036

(212) 574-4696

The Halal Guys

W 53rd St. and 6th Ave.

New York, NY 10019

(347) 527-1505

Kopifellas

Urban Hawker

135 W 50th St.

New York, NY 10020

(917) 769-5513

Dining Out: Falafels and Kefta at Tabulé

Had a lovely reunion dinner with my friend Austin this evening at Tabulé:

Falafels with tahini
Kefta with vegetables and rice

We got the falafel appetizer to share and the kefta as our mains. The falafels were amazing — delightfully crispy on the outside, moist and perfectly seasoned on the inside. These are a must-order. The kefta was decent — good portion and really flavourful — but about mid-way through, it started to feel really dry because it didn't come with any kind of sauce to relieve the intense amount of spices. It would've been infinitely better if it was served with tahini or hummus or garlic dip. A good dinner overall, but I think for the price, I'd go to Paramount for my Middle Eastern food fix instead.

On that note, though, I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time so the evening was a win regardless of the food. 

Tabulé

Bayview Village

2901 Bayview Ave., Unit 27

Toronto, ON M2K 1E6

Cooking at Home: Za'atar Chicken Bulgur Bowls with Baby Spinach and Chopped Olives

Za'atar chicken bulgur bowls with baby spinach and chopped olives
In an effort to both save money and be healthier, I decided to stay home for dinner and make my last Hello Fresh kit of the week: Za'atar chicken bulgur bowls with baby spinach and chopped olives. The chicken came out really juicy (again, props to my air fryer) and I don't mind bulgur (it was my first time trying it), but at the end of the day, the whole dish just tasted really... healthy. I don't mind eating healthy, but with the amount of seasoning and the addition of olives, I thought it would be more enticing. It really was just like a warm chicken salad. Also, I absolutely hate the feta that Hello Fresh includes in their kits. It's already pre-crumbled, so it doesn't look or taste like real feta. It's not a huge deal but, you know, it's a new-found pet peeve.

Cooking at Home: Turkish-Style Spiced Chicken with Almond Rice and Yogurt Sauce

Turkish-style spiced chicken with almond rice and yogurt sauce

Tonight's dinner from Hello Fresh: Turkish-style spiced chicken with almond rice and yogurt sauce. Excellent flavours, great amount of spices, and a good combination of textures. Both the chicken and the sweet potatoes were cooked in the air fryer and came out PERFECTLY. (Enter ode to my air fryer here.) Probably could've used more vegetables, but I'm not complaining. Also, yogurt sauce is freaking delicious and I wanna eat it with everything. (Enter ode to yogurt sauce here.)

Cooking at Home: Za'atar Beef Bowls with Hummus and Spiced Rice

Za'atar beef bowls with hummus and spiced rice
Tonight's dinner kit from Hello Fresh: Za'atar beef bowls with hummus and spiced rice. This was DELICIOUS. Fantastic combination of flavours — weirdly enough, it tasted like a mix of Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisines — and easy and quick to prep. The tomatoes and parsley add a really nice, fresh contrast to the spice-forward beef and rice. Even my mom (who is staying with me for another week) didn't have much to complain about. Then again, she is biased towards rice dishes.

Cooking at Home: Beef Kofta Tray Bake with Couscous and Lemony Hummus Sauce

Beef kofta tray bake with couscous and lemony hummus sauce
Okay, Day 2 of Cooking for Two. (No, I'm not pregnant. My mom is staying with me for the week.) Tonight's dinner kit from Hello Fresh: Beef kofta tray bake with couscous and lemony hummus sauce. Okay, so my kofta turned out way rounder than intended, but whatever, they were still really good — tender, savoury, spicy — and paired beautifully with the lemony hummus. And aside from the couscous, cooked entirely with my air fryer. (My baby love.) Surprisingly, my mom liked tonight's dinner more than the steak I made yesterday, which I disagree with. But then again, tonight's dinner had more carbs.

Cooking at Home: Crispy Falafel Tacos with Hummus Slaw and Pickled Onions

Crispy falafel tacos with hummus slaw and pickled onions
Crispy falafel tacos with hummus slaw and pickled onions

It's Taco Tuesday! Tonight's dinner kit was the crispy falafel tacos with hummus slaw and pickled onions from Hello Fresh. It's a strange mix of Middle Eastern flavours with the sweetness of coleslaw and honey and the acidity of pickled onions, but then wrapped up in tortillas so you can eat it in the form of a taco. It's tangy, it's garlicky, it's zesty, it's crunchy, and IT WORKS. A totally delightful combo of flavours and textures, and it's fast and easy to prepare, too. But as much as I love tacos, I'd have preferred a thicker flatbread like pita or laffa rather than tortillas to give it some more chew and body and to better support all the filling. Still, I'd deem this week's Taco Tuesday a success.