It's always a pleasure seeing new restaurants being opened here in Canberra, especially when you least expect it. I was walking along Genge Street on a random day when i suddenly spotted Taze Mediterranean Cuisine (4/21 Genge Street, Civic, Canberra). Taze's decor is just as elegant and chic as its counterparts on Genge Street: Tongue & Grove and Blu Ginger, with big glass windows, modern-looking straw lamps and wooden fixtures with a little Mediterranean touch.
After a few months, i finally found some time to go to Taze with another two friends for lunch. It wasn't a particularly good day and the sky seemed gloomy, but on the bright side we had a very satisfying lunch with heaps of laughters.
We started off with the Trio of Dips - we chose the Pembe Sultan (beetroot), Tzaziki (cucumber) and Babaganhoush (eggplant) - which was accompanied with refillable Turkish Bread. The dips are deliciously well made and i particularly liked the Tzaziki, which had a well balanced acidity and freshness to it.
We then had the Mushroom, Fresh Herbs, Feta Cheese and Spinach Risotto and the Bursa Iskender (shaved lamb simmered in homemade tomato sauce, Tazè Turkish rice with roasted garlic and yogurt dressing). The risotto was done al dente and the fetta really added that needed saltiness to complete the entire dish.
After finishing our mains, we were definitely full. Not just full, but very full...it must have been all that bread that we consumed with the dips. That, however, didn't stop us from ordering some of the desserts that they had in their dessert cabinets. We ordered a Baklava, a Kadayif (sweet made with fine vermicelli-like pastry) and three Turkish delights, and we got to try some Revani (Turkish soft and sweet semolina cake with a sweet syrup) and Halva (almond dessert). Overall the sweets were good but probably a bit too sweet for my liking - my favorite ones were the Kadayif and the Revani though. *no photos for the Revani and the Halva, sorry!
Overall lunch was good with nice food set in a well-decorated restaurant. The staff is enthusiastic and attentive who makes sure you are well looked after. Taze Mediterranean Cuisine is definitely a good place to go to with family and friends for a comfortable and relaxed meal.
I am not a big fan of lamb but i have to say that the lamb slices Bursa Iskender were quite tender and flavoursome (i tasted two slices of lamb)! The highlight of the dish for me was the pilaf with the tomato sauce, simply beatiful!
5 snowdrop meringues:
Havn't been there yet, but have good things. My sister lives in Turkey, and her little girl is called Pembe - like the dip you had, and Pembe means Pink.
Yum, Yum, Yum.... all of the food looks so good!
@The Intolerant Chef:ooo...that's something new =) you can try TAze to see if it tastes authentic =)
@Susan: you should give it a try too =)
@Yuki good review, I agree with Intolerant Chef the Pembe Sultan is the pick of the dishes. The baklava looks a bit dry same with the vermicili thing. The lamb dish looks tempting as it is cut wafer thin.
even the 'very full' stage seemed to us an age of innocence when my friends and I finished off our 'light indulgence' banquet plus desserts. it was quite the opposite of light, giving us the same entree of dips and bread, a second entree of 3 different turkish savouries, mains of a large sliced lamb pizza, rice, salad and lamb and chicken kebabs with sauce (which were done to absolute perfection, and generously sized also). finishing off with huge mugs of milky custard with a small square of turkish delight was comfortingly perfect. i had to undo my top 2 buttons on my waist-high skirt to accomodate everything, though. :)
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