restaurants

Taksim Square

Taksim Square in Moonee Ponds was my first venture into Turkish food – having tried a handful of Middle Eastern restaurants before, but none so specific to Turkey. It was definitely a worthwhile experience, from the moment we stepped into the spacious restaurant, with all its beautiful furnishings and the open plan kitchen, we knew we were in for a journey into Istanbul from the heart of Melbourne – in Moonee Ponds. A restaurant of all occasions, we saw business partners, families, couples out for date nights – if you’re in the Moonee Ponds area then you’re in luck! If not, it’s worth checking out anyway! The good fat: PITA PITA PITA – how can you have Middle Eastern food without these warm, thin and flaky pieces of bread on the side? We were offered to try the Cacik (yoghurt + cucumber), Hummus and Shakshouka dips. Taksim Square’s shakshouka was very interesting for me as I had never experienced it cold as a dip, only as a hot, baked eggs dish so it was a nice contrast – with the flavoursome tomatoes and capsicums accompanying my pita. The ABSOLUTE STAR of the show was the Turkish Adana – a traditional style of char-grilled seasoned lamb mince, served on warm pita, and veggies, straight from the owner of Taksim Square’s hometown in Turkey. This was SO DELICIOUS – one of the most unique styles of lamb I’ve tried. The mince was quite compact, seemingly like a mixture between steak and kebab – whilst the seasoning was so hearty and full of flavour. It’s hard to pinpoint the tastes exactly – you just have to try it! Needless to say, one of the best lamb dishes I’ve ever tried. It’s no wonder that this dish is so popular that the Moonee Ponds restaurant can’t even sell it on Saturdays… so if you’re heading there make sure you pop over on a non-Saturday to try this! The Turkish kisir, a blend of wheat, parsley, peppers in a cous cous – salad like texture, on the side of our whiting was delicious! Small, crumbly and full of a blend of tomato and spice-based flavours. I can’t end without mentioning the Turkish desserts. Kunefe, a crispy baked cheese-filled dessert with pastry soaked in sweet syrup, is the most unique I’ve EVER tried. It was crispy on the outside with a fried-like texture, whilst the inside was filled with finely shredded pieces of cheese, partly solid, partly melted with that pizza cheese-stretch quality. It was sweet from the syrup, but hints of saltiness came from the cheese and the icecream on top cut back on the sweetness whilst contrasting the warmth. WOW! I would definitely try this again. The Kazandibi is a milk pudding with burnt caramel toffee on the bottom – a jelly kind of cool consistency reminding me of some Asian desserts. It wasn’t sweet, but just so light and milky that I could probably eat it non-stop! The bad fat: Taksim Square even has a trolley going around explaining all their Turkish hot mezzes, and we really would’ve loved to try a sample of those because they all sounded so unique! I guess it just means we will have to go back 😉 The dips were quite average, and didn’t particularly stand out for me. The whiting was also little on the blander side, but it makes for a lighter meal contrasting to the other heavier flavours. FAT-O-METER: 4/5