SUKA MAKAN: A RETURN TO ARAB STREET @ CLEMENTI SUNSET WAY

Here we are again, in Arab Street Turkish Restaurant along Sunset Way. The thing about favourite restaurants is that we keep coming back. The reasons have to do with the food - it must be delicious - but also the service. Here, we are made to feel at home. The owners and staff treat you like special guests, and are genuinely happy to see you return.

Whatever you order on the menu you get, and then you get extra on the house. Mushroom soup was served first, compliments of the chef. Then a humus dish with vegetables. That whets your appetite for the main courses.

Mushroom soup

Humus with vegetables

On this occasion, we enjoyed a lamb pide (Turkish pizza) and cheesy chicken and rice served in a tagine (brass bowl). That's more than enough to fill the stomach, and this is washed down with Turkish mint tea, which they know has been a favourite of ours. That special service keeps you coming back!

Lamb pide

Cheesy chicken rice in a tagine.

There's a trick of pouring tea
without getting scalded.

With owner Max & staff Abdel Rahman

ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT

Blk 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-38

Singapore 120106

restaurant arab street turkish & western (@arabstreetturkishwestern) • Instagram photos and videos

SUKA MAKAN: QIJI TRADITIONAL FISHMAW SOUP & MINCED MEAT NOODLES @ SUNSET WAY, CLEMENTI

This is one of the eating places which is so small that you walk past barely taking a look. However, on this occasion, we decided to take a look and try the food - and it's a gem. Wedged between the famous Springleaf Prata Place and a Korean restaurant on Sunset Way is this "hole in the wall" restaurant. Walk faster and you'll miss Qiji Traditional Fishmaw Soup & Minced Meat Noodles, which despite its nondescript appearance at first glance, has some really delicious items.

The interior is rather cramped
but there's much more outdoor seating. 

Chef Darwin's hilariously inept
Photoshop portraits with celebs.
Bro, there are such things as AI!

Its speciality is a fishmaw soup served with rice or noodles, and crocodile bak kut teh in earthen pot, the most pricy item on its menu. We just tried the seafood / bak chor noodles and were justly impressed. The mee pok that came with seafood soup was very delicious. the Janet could not resist the Teochew seahum (chilled cockles in sauce) and that was quite lovely too.

Seafood fishmaw soup
with a seriously good mee pok.

QIJI TRADITIONAL FISHMAW SOUP 

& MINCED MEAT NOODLES

Block 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-62

(20+) Video | Facebook

SUKA MAKAN: SPRINGLEAF PRATA PLACE @ SUNSET WAY, CLEMENTI

When it comes to Indian mamak food, Springleaf Prata Place has it all. We've ordered many times for home delivery, but on this occasion, we decided to dine at the nearest outlet - the trustworthy Clementi Street 12 Block 109 along Sunset Way. Prata, murtabak, nasi briyani and mee goreng in all their infinite varieties can be found here.

The premises is simple, unpretentious with a no-frills cafeteria vibe, and we were the only diners on this early evening. Service was swift, and we had our fill within just a few minutes. Prices are higher than most hawkers centres and food courts, but there's the luxury that only an AC can bring. 

One is a kopi, the other teh tarik.

Maggi mee goreng with ikan bilis.

Good old chicken briyani

The SPP speciality, Murtaburger
a cross between Murtabak and Ramli burger.
Sinfully rich and filling, I was still eating
it the following day!

Springleaf also has a self-service free-flow curry station (both chicken and fish curry), where curries are kept piping hot and free from possible contamination. It looks hygienic but our stomachs will be the best judge of that. (It's been just over 24 hours, and so far no issues!)

SPRINGLEAF PRATA PLACE

Block 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-64

Off Sunset Way

Singapore 120106

Home

SUKA MAKAN: A RETURN TO ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT @ SUNSET WAY, CLEMENTI

This restaurant made such a positive impact that we had to return post-haste. We enjoyed ourselves at Arab Street Turkish & Western Restaurant at Sunset Way so much that within a fortnight, we were back for more. Owner Maxim recognised us immediately and made us welcome the moment we sat down. 

Out came iced lime mint tea and two bowls of mushroom soup, followed by a lavash (flat bread) and a mixed salad / humus dish - all on the house - and we had not even begun. On this occasion, we ordered a beef kebab dish and a moussaka tagine (served in an earthenware pot), and it was a true feast. All that was washed down by a pot of Turkish mint tea. Now, it seems like a responsibility of ours to try out every single dish on the menu. We will do so in the visits to come, so watch this page. 

Moussaka in a tagine.

The beef kebab dish with rice & fries

That's owner Maxim doing housekeeping.

With Chef Arkadas,
who is just as friendly.

ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT

Block 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-38

Singapore 120106

Arab Street Turkish & Western Restaurant - Order online for delivery & pickup!

Note: The Yishun restaurant 

has closed for good, having moved to the

present location in Clementi Street 12.

SUKA MAKAN: ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT @ SUNSET WAY

We seldom frequent Turkish restaurants in Singapore, instead having Turkish food whenever overseas, be it in Germany, Austria or Australia. Now we have found a gem of a Turkish restaurant in the neighborhood. Arab Street Turkish & Western Restaurant, to give its full name, is located in the foodie haunt that is Block 106 Clementi, on Sunset Way. Mariner's Corner and Five Star Hong Kong Dim Sum are along the same corridor. 

The outdoor seating is just as colourful.

Now this is a place which we will return often, simply because it has the best tasting Turkish food we've had for a long time, and that includes Berlin, Augsburg, Husum, Vienna and Sydney. The decor is suitably exotic, gaudy and colourful, and that simply enhances the atmosphere. The menu has so many items that one wondered how the chef would even cope. 

Chicken and lamb kebabs
with fries, rice and vegetables.
Just delectable!

We were the first customers and got our meal pretty quickly, and the chicken and lamb kebab with rice dish - served with two sauces (one cold tomato-based and the other creamy) - was simply delicious. The lentil soup was complimentary, and that certainly whetted our appetite.

Sauces and lentil soup

Beef pide - just excellent!

We also ordered a beef pide - an oven-baked flat bread with toppings like a pizza, and that too was excellent. It used goat cheese, and one could taste the difference. To wash it all down was authentic Turkish mint tea served in a gleaming tea pot - no tea bags but leaves still on their stems. Simply the best tea we've had, and in addition we were also served iced hibiscus yoghurt tea on the house, which was totally refreshing. We thank the boss Max and chef Arkadas for their hospitality, and we will be back before they even know it!

Turkish mint tea
served in the traditional way.

Turkish mint tea
& Hibiscus yoghurt tea

ARAB STREET TURKISH RESTAURANT
Block 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-38
Singapore 120106

restaurant arab street turkish & western (@arabstreetturkishwestern) • Instagram photos and videos