"We’re lucky to have the best of the world's cuisine in Sydney. Yet most often when we try a new cuisine, we don’t learn much about the food or the culture. We believe discovering a new cuisine should be a unique experience. Social Dinner Club is here to create this experience."
I totally agree, we DO have the best of the world's cuisine, and as soon as I read more about the Social Dinner Club, I decided that I liked the idea of trying a cuisine with some like-minded people, and learning a bit more about the culture and background behind the dishes.
The Social Dinner Club is the brainchild of Cenk Baban, an online marketing specialist (amongst other things) with a passion for food and social networking. At least once a month members meet up at a restaurant that epitomises a chosen cuisine in an attempt to understand what, exactly, they're eating.
The next meetup was at Efendy in Balmain, with a focus on Turkish Meyhane, which for me was sort of killing two birds with one stone because I'd been wanting to go here for AGES, and I'd always been interested in different drinking cultures. For $55 we were offered a set menu of traditional Turkish food, and a special guest speaker and the head chef were to give short speeches about Turkish culture and cuisine. There was also the opportunity of meeting new people with a passion for food, a definite bonus.
We crossed the courtyard and entered the building, and we were led upstairs to where about 30 other people were mingling over wine. It was a bit intimidating, being in a room full of people we'd never met before, but we were greeted warmly by Cenk and when we were seated, some ice-breaking games were organised so that we had a chance to get to know each other a little better. He also gave us a little background on the Club: This was the third meetup, the first being at an Argentinean restaurant and the second French. Soon enough, food was served.
Yeni Raki - $7.00 for 30mL
Raki, or 'Lion's Milk', is almost the National Drink of Turkey. It's distilled twice from Suma grapes and flavoured with aniseed, and the aroma is very similar to Ouzo. It's normally diluted with cold water at a ratio of at least 1:1, and it louches much like absinthe to a milky white. It's served in glasses that come with a nifty little metal trough that is filled with ice to keep the drink refreshingly cold.
Homemade Mini Pide Bread
Our first course was rustically presented on a wooden breadboard. The mini pide was a warm, soft bundle of comfort food that was enhanced and complimented by the Zahtar spice mix and olive oil. The sumac, thyme, and oregano in the mixture really stood out in this dish, and the olive oil was mild enough that the flavour didn't clash with the spices.
Zahtar Mix with Ayvalik Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mingling!
Shortly after the bread arrived, we started our ice breaking games. I was hard put to leave the delicious bread, but thought I should make an effort for the sake of friendly relations. We learned a lot about the people on our table, including why they love Sydney, where they hail from, their favourite cuisine, and where they travelled. We immediately felt more comfortable, and after about 15 minutes we got back to the serious business of eating.
Author Leanne Kitchen and Organisor Cenk Baban
Our guest speaker, Leanne Kitchen, was introduced to us at this point; she had recently written a cook book based on her trip to Turkey in 2009, and she spent 10 minutes guiding us through her experiences. First she explained that Turkey is surrounded by 8 countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria), and is the point in which Asia and Europe meet. Such a melting pot of cultures is bound to have interesting effects on the cuisine, and Leanne did touch on how varied it is. She informed us that in Turkey, there is still a huge reliance on the seasons in terms of how and what they eat, and that there is much regional diversity because of the climatic differences across the country. Leanne did talk about some of her individual experiences, such as watching women preserve great containers full of tomato paste in the Autumn, and she listed some of the produce that is surprisingly native to Turkey, such as hazelnuts and certain legumes and wheats, but she acknowledged that she had only really scratched the surface in her travels and that Turkey has such a varied and complex culture. She finished with: "It is quite an incredible food culture, I hope they can hang on to it, they don't really realise what they've got, and I fear that they don't actually grasp it, and protect all the wood-fired bakeries (etc) - as their wages increase and all that... they might lose some of it - they're quite laid back about what they've got."
Red Lentil and Tomato Ezogelin Soup
This is a traditional soup that is often fed to Turkish brides to fortify them for what lies ahead, and it's definitely a substantial dish. The spicy tomato, paprika and pepper mixture is given body and substance by the red lentil and bulgur; mint and a squeeze of lemon juice give the soup some freshness and vibrancy.
Smoked Baby Eggplant Salad
This salad was not what I was expecting, but it was delicious nonetheless. Chef Somer later explained that the smoky flavour was achieved by smoking the eggplant whole, without punctures, over a low flame, rotating it the whole time to get a light smokiness until the skin is black. The eggplant is then peeled and chopped finely. The salad was studded with bits of capsicum, and dressed with sweet pomegranate and balsamic vinegar.
Zucchini Puffs with Garlic and Mint Yoghurt
The zucchini puffs were like croquettes, except not quite as crispy on the outside. It was filled with a zucchini mash, and the contrasting flavours of the mint yoghurt and garlic were really quite interesting, but surprisingly went really well together.
Owner and Chef Somer Sivrioglu
Chef Somer came out after the Zucchini Puffs were served, and he spoke more about how the type of cuisine really was subject to region: "three quarters of the land (near Europe) is covered by water, and contrary to popular belief Turkish food has lots of seafood influence, especially in the different regions. For example, the Black Sea region on the top is quite cold... so they have their version of fish, which is Hamsi, which is a type of sardine, and they make hundreds and hundreds or recipes with that... and some quite controversial dishes like Hamsi jam, Hamsi dessert. Don't worry, we're not serving any of them," he joked. "So many Australians compare Black Sea to Tasmania, for two reasons - one of them's obvious: we think exactly what you think about Tasmanians about the Black Sea... But the more important thing is it's where the fresh produce comes from," he said amongst much laughter and one half-hearted protest from someone who came from Tas.
Shredded Pastry-Wrapped King Prawns with Capsicum Muhammara
"The South-East Anatolia of Turkey is very much influenced by all of the Middle Eastern region, so if you go there you'll see lots of kebabs, lots of lamb dishes, and lots of bulgur (that's cracked wheat) and lots of dry vegetables, legumes like beans and lentils... They also are the capital of the baklava..." and at this, the Turkish man at our table argued that baklava was greek, which just goes to show how much influences Turkish food.
"Then when you come to the Mediterranean region - and that's one region that doesn't have as much dominance into the whole Turkish food culture... Because it's very hot it's very much fresh food driven, not too heavy, they don't use much butter, they use more olive oil, and they generally eat very lightly," he continued.
"Then you come to the Aegean Sea, and that area is the main reason why everyone confuses Turkish cuisine with Greek cuisine, because it's pretty much exactly the same. Mind you, the Turkish cuisine is a collaboration of all the culinary land the Ottoman empire conquered at that time... And that's why there are so many similarities from so many regions, even North Africa, Middle East, Greece, other Balkan countries, Bulgaria, Romania, there are a lot of similarities."
Pastirma and Kashar Cheese Borek
"... The Central Anatolia is pretty much the... capital of Turkey when it comes to baking. It's quite a harsh climate, so they have lots of fat in their diet, a lot of flour.
"And finally, where my city Istanbul is, is the Marmara region, is a bit like the Aegean region, very olive oil driven, and I guess the most multicultural food in Turkey... Most of the meze stuff is from Istanbul... Non-muslim Turks during the Ottoman Empire who were allowed to have alcohol (the term "to sell alcohol", we call that Meyhane), they pretty much created these dishes.
"So as you can see it's very hard to explain Turkish cuisine very shortly... I could talk about this all day."
He then gave us a brief speech on the Meyhane culture, stating that although some people call it the "Turkish Tapas", this is not an accurate description, because Meyhane is a process of eating and drinking that should take at least 3 - 5 hours. Raki is the drink most commonly consumed, and several courses of meze and other traditional Turkish foods are served as well.
Aromatic Baldo Rice with Currants and Pinenuts (1 dish between 2)
Our main course arrived, first up the aromatic baldo rice. We asked the Turkish man across from us where you can get this sort of rice, but apparently it's very hard to find in Australia. The closest rice to it would be arborio. It's flavoured with all spice, parsley, cinnamon, pepper and sugar, with the sweetness of currants and the earthy pine-nuts very apparent.
7 Hour Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder (1 plate between 2)
This dish is apparently a favourite in the restaurant, and the reason why was evident when we took the first bite. The lamb shoulder had been cooked for 7 hours, and so was fall-apart tender, so much so that we didn't need the knives provided. The crunchy bits on the top are a type of water based pastry that is brushed with feta cheese. It was accompanied by a smoked eggplant mash with kashar cheese, and was devoured completely.
Chef's Dessert Platter (shared between two)
The chef's dessert platter was massive for two people, and I think I had a bit of a sugar overload. The baklava was quite exceptional, all syrupy and crunchy and delicious; The ramekins were filled with pistachio pudding, with some stretchy Turkish ice cream and traditional persian fairy floss.
I didn't catch the name of the little round desserts covered in dessicated coconut, but they were light, deliciously so, and very sweet.
Kunefe
This was added to our menu last minute, and is a traditional dessert not found in many places in Sydney. First, flour and water are mixed into a batter, and then thin streams are drizzled onto a turning hot plate to create a sort of net. It is then rolled over some cheese (Somer uses a type of Lebanese cheese) to form a little loaf, and at the final stage of cooking a syrup that includes rosewater is drizzled over the top, and it is garnished with crushed pistachio. It was very rich, but the balance of sweet and savoury was amazing, and when it came out, a lot of people who were familiar with Turkish food cheered.
I have a feeling coming to Efendy would have been amazing anyway, but dining with the Social Dinner Club was definitely illuminating. No doubt I would have enjoyed the food dining with friends, but learning about the culture behind it, what goes into preparing it, and even meeting the chef somehow made the experience so much more enjoyable. I met a lot of really nice people of varying backgrounds with the same enthusiasm for good food that I have, and learned a lot about a culture I had previously known little of. I'm definitely looking forward to the next meetup, and also to the next time I dine at Efendy.
Efendy
79 Elliot St (Cnr Darling St)
Balmain, NSW
2041
Phone: 9810 5466
www.efendy.com.au
Social Dinner Club
http://www.meetup.com/socialdinnerclub/
Also, look out for Leanne's book Turkey: Recipes and Tales From The Road.
