Kebab worth a try
Modern cities are built upon the backs of hard-working immigrants. Scratch the surface of any major metropolis and you’ll find hundreds, sometimes thousands, of stories of people, driven by dreams, who packed up their lives and crossed oceans and borders to start new lives. Too often, we look down upon these new arrivals. But their determination, their aspirations, their perseverance, and their strength are often the foundations upon which the cities we live in are built.
Suat and Safak, brothers, and Mehmet, their uncle, moved to Singapore from Antalya, Turkey, in February this year. It wasn’t their first trip here though. They’ve been visiting Singapore annually since 2001. Having fallen in love with the tropical island-nation over the past half-decade, they came here hoping to open a successful Turkish restaurant. Once here though, the three relatives had a hard time finding an affordable and centrally-located space for their dream restaurant. They eventually settled on a small space in Peace Centre and instead of offering the full compliment of foods that Mehmet, an experienced chef, could create, decided instead to start small.
from left to right: Mehmet, Safak and Suat
Sultan Kebab opened in June 2006. They offer a tiny but well-executed (fast-food) menu. There are only 4 kebab-based items, each available with either chicken or beef. Choose between a sandwich, a roll, a rice with meat dish, or an iskender kebab (which is meat basted in tomato sauce and slathered with melted butter and yogurt). The dishes are also extremely reasonable; the sandwiches and rolls are S$5 each, the rice and meat dishes are S$7, and the iskender kebabs are just S$7.50.
S and I first tried the kebab rolls here about a month ago. Since then, we’ve become big fans of Sultan Kebab. I am especially impressed that the ingredients here are fresh. Sadly, many kebab places around the world use factory-made and processed hunks of meat. At Sultan Kebab, however, Mehmet prepares his kebabs daily. I’ve watched him make them, transfering good-looking and freshly-marinated cuts of chicken and beef onto his skewers.
If you’re looking for a good, quick and affordable bite (and are kind of sick of hitting BK or MickeyD’s) then swing over to Sultan Kebab. The guys are really friendly and are well worth your support. Right now, they are over here on their own. They hope that in a year or so, they can afford to bring over some more family members. And if Sultan Kebab is a success, they still plan to open up a gorgeous, gourmet restaurant. I hope they achieve their goal. I’d love to see what else Mehmet can do in a kitchen.
Sultan Kebab
1 Sophia Road
#01-15 Peace Centre
Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 8750
Open daily from 11am until, as Safak says, “the meat runs out”
About Aun Koh
Aun has always loved food and travel, passions passed down to him from his parents. This foundation, plus a background in media, pushed him to start Chubby Hubby in 2005. He loves that this site allows him to write about the things he adores--food, style, travel, his wife and his three kids!
Nice way to lead into your post. In Australia, as you’ve probably heard in your media, we have ongoing debates about immigration, and there’s an insidious undercurrent of racism here (which our Prime Minister does nothing to counter with strong leadership). Yet I often think that if immigrants’ stories could be heard more frequently, there’d be so much more appreciation for them and their contribution.
You are genuinely fortunate if you have found a good kebab cafe. Locally produce and traditional methods provides a fabulous alternative to fast-food-nation takeaways. I say if you find a good kebab cafe – give up the fast food chains entirely!
definitely dropping by very soon. great post.
Oh have you tried Dharma’s Kebabs at Boat Quay? I heard its one of the best too in Singapore. I kinda missed the kebabs in Australia where kebabs are like prata; supper food! =D
Have yet to find really good kebabs here, thanks for the tip! Authentic definitely deserves support.
brenda
does it come with the yoghurt-type sauce? shawarma is one of my comfort foods. locally meaning Manila to me, there’s a restaurant chain called Cafe Mediterranean that serves up some affordable, delicious and generous food.
Will have to put this on my list for the next visit to Singapore. This is the kind of family who you want to support: people who work hard to bring the very best product they can to market. Thank you for sharing their story.
Glad you discovered this place. The moment we set our eyes on the restaurant, we knew it was the real stuff, straight off the plane from Turkey. The Iskender kebab is fantastic too.
Danielle
True! Love their kebabs and I had been their regular customer since the first time they open the place 🙂
Very nice kebabs,good value. Meat is well marinated and the wrap is hot and crispy. Will be one of my faviourite place.
wow .. after reading ur reviews I deliberately went by just to grab a bite … I must say it tastes really good … now I have one more food to look forward to whenever i pass by that area
I also saw them preparing the meat … most probably cause the beef was running out … so u can tell their meat was really made on the spot ..
Just tried it yesterday afternoon. They had run out of beef by then! But the Chicken Iskender and Chicken roll were excellent.
I went down to try the wraps after reading your blog. It was really good, like you said the meats are well marinated. Thanks for the tip.