Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Kiroran. A Uygur Restaurant

When

Kiroran, one of a couple of Uygur restaurants on the much forgotten side of Dixon street, probably the restaurant I would have chosen if just walking by because they had a picture of a entire cooked lamb in their front window.

Whole friggin cooked lamb! Nice.

Unfortunately the menu said a days notice is required to order the whole lamb so sorry folks, not this time. I'm not sure if that was a typo on the menu but if they can prepare an entire lamb on a days notice....respect.I would give them a few more days notice just to avoid disappointment.




After taking a minute to accept the fact there will be no whole tandoori lamb this night, we focus on the other delicacies on offer.



Achik Yangyu Kormisi - Stir Fried Shredded Potato $10
 M.S Glutamate said the last restaurant he ordered this dish at a bowl of french fries came to the table. That sounded great to the rest of us so we ordered it. What came out was probably more true to traditional Uygur cuisine, the dish was crunchy, spicy and moreish.  

Samsak Tamlik - Cucumber w Uygur Garlic Sauce $6
Four words describe this dish. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow (oops minus that last wow it just popped out). Intense garlic sauce, you'll be wanting to stock up on breath mints before tackling this one. But even if you don't, it's worth people taking a step back from you for the rest of the night.  

Naan Bread
More like Turkish bread than the Indian style naan bread, it would have been nicer if it was served warm, but it was chewy (in a good way) and perfect for soaking up the sauces from the other dishes.  

Koy Tih - Lambs Tongue w Special Uygur Sauce $8
My dish of the night. I think things like tripe came out of times of necessity where nothing was wasted. And the thinking must have been 'if we are going to eat these things, we better make them really really tasty'. 

Served cold, it's great once you can overcome the imagery of French kissing a woolly farm animal. (Anyone seen the movie Black Sheep?)


Naren - Traditional Uygur Lamb w Handmade Noodles $12
A hearty soup based noodle dish that the tongs it came with didn't do justice to. Nor did the fact that we only had plates which aren't great at holding soup (I now know from experience). Thus improvising, we give you the Naren Cup-a-Soup.

Naren Cup-a-Soup
One of the few dishes that wasn't blow your brains out hot. Though some at the table were grateful for this reprieve from the chilli, I thought it was lacking in flavour compared to everything else. Winner for this dish were the handmade noodles. 


Kanap - Boneless BBQ Lamb $10
So this is the dish that everyone comes for. As the COO quipped about his experience 'I don't think I ordered any and they just give it to me anyway.' Flavour was outstanding, but it was a bit of a lucky dip on whether you got a nice juicy tender piece of meat or a well seasoned bit of gristle.


Koriga Kanap - BBQ Lamb on the bone $12
Same as above put bigger.....and with bones. Be prepared to use your fingers and BYO extra napkins cause there are no knives provided for dainty carving of meat from the bones. 

Gosh Nan - Seasoned Lamb Mince in Uygur Pastry $10
Crispy pastry containing lamb mince and cabbage. Like a spring roll in pie form. Another one for the chilli challenged.  



Pentozu Toho Mann - Chicken and Handmade Noodles in Traditional Spicy Uygur Sauce, Large $25
Like the Naren on spice steroids, this one was a favourite too. There's something about creating a soup with bones and then sucking all the meat broth off the bones along with the tender chicken pieces which I find satisfying.

So in the end the yummers left with full bellies and smiles on their faces. It was a good effort from all to tackle the amount of food we were given. Props to Uygur cuisine which takes familar flavours and dishes and adds a heck of a lot of chilli to it.


P.s. sorry to whoever found the semi macerated gristle I left in my napkin. It was one of those awkward moments where I wished there was a hungry dog under the table I could have fed it to.

10 comments:

  1. It was a good night out - and rare that it cost us so little too. I happen to be chili handicapped, and it's amazing how bland the garlicky cucumber was after all that chili .. I even thought it was kinda refreshing! :)

    We'll have to work out another mass blog gathering soon!

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  2. Ahh yes Uighur cuisine is perfect for Winter isn't it! And I had to chuckle at your last comment too! Too funny! :P

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  3. Mmmm that garlic sauce was something special and I'm craving Kanap now. Can't wait for the next yummer meal :D

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  4. I was lucky and didn't get any gristle but that bbq lamb was the best tasting lamb I've had in a long time! I could happily just eat that and the garlic cucumber all night! The noodles were good too!

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  5. I think I got all the gristle that night! But what great tasting gristle it was - the spices and smokey charcoal flavour was delicious. $17 each for the entire meal didn't hurt either!

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  6. La CS: It's a good thing I started with the garlic cucumber so my taste buds weren't numbed by the chilli yet.

    NQN: Definitely perfect for winter, really lights a fire in your belly.

    Shanks: Reckon it's worth trying to make ourselves? We can add even MORE garlic. =)

    Yaya: Throw in a plate of that shredded spicy potato and it's the perfect meal.

    M.S.G: Thanks for reminding me, I forgot how heavy my wallet still was after that dinner! $17pp for all that food, where else can you do that!

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  7. Love Uygur food.. there used to be one with frontage on Chinatown but it seemed to have disappeared... good to know there is another one we can try!

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  8. Hi Lobo - I've really gotton into the Uighar / NE China / Muslim chinese food. There's some near the UTS end of Chinatown too. You can tell by the fake grapes on the ceiling. Great value they are - let me know if you want to go anytime! -tash

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  9. Thangblog: It's a shame that the one in Chinatown is gone. Luckily we still have other Uygur places in Sydney, it's a cuisine worth supporting.

    Tash: Yeah I never understood the fake grapes. Use real grapes and when they go moldy make a Botrytis I say! Don't know what the health board would say about moldy grapes on the ceiling though..

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  10. I suspect that the combination of garlic and chilli helped to kill the bacteria that was ailing my gut that night. After weeks of feeling not that well, including that night at dinner, the next day I woke up feeling a lot better. Not that they need the publicity - they certainly seemed busy enough - but it could be a good marketing angle ... :D

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