Kiroran. A Uygur Restaurant

When la chouquette sucrée suggested by email one day that the yummers should try a Uygur restaurant I was kinda confused. Staring at the word on my computer screen I slowly tried to pronounce the word. Much to the discomfort of my fellow work mates it came out sounding like Uhhhhiguuuarrrrh. The COO of the company sticks his head over the divider, concerned that I may be passing a kidney stone. Luckily he had eaten this type of food before and ensured me it was pronounced wee-goor. I was thankful for that because the way I was saying it I thought it may be the sound you would make on the toilet the day after eating said food.  

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.