The Ottoman Room (Singapore)

Middle Eastern cuisine goes upscale and a tad trendy in this two month-old windowless dining room tucked behind Fat Prince café and bar (“Fat Prince) at Peck Seah Street.

Aptly named The Ottoman Room, for the “opulence of the Sultan-era feasts” and the “relics of a grand empire” that inspired it, the dim lit digs accessed via an arched hallway past the kitchen shared by both restaurants spots intricately painted wall motifs, ceiling in felt and a soft glow from a series of pulley-operated oil lamps festooned from the ceiling. Low-lying couches in burgundy and thick Turkish kilms complete the experience, as does the interesting menu of Middle Eastern-inspired food and drinks by chef Hunter Moyes, previously of Tacofino in Vancouver.

The food menu is as straightforwardly Middle Eastern as it gets: hummus, mains, sides and sweets, all neatly packed into a tiny menu with add-ons from a pushcart featuring daily-changing mezze.

From the menu, the artichoke and herbed hummus (S$9) is a must-have. Served with an assortment of soft pita bread and pita chips, the mild-tasting herbed chickpea paste is smooth and imparts a light savoury flavour that is mildly addictive.

From the pushcart, there are daily changing a la carte mezze options. Labna (S$8) drenched in thick pine tree honey with dukkah to spread on cucumber slices; muhammara (S$8, a thick paste of chargrilled red peppers and pumpkin seeds), a robust and nutty dip with cumin, coriander and other spices, to go with pita bread; salmon kibbeh naya (S$18), featuring citrus-cooked salmon with a dollop of smoked date puree to go with almond dukkah, perfect with housemade laavash crackers; and also beef manti (S$12), Turkish dumplings stuffed with beef served in herbed labna with garlic and mint.  Although a little off the hearty flavours track, the oyster with cucumber and mulberry mignonette (S$6 a piece) is also a thing of beauty.

If you prefer to make a meal completely out of these tasty mezze, no one will stop you. There are mains on the menu in case you’re still hungry although you’ll need no more than one main dish for two diners. Try the grilled barramundi fillet with labna, za’atar (a Middle Eastern herb) pesto and pine tree honey (S$32) or the apple-stuffed lamb shoulder baked in a custom built wood fired earth pit and served with ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend), sumac jus and minted pea puree (S$38). Both are wholesome protein options and well-executed, but less vibrant flavour-wise compared to the mezze.

If you’re curious about the sides, the black lentil salad (S$12) with pickled sliced chayote, grapes and pomelo, makes for an interesting sidekick if only because the boldly aromatic, almost herbal, cardamom vinaigrette is like no other you’ve had. Truth be told that cardamon can be an acquired taste and this may not please the entire table.

Given the DNA of the group that owns the eatery (think Neon Pigeon), drinks are an equally if not more important part of the equation and here, the beverage list is decidedly more adventurous with old and new world wines headlined by some previously hard-to-get Lebanese, Syrian and Moroccan wines that are slowly making their way to local restaurants. For the full Middle Eastern experience, don't miss the anis-flavoured Raki drink, Turkey’s signature alcoholic drink served diluted with chilled water, it's available on the pushcart with the mezze.