Traditional Adana kebab in Melbourne

Is it the best kebab in Melbourne? Well, surely it is the best I have tried.

I have eaten a fair amount of kebabs over the year. One or two good ones, and a dozen more bad quality crap. Having a husband who loves kebab, it is only natural that I venture myself to have more of those tasty grilled meat (I have no intention of making these at home, however).

If you are not in a sober state, you will know it when tasting a good kebab. I surely did last Saturday. The first time to try Adana kebab, and I know why it even gets a protected Geographical Indication under the Turkish patent office. Surely, it is tasty.

I got lucky, really, to sample the kebab cooked by someone from Adana, Turkey. He used to help out in a famous kebab restaurant in Turkey as a child. Now grown up and migrated to Australia, he bought with him all the traditional equipments to make Adana kebab. Talking about passion for food, right?

Adana kebab was made from minced lamb and lamb fat, mixed with lots of red pepper flakes. The mince was form into a long log, moulded over special skewers and cooked over hot charcoal. As the meat releases its juice and fat), a piece of bread was used to mop up all that tasty goodness. No flavour was lost.

On the charcoal, there were also small peppers. They looked like the sweet varieties, but be warned, some could be extra hot! Tomatoes were also grilled alongside. When the meat was cooked, it was placed on the piece of bread already flavoured with the juice from the grilled meat. Extra stuff included: grilled peppers (hot!), sliced Spanish onions which had been generously sprinkled with sumac, shredded lettuce, mint and parsley. Just wrapped everything up with the bread, and we had the tastiest package. Oh, extra pepper flakes were offered for those who loved spicy food.

Aside from the food, there was this excitement in the air. Since the charcoal was cooked outside in open air, it felt as though we were enjoying food from a street vendor. And you know what, from experience, street food is the best stuff. And it is!

My friend, another guy from Adana, said that this was as close to traditional Adana kebab as we could get in Australia. I am not sure if they will continue to offer this. It is scheduled to be available for Saturday dinner, starting around 6pm. The location is a bit far out, but well-worth the effort if you like grilled meat. Before planning anything, make sure to give these guys a call to make sure the “kebab event” is still on!

The boring bit: There is no commission associated with this post. It reflects personal experience only.