PETALING JAYA, March 5 — Hidden in Jaya Shopping Centre, up on the third floor, you will find Avokebab.
The cafe serves Turkish inspired meals where some dishes include a healthy twist, using avocado.
Despite its obscure location, diners have sniffed them out as there are patrons for weekday and weekend lunch time.
The attraction here is solid, tasty and accessible fare that one can happily eat on a regular basis, making it perfect for those who work or live nearby.
On almost every table, you can spot their doner kebab or mandy rice, signalling their popularity.
The Chicken Doner Kebab (RM15.90) is the perfect fast food for those short on time, especially when it’s a mid-day break from the office.
Essentially a street food in Turkey, here the doner kebab is served with fries and a chilli sauce for dipping, making it a complete meal.
The wrap uses thin flatbread, layered with a creamy garlic sauce, fresh lettuce and is loaded with juicy grilled chicken strips.
That garlic flavour is present but not obstrusively so to cause you to be labelled a vampire killer by your colleagues. .
Having just tasted another doner kebab in town, this version won hands down, purely due to a combination of the rich spices with that smooth sauce.
I usually ignore chilli sauce with my fries but this one was different.
It’s a blend of two types of sauces with a touch of spices that you.just cannot stop eating. If they bottled it to sell, I would definitely add it to my pantry.
There’s five other varieties of doner kebabs, including beef, lamb, and falafel for vegetarians. If you’re undecided over chicken or beef, there’s also a mix of both proteins. .
Mandy Lamb (RM35) is worth ordering for its fluffy, fragrant Mediterranean basmati rice served with a bowl of the six hours slow cooked New Zealand lamb shoulder served with a broth.
The huge chunks of meat fall apart at the prod of a fork, letting you enjoy the softness and meaty flavours. Inside the bowl, there’s potatoes and carrots too.
The lamb broth is packed with spices, including those that warm your belly as you drink it up.
What binds the whole dish together is the tomato sauce. It’s zingy with some heat from the chillies with a touch of garlic and coriander leaves.
Fret not if lamb is not your choice of protein as the same fluffy rice can be ordered with a smokey chicken (RM14.90) or a crispy spicy chicken (RM19.90), that is popular with their regulars.
For those seeking more protein, the Shish Tawook (RM29.90) will be ideal as it’s three skewers of tender chicken, lightly marinated with spices.
In comparison to the doner kebab, this version is lighter on the spices but it wins with its texture as the meat is moist, even though it’s been grilled.
Flatbread cut into small pieces can be used to build a small wrap with the garlic sauce, sliced onions and grilled tomato. They have also thrown in fries too, making it a very substantial meal.
There’s also a whole green chilli – charred from the fire – giving you a hit of spiciness.
These grilled skewers can also be ordered with beef or lamb too.
For sharing, order the pide or their boat shaped pizza, filled with different toppings. There’s even a Hawaiian Chicken version.
Avokebab Signature Pide (RM32) uses doner chicken and beef as a topping with chopped capsicum and black olives. There are also cubes of avocado sprinkled on top.
The dough of the pide is soft, resembling bread. As you bite into it, you will find oozing melted cheese inside the folds mingling with tomato sauce.
It’s a decadent bite, great for a pick-me-up after a bad work day. While it needed a more generous sprinkle of toppings to tip it to greatness, one just can’t say no to melted, stringy cheese.
There’s more on the menu that deserves another trek upstairs, like their sizzling hot plate dishes.
Apparently for an Iskender Turkish dish, one selects a protein and it’s cooked with their Turkish tomato sauce and a poached egg. You sweep up all that deliciousness with rice or sourdough bread.
Avocado finds its way into the menu, like their fattoush salad, falafel vegetarian bowl and various other salads. It’s also paired with hummus and given a sinful deep fried treatment, to be enjoyed with fries.
Or you can try it blended into a creamy Avocado with Kurma Dates (RM15.90) smoothie that wasn’t overly sweet. There’s a whole range of smoothies including one with macchiato and matcha. It’s also been transformed into ice cream too.
Sweet treats like kunafa and cakes at their chiller are served too. If time is on your side, it takes 20 minutes to prepare the Classic Pistachio Kunafa (RM25).
Your reward will be a golden, crispy wonder with a layer of cheese inside it. Even though it’s doused in syrup, it’s not too sweet, the barometer of what is deemed as “good” by most diners when it comes to desserts.
During Ramadan, business continues like normal.
They will be running a Turkish buffet spread from Friday to Sunday, featuring over 18 items of food and desserts. It’s RM118 per person, while children aged nine years and below will be charged RM59 per person.
Reservations can be made by contacting Avokebab at 011-63101838.
Avokebab, L3-10,
Level 3, Jaya Shopping Centre,
Jalan 14/17,
Petaling Jaya.
Open daily: 10am to 10pm.
Tel:011-63101838.
Facebook: @avokebab
Instagram: @avokebab
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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