Chicken Kebab Grandmother’s Potatoes 2024 definitely has been a year with many familiar names within the F&B scene expanding their operations thus far. Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap is definitely one of those names that had been frequently mentioned if one talks about the Golden Mile Food Centre; the stall being one of the few stalls serving Turkish food that had first found their footing in a local hawker centre. These folks had since expanded their operations after having been in operations at Golden Mile Food Centre at least since 2021; their second outlet seeing them move out of the hawker centre environment and into a food court in a shopping mall. This second location of Bosphorous is named as Bosphorous Legend; located in the Boleh Boleh! food court at Harbourfront Centre, the Bosphorous Legend stall takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Sedap Mee stall within the said food court and can be found situated beside the stall serving up Penang Prawn Mee. Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap is best known for their kebab offerings at Golden Mile Food Centre; while Bosphorous Legend does serve up a more limited menu here with only six items to choose from, Bosphorous Legend has not moved away from serving its core offerings — the Chicken Kebab still takes centre stage at the Harbourfront Centre location, with patrons able to choose from having it in a Cheese Roll format, or with other carb options such as butter rice, healthy salad, Turkish pasta or Grandmother’s Potatoes. The only non-kebab offering here happens to also be the only dessert being listed on the menu here — the Baklava, which is available in both single piece or in a set of five (5) pieces.
We had previously visited Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap at Golden Mile Food Centre and utterly enjoyed our visit there — items that we had tried during the visit some time back in 2023 included the Chicken Kebab with Butter Rice, which we absolutely loved. Wanting to try something different this time round, we decided to go for the Chicken Kebab Grandmother’s Potatoes; an item that is also served at their Golden Mile Food Centre which we had been eyeing on for quite some time — though it seems to be named the “Chicken Kebab with our homemade crispy potato fries”. The menu at Bosphorous Legend at Harbourfront Centre does not describe the elements included in each dish, though relying on the menu at Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap at Golden Mile Food Centre, the “Chicken Kebab with our homemade crispy potato fries” was described to come with elements such as chicken kebab, homemade crispy potato fries, seasoned salad, cherry tomato, cucumber, green chili, black olive and Turkish sauce. Going straight for the chicken kebab, we really like how that element is being executed here at Bosphorous Legend — this remained consistent through from the times when we have had it at Bopshorous Turkish & Kebap where the chicken was surprisingly tender, but came with crisp ends that came with a smoky note; we have had quite a number of chicken kebabs around but nothing had quite come close in terms of the texture achieved by Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap / Bosphorous Legend for their chicken kebab. Giving their Grandmother’s Potatoes a go, these can be described as an in-between of skin-on fries and wedges with the overall thickness being in the middle of both.
Something to be enjoyed piece-by-piece; we had tried going for a few at one go and that really made the Grandmother’s Potatoes a little salty — enjoying them one at a time made that more manageable. It is also interesting to see how they come with a soft texture rather than with a crisp exterior as with typical potato wedges; these made them a little fries-like and for some reason, goes well even when absorbed with all of the Turkish sauce that comes with a slight garlicky tang. The salad with its mix of vinaigrette provided a refreshing crunch to reset the tastebuds, but it was that tomato salsa-like condiment on the side that really upped the flavours for the dish considering how it came with a zesty hint of spiciness that really tantalises the tastebuds even for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The Chicken Kebab Cheese Roll at Bosphorous Legend at Harbourfront Centre is likely the same dish that is named “Special Roti Kebab with Cheese” at Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap at Golden Mile Food Centre — this one interestingly sees the chef flame-torching a wedge of cheese and melting a portion of it over the kebab wrap before topping it up with the chicken kebab and other elements and thereafter wrapping it right before it gets served. Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap is one location that does not really see a long queue going for it at Golden Mile Food Centre during our trips to the food centre on several occasions; that being said, they are an establishment that sees quite a loyal following that attracts those whom make special trips down to Golden Mile Food Centre just for their food. Quite glad to see them expanding with a new location, not to mention that they are able to maintain their food quality while at it. Prices of its Chicken Kebab dishes at Harbourfront Centre range are set at $9; a little more pricey than their Golden Mile location though understandably so given the air-conditioned environment. At this juncture, we would like to congratulate the folks behind Bosphorous Turkish & Kebap all the best with the opening of Bosphorous Legend, and wish them all the best in what is to come!