• ABOUT
  • ADVERTISE
  • SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
  • WORK
Monday, March 1, 2021
Shanghaiist
8 °c
Shanghai
7 ° Sat
6 ° Sun
6 ° Mon
5 ° Tue
5 ° Wed
9 ° Thu
  • NEWS

    The “world’s tallest swing” is now open in Chongqing and it looks absolutely terrifying

    Kid falls from second story while imitating Kobe Bryant’s fadeaway

    Guy wearing police uniform for “safety” pulled over by highway cops

    Dalian to test 190,000 residents after 3 new confirmed cases are reported

    One-legged Chinese baller inspires others with his hard work and three-point shot

    Chinese courier company caught using mannequins as security inspectors

    China opens another world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge in Guangdong province

    3-year-old girl and her grandma beaten with shovel in horrific “revenge” attack

    Workers spotted burning documents as US orders China to close its Houston consulate

    LOOK: Massive landslide blocks river in Hubei province

    IKEA to open new downtown location in Shanghai this week

    Hunan bus drivers block road to pass bag of betel nuts across opposite lanes

    Jilin driver delayed by 20 minutes by wild Siberian tiger relaxing on the road

    6-year-old boy drowns to death during first swimming lesson at public pool

    Neighbor smoothly catches toddler falling from 5th floor

    Dude spotted chillaxing on self-made raft on river in Chongqing during flood season

    Shanghai dude gets part of ear bitten off while stopping drunk guy from assaulting woman

    Woman mysteriously disappears from home in Hangzhou, leaving behind no trace

    Two women get stuck in elevator at home for 4 days, drink their own urine to stay alive

    Urumqi goes on lockdown as fears rise of a new coronavirus outbreak in Xinjiang

  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO

    WATCH: Colorized footage of life in Beijing a century ago

    Hunan high school turns gym into cafeteria to keep students separated

    Kung fu school reopens teaching students how to swing bricks from their balls

    Dancing aunties and uncles return to Wuhan sidewalks

    Xi Jinping actually made a joke!

    Shanghai dad builds Death Stranding like safety pod to protect baby from coronavirus

    Tag along on food tour of Lanzhou, the hometown of hand-pulled noodles

    Man smashes bus window, jumps out after being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes

    Scooter driver somehow survives being squashed by massive panes of glass

    How students at a Xuzhou primary school have taken jump rope to the next level

    How this Chinese martial arts master “jumps on water”

    Bringing your date to your studio apartment of great shame

    Male designer loses 25 kg, goes viral modeling women’s clothing

    Take a look inside Taiwan’s “most luxurious university dormitories”

    Racers take the stairs in 119-floor vertical marathon up the Shanghai Tower

    Meet China’s captivating “roly-poly girl” who defies gravity with a smile

    Awful Chinese propaganda rappers take on Hong Kong protests, sample Trump

    Trying the food at a Chinese Muslim wedding in Kaifeng

    What it’s like visiting home after living in China

    Watch this Chinese teen jump rope 228 times in just 30 seconds

  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
  • ★ BE A PATRON
    • ★ DONATE
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result

Garlic: Appetizers steal the show at this upscale Turkish joint

by shang_sueanne
May 5, 2018
in Food

garliclamb.jpg The newest occupant of the unassuming intersection at Yongjia Lu and Anting Lu, Garlic pitches itself as an upmarket Turkish joint serving your traditional kebabs, pittas, yogurts, etc., in a white-linen setting.
Decor
Without romanticizing too much, happening upon Garlic in the middle of that dim, hushed strip of Yongjia Lu really does feel like riding up on a luminous palace that rises up from a desert night-scape. It’s massive, white, glowing with light, and eerily quiet, even when crowded. Inside, you’re greeted by staff members who seem cut from the same cloth as the restaurant – white-garbed, statue-stiff, and speaking only in cordial nods, almost as if they detached from a stone column to take your order. We’ll admit it, it was a welcome breather after a month of nothing but yappy Shanghai restaurant ambience (bless its heart).
Food
Starters consist of flatbreads fresh from a stone oven, homemade yogurts, salads (but actually interesting ones like octopus), imported goat cheese, and other traditional Turkish bites. We sampled the home-made cacik (45RMB), an island of gloppy yogurt filtered with mint and and drizzled with olive oil. With the first dollop on a piece of flatbread, its sour creaminess kicked us in the fillings of our molars, coaxing out geysers of saliva, and prompting us to order enough pitta to dam a river with. It was one of those rare dishes that bridges the gap between rich and palate-cleansing – definitely the highlight of the night. We also recommend the muhammara (68RMB) a pitta dip with aleppo peppers, garlic, walnuts and bread crumbs, that tingles with spice.
Garlic unfortunately faltered when we ordered our main. The grilled lamb skewers atop mashed eggplant plate (130RMB) was a schizophrenic pile of fat-less overcooked lamb (it could’ve been any meat), mushy eggplant, and other jumbled gloop. It tasted especially muddled when compared to the distinct personalities of the yogurt and muhammara. We have heard good things about other mains like the pan-fried lamb brain with porcini (68RMB), but overall the starter menu features far more enticing fare.
The drink selection, on the other hand, proves one of Garlic’s strongest assets, with an exclusively Turkish wine list (glasses start from 45RMB, bottles from 180RMB), fresh-squeezed juices (around 45RMB), cocktails (65RMB), and bottles of Efes, a Turkish beer (35RMB).
Final thoughts
garlic.jpg For us, Garlic feels like a movie that hooks you with its promising plot and larger-than-life characters but then succumbs to a slightly disappointing payoff. You’re best off piecing together a meal from the scrumptious starters.
Garlic – 698 Yongjia Lu, near Anting Lu (永嘉路698号, 近安亭路). Tel: (0)21-5424-3332. Hours: 11am-11.30pm daily.
See a complete list of our reviews here.
Benjamin Cost is Shanghaiist’s Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news updates on Shanghai’s dining scene to [email protected].


Follow @ShanghaiistFood

Share this:

  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Print
Shanghaiist

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Be a Patron
  • Join the Community
  • List Your Event
  • Be a Venue Partner
  • Submit a Gallery
  • Work with us
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
  • ★ BE A PATRON
    • ★ DONATE

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!