Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Travel Dixon Street to Kiroran Silk Road Uygur

There are at least three different  Uygur (or Uighur) restaurants at the northern end of Chinatown's Dixon Street, each similar but with slight differences in appearance and menu subtleties.

It was actually a tweet from Neil Perry that confirmed the name of the restaurant for me a few weeks after I'd eaten there, as the carpet wall hangings, red tablecloths and extreme yellow light were quite unforgettable.

Cucumber with Uygur garlic sauce from Kiroran Silk Road Uygur, Dixon Street, Haymarket
The group order for “20 lamb skewers, please” forced me to the salad and vegetable options pretty hastily, starting with the cucumber salad smothered with a Uygur garlic sauce. It was crunchy and refreshing in a garlicky way; the pungency of which didn't remain on the palate too long.

Braised eggplant with capsicum
There was unanimous agreement on the spicy eggplant dish with capsicum and onion, although it probably was not as healthy as the mere presence of a vegetable might imply.

Most likely deep fried before being smothered in a very mildly spicy brown sauce, the eggplant was comfortingly delicious. Steamed rice would have been perfect but the Turkish style bread more than sufficed as a carbohydrate side.

Chicken hot pot with hand-made noodles, potato and chilli
Faced with the decision of a small or large serve of the chicken hot pot, we thought just two vegetable dishes, in addition to the 20 skewers, between six people would have warranted the large hot pot.

As it turned out, the large was pretty big. The huge flying saucer of a dish was filled to the brim with bone-in chicken pieces, potato chunks and countless whole dried chillies. Submerged beneath the fiery red sauce were flat, thick handmade noodles of a most chewy, al dente texture.

The noodles softened as they soaked in the red chilli sauce, picking up all the flavour and chilli heat – of which there was plenty. The earlier cucumber salad played saviour to our burning tastebuds, as did the BYO wine (no corkage!).

Lamb skewers
But for the feature, and what we were really here for, 10 lamb skewers to a plate – one normal and the other spicy. After the catch-in-your-throat spice of the chicken, I decided to stick with the milder lamb skewer option which was generously covered in cumin and other spices.

Carefully removing the lamb from the not-too-sharp metal skewers, it was impressively tender with a bit of necessary fat and so much fantastic flavour. Any gaminess in the meat was hidden beneath the cloak of spices which itself was a marvel of flavours.

We managed to finish most everything on the table and get away at a very reasonable price per head. While I'm not sure I can tell the difference between Kiroran Silk Road Uygur and the other Uighur restaurants at the same end of Dixon Street, I can tell they're worth the travel, especially if it's good enough for Mr. Bourdain.

Kiroran on Urbanspoon

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Veggies are def needed when you are feasting with 30 lamb skewers. Never tried this place before, will need to check it out one Fri along with the markets.

Unknown said...

20**

Mel said...

Drooling! The lamb skewers look fantastic...and I love love love a garlic cucumber salad. My perfect meal really.

Jasmin said...

Well, Anthony Bourdain is certainly a high recommendation. That hotpot looks amazing.
I can't wait to try this place.

Dee@foodinhand said...

Oh! We always go to the downstairs one with plastic tables and fake grape vines. Need to try the other two and not be such a conservative eater.

hungrylady said...

This is the best restaurant I have ever been to! It is so tasty I dream about it every day. I travel all the way from Baulklham Hills to the city just to eat here. i have eaten here multiple times and the food has always been excellent. The ambiance and interior design isn't 5 star but the taste of the food definitely makes up for it.
my favourite dishes are the beef tendon, lamb dish served with tradition ugyur bread, friend lamb, land skewers and i can't remember the names of the rest.
The waiters are friendly and diligent. I would not eat any other place.

muppy said...

what a feast, looks amazing :) i have no idea where to even begin when in chinatown....

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

It's definitely Uighur food weather tonight! Good to hear that the lamb skewers are tender too :)

Vivian - vxdollface said...

I hope this was shared between a large group of people cause that is a lot of food! ohhh I had to google what/where uyghur was, I only know the chinese for it as xinjiang! Interesting dishes, reminds me of rocky mountains for some reason o_O

Tina said...

Hi Food is our religion - Ooh, best do separately from markets; unless you can eat plenty at both!

Hi Miss Piggy - Really? I think my perfect meal might well include that eggplant :P

Hi Jasmin - Sure is. Would have loved to have been dining there at the same time...

Hi Dee - I honestly get them all mixed up and can only differentiate by decor - here rugs on the wall and REALLY yellow lighting.

Hi hungrylady - Find it hard to believe you don't eat elsewhere... but sure.

Hi muppy - This might be a good start then! I believe some of the other Uighur restaurants have picture menus, if that's less daunting? (feel free to Tweet for help next time too!)

Hi Vivian - Haha, yep, 6 people.

john@heneedsfood said...

I can never get enough of those juicy skewers of meat at Uygur restaurants. Will have to give this one a go sometime!

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

Only ever tried Uighur cuisine once and it's the lamb skewers which I remember, with their cumin spiciness and being stabbed on what looked like swords!

rockahenry said...

Hey I love love this place. I find that the skewers here are abit less fatty/ muttony then the skewers from downstairs and the restaurant itself is just more inviting, espescially with a few bottles of red. nice choice with the eggplant too, they are indeed awesome. try the 'meat pies' next time, theyre also pretty good!

Tina said...

Hi John - It's all about the lamb skewers ;)

Hi Rita - Yep, that's what it is all about. I reckon Uighur can easily be a regular casual weekday kinda meal.

Hi rockahenry - The meat pies sound real interesting... I think I may have tried them previously at the one downstairs.

Cheap flights to Sydney said...

Alone I wander a thousand miles,
and I ask my way from the white clouds.

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