Last week, Z and I had dinner at the Kosebasi Restaurant. Can you get through a whole meal without touching your phone? What if you had left your kids behind and were on a dinner date?
We had been looking for an opportunity to take some time out for ourselves so when Kosebasi invited me to try their Phone Challenge, I couldn’t resist. All through this month, Kosebasi is promoting Friends Over Phones Challenge which is a phone stacking game where happy diners gain a chance of winning breakfast baskets if they can enjoy an entire meal without touching their phones.
Phone Challenge or not, I knew it would be fun to try and not pick up the phone when you are leaving three kids behind. Z was challenging me to not pick up my phone and ‘click a picture’ actually. ‘Ha! I’ll show him!’, I had thought.
Can you relate? We have all become so addicted to our smartphones. Not just dinner dates but everywhere we go, we see people needing to click a selfie or instantly post a picture of their meal. That is just the millennial generation; the older ones are usually catching up with work or someone else somewhere else, rather than connecting with the person in front of them. I recently saw a Facebook post of a person sitting in front of a wall eating his meal in silence. Yes, that is that it feels like when we switch on our phone and disconnect from the person in front of us. Imagine when you have kids at the table! What a bad impression we are leaving on our children!
Kosebasi Restaurant, Jeddah – Review
Kosebasi is a Turkish Grill which serves South Anatolian cuisine in a modern atmosphere. Located in Rawda district, just before the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, the place is hard to miss. We had arrived just after Maghreb to have a peaceful start on our dinner so there weren’t many people in yet.
We had a table reserved by the window with the perfect view of the outside . Inside, the décor was beautiful Ottoman art with a modern touch. There was soft Turkish music playing in the background to enjoy the fine dining experience.
We started our meal with Ezo Gelin– the Lentil and bulgur soup which was served with an assortment of starters for Mezze- Pembe Sultan (beetroot and sour cream), Abaganuus (Turkish Babaghanosh) and Dolma (Stuffed Vine leaves) with puffed Pita bread and juices.
Their pita bread was really unique as I had never tasted the Turkish version before. It was so soft yet crispy at the same time and sprinkled with sesame and black seeds.
The soup was delicious but too much in quantity. The Sultan was my favourite! It was a little tangy but creamy due to the Labneh. Z agreed it was really the best he had tasted. Their Abganuus was good too. Of course, those who know me, know very well how crazy I am about the stuffed vine leaves. I was spoilt! I think I ate a bit too much starter.
Next they brought Kusbasili Pide (Turkish Pizza made of ground meat, tomato, green peppers and garlic), Ali Nazik and Icli Kofte. I had heard a lot about how delicious these round Ickli Kofte were but I found that being a spice lover, these were a bit bland for my taste. (That or I had spoilt my palate with all that Sultan!) These Icli Kofte are minced meat-spices-onion meat balls stuffed with walnuts.
Actually, I loved the Ali Nazik more. These were tiny morsels of meat in a bed of pureed egg-plants and toasted bread.
For the main course, we had Saslik kebabs and Yogurtlu Kebab. Saslik kebab is thinly sliced beef rings which is marinated with onions and spices and grilled to juicy tenderness.
The Yogurtlu Kabab was mutton cooked in a spicy tomato gravy and then grilled. It was served on a bed of toasted bread with homemade Turkish yoghurt on the side. Both these dishes were served with fries and Kisir, which is soaked bulgur wheat cooked with peppers and spices. Both of these were good but the Saslik took our vote, hands down. It was perfect.
After our meal, the table was cleared to serve the dessert. We had Cheese Kunafa with a serving of ice cream and pistachio on top while my husband had the semolina delight Peynirli Irmik Helvasi. The Kunafa was really delicious- the combination of hot cheesy Kunafa with the melting ice cream made it irresistible. I was totally stuffed and could only have a bit, unfortunately. The cheesy semolina dessert on the other hand, was something that I had tried for the first time. It tasted somewhat like Cinnamon rolls with the sprinkling of cinnamon on top. It is hot but opens to reveal ice cream inside. That was a wonder! My husband really enjoyed this.
We finished our meal with Turkish tea for him and a Cappuccino for me.
I can’t believe hubby and I took more than two and a half hours for our dinner! It had been a long time since I had left the kids to go out with Z and we were both surprised that neither of us picked up the phone to call and find out if they were okay. Kosebasi has a Friends over Phone Challenge this month. We didn’t play the game but I know, if we had, undoubtedly we’d have been up to it! The food is really that good!
If you are looking for a Turkish place in Jeddah, then I highly recommend Kosebasi Turkish Grill. They have a casual dining atmosphere which even the children can enjoy. They also have an express section for takeaways where your order can be packed for you.
Kosebasi Restaurant has a branch at Tahlia Street in Riyadh too.
For reservations, you can contact:
- Jeddah: 012 611 2302
- Riyadh: 011 288 6418
We were invited by Kosebasi to review the restaurant but all views and opinion are my own. For more information about Reviews, please read my Disclosure policy.
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