Invited to visit Layali Turkish and Mediterranean Restaurant which opened two months ago. There are several well established Turkish restaurants in the Kampong Glam area and Layali is the up and coming, new kid on the block (established 2026).
Layali is located in a beautiful vintage shop house at the intersection of Arab Street and Beach Road (5 minute walk from Bugis MRT station).
The interior was bright, thanks to white walls and large windows. Very comfortable sturdy furniture, air conditioned, casual, warm, yet dignified atmosphere.
There's al fresco seating outside along the five foot way for folks who prefer soaking in the vibes of historic Arab Street, especially after sundown.
After lunch (we spent muah lingered two happy hours here 🤭), I went kapoh kapoh checking out the spaces in Layali.
Upstairs was another cosy space with hardwood floors, same sturdy furniture, large windows with natural daylight flooding in. Great place for accommodating more diners, and for events. There were private rooms too.
Both levels had their own washrooms, so it was very convenient and thoughtful of Layali.
We started lunch with the popular Mezza Platter.
Sharing platter of hummus (mashed chickpea and sesame seed dip), babaganoush (mashed eggplant dip), ezme (appetising tomato, onion and chili dip), moutabbal (eggplant and yogurt dip), coban salata (Turkish salad of chopped vegetables and cheese), served with bread.
Vegetables, fresh, raw, mashed, or chopped are at the heart of Turkish cuisine.
Olive oil plays a big part in the flavours of Turkish cuisine too. There is olive oil in all these dips and salad.
Bread (and rice) are the key carbs in Turkish cuisine.
The lavash sourdough bread was a lot of hot air 🤭
I mean the freshly baked bread was like a puffy air filled naan. Mild clean tasting, softly chewy, spotty lightly browned, gently crisp outside, perfect with the dips.
Oh.... I love this Mezza Platter a lot because the dips were so delicious and so healthful... Rich in protein, vitamins, and great for gut health.
Healthy and tasty - that's why I love Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisine which is well represented by Turkish.
Then, the meaty mixed grill main course.
Everything about this mixed grilled was on point. We love this!
You'll notice by now that Turkish meals are often communal social events and dishes are shared by design.
Kofta.
Lamb and beef kebabs so lovely tender, moist, lightly spiced but rich in flavours and aromas.
Shish tawouk or chicken marinated with yogurt, garlic and spices, skewered then grilled. So tender, moist and rich with spice and yogurt garlic flavours overlaid with a slightly toasty grilled taste.
We left the chicken wings till the end because the mixed grill platter was huge (we are no aspiring "competitive eaters") and subconsciously we expected the wing might be a little dry and boring. (Half a mind to just abandon them 🤭)
But, it's not our nature to waste good food lah... .
Then.
One bite, and the humble wings humbled us - proved us wrong. It was tender, moist and delicious like the other shish tawouk parts on the platter. We didn't couldn't spare any grilled wing today 🤭
Never look down on chicken wings.
Yogurt in the marination, infused all these meats with an underlying richness and subtle savoury flavour, and kept them moist.
The bed of rice and rice vermicelli richly infused with flavour and aromas from stock, butter, olive oil, and spices.
I normally avoid carbs but gave myself a treat here 🤭 Layali uses low GI or Glycemic Index rice, so I can enjoy this guilt free 😆 Full flavoured but doesn't feel greasy nor spice saturated. Everything was well balanced and finessed by the skilled Turkish chef.
Turkish cuisine is about balance of flavours and light on spice and heat, as exemplified by this rice (and all the dishes we had today).
Pide bread is like Italian pizza except that pide is shaped like a boat.
We had spinach pide which was a thick, well browned baked crust filled with fresh spinach mash and mozzarella cheese.
So refreshing Lemonade with Mint to hydrate our lunch.
Baklava layered pastry dessert.
Made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup and honey.
Rice pudding.
To dine in a good Turkish restaurant and not indulge ourselves with Turkish coffee would be an inexcusable outrage 🤭
The finely ground Arabica beans yielded a robust, smooth, aromatic brew. Not as thick and bitter as espresso but just as well - the intensity level was easy to enjoy and appreciate, sip sip to slow chill the hot afternoon away.
Our sweet desserts, balaclava and rice pudding provided the sweetness to balance the bitter nutty Turkish coffee.
Heavenly pairing.
I enjoyed veteran Turkish chef Rashid's dishes a lot and I shall be back for more. There are many other dishes I need to try.
This visit to Layali inspired me to explore Turkish cuisine more, and also want to make a trip to Turkey to learn about Turkish food at first hand. (Major unchecked bucket list.)
Acknowledgement: Please note that this was an invited tasting but all opinions expressed are wholly mine at the risk of never being invited again.
Restaurant name: LAYALI Turkish & Mediterranean
Address: 257 Beach Road, Singapore 199539
Nearest MRT: 5 minute walk from Bugis station
Tel: 9677 9072
Hours: 10am - 1am
Singapore Toponymics
There are two theories behind how the name Arab Street came about.
Under the Raffles Town Plan published in 1822 (within 4 years of Raffles stepping foot on Singapore in 1819), there was already an Arab Street in the area designated as Arab Kampong or the Arab quarter.
One theory posits that the thoroughfare was named Arab Street because an Arab merchant Syed Ali bin Mohamed Aljunied owned most of the land here. Another theory suggests that Raffles allocated the area to the Arabs as another area (further east) was allocated to the Bugis.
At that time, the Chinese referred to this street as jiau a koi 爪哇街 (Javanese street), as most people living here were Javanese. The Tamils (south Indians), called this street pukadai sadkku (flower shops street), because Javanese women set up stalls and shops here to sell homegrown flowers and lime fruit.
National Archives of Singapore photo of the building where Layali is located today, back in 1963.
By the 1960s, the shops towards the southern end of Arab Street, where Layali is located specialised in rattan basketware and crafts.
The intersection in the early 1990s.
Written by Tony Boey on 5 Nov 2026
If this article helped you, give me your support to keep me going 🙏
No comments:
Post a Comment
No censorship. All comments with genuine identities are published