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Restaurant: Anadolu 安那托利亞土耳其主題餐廳

By Chris Pechstedt
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Friday, Apr 14, 2006, Page 15

Anadolu is good, though it's not really Turkish. PHOTO: CHRIS PECHSTEDT, TAIPEI TIMES

The widely reviled proliferation of cheap knockoffs of Chinese cooking in the English-speaking world could be seen as detrimental to cultural development. If you've been to the US, think Panda Express, the joint that plies Americans with "the wonderful flavors of authentic Chinese food."

That phrase, lifted from the company's Web site, is part of what makes Panda Express so grim: the corruption of authentic foreign cuisine.

Of course, the big question when entering Anadolu was whether the food would be authentically Turkish. James Liu (劉秀興), the owner, answered that before the plates even hit the table: no.

"I had Turkish food [while I was studying] in England, and I loved it," he said. "Then I went to Turkey and it was completely different... . You have to adapt to local tastes, but keep it unique at the same time. That's the tricky part."

Tricky or not, Liu's food makes a convincing case for localized -- as opposed to local -- cuisine. At his recommendation, I tried two lamb dishes (lamb being an important meat in Turkish cooking), and a respectable Western-style salad.

Both lamb dishes were unusually tender, and characterized by simple yet pronounced flavors that showed, to varying degrees, elements of the Greek, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian influences in Turkish food.

At the same time, both dishes were distinctly Taiwanese, lacking both the dairy ingredients and the Mediterranean fruits used in Turkish cooking. The lamb in the excellent stew was cooked in a similar manner to the meat in Taiwanese beef noodles, but was served in a thin curry-like sauce and flavored with tomato.

This is not a place for adventure-seekers. There may be pine nuts in the rice, but the food does not really aspire to be challenging or exotic. The flavor is unique, but not jaw-droppingly so.

"There's already an authentic Turkish restaurant in Taipei, owned by people from Turkey," Liu said. "I'm not trying to compete with them."

Like Tex-Mex, British and Japanese curry houses, and the California roll, Anadolu mixes elements of various cuisines in a way that seems natural. The Turkishness, what there is of it, is not a gimmick.
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