Sunday 16 September 2007

Bahce Turkish Restaurant

3 Ngan Wan Rd, Mui Wo, Lantau Island
Visited 15th September

Mui Wo or Silvermine Bay on the back side of Lantau Island is one of Hong Kong's under-rated gems. Unlike the neat Singapore-like fakeness of Discovery Bay just up the coast, Mui Wo offers a glimpse of real, old-school Island life. There's a clean beach for swimming, outdoor bars scattered along the promenade, trails into the hills for a run, walk or cycle and a handful of great restaurants. Tasty Turkish food and a relaxed atmosphere make Bahce a favourite for a filling lunch after a swim or run.

Saturday afternoon at the beach always warrants a drink and I knocked back a couple of reasonably priced half-pints, while Naomi raved about her banana milkshake "made with real fresh bananas". The huge serves of mains at Bache are accompanied by giant grilled vegetable skewers, bread and dips; too much for us, instead we decided to graze from the great selection of meze. Eventually difficult choices were made and we ordered a Greek salad, meze platter and a side of Baba Ghanoush with 'Turkish Bread'. The Greek salad was just like it should be; big chunks of creamy feta, olives and a delicious herb dressing. Bahce offers a warm or cold meze platter as well as a selection of individual serves, we chose the warm platter and it was more than enough for us both. Severed with a choice of three dips and side salad the array of feta stuffed peppers, falafel, calamari, stuffed filo-pastry cigars and meatballs were excellent. The only downside of the meal was the 'Turkish bread' severed with the Baba Ghanoush; it certainly didn't resemble any Turkish bread I'd ever seen and was just an average loaf of reheated white bread.

Bache Turkish Restaurant is cool; while it doesn't have a sea view or even much outdoor seating, it does have a relaxed atmosphere and a beach bar kind-of-feel. The staff are welcoming and helpful, the food is authentic and tasty and the prices are good. Our meal was just over $200 for the both of us, and though it included a couple of drinks it thankfully didn't include any service charge. Bache Turkish Restaurant is definitely worth a stop as part of a day out at Mui Wo.

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