Tulum (Balaclava) 06/2018

Tulum occupies a very plain space in a popular strip shopping street which also has restaurants offering Shinese, Vietnamese, Italian and Japanese ethnic restaurants as well as fish and chips and numerous coffee lounges and hamburger joints.
Decor is minimal, 

there is a small bar near the entrance, tables are almost bare 

and chairs are not very comfortable.
There was a very friendly atmosphere, perhaps a little too familiar for some people. We were seated promptly and at my request the volume of the pleasant Western 90's music was turned down.
What is extremely interesting is the food. We've eaten at Turkish restaurants in Australia as well as Turkey and other countries such as Israel. No other place has served a meal to compare to this one. It's a banquet style five course ($70) meal currently from the SE Anatolia region. The menu changes again in about three months.
So here's what we ate.
SOGAN

Chestnut Mushrooms & Spiced Rice Stuffed Onion, Mushroom Puree & Turkish Apple Tea. A great start, the slightly vinegary apple tea was excellent in this dish.
BALIK

Barramundi, Tahini Baba Ganoush Soup, Leek Cigar Borek. Very modern with a little ?fennel foam, lightly cooked barramundi a super dish I could have it every day.
ANALI KIZLI

Lamb & Bulgar Meatballs, Lamb Fat Onion Puree, Chickpeas & Lamb Bones Corba. This is also known as mother and daughters, the meatball representing mother and the chickpeas the daughters!
KUZU

Lamb Neck, Tulum Cheese Custard, Sucuk Crumble, Tahini & Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Smoked Date Jam. Slow cooked at 85 degrees left this overcooked but still less stringy than usual and tender and tasty
BILDIRCIN

Half Quail Salt Baked with Sumac, Quince Puree & Pickled Quince.
a supplement ($16)
The quail was very very small and also overcooked but nevertheless this was a dish not to be missed.

A surprise canteloupe palate cleanser
SEKERPARE,

Sekerpare, Hazelnut Mousse, Turkish Black Tea Ice Cream & Black Tea Syrup.
Not too sweet, this was a nice finish to the meal.
They have a small wine list and do not accept BYO.
It was also nice that chef Coskun Uysal, who was born in the Anatolian region, 

served some dishes and visited our table to chat.
Score: 16/20