Melbourne’s gonna go wild for soggy buns.
At Sosmos food truck, chef Tugay Ayvaz brings two of Turkey’s most iconic foods from the late night streets of Istanbul to the sheds of Queen Vic Market: the Islak hamburger (the “soggy burger”) and the Midye Dolma, stuffed mussels.
Picture this: a petit cheeseburger dipped into a warm, garlicky tomato sauce, then steamed to soak up the flavour. An oozy riot of meat, cheese and hot saucy bun. One bite, and you’ll see why they hold eating contests with these in Turkey.
“It’s messy, it’s addictive, and it’s unlike anything else in Melbourne,” Ayvaz says.
It's also behind the name ‘Sosmos’: ‘sauce’ is written ‘sos’ in Turkish, which Ayvaz combined with Cosmos to create, as the slogan says, “A universe of flavour”.
Ayvaz says the stuffed mussels are an important ‘after party ritual’, shared with friends post- midnight. At Sosmos, they’re served as heaped platters of mussels stuffed with spiced rice and steamed, each one a perfect mouthful scooped from the shell and eaten with a squeeze of lemon.
“In Istanbul, stuffed mussels aren’t just food, they’re the way the night ends,” Ayvaz says, “Gathered around a street stall, sharing box after box, it’s as much about community as it is about flavour.”
Ayvaz loved the food culture and variety of Melbourne, but missed street foods of home (the beloved Australian HSP, he points out, isn’t even a thing in Turkey). He has a cheffing background, but wants to share dishes in the original form without “modernising” it. Aside from a few adjustments - like banh mi rolls for the fish sandwich, another menu specialty - he's held true.
“We kept them authentic, exactly as they are back home,” Ayvaz says. “Because their power lies in their authenticity, and in the way they carry the soul of the nightlife culture itself.”
Ayvaz runs the truck alongside wife Burcu (the marketing whiz) and his business partners, local fresh produce merchants Huseyin Gunday and Muzaffer Ozdemir. Their next step? A CBD location to serve nights, and give the city a new Turkish street food experience.
“Our dream is to change the way this city eats after dark,” he says.
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