Guide
They sit side by side on almost every Turkish menu, and they are cousins — but shawarma and kebab are not the same thing. Kebab is the broad family: marinated meat cooked over open fire, from the hand-minced, chilli-warmed Adana of southern Turkey to cubes of lamb şiş grilled on skewers. The fire is the point — charcoal, smoke, and a cook who knows the coals by feel.
Shawarma is a different craft entirely. Layers of seasoned meat are stacked onto a vertical spit and roasted slowly as it turns, then shaved to order so every slice carries crisp edges and a juicy heart. Where kebab is about the sear, shawarma is about patience — hours of gentle heat building flavour one rotation at a time.
Our advice for a first visit: order both and taste the difference for yourself. A charcoal Adana kebab for the table, a shawarma plate for you, and warm pide to carry it all. That is the Layali way — and the best seat for it is our alfresco terrace at 257 Beach Road, where Beach Road meets Arab Street.
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Everything we write about, we cook daily — 10:00am to 1:00am at 257 Beach Road, Kampong Gelam. Charcoal-fired, family-owned, five minutes from Bugis MRT.