The ‘Ox Show’ TikToker Oktay Sahin is on a mission to rate every kebab in Sydney

By day, Oktay Sahin is a banking risk analyst. By night, he’s a TikTok star on a mission to rate every kebab store in Sydney. His goal: “Make kebabs great again.”

A western Sydney TikTok star is on a mission to rate every kebab in Sydney and dismiss the common perception that kebabs are a “drunken feed”.

Oktay Sahin believes you could live a healthy life on the meat wrapped Aussie favourite as it contained all five food groups.

Mr Sahin, better known as Ox from the Ox Show, has amassed more than 12,000 followers and almost 180,000 likes on TikTok videoing himself eating and rating Sydney kebabs.

“It started as a joke really,” Oktay told this masthead.

“Spanian (a popular YouTuber) basically took a shot at all kebab stores and said ‘they’re all crap, I’m going to make the best kebabs in Sydney’. And I thought, ‘you can’t beat us – we’ve been making kebabs for more than 55 years’.”

TikTok star, Oktay Sahin, at Johnny's kebab shop, Liverpool. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Of an estimated 2000 shops kebab around Sydney, Oktay has reviewed almost 100 kebabs over the last four months – a role he takes just as seriously as his day job as a banking risk analyst.

He documents the kebabs in a publicly accessible spreadsheet dubbed the ‘Kebab-alogue’, rating them on the quality of the meat, not too oily or dry, fresh salad ingredients along with the style and age of the bread.

But for the man who grew up working in his father’s kebab store, the videos are more than just a trend.

“My father was a migrant from Turkey and back in ‘94 he used to manage a popular kebab store in Burwood,” he said.

“One of my earliest memories is cutting my hand when I was cutting the Turkish breads.”

In the ‘60s, Middle Eastern and Turkish migrants introduced the first kebabs to Australia selling them in food truck caravans.

“They really poured their heart and soul into it,” Oktay said. “When we were younger, it was our dads and our uncles selling kebabs at weddings, at markets, at festivals. Those were the golden years of kebab.”

But in the ‘80s, Victoria Bitter launched an advertising campaign that Oktay said forever solidified the kebab as the ultimate hangover meal.

By day Oktay is a risk analyst for a major banking corporation. By night, he's a TikTok star on a mission to rate every single kebab store in Sydney. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Oktay says kebabs are more than just a “drunken feed”.

“The kebab became a guilty pleasure, something you only eat when you’re drunk at 2am in the morning and suddenly no one was eating kebabs during the day,” he said.

“So part of why I’m doing this is to change that perception. Kebab’s aren’t this unhealthy thing you eat and feel guilty about.

“They’re a proper meal and has all five food groups. It’s got your dairy with the cheese; veggies with your lettuce and tabouli; protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats.

You can really live on this for the rest of your life.”

Oktay jokes he looks good for a guy who has been eating kebabs almost every day for four months.

“Kebabs are a labour of love,” he said. “That uncle is working in front of four or five hot grills in the Australian summer so you can have a great kebab.”

So what makes a kebab great?

1. Meat

According to Oktay, making sure you have a good kebab meat supplier is key to a great kebab. Good kebab meat shouldn’t be dripping in oil, but it shouldn’t be too dry either.

2. Salad

The fresher, the better. Whether it's a simple shredded lettuce or a Lebanese tabouli, your salad should be crisp, crunchy and fresh.

3. Bread

The type of bread used can either make or break a kebab – literally. According to Oktay, while Lebanese bread is a popular option, if it isn’t fresh it can be prone to drying out and cracking. For the best kebab experience, Oktay says Greek pita is the way to go.

4. Sauce

Whether you’re a tomato and bauce, or a garlic and hot sauce kind of person – we can all agree, the worst kind of kebab is one drowning in sauce.