Great Food

I don't know why Turkish food isn't world famous. Why aren't there Turkish restaurants in all the capital cities of other countries? I never saw any in Perth.

Mornings are long and gruelling (I mean, hard work) with classes going from 9.30 am through to 1.30 pm. By then we are tired and very hungry.
Some days we head out of the office and turn left to the little restaurant right next door for soup (corba) and the special thin Turkish pizza called lahmacun.
Other days we turn right to the restaurant called "Yedi Bolge". The name means 'seven regions', and the restaurant serves food from the seven regions of Turkey.

Everything in this restaurant is just delicious. As we come in the door we walk past the food display, and point to what we want - various choices of 'yemek' (cooked food) and cold salads and deserts too. Then we seat ourselves at one of the little tables with their richly-coloured Turkish table-cloths and soft benches or tiny stools to sit on. Sometimes we sit downstairs, but sometimes we go up the tiny creaky wooden staircase to the mezzanine floor - but the ceiling is barely head-height for most people - or the top floor where we can stare out onto the street and the people bustling past. A few minutes later a waiter will bring our chosen food and drinks and find out if there is anything else we require.

There is always a basket of bread with every meal. We often choose a portion of something like this - a chunky meat casserole with a cheesy topping, or a "kofte" (meatball) base with vegetables and cheesy top, and a plate of rice and/or a selection of delicious salads.

And the foamy drink? Most places we go if I order "ayran" (salty yoghurt drink) it comes in a sealed plastic cup. But at Yedi Bolge there is an ayran fountain (you can see it in the first picture) and it comes out really frothy, and sometimes with an added hint of mint.

Its all delicious.