"2011-09-14T00:00:00"^^ . "4"^^ . "14"^^ . "I have noticed that there seems to be a huge problem in classifying, identifying and experiencing Middle Eastern food properly.\n\nFirst off, there are huge regional differences and varieties in the food from the Middle East or the Levant. It's not all just \"Arab\" or \"Islamic\". Turkish, Afghani, Persian, Lebanese, Syrian and Moroccan all are very distinct cuisines, where the ingredients and spices they use are often a reflection of their geographic, cultural and historical reality.\n\nTurkish food is not heavy on spices but places a huge emphasis on the freshness and quality of it's ingredients, where the natural flavours are allowed to shine through. Add a little bit of Greek, Roman, medieval Venetian, Persian and some Arab influences along with a verdant Mediterranean climate and you have one of the most overlooked cuisines in the world, which hopefully will change soon.\n\nIf you're not sure what to order here on a visit, for mezes, (appetizers/tapas) , try the Kirmizi biberli ezme, an extremely flavourful dish with pureed red peppers, walnut and herbs. Other uniquely Turkish dishes are the Yaprak Sarmai (stuffed vine leaves with berries) , Sucuk (spicy sausage) and the Kasar Pane (Shepherd's cheese from eastern Turkey). For mains, try the Karniyarik (meat stuffed aubergine) or Manti (ravioli pasta in a yogurt and garlic sauce).\n\nI lived in Turkey for 3 years and miss some of the dishes there terribly, but at least coming here gives me a small taste of the true thing. While Su is great overall, they don't have much in the way of desserts and wish they offered some of their home grown classics like Tavuk G\u00F6s\u00FC, a chicken pudding based on \"blancmange\", a Medieval European pudding typically made with chicken, almonds and sugar which was a very popular sweetmeat in the medieval royal courts of Europe which the Ottomans picked up. Sounds gross, I know, but once you have it, you'll never forget it. The only place you can get it now is back in Turkey.\n\nAnother wonderful dessert which is absent here is Ekmek Kadayfi (almost drenched Bread pudding), smeared with kaymak, especially the fresh kind from Afyon. The cows are fed the remaining stalks of poppy plants, making them, um... very happy, which allows them to produce the thickest, freshest clotted cream you can imagine called kaymak.\n\nI think I have to buy a ticket back to Turkey soon..."^^ . "12"^^ . . "5"^^ . . .