One Meat-er please.

Having been to Turkey before, I was really excited to re-visit Turkish cuisines tonight at Turkish Village. The neon lights and cartoon-y signs threw me off a little bit, but I was more than delighted when we received our food. Here's what we ordered: 

Turkish Shepard's Salad
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20 Dhs 

Simple and refreshing! I loved the hint of lime juice. -Mari

Tasty simple salad with some pepper and lime juice to top it off. No complaints. -Daniel

Fresh Zaater Salad
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18 Dhs

 It looked like garden weeds. It was a little sour and the black pepper was very prominent in my mouth. -Mari

The lemon was overwhelming and the thyme had a very strong presence. The tomatoes were very juicy and fresh, and the greens weren't too soggy. - Daniel

Istanbul Borek (dip in yogurt with herbs)
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20 Dhs

 As soon as I asked the waiter what borek was and he replied it was crust filled with cheese, I had to order it. It was so crispy on the outside and the cheese just melted into your mouth. I'm already craving  this again. -Mari

When my eyes ran past borek in the menu I knew I wanted it. When Mari ordered it I did a little happy dance inside, and then another once I took my first bite. -Daniel

Cheese Pide
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35 Dhs

 What can I say, I'm a sucker when it comes to melted cheese and bread. I didn't want this Pide to finish. -Mari

I had my eye on the kawarma and cheese pide but decided against it since we were already going to have a meter of kebab, and I'm happy I did. The melted halloumi on the cheese pide was perfect and I savoured every bite. -Daniel

One Meter Adana Kebab
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275 Dhs

Crispy on the edges and juicy in the middle, perfect kebab- and it was a meter long! -Mari

I was amazed when over three feet of kebab was laid in front of us.  Being a meat lover it felt like I was in heaven. The meat was perfect and I got to eat at least half of it (I love being a vacuum cleaner). The only thing you need to watch out for is the green chiles that line the sides. I thought they were green beans and stuck two in my mouth and instantly regretted my decision. -Daniel

Künefe
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30 Dhs

 I always stay away from the overly-drenched-in-syrup desserts, but when I heard that the Kunefe was freshly made on the spot, I had to try it. It was beyond sensational. Crunchy, moist, syrupy, added with that cream was just absolute perfection. -Mari 

The Kunefe came out still warm from the kitchen and tasted amazing. I devoured the piece I had and will probably dream about the taste tonight. -Daniel

Baklava with Turkish Ice Cream
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25 Dhs

A little bit too sweet and heavy for my taste! Still I could tell it was great Baklava. -Mari

The Baklava was perfect. It was flaky, rich, and the sweetness was perfect. It was complimented extremely well by the traditional Turkish ice cream, and perfected with a warm glass of Turkish tea (10Dhs). -Daniel

The restaurant looked like a tourist trap from the outside, but the tastes proved otherwise. The food was authentic Turkish food and really hit the spot. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and the decorations were modest. The service was great; our waiter (Roy) was very attentive and friendly. Overall I feel this restaurant was a great experience and I would love to go back. -Daniel

Wafi Gourmet at Dubai Mall

If you weren't aware, Daniel and I are currently spending our Spring Break in Dubai! This morning I woke up with a strong craving for hummus (and I mean the lust kind of craving) so we headed to Wafi Gourmet in Dubai Mall for lunch. I personally love the entrance of Wafi Gourmet, it has a Arabic style market feel to it. All the nuts, meats and vegetables are laid out as if we had visited the Souq instead. This is what we ended up chowing down on:

The Salad Mix including Hummus, Tabbouleh, Baba Ghanoush, and Dolma
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70Dhs/ 19 USD/ ± 2000 yen

The Salad Mix came out first and we were glad that we only ordered one even though the waiter said it wouldn't be enough for both of us. The proportions were giant compared to the ones in Japan. We dug in with the freshly baked (and still puffy) pita bread. The hummus was a little too oily and neither of us were too fond of dolma (stuffed vine leaves), so the baba ghanoush (mashed eggplant) was both of our favorites. The pomegranate seeds on the baba ghanoush accented the overall taste perfectly.

The Gourmet Grill including Arayes, Lamb dices, Shesh Tawouq, Kofta and a Lamb Chop.
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90Dhs/ 24 USD/ ±2500 yen

 The Arayes (meat stuffed pita) was delicious and the lamb chop wasn't bad. The rest of the meat, especially the lamb dices, on the other hand had a pungent taste and was chewy and hard to swallow. If anything the garlic butter and pita bread helped us eat the rest of the platter.

Doing what I do best.

The location of the restaurant is great. It's by the famous water fountain and has a great view of the Burj Khalifa if you sit outside (You might even get lucky and catch one of the water shows). The service wasn't as great as the view though. The waiters sat us down and handed us menus, but then they forget about us until we flagged one down.  If you go to Wafi Gourmet in the future, tell the Filipino waiter named Junji hello! He was friendly and willing to service us better when we made small talk with him. (We asked him if he was Japanese because of his name but he kept replying "No, Filipino. Filipino.")