Saturday, July 12, 2008

Dinner and Mojitos

Duygu and I met up again on Thursday night in Kizilay with the express purpose of getting mojitos. First we went to dinner, where I got Iskender Kebop and she's got _____. Before the main dishes came, they brought is a type of Muslim puff bread, the salsa like stuff I have talked about, a yogurt soup with barley and chick peas, and a standard salad. I always look forward to this part of the meal because it is a fresh way of starting out before a normally heavy main course.



After a while our food arrived. Her dish was kofte like meat that is wrapped in phyllo and baked. Once it is crispy, a tomato sauce is drizzled over it, and it is served with yogurt. My dish is kebop meet that is spread on top of a bread that is fried until crispy and then smothered in a tomato sauce. It is served with roasted tomatoes and peppers and a side of yogurt.



For dessert, we got a really interesting type of dessert. I can't find the name, so I'll have to Duygu tomorrow when I see her. But it is like chinese noodles that have been pressed around a layer of cheese and then fried quickly to make it crispy, then it is smothered in honey. To top it off, a scoop of kaymak is put on top. Kaymak is really thick Turkish creme. It has been explained to me as the creme that is at the very top of the container when the creme completely separates from the milk. Duygu was really disappointed in this dessert because the cheese was actually put on the top or bottom of the noodles. Also it was served with Turkish ice cream instead of kaymak. Not knowing the difference, I enjoyed it. I'm excited about trying different types of ice cream however. There are lots of vendors in Kizilay. I am also looking forward to tasting kaymak soon.



After dinner, we started walking around looking for a place that served mojitos. Duygu bashfully told me that she didn't know of a place in Ankara that served good mojitos. She explained if we were in Istanbul, London, or Portugal then she could take me to a place she knows is good. We tried to go to Corvus Pub which is the middle level of a three level building with a different bar/restaurant on each level. They didn't have any seating outside or that was quiet, so we walked across the street to Twister. We grabbed a seat outside and asked for two mojitos. After about 20 minutes they finally arrived. Unfortunately, they weren't very good. The mojitos were really weak, and it tasted like they may have used vodka instead of rum.



After a while, I decided that beer was a good idea so we each ordered .7L of Efes. We talked over the beers for a good two hours. They kept refilling our little bowl of popcorn. It really funny how much Duygu can eat for being so thin. The most surprising part of the evening was the bill for the drinks. For really bad mojitos, we paid 14YTL a piece! That's about $12! I couldn't believe it, but I had been warned by Damla and Canan that hard alcohol was very expensive here. I guess I am just spoiled with Havana in Walnut Creek. I think I can live with just beer during this trip. I happen to know that I'll be getting my fill of harder stuff when I get home... At about 9pm, Duygu got a call from her father saying that she needed to be home in about an hour. We talked for a bit more and then she walked me back to the Dolmus station or Dolmus otogar. It was a great night!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey B- Sorry to have been a comment slacker. Got an iPod...and have spend a couple days playing with iTunes and getting music loaded.
Can I tease you about 'chick pears'? That is a new one by me. What is a great mojito in your opinion? I have never had one at all so am useless to comment.
Does make me smile that 'heavy cream' the best and richest, actually is lighter than the milk it floats on...odd choice of words, eh?