Pune prepare to be mesmerized with the culinary treasures of Turkey as Merhaba Turkiye, the Turkish Food Festival debuts at The Cafe at Hyatt Regency from the 4th to 14th of this month.

As you must know that eating is taken very seriously in Turkey, and Chef Muzaffer has flown in all the way from Hyatt Regency Istanbul to create a vast array of specialties during the ten day food festival.

Right at the entrance, you’ll find these little jars of pickles (or turşu) which are an integral part of Turkish cuisine. For centuries they have pickled vegetables both to preserve surplus as well as to guarantee availability of vegetables throughout the entire year.

This beautiful lady was performing some brilliant songs in her own style on her cello.

Along with some spectacular Turkish cocktails & drinks, there were serving three different kinds of starters, Shish Kebab in Chicken, the Adana Kebab in Lamb and Grilled vegetable kebabs.

 

Some of the absolute must try’s at the wide spread buffet will be the Doner kebab, Adana kebab, Turkish ice cream, Turkish hummus, White beans stew, Simit, Dolma, Lentil soup with croutons and lemon butter rice.

The mezze is a selection of food served as the appetizer course with or without drinks which usually include salads,  breads and various kinds of hummus.

You could also make your own salad!

Doner Kebab : Well, before you jump to say “Oh that’s a just a Shawarma!”, let us tell you that it’s the doner kebab that inspired the Arab Shawarma in similar styles of  having the sliced pieces of meat stuffed ideally into a pita bread, with some salads like tomato, lettuce, cabbage, onion, fresh cucumber, and various types of sauces like the mayo or garlic.

After they ran out of pita bread, they were quick to improvise and serve us doner kebabs in the Simit widely known as the Turkish bagel. They were also frying some Falafels, (a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas) on the same counter and serving Falafel sandwiches similarly to those who preferred veg.

And the last but not the least, which still makes our mouth water as we say this – The traditional Baklava, a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey.

And as we were winding up, the staff offered us the Turkish coffee, which one simply cannot miss when at the Turkish Festival!

So if you’re looking for an authentic experience, what other way than a hearty meal at Hyatt Regency coming weekend. The Merhaba Turkiye ends on the 14th Oct.

Lunch : 12.30pm to 3pm
Price : 1099+ taxes

Dinner : 7pm to 11pm
Price : 1350+ taxes