Another meze at Kira Georgena taverna

About four months ago, some visiting friends took us out to eat at a local taverna whose name in English is Kira (or Kura) Georgena.  We liked it so much that when other friends were visiting last week, and wanted to take us out for meze, we suggested the same place.

Meze is a wonderful way for groups of people to eat in Cyprus. The idea is to have small portions of large numbers of different kinds of food, brought out gradually through the evening.The price per person is typically between about 15 and 18 euros, which sounds like a lot; but with four people it's usual to ask for a meze for three people, as there's always a vast quantity of food and not everyone likes everything. So that's what we did.

I remembered to take photos, this time, and we even attempted to count the dishes; we kept losing track, but think there were about thirty in all, excluding the dessert.

The starter - which comes very quickly - is typical for a meze: a Greek salad (mainly cucumber, tomatoes and feta cheese), a plate of pickled vegetables and quail eggs, bread and dips.  There were two kinds of bread with the starter: some toasted bread dipped in olive oil and herbs (delicious!) and some pittas, and four dips: tzatsiki (cucumber in yogurt), tashi (a specialist tahini dip), humus (the well-known chickpea dip, oozing with olive oil and very tasty), and an egg-feta dish which, the waitress informed us, was their own speciality.

In addition, the starter included some raw root vegetables, some olive paste, a small plate of ham/cheese slices, and a small plate of dried goat meat.

So that was twelve different dishes just for the 'starter'.  It would be very easy to fill up on this - and I liked the dips so much that I had quite a bit, although I didn't have any of the meat or cheese.  But we hadn't finished when the next two dishes arrived:  some freshly grilled halloumi, and this, a tomato/cheese dish which I don't remember seeing before, somewhat reminiscent of pizza:

One of our number is a vegetarian, and I incline that way myself, so I wasn't going to take photos of the meat dishes; but the two meat-eaters said that the next item to arrive, two different kinds of sausage, was so good that it needed a picture:

Then some baked eggs arrived with some hot olives (we didn't know whether to count that as one dish or two - but it was on one plate) and some warm local fluffy bread:

There were a couple more meat dishes that arrived while I was still eating salads and dips, and some mushrooms cooked in scrambled eggs, which I enjoyed very much.  Then a medium sized plate of chips (french fries to any US readers):

Not all mezes include chips, which I suppose are a gesture to the international nature of many visitors and residents of Cyprus, and we were all feeling quite full by the time they arrived... but when we started eating 'just one or two' each, we discovered that they were light and perfectly cooked, and so delicious that we managed to finish them.

By this stage we had been given about twenty-five dishes, including several kinds of meat. We were asked if we wanted 'escargots', and declined politely but firmly.

A bigger plate of meat then appeared; this usually signals the end of a meze, and as we were all very full by this stage, we decided that we would probably ask to take most of this home with us:

We counted that as one 'dish' but there were three kinds of meat on the plate.

And food kept coming. The deep-fried courgettes, as last time, were my favourite:

I ate very slowly, as I was extremely full but wanted to enjoy them.  I didn't even touch the rocket-and-egg dish which arrived at the same time, although it looked good, nor the pasta with grated halloumi:

I don't think I've remembered everything, but that's most of our meze.  We were even given an extra dish of humus as we'd finished the first one.

Thankfully we were given ten minutes or so to digest before the dessert was brought out - all part of the meze.  Fresh seasonal fruit, candied fruit, and cherries in liqueur.  I didn't even try the candied fruit or the cherries, but very much enjoyed a strawberry and a couple of slices of orange:

Then... fresh loukoumades.  They're not something I ever make, or buy; but these were very good ones, and since our visitors only wanted one each. I ate (blush) three of them...

Then, when I was wondering if I would be able to get out of my chair and walk, one of our friends, who plays one of the Pokemon games on her phone, announced that there was a Pokemon just in front of the wall, next to me.  I said I couldn't see it, feeling slightly spooked, so she took a photo:

Visiting a taverna at Zygi

It had been a busy few weeks, but at last we had bought a comfortable and - we hope - reliable car. Richard wanted to take it on a slightly longer journey than just doing errands around Larnaka, and since we had not been on a 'date' for a long time, suggested we have lunch at the fishing village of Zygi.

My knowledge of Cyprus geography is extremely limited, and I vaguely assumed it was about ten or fifteen kilometres away, so was a bit surprised when it took us nearly half an hour to get there - it was, according to the signposts, nearly 40km away. Still, the journey was very comfortable and smooth; Cyprus roads are really very bumpy, particularly around town, but this Megane seems to smooth them out better than any other car we've previously had.

Richard had heard good things about the main restaurant looking out over Zygi marina, and it was easy enough to spot from the car park. A covered area had lots of tables and chairs, and there were several people eating. There was a big menu on the way in so we paused to take a look.

Just as well that we did. The theme - unsurprisingly, perhaps - was sea-food.  While Richard does quite like shellfish, I can't bear any of them.  Even looking at them makes me queasy. And the prices looked extremely high. So we glanced down... there was a section of the menu that said it was for people who wanted something different, but that was all steaks, at even higher prices. All we wanted was a light lunch... but there were no sandwiches, no baked potatoes with fillings. There was a pasta selection, but it was all related to sea-food.

I expect the food is excellent quality for people who like sea-food, want a large meal, and don't mind paying high prices. But I could not find a single thing on the menu that I could have eaten.

So we decided to walk into the village itself. We rejected one or two rather scruffy looking places, and then we spotted this:

'The Plateia' looked like a pleasant little taverna. There was building work going on at the side:

But it was open, and when we sat down we were brought a menu almost at once. It was exactly what we were looking for: sandwiches, filled pittas, or platters, at very reasonable cost.  We decided on the platters, after being told that they came with both chips and salad.

Richard chose sheftalia, a kind of Cyprus sausage, and I chose halloumi.  It wasn't particularly quick, but that didn't matter; evidently it was freshly cooked, and when it came was nicely presented and delicious:

They brought us a bowl of pitta bread too, but we didn't want extra carbs so we didn't have them, although I'm sure they would have been good too.

We were there for about an hour, and nobody else came to eat there, but it didn't matter. The place was secluded and quiet, and while we couldn't look over the sea, there was greenery and fresh air and sunshine, and our table was pleasantly sheltered.

Visiting villages in Cyprus

Time seems to move much more slowly in times of stress and sadness. But now we're back in Cyprus, picking up the threads, more-or-less back to normal. 

So let me be a little indulgent, and look back - only a little over three weeks ago - to a day we had out with the whole family, visiting some villages around the island. Richard was looking for somewhere appropriate for some filming he needs to do, and it seemed like a pleasant day out for all five of us. 

It was a gorgeous day - clear and sunny, but not too hot. We started by visiting lower Lefakra:

We took a walk along some backstreets, where it was really very quiet:

We enjoyed the flowers, still blooming, although the heat of summer will put a stop to a lot of them:

I even managed an informal family group photo, although Tim had forgotten his tripod so we didn't manage one of all five of us together. Not that we found anywhere particularly suitable as background anyway:

I do love seeing trees like this.  We were amused by the little pillar that has evidently been built to support it: 

We drove quite a way into the mountains: 

We went in and out of several small villages, some more accessible than others. I didn't take photos of them all, although others did. Sometimes we didn't even visit them, we just looked from a distance:

This looked rather a nice location, but we weren't tempted... we would rather live in a residential neighbourhood near friends and shops:

We hadn't taken any sandwiches, so around 12.30 we started looking out for somewhere suitable to stop and eat. It was surprisingly difficult - many of the small villages did not appear to have any cafes or tavernas.  

Then we found ourselves in a much wealthier looking village than any others we had found. It's in the Limassol district, and called Asgata. There were smart looking buildings, and organised signs pointing to various locations locally:

There was even a library!

There was also a small taverna, which looked very inviting.  The waiter spoke some English, and the prices seemed reasonable.

While most of us opted for water, Richard asked for a fizzy lemonade drink - either Sprite or 7-Up.  Most places offer one or the other but not both.  We were amused that he was brought a can of the latter, together with a glass advertising the former!

A salad came fairly quickly, and some very welcome toasted baguette sandwiches not long after. Then we had complementary fruit and coffee. It was a good break:

We thought we might drive into Troodos but somehow went in the wrong direction, so eventually found ourselves back near Limassol. 

So we stopped for ice creams:

Delicious Meze meal at an empty Taverna...

I've written before about our local taverna, Ta Kalyphouthkia. It's about 200 metres from where we live, tucked away in a residential area... so not the kind of place people would find easily, if out hunting for somewhere to eat.

While, as far as I recall, we have actually only once paid for a meal there ourselves, we have been treated there several times by guests wanting to take us out for a meal, and suggesting something traditionally Cypriot. A meze is the classic meal here, consisting of several dishes of food brought out a few at a time, including salads, pitta bread, olives, various dips, an avocado dish, mushrooms, scrambled egg with spinach, several varieties of meat, halloumi, pasta with cheese, tiny pastries with cheese, pourgouri (bulgar wheat)... and more. To finish with, there's even a small plate of chips (fries), and then something light and sweet.  The selections vary slightly each time, but are always delicious. 

One of the great things about meze is that you don't have to order one portion per person, if you're going with a group. There's a minimum order of two, but it's fine for four people to order just two portions; there's plenty of food, so long as appetites are not huge, and everyone gets a taste of everything. We have never yet managed to finish the entire spread; I rarely eat any of the meat as there are so many delicious veggie options. 

Other tavernas and restaurants offer different mezes; some have more meat and fewer veggie dishes, some have fish and seafood rather than meat. 

Two ladies who have been staying in our guest flat took us to the local taverna last night. As usual, we chose to go early - about 7.00pm - and, as we expected, it was entirely empty when we arrived:

The taverna is usually frequented by Cypriots, and they tend to eat rather later than Brits.

The dishes kept coming, but we didn't eat particularly fast; we were chatting and enjoying the food, explaining some of them to one of the guests who had not previously been to Cyprus.  It was nearly nine o'clock before we left... and it was then that it struck me: the taverna was still empty.  

That was not what we expected.

Every time we have been in the past, other diners have started arriving about eight o'clock. By nine, it's usually starting to get quite noisy and busy. But not last night.

Perhaps Monday night is always quiet; perhaps there were more customers later. I hope so. But my worry is that this may be a sign of things to come, with the austerity measures, and drastically reduced incomes for many around the island. It's not as if we eat out regularly, so perhaps it's selfish - in a sense - to want this taverna to remain open for the rare occasions when we might use it. But it's the principle of the thing that matters more: small shops are already being forced to close down, and it would be very sad for the future of Cyprus if small family tavernas are also forced to shut.