If I had to choose what makes me happy, one of my choices would definitely be food. Food is colour, creativity, culture and sharing, but above of all, food is delicious! I love food in all its phases: creation and plantation and cooking and eating – of course eating is the best part.
Since the food is closely related to its location it defines a country’s culture. For example, in Ecuador there are more than 7 types of banana. This in turn, influenced not only the traditional recipes of the country but other cultural aspects such as traditional dances. Indeed, in the seaside of Ecuador there is a traditional dance that shows men simulating the use of a machete (tool used to work in banana plantations).
Food is travelling. From what I have mentioned above it is clear that food is knowledge of a country’s culture. This means that you can travel by eating and it is an amazing perspective for a travel lover like me. Whenever I have the chance to go out for dinner I always go for ethnic restaurants and I end up dreaming about my next travel destinations. It is even better when you travel and try new food in the country you go. That’s why when I knew my next destination was Cyprus I started thinking about the food I could eat.
I expected to eat a lot of fish but when I arrived, I realized fish does not hold a big place in the Cypriot cuisine. Indeed, most local dishes contain meat and unfortunately this was a disappointing finding for me since I wanted to stick to my pescatarian diet. But as I said before, food is culture, so whenever I travel, I do try every food regardless of my diet. My exception in Cyprus was done when I went to have dinner with my colleagues, so I tried the famous meat meze. Usually, meze is a selection of small dishes, but in Cyprus it is followed by many dishes of meat. So basically, you get full eating small appetizers with pita bread and once the meat is served you explode.
Fortunately, I am also a cheese lover and Cyprus can offer many good dairy products. Halloumi is for sure the national cheese — you will be fond of grilled halloumi. Then there is the famous Greek feta which is amazing with tomatoes and cucumber. Lastly, I became a fan of anari, a kind of ricotta that is suitable also for sweet recipes.
Since I mentioned sweets, you must know that Cyprus has very good bakeries with many tempting desserts but also savoury pastries. Bugatsa, pastellaki, baklava, kalo prama, kateifi, tahini pie, and so on — you will get lost with all the names. My favourite is spinach and feta pie, bugatsa with cream, anari pie. On the top of this, in Cyprus it is very common to order delivery food, so you can have all that delicious food in you working desk anytime you want. Then, it is understandable as to why you can easily get fat in Cyprus. Too much good food, often high in calories and accessible.
To conclude, Cypriot cuisine has a variety of traditional food, from different cultural backgrounds such as Arabic and Mediterranean. Do not stop to the first impression that touristic restaurants may give you, instead explore local cousin by asking local people and visiting villages. Last but not least, consider subscribing to the gym.