Kelebek Turkish food
Location: Nishihara town on the 38 between the 241 and the 29, if driving east it is just down the hill from the Tsutaya, on the south (right) side of the street.
Hours: 11:30a-3p, 6p-10p (unsure which day closed)This is a charming spot with a nice red and turquoise design scheme (see sign), with typical patterned ceramic plates and glass eye charms (both sold throughout Turkey) decorating the walls. They have reasonably priced lunch sets (750 - 1200Y) which include a cucumber and tomato salad, soup, main, and post-meal tea. The salad is small but has a nice Mediterranean flavour, with parsley and olive oil and lemon. We had a bean/tomato/oregano soup which was surprisingly herby and tasty. There are a couple mains to choose from - we had doner kebab and chickpea stew. Both were slightly sweet (in a nod to the Japanese palate) but otherwise pretty authentic in their Turkishness. They even put orzo through the rice. The tea was served in the small glass cup/saucer found everywhere in Turkey and came with 2 sugar lumps, another traditional touch. The owner clearly spent some time in Turkey, judging by a couple photos he had on the counter, and if we spoke Japanese we would have inquired further. He also sells Turkish alcohol products: Efes beer, wine, and their anise-flavored liquor - the wine is only 300Y a glass! On top of that there is baklava and custard.
As you can tell, this restaurant brought back pleasant memories of a lovely trip to Turkey taken years ago. Turkey is a rich and colorful place to travel and boasts some of the nicest complimentary hotel breakfasts we have ever had. While one may argue there is not great diversity in Turkish food, it certainly is a welcome distraction in the Japanese culinary landscape.
