Food enthusiasts had a chance to enjoy the taste of Middle Eastern flavours at Royal Park Residence Hotel from 7 December to 9 December, 2019. The CEO of the hotel, Keerthi Weragoda, warmly welcomed all the guests. The hotel's Executive Chef, Rajeeva Mendis presented his culinary excellence in Cypriot cuisine to the guests.

Cyprus is close to the Middle East and their cuisine has great impact from Greek and Turkish cultures. Ingredients like parsley, garlic and yoghurts are the essentials in most of the dishes. Hot spices are not used but Italian herbs such as mint, cardamom, arugula and estragon are extremely popular, while lamb, beef and rabbit meat are most frequently used. Tuna and sword fish are Cypriots' favourites. The cuisine is mostly famous for their dishes like Kleftiko, a dish made with lamb legs. Souvla, is another popular meat dish which looks like Russian shashlik. Stifado, is a beef stew in tomato sauce with onion, garlic and spices, and Kotopoulo is made up of chicken with small pieces of taro. This cuisine is also dependent on some cheese and sauces. Halloumi is a famous white and salty Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, with a structure and texture like mozzarella. Tzatziki, a traditional sauce made from yoghurt, fresh cucumber and garlic, is used as a dip for many dishes. Dolmades are popular as starters, made of grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat. Taramosalata is made with salted and smoked roe of the cod, mixed with bread soaked in milk, mashed potatoes and olive oil.

The chef and his team delivered the best of the cuisine to the guests. Apart from the food, the festival also had raffle draw offering exciting prizes.

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