Over the past few months we have enjoyed tasting the delicious Italian food and drinks prepared by our neighbours and ex-students at Calabrisella in #Canton.
In search of another former #Peartree student and restaurateur last week I crossed the river Taff and headed to the popular City Road part of town to sample some flavours of the East where Fatih Halici is delighting the taste buds with beautifully prepared Turkish cuisine as the manager at the new Saray restaurant.
This spacious eatery is the former Istanbul cafe and has now reopened as Saray serving traditional food including cold meze, kebabs, fish, grilled meats and yoghurt based dishes. After being treated to a selection of starters and my favourite muska boregei peynirli (deep fried filo pastry filled with feta cheese and parsley) I then decided to go for the classic Adana kebab. Succulent spicy lamb grilled on skewers with a side of rice and salad. The professional chefs cooked the dish to perfection on an open grill and service was fast and friendly. 
After dinner Fatih joined us for a cup of traditional Turkish tea and told us more about how he had wanted to create a stylish, open plan restaurant that would appeal to students, families and also the local Turkish community. He also explained that soon his team would be joined by a new female chef who will make traditional Turkish soups. Can't wait! 
Fatih studied English at Peartree in 2008 after originally graduating from a German university in chemical engineering. He told us how much he had enjoyed that time when our school was still very small and Tristan was his "great" teacher. He says that he remembers the experience with very fond memories and is still in touch with his Italian and Russian classmates from his course. Since then Fatih has become a successful business man in Cardiff and also the proud father of two daughters and he joked that his oldest, now five, is happy to correct his English language pronunciation! Even though Fatih now has 'free' lessons at home, he often recommends students to study at Peartree and was very complimentary about the friendly environment that students will find in the school and also in the Canton area.
We wish Fatih and his team the best of luck in these early months as they work hard to build their restaurant. I recommend that you pay a visit to Saray restaurant where a starter and main course will cost as little as £11! Thank you to everyone at Saray for a lovely evening, see you soon!
Iyi şanslar!
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