One of the greatest joys of travelling is discovering new foods. Food is so much a part of culture, so to not want to try food that you’ve never come across before seems to defeat the whole purpose of travelling and discovering new worlds and cultures. That’s why I hate travelling with people who are unadventurous when it comes to new experiences, food, and everything else.
In my recent trip to Sydney, my cousin and I went to Kirribilli Market on Saturday 28 June. The market is at Milsons Point train station that is along the North Shore line. It’s just at the north end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge so there is a fantastic view of the harbour from there. The market is there only on the fourth Saturday of every month.
Anyway, the focus of this post is not about the market but the Gözleme which my cousin introduced me to. Gözleme is a traditional Turkish handmade pastry filled with ingredients such as spinach, feta cheese, egg, minced lamb, mushroom and potato. The dough is then sealed and pan-fried. To me, it was like the Turkish equivalent of the Indian Murtabak, except not so heavy as the dough is not made of ghee. Plus, there’s no curry to go along.


The stall at Kirribilli market.


The little lumps of dough sitting pretty. The dough is made from yoghurt, flour and a pinch of salt. I felt like picking one up to just throw at someone and see how it would stick. Haha.

There’s a production line going. It was actually rather therapeutic watching this old Turkish ladies, head wrapped in scarves, going about kneading the dough, rolling it out, and folding it so methodically.


The Gözleme is laid on the pan to fry and make it crispy.


The woman on the left is in charge of scooping the minced meat into the dough that has been laid on the pan. She’s also in charge of turning it over and once it’s ready, passes it over to the woman on the right. The woman on the right is in charge of using a pizza cutter and cutting the Gözleme into several pieces. She then places the pieces on a plate, together with a big slice of lemon, and serves it to the customer.


Sizzling hot and just waiting to be eaten!


Voila! A delicious pastry filled with mince lamb and baby spinach. You can have it in different combinations, so you can request to have feta cheese in it too. Squeeze the juicy and succulent lemon onto the Gözleme, bite into it, and savour the taste of it – crispy pastry on the outside, coupled with the tangy zest of lemon and the savoury juices of the minced lamb spilling into your mouth.
Great grub. And yes, please, eat with your hands even though it’s oily and all!