Chris,

You are so right! And Tesco's halloumi just doesn't taste the same.

I tried bringing some shefatalia home once. The customs bloke at Lossie was very good - and told me to eat the evidence tonight.

In fact does anyone know of a source of said sausages in Blighty?

CK - any relation to "You come my restaurant, free kokkinelli. OK, OK - free Filfar after" Chris (the real one) Kebab?

I agree about the brandy sour. You need precisely the same ingredients as you get in Akrotiri - no substitutes will do. Personally I think that there might be something in the authentic Akrotiri version which includes the chemical reaction between the lemon juice and the plastic jugs. That releases complex organic compounds into the brew; most people in the UKdon't use the same jugs, hence the result won't be the same.

Either that or the fact that, before quaffing a jug or several of Akrotiri brandy sour, one is normally totally whammed from a few pre-pre-prandial litres of Keo - and that certainly doesn't travel well!

Right you are CK,

A brandy sour just isn't the same without LEX lemon squash and the REAL cheapo Keo Brandy, you know the stuff (cheaper than the nasty water and far less likely to cause dark stools)

Also doesn't taste the same without looking out over the Med from the Dhekelia Officers Club.

Fantastic

BEagle - no relation, take it as a tribute! I must have single handedly paid him and the "extended family" enough for another restaurant or cab by now!

The Lanitis lemon squash is probably the best in the world, but what on earth am I supposed to do with that little plastic bottle of imitation Angostura bitters gathering dust in the cupboard corner?

Could be the plastic jugs - maybe to really capture the experience requires the addition of the delicate aroma from the duty free perfume of a nearby schooly or nurse!

I suspect the Keo interaction is probably the answer.

Angry Lizard,

Ahh, those storm drains, have been the cause of several of my doses of AIDS, that painful condition where you wake up/come round to find dried blood on the pillow.

Akrotiri Inexplicable Damage Syndrome !!

Nice one BEags ... as usual ... bought back some fond memories. Didn't realise everyone had EXACTLY the same experience down the strip to the last detail - what a shocker. Oh, except that time when I left my favourite shorts in the bushes after a 9 sec warning ...........

DummyRun... and there was me thinking that the only doses of AIDS in Cyprus would come from "Hero's Square"

BEagle, well done, spot on! I almost felt like I was there, which I will be in 3 weeks! :)

I intend to answer the great "stool question"!

Cheers http://indigo.ie/~owenc/starwars/images/pint1.gif

Doh! http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/puke.gif

Thanks Beags, you have revived many memories of said ritual. I am now officially Kebab Critical as I have not had one for around 7 years. I am reduced to buying Haloumi from Tescos, but have still not mastered the ceromonial cremation of the meats(?). Does anyone know where tahini can be got in this country, or if anyones bringing any back I would gladly pay for their trouble.

At risk of changing this thread, which is the best Kebab House .......... Sylvanas, Polis, Lakeside, Chris's et al?

I always preferred Sylvanas ...... (Could have something to do with the fact that pre aircrew, I was posted to Akronelli and used to eat in there most nights ........this has several advantages 1) I am imune to to any bouts of kebab belly and 2) I know Greg the owner very well and when returning with a crew my kebab was always gratis.

I would say:

Polis - best for a 'couth' kebab. But not quite the traditional atmosphere of the 70s and 80s.

Swan - basic and more 'ethnic' than most. Also has more bondhu cats looking for their late brothers!

Chris' - good for large numbers, BUT Chris has to be there in person for it to be particularly good. Food has been suspected as being pre-cooked and then flashed up again when punters arrive. Hence dry and cremated at times. Usually free kokinelli - particularly if Chris is there!

Sylvanas - Also good for large numbers and food less cremated than at Chris'. Sound all-round kebab house!

All the others - forget it!

If you're off base then Micheal's up near the Epi-thingy hotel is hard to beat. Not the strip I know but still gives you black poo.

I blame the liver, aided and abetted by the kokinelli. Some years ago I was on a long course of iron tablets in hospital (DON'T ask why), which had the side effect of seriously black poo.

When questioned, the doc said it was the iron wot done it, hence similar "side effects" with iron-rich "foods" such as Guniness, cheap red wine and liver. And spinach for that matter ....... thinks ....... wonder what Popeye's was like?? (and no Olive Oyl jokes purlease!);)

Its none of these......Its after the wonderful all day breakfast in the aircrew feeder at akronelli, looking at the stool in the one holer and trying not to gag on the beautiful aroma there in.

Trust me, I did it for 42 years!:eek:

Ten second review of Akrotiri Kebab

Big party - Chris Kebab, never get served fast enough at Sylvanas

Don't like overcooked food - anywhere but Chris Kebab

Bit of variety - Polis

Traditional flavour - Sylvanas still cook on charcoal

Old style kebab - forget it, you're 20 years too late

Heads down, look out for the flack:cool:

Kokkinelli/kebab
 

The kebab turns the stool dark, the kokkinelli turns the vomit red....:mad:

Have you ever seen what second-hand Kokkinelli does to the paintwork of a cab on the way back to Akrotiri? Not a pretty sight, but then neither were we!
Out of left field - I haven't been in Cyprus since early Sixties, what has happened to the Magic Bar? Arif's, I think it was called?

Kind regards,

TheNightOwl.
ex-13Sqn., a long, long time ago.

Early sixties? A bit before my time. But are you on about a bar in Limassol where the owner wore a fez and was famous for being rude to his customers? (The word Britannia springs to mind)

Anyway, the chap with the fez, fled north during the 1974 troubles, and in the mid nineties he could be found running a restaurant in Kyrenia harbour. End restaurant on the left limb of the harbour looking out to sea. Talk about the old days and get free drinks!


Beagle - When were you last in Akkers? The Swan has been closed for years! The owners now operate the New Inn down past the Lakeside (also closed)

Last few times were a couple or so years ago - mostly off-base. The on-base stops were insufficiently long for a KebabEx, unfortunately.

Contrary to popular belief, an on-base nightstop at Akronelli with sufficient time to nip down to the 'strip' is perfectly fine by me!

Night Owl
I was 13 Sqn (groundcrew) 62-64. Was that Big Arifs or Little Arifs?

Happy Days.

Mike W

So anyway, another Kabul war anecdote

Copilot (out of his depth and close to panic):
'The landing gear was a bit slow coming up'
Senior Loadie (down the back of Albert):
'Well you might have been off the runway but we were still on it'