The Turkish Milk Bar

"Soda Fountain" for our American Friends

One of the normal parts of life in Turkey is a visit to a Milk Pudding Cafe. These can be found everywhere and some of them can be very upmarket. They serve such items as ice cream, rice puddings and many other dairy based sweet dishes. Usually they are not cheap but as we have stated elsewhere our Turkish friends eat out far more that we do here in England. It is often possible to see a boy and girl enjoying a dish or two and often a family and their children will come along for a treat. Many of these shops are open until quite late in the evenings. They are all of course - içkisiz - that is, they do not serve alcohol.

The Milk Pudding Purveyor

Muhallebici - in turkish

A billboard for a "milk pudding" cafe
in Hatay Caddesi - İzmir
Ice Cream Sign 20Kb

Hasan Usta (from Bolu)
Süt Tatlıları - Sweet Milk Dishes
Kazandibi - Slightly burnt milk pudding - [lit :Bottom of the Pot]
Tavukgöğsü - Chicken Breasts in a sweet milk sauce
Keşkül - Milk pudding with coconut
Sup - a sweet milk soup
Fırın Sütlaç - Baked [lit: Oven] Rice Pudding
Aşure - Noah's Pudding - a sweet dish of cereals, sugar, dried fruit.
Krem Karamel - Cream Caramel.
Ekmek Kadayıfı - a sweet made of bread dough steeped in syrup.
Şekerpare - a sugared pastry dish.
DONDURMA - Ice cream

The owner of this shop is called Hasan Usta - the term Usta means - "skilled, experienced, master of a craft etc.".
You can address people directly as - Usta bey - to show that you realize that they are plying a craft.

Another Milk Bar

- they are everwhere..

Muhallebici in Main Street - Kuşadası
signozsut.jpg 35Kb

The name of the Cafe is - Öz Süt - True Milk or Real Milk. This owner styles himself as Sefer usta - Sefer the expert, he is of course also known as Sefer bey

We can see the addition of a couple more dishes on offer at this cafe - Peynir Tatlısı - Cheese (cake) Dessert and Krem Şokola - Chocolate Cream and of course Profiterol is the same in English.