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Five Top Dishes to Try in North Cyprus
Cyprus is one of the most attractive of European countries to move to, thanks to its welcoming citizens, the warm climate, and comparatively low level of taxes and cost of living.
The delicious Cypriot food is one of the best reasons to live on this island. There are plenty of traditional dishes for expats to try, all made from the abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood available there. Hamiltons Removals, who offer international removals to Cyprus, identify five of the tastiest.
Starter – Halloumi Cheese
This piquant tasting cheese is often served as an appetiser or a snack in Cypriot homes and restaurants, where it’s eaten sliced, grilled or fresh.
Historians are divided on whether halloumi originated in Cyprus in the 16th century or if it has far more ancient Arabic roots.
Although rich in fat, halloumi is thought to be healthier than yellow cheeses, like Edam or Gouda, as it doesn’t contain any preservatives.
Main Course – Souvlaki
This popular dish is served on special occasions such as Bank Holidays and Greek Orthodox Church holidays. Made with pork or chicken, the meat is marinaded the night before, then threaded onto skewers and barbecued or grilled on an open flame. It’s eaten hot while still on the skewers.
Fast food restaurants also serve souvlaki; this is usually in pitta bread wraps, alongside salad, yoghurt and fried potatoes. It’s often accompanied by alcohol like ouzo or zivania, a traditional Cypriot spirit.
Main Course – Lamb Kofte
This is one of the staples of Northern Cypriot cuisine and the meat is ground or minced and then served as a meatball or a type of kebab (typically sheftali). Both of these dishes are accompanied by traditional herbs and spices. It’s also known as ‘kofta’ and has its roots in Balkan, Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Alternatively, in many kitchens and dining rooms you’ll find that lamb, like souvlaki, has been skewered, grilled and served as a sis (shish) kebab.
Main Course – Calamari
As an island nation, Cyprus is blessed with a bounty of fresh seafood. Sea bream and sea bass are familiar fishes in most European cuisines. Cypriots like to eat these grilled, paired with a crisp white wine such as Chardonnay.
However, there are plenty of other more unusual seafood dishes which are Cypriot staples, such as calamari. This is a small type of squid and one of the common ways to serve it is to stuff a whole one with garlic, lemon, olive oil, mint and oregano, and then grill it. (See the picture above). This type of seafood has a mild, slightly sweet taste, and should be chewy to eat but never rubbery.
If you don’t fancy this seafood as a main course, then eat it as a snack instead. Fried calamari rings go well with a cold beer.
Dessert – Baklava
This delicious concoction is served at the end of a meal with coffee or tea. Drenched in honey or syrup, baklava is made from several layers of filo pastry dough and crushed nuts, like pistachios.
A popular dessert in all Middle Eastern countries, the Cypriot version is unique as it’s served with lemon juice and cinnamon to enhance the sweet, buttery taste of the dish.
International Removals to Cyprus with Hamiltons Removals
Hamiltons Removals can help if you are moving house to Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, as well as all the other principal towns and cities in Cyprus. We also organise commercial moves to the country. For more information about our removal services to Cyprus, follow this link or call us on 01379 855203.
Key Reasons to Use Hamiltons for Your Office Move or Refurbishment
Hamiltons Removals specialise in commercial removals throughout the UK. Whatever type of industry you are in, the chances are we have moved one or more of them over the years and know how stressful and time-consuming it can be! We aim to take some of that heavy load off you, whether you are moving from a small office or a large warehouse. Based in Norfolk, we can assist you wherever you are located and provide the highest level of service and attention to detail.
We can also help companies who are looking to refurbish their existing premises, moving and storing all of their furniture, stock and equipment, whilst the renovation or redecoration takes place. Here, we look at some of the benefits of doing this – and why we can help, whatever type of business you operate.
Reasons to Refurbish
Refurbishment of an office or workplace is often more financially feasible than investing in completely new premises. A refurb or refit has a lot of additional benefits, including:
Improving Staff Morale – staff will appreciate the money being invested in their place of work. New fixtures and fittings, as well a new lick of paint, will show that they are valued and worth investing in. Studies have shown that this can lead to an increase in their productivity.
A More Efficient Use of Space – employers often find that an office refurbishment allows them to re-configure the space more effectively. Storage and desk arrangements can be altered to make more room for staff, breakout areas or private meeting spaces for conferences, interviews and board meetings.
More Welcoming for Visitors – Your office is effectively the face of your company and shows how your company is run. A more welcoming workplace (particularly at the front desk or reception area) will create a good impression for prospective clients or customers, who may be excited to work for a company that invests in its premises. It could also help you recruit a higher quality of employees.
There’s a Greater Degree of Safety – If you have been using your existing premises for a while, then the chances are the fixtures and fittings will be showing some signs of wear and tear. An office fitout or refurbishment can put all of this right, as well as ensuring that higher safety standards can be adhered to, reducing the risk of accidents. Existing equipment, such as computers and furniture, could be upgraded at the same time.
Logistical Problems – and Why Hamiltons Removals Offers the Ideal Solution
If you do opt for an office refurbishment, then there’s potentially one big problem – the upheaval it could cause to your business when you need to move desks, IT equipment and other fixtures and fittings. However, at Hamiltons Removals, we have the ideal solution thanks to our packing (and unpacking) services and our two Safe N Stored self-storage facilities in the heart of East Anglia.
We have several decades of experience in packing up valuable business equipment for commercial moves and we bring that same care and attention to detail whenever we prepare something for storage.
We only use the highest-quality packing materials, such as double-walled cartons for additional strength, and also stock specialist items, such as sofa and armchair covers. You needn’t worry about loose items moving about en route in any of our extensive fleet of vehicles, as we also stock bubblewrap and packing paper.
If you have any larger or specialist items you need to shift as part of an office move or refurbishment, then we would recommend these go to our Aldeby site, as this has containers from 5’ to 20’ and can easily fit small vehicles and machinery.
The Harleston site, as well as being home to our packing materials operation, offers rooms of various sizes and would be ideal for smaller office items (including any sensitive documents) while you are either refurbishing or relocating. Both sites combine easy access for the owners with high levels of security; CCTV cameras cover both depots, and the Harleston premises have an alarm system linked directly to Norfolk Police.
Our self-storage depots are both open, with the Harleston site currently open Monday to Friday from 08:30 – 17:30. If you need to visit your unit outside these hours, call our sales team on 01379 855203 to see if this can be arranged.
A Full Removals Service
We’re still offering our usual comprehensive commercial removals service from our HQ on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. For any commercial enquiry, we recommend that you fill in our online form which can be found here.
We offer UK, European and worldwide commercial removals and can often combine this with a competitive domestic removals package – when you move any distance, your staff usually need to move as well. Whether you are refurbishing or moving, we’ll appoint a dedicated member of staff to oversee everything, saving you time, money and a lot of worry.