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The Beef: A decent food option within the Found158 complex. I’d come for the reliable food but definitely a must to stop by when I’m in the mood for a glass (ahem, bottle) of raki.

The food is a mix of Turkish and Indian, kind of an odd pairing at first but when you look at the menu, the cuisines really aren’t all that different. Plenty of grilled meats/kebabs/curries, breads (Turkish pizza a la pide, Indian a la naan, paratha, roti…), dips (hummus, baba ghanoush), and in both cuisines…lots and lots of spices! There’s two menus to choose from, so a myriad of options to fit the pickiest crowd. You’ll also see (on the menu itself) that this place is also owned by Kebabs on the Grille, who kept the existing Turkish menu and added their own Indian one. Why reinvent the wheel?

The only dish I’ve tried that I didn’t enjoy here was the green salad with chicken breast (pictured). The dressing was more Thai sweet and spicy sauce – thick and cloying. Kind of the opposite of what I wanted in a salad.

They have some sort of special going on every night of the week (see “The Motive”), and worth checking out if you want to hang out with some drinks and nibbles in between too casual (pizza) or too fancy (french/seafood places) within the establishment.

The Motive: Specials on most days of the week. Mon/Tues: 50% off on all beers; Wed: Turkish Beef Steak 88rmb; Thurs: Chicken Tikka 38rmb; Fri: bottle Prosecco 148rmb; Sat: Raki BOGO glass; Sun: 50% off all cocktails. Also a buffet brunch on Sundays for 120rmb.

The Damage: 400rmb for 2 girls on a Friday prosecco deal date, with hearty meal.

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I ventured to Pera at the suggestion of my regular dining partner, although billed as a Turkish restaurant, the establishment also serves Indian dishes by way of Kebabs on the Grille?

I have sampled a great deal of Turkish and Indian fare, including street food, and lived to tell the tale, not the 1,000 nights tale variety either, but by having driven through the whole of Turkey, and taken many a bumpy train journey around India.

Pera, offers the standard fare that one would expect at a Turkish restaurant, what I can say is that the food offered represents value for money, and affordable, as are the wines by the glass, but NOT in the quality of the wine sadly, they left a lot to be desired I felt.

The following dishes were ordered and came somewhat haphazardly, but nevertheless tasty enough.

Vegetable Samosa: Somewhat dry, pasty a little stale, and either kept warm or recently reheated? Accompanied by traditional dips

Kalamar Dolma: aka stuffed Squid, now you either like squid or you don’t and very often if not prepared well it can become like chewing on “rubber bands” …This was not the case, the dish was succulent and tender, along with a rich sauce, that one could mop up if you ordered the bread to go along with your dishes.

Zucchini Pancake: aka courgette frittata, speaks for itself, an ok dish

Mixed Kebab Platter: Although the dish was billed for two pax, it could easily have fed four, great selection of meat, and price wise the meat was actually tender, no hint of meat tenderiser, which you get in some Chinese restaurants through adding or marinating in MSG.

The wines which we had by the glass, as I said were forgettable two non-descript whites, and two red’s, perhaps the Malbec was the highlight here, why offer wines by the glass if they are mediocre, there are enough wine suppliers with affordable wines at trade prices in Shanghai these days.

Damages for the evening a mere 636RMB. I wouldn't rush to go back to Pera as there are better Turkish restaurants in Shanghai, looking around the entire complex it would seem that a number of earlier establishments moved on judging by a number of newer venues, and they too appear to be struggling at 9pm on a Friday evening.

Establishments are certainly going through the mill at 158 Julu Lu, aka Datong Mill, which does not surprise me.

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