Zer Shish is a Turkish restaurant located in Corringham, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. I went there on the Saturday night with a group of lovely people that I had met online earlier this year. ‘Nigerians in Essex’. I guess one of the ways of getting to know people, socialising and passing time together is by sharing a meal. Which is exactly what nine of us did. We agreed to meet at six-thirty in the evening and in true Nigerian style only a few of us made it to that timeline. It didn’t matter. When we were all finally seated, we seemed comfortable enough with each other to chat, laugh, agree on the food and generally just enjoy the last day of April 2022.

We ordered the family platter – a meat feast of chicken and lamb on a bed of rice and couscous. It was very tasty and extremely filling. I especially liked the chicken – juicy and succulent. We could not finish the food! It was just too much – very generous portions…

It was a lovely evening. It was really nice to meet new people and think about life from another perspective other than my own. At least now I know a Turkish restaurant that I would strongly consider visiting again.