AS we swelter; as traffic builds on all roads to the beach; as we lie awake at 4am too hot to sleep, my thoughts inevitably turn to food.

Where to go to feel less like a huffing, puffing, sweaty, sticky mess and more like an advert for cool holiday chic?

It had to be ‘Keyif’ Turkish restaurant on Penarth’s Glebe Street.

Okay, so no amount of gastronomy is going to make me feel actually cool or chic, but I am a firm believer that good food and fantastic company can nourish the soul and soothe like few other things and if you can’t actually be on holiday right now, you can spend an evening pretending.

Amanda being firmly in the ‘fantastic company’ field and like me, in need of something chilled to drink and tasty to eat, joined me in the relative cool of the restaurant, situated just up from another favourite eatery of mine, ‘The Busy Teapot’ cafe.

We were greeted with smiles and were shown to a table and on this I must mention, even though we were only a party of two we were allowed to sit on a table for four.

I detest being squished in a small space, especially when I am as hot as a sausage cooking on coals, so having elbow room in this airy establishment was already warming me to the place - but warming in a good way, not in the over-boiled beans kind of way that I had felt all week.

Chilled sauvignon and a jug of ice water swiftly settled on the table and we were free to gaze at the menu.

Ah, decisions, decisions.

When life overwhelms you with her multitude of tempting treats, I find it best to snaffle several and so we ordered the hot mezze to start.

With an agreement we would try a bit of each others, we each chose a different main, ‘Yoghurt Chicken Shish’ for Amanda and ‘Ali Nazik Kebab – Lamb’ for me.

The mezze was a platter bundled high with an assortment of calamari, crispy coated and smooth and silky centred; smoky charred halloumi; Muska Boregi, fragrant with parsley and salty with feta; falafel with rich, garlicky hummus and spicy Sukuk.

We both agreed that a platter of that each would’ve been a satisfying and special meal, but onwards and upwards to the main course.

Rarely do I come across a texture and taste that is like nothing else I have had before.

Usually things seem 'a version of' or 'close to' or 'a bit like'; and they’re often comparable to chicken.

So to have a bowl full of something tasting ‘other’ with a texture I am struggling to describe was instantly pleasing.

Such was my soft and yielding lamb tumbled over a glossy pillow of hot roasted aubergine whipped up with yogurt and a buttery sauce.

There are no words to describe Amanda’s dish, literally.

My word-count has expired, other than to say, all delicious and I shall return.