Dkik & Zit: A Culinary Journey into the Heart of the Medina

Hello steemians,

As I wandered through the narrow winding alleys of the old medina, footsteps echoed off cobblestones and whitewashed walls holding centuries of stories. I stumbled across a small treasure that locals know as Dkik & Zit. It is not some big grand touristy place but somewhere that looks unassuming and where the soul of the medina oozes out with every taste, smell, and texture.

Visiting a restaurant that was located down a narrow alley, the old bricks looked as if some dark whisper of history still sighed through them. The old stone walls, polished through wear and tear, shone like amber in the light of gas lamps. Kindling warmth and promise, yellow lights of Dkik & Zit soared above the alley. Even before I opened the door, a succulent promise of warm flatbreads and fillings filled the air.

_{The yellow Dkik & Zit sign is something of a beacon for foodies in the medina.}

It felt as if you were in a different world once you stepped inside. It had that beautiful rustic look to it with jammy stone walls and patterned traditional colorful tiles which spoke of nothing but old-time heritage. At one end, a Victorian tap and an enormous terracotta urn bestowed a living museum character on the place, where time had apparently promised to remain unhurried.

_{Old school corner with a traditional water jar and faucet.}

What is really worth noting about Dkik & Zit is that you can never stop watching; the kitchen is just another stage where a whole process happens right before your eyes. A thin sheet of dough is stretched by the cook, who then fills it with tuna, fries, and soft cheese triangles, deftly folding it into a neat parcel. The ingredients slathered on the marble counter are a colorful palette of shredded tuna that sits next to golden fries, bright rings of onions, and white and black meat slices painted with creamy cheeses waiting to melt within the warm bread.

_{The chapati is deftly folded together by the chef, passages of the past whirling into one another.}

Rather than using a contemporary oven, the bread is “baked on a terracotta tajine over a low flame.” That process of slow cooking helps to create this flatbread with its distinctive profile crispy on the outside but tender and soft inside. It feels as though you are watching a ritual that has been practiced for generations, one in which the bread absorbs the heat from the clay and slowly turns brown.

_{The chapati on the warm tajine takes its eloquent golden hue.}

For dinner that same day, I ordered a Malfouf with tuna, which is golden and stays very full of tuna, egg, and other delights among the cream cheese inside, and a classic Chapati, sober but anyone needs something else to be straighter better on this one, letting release more lightly the already grilled bread flavor.

_{The prize: a malfouf and a chapati, hot and fresh.}

It took a mini journey to even have the primary chomp. Under the crunchy crust, a soft yielding interior of soothing tuna and gentle hot melted cheese everything in perfect balance. And each individual flavor felt so enhanced by the delicate smokiness of the tajine that it evolved from simply being a meal into almost some kind of sensory novel.

The medina was the dining room. Perched on a wooden stool at the side of an ancient cobbled street, I was tucking into my noodle soup as life carried on around me, runners going by, scooters in the distance, and hushed evening chat. All of it doubly felt like an authentic tableau of Tunisian street life, the kind of experience no modern restaurant could ever replicate.

_{Dining under the sky, with the medina being that restaurant.}

The small receipt came after this meal with a small piece of paper slightly smudged with sauce, but to me, that meal was my culinary vacation. Here it is, the detailed bill with some conversion on STEEM currency:

Item	Price (millimes)	Price (STEEM)
Malfouf Tuna	4,500	11.88
Chapati Normal	4,800	12.67
Total	9,300	24.55

Exchange rate: 1,000 millimes = 0.0379 USD. Conversion rate: 1,000 millimes = 2.64 STEEM.

_{The basic recipe for a memory that costs you nothing but feels like it's worth everything to you.}

Severing the connection to Dkik & Zit seemed to be closing a brief time travel chapter. The flavor of flatbread and tuna hung in the air, mixed with laughter, stone walls, and the familiar cadence of the medina. This was more than a dinner it was a lesson in places where food crosses over to culture, memory, and the soul of a city.

_{Fairytale tiles and walls of stone that make you feel as if you are living as a part of the medina itself.}

Best Regards,
@kouba01