In Nanqiao town in Fengxian district, there is a small restaurant with a big story. At Halley Pizza, the aroma of Turkish kebabs fills the air, yet what truly defines the place is the man behind the grill. His name is Nazim Yildiz, but most people simply call him Usta. Now 60, he has spent almost his entire life in the kitchen and has come to see Fengxian as his second home.

From Antalya to Shanghai

Usta grew up in his father's restaurant, where helping in the kitchen after school became one of his happiest memories. To improve his skills, he later moved to Antalya, a well-known resort city in Turkiye that is famous for high-end hotels and skilled chefs.

"I have been in the kitchen for almost 50 years," he said with a smile in slightly accented Chinese. His years in Antalya exposed him to many different cuisines, yet China still felt unfamiliar. His curiosity eventually brought him to Shanghai, where he worked as a culinary instructor at a cooking school in Fengxian.

During his three years of teaching, he grew to love the people and environment of the district. "Six years ago, I felt there were not many good Western restaurants in Fengxian, so I opened my own," he said. That restaurant became Halley Pizza, a place where he brought together his passion, experience, and understanding of Chinese dining culture.

Cooking with love

"My idea is simple. I cook with love," Usta said. "If I would not serve a dish to my own kids, then I would never serve it to a customer." For him, running the restaurant is not about making money. It is about seeing guests feel happy after eating his food.

He wants every customer to feel like they are visiting his home rather than a place of business. He greets each patron himself and tries to remember their faces. "I want everyone who comes here to feel like a VIP," he said.

Inside the restaurant, a photo wall arranged in heart-shaped clusters displays the many friendships Usta has built over the years.

The idea of "Usta Cuisine"

Rather than simply reproducing dishes from home, he creates what he calls Usta Cuisine, which combines Turkish traditions with his own style and with flavors he has tailored to local tastes.

He serves classics such as Adana kebab and traditional Turkish coffee brewed slowly in hot sand using copper pots, while continually developing new dishes. "I adjust the flavors for local preference," he said. Since many customers prefer food that is not too sweet, sour, or salty, he fine-tunes each recipe. Some diners have even told him that his versions taste better than what they tried in Turkiye.

That attention to detail shows in the restaurant's daily crowds. Even on a weekday, Halley Pizza is busy at lunchtime. Many visitors praise the Turkish rice pudding for its creamy texture, subtle sweetness, and chewy grains of rice.

If you go

Halley Pizza

Address: Room 332, 3F, Building A1, Alley 1588 South Wangyuan Road, Fengxian district

Business hours: Daily from 10 am to 9 pm

Sources: Official WeChat account of Fengxian Converged Media Center at "fengxian310226" and official Xiaohongshu account of Halley Pizza