Will Manouri be the new halloumi?

I haven't come across much in the way of interesting cheese dishes lately - except for this one at Kiwi chef Peter Gordon's new cafe Kopapa

It topped a bruschetta of white bean purée (laced with herbs by the looks of it), braised cavolo nero and tomato yuzu jam.

I liked the Manouri. It was lighter and moussier than halloumi and less salty than feta, of which I discovered from Juliet Harbutt's excellent World Cheese Book, it is a by-product. In Greece they use it in sweet dishes as well as savoury pies like spanakopita in much the same way as the Italians use ricotta. It's usually made from ewes' or goats' milk though and obviously has a firm enough texture to stand up to frying.

I wish it was more widely available. (The Greek food specialist Odysea seems to import it but doesn't currently sell it in their online shop.)

Home made halloumi

Not a recipe, I'm afraid just a revelation. Which is how much better homemade halloumi tastes than the mass-produced shop-bought version. As you'd expect.

I came across it in one of our most inventive local restaurants Flinty Red where the chef Matthew Williamson had decided to make his own, grill it and serve it with roasted tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil (apologies for the blurry iPhone shot). It was absolutely delicious.

Needless to say there are loads of recipes on the net if you Google 'How to make halloumi' but I liked the look of this version from blogger Alessandra Zecchini which uses smaller quantities than most and includes step-by-step photographs of what the cheese should look like at each stage (though not all the recipes suggest brining it as this one does). Anyway it really doesn't look difficult.

Have any of you made halloumi and would like to comment?