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Turkish food has some similarities with food in the United Arab Emirates as it is in the Arab region. But there are many different foods. And there is also the same food with a slightly different taste, which is the Turkish way. So I decided to write a post specifically about the food there. I have written another post detailing our visit. (meals not included) including hotels, sightseeing Visa application process Currency information And many other details you can read here.
Turkish Delights: Istanbul Food Safari
This is because we organize guided tours for most of the day. Therefore, lunch is included in the tour. These restaurants are local restaurants with delicious food. But it doesn’t have to be specifically on my list to try. Although we go to different places and explore the local food ourselves. Reading to find out.
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Roadside Snacks: I would like to start with the roadside snacks there. One thing that stands out to me all over Istanbul are the bread carts. It is called Simit. Looks like a pretzel Available in a variety of flavors (savory and sweet), you may find them a bit dry. But there are options such as those with cream cheese. (which I tried) was a little hard but tasted really good. After adding the cream cheese There are sesame seeds on top as well.
Another thing that caught my attention was the cart where they grilled something. I asked the guide and he said it was chestnuts. I received these small bags (100 grams costs 10 lira). You peel off the skin that turns black after roasting and get chestnuts. The texture is softer than I imagined. And I really like the taste of it.
A famous dessert is Turkish food. We saw a shop near the Grand Market that our guide recommended. We are crazy about looking at the variety of offers in this store. They have different shapes and textures. We’ve tasted some. (And I bought some as well.) Not only that. They also have a wide variety of teas and soaps. You will find many of these shops in the large bazaar area where you can buy Turkish food.
We went there about a week ago. And I’ll talk about the restaurants in chronological order. (You can click on the restaurant name to set the location.)
The Man Who Changed Turkish Kebabs
March 15: Part of our Old Istanbul tour was lunch at Serbathane. The word Serbat is used in a similar way to the Hindi/Arabic synonyms of a refreshing drink. Serbat is traditionally served. And that’s where the name comes from.
We started with bulgur soup. (Broken wheat) I saw this at many restaurants in Türkiye. So I think it’s a very famous dish. This is slightly spiced and tastes really good.
Then we had dinner like hummus, fava beans, Russian salad, and a few other things. One of them is a tomato-based mezze that tastes slightly like salsa.
For our main course, there was the mixed kebab – chicken and beef. They were more greasy than the ones I had in Dubai and tasted delicious. Served with french fries and rice.
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We were told that the Karakoy area had some good pubs, so we ventured out to explore. We couldn’t find many good places so ended up going to a place called Finn that we had seen online. It’s a small place. And inside it was full. (Reservations only) So we sat outside. It was winter and most places had outdoor heaters. When coming from Dubai I feel very amazed
We had a few drinks there. And the service is good enough. Unfortunately, it was past 11:00 PM and their kitchen was closed. So we couldn’t find food there.
We approached our hotel and decided to go eat nearby. We saw Mado cafe; And it’s surprising how many of these things there are all over the city. We saw a different shop almost every day we were there.
Names and descriptions of dishes in Turkish I call what looks like a meat dish on a bed of potato chips. The taste was just average.
Turkey Food Adventure
We also ordered chicken pizza. (which wasn’t on the menu but the waiter understood when we told him) This tasted pretty good.
For dessert we had Kazandibi, an Ottoman dessert and popular in Turkish cuisine. It is a type of caramel milk pudding and has a wonderful flavor. Most desserts use goat’s milk. (which has a sticky texture) and I think the same applies. The taste is very good. I recommend you try it.
March 16: We went to Buyukada Island. Where we ate at a seaside restaurant called Milano, no, it wasn’t Italian. We started with a salad. And for the main course I had fish. This doesn’t have too much spice. But it has a good flavor on its own.
I also tried the local liquor – Raki. It is very strong and tastes like absinthe. Personally, I’m not a fan at all.
Spice Market Tour, Turkey
Finally I had a dessert called lokmasi (it’s like the luquaimat we got from the UAE but a little crispier).
The good thing about eating here is that there are seagulls sitting outside the window. It was almost like they were eating with us.
We saw another Mado shop around here. So I went to drink coffee there. I ordered the affogato. I was expecting my usual espresso along with a scoop of ice cream. But it also has cream and chocolate sauce. The flavor was great, although it wasn’t the affogato I was thinking of.
That night we decided to explore the Taksim Square area. It happens quite a lot. And Istiklal Street is like a pedestrian street at night. At the beginning of the road we saw a few shawarma shops. And I couldn’t resist. We went to the one called ?lgın Dürüm. I had chicken shawarma and it tasted heavenly. It had more fillings besides chicken and I really enjoyed eating it.
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We were looking for nightlife and ended up at 360 Istanbul, a place I had been thinking about before going to Turkey. Especially about the view This has good ratings online among the pubs out there. Surprisingly, children are allowed too. The music isn’t too loud. and the place is dimly lit If you sit outdoors You get a pretty good view of the city. (Remember, you’re in the city center, which is a pretty busy area.) If you’re looking for a rooftop place that serves drinks, this is the place to go. This place is also a good option.
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March 17: We landed in Cappadocia in the afternoon and decided to buy something at the hotel before the tour. We tried this delicious “omelette”. It’s actually half a fried egg with beef sausage. It looked delicious. Loei (can’t remember the name)
That evening we went for Turkey Night, which was held in the cave restaurant and included dinner and drinks. We had Turkish chicken stew with bulgur rice. This one had tomato gravy and tasted okay. We enjoyed wine and Turkish dancing.
My Gastronomical Journey Through Turkey
March 18: After the Hot Air Balloon and Red and Green Tour We then had lunch at a restaurant called Han. They have a buffet but not much variety among the main dishes. But there are also many salads and cold appetizers. One of them is cig kofte, which is a Turkish specialty made from bulghur. Personally, I really liked it and would recommend trying it in Turkey. Although its texture is cool and a bit spicy. But it can take some time for your taste buds to get used to it.
The salad was very tasty, although the mains were average. I had it with bulgur rice, which I really enjoyed eating while in Türkiye.
A restaurant I’ve heard a lot about and really wanted to try in Cappadocia is Dibek. It has a cave-like feel. And as soon as you enter You will get a comfortable atmosphere. They have majlis style seating. Cappadocia’s specialty is the pottery kebab. (testi kebab in Turkish) They prepare the dish in a clay pot and break it open in front of you. We ordered one chicken. It’s made with tomatoes and has a delicious flavor. The meat is soft.