Lucky enough to have an incredibly welcoming and generous friend in Istanbul, I spent a week there last October, where its point on the map meant it still felt like Summer. Having flown in from Munich post Oktoberfest, some fresh and delicious semi-healthy meals were in order.
Unsurprisingly, given the climate and the influences of Europe to the west and Asia to the east, there is immense variety of cuisine on offer. A far cry (no-offence) from Cuba Street Turkish, I can't think of anything that didn't wow the tastebuds and with loads of veges and fruit, it seemed to be just what the body needed after a weekend on litre steins of beer. Well maybe making allowances for the olive oil, cheese and pastries. In no particular order...
Breakfasts:
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Early morning breakfast at home with Zeynep and mum. Fruit, boiled eggs, cucumber,
tomato, feta, yogurt, coffee, olives. Sustenance for the commuter ferry from Asia to Europe (actually only about 30 minutes). |
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We were hungry.
Breakfast for two while waiting for the ferry up the Bosphorous a few days later.
Ship-spotting on the Bosphorous. En route to Russia via the Black Sea. |
Snacking:
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Grapes, cheese toasties and beer on the rooftop in Besiktas.
Watching the night lights with the bridge over the Bosphorous strait in the distance. |
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Peckish afternoon snack, enjoyed on a little plastic stool down an alley way.
Aubergine and white beans, mopped up with a communal plastic container of bread. |
Z took me out one night for a wandering progressive meal of street food and small bites. This was a great way of tasting a whole range of Turkish flavours, without overdoing it too severely. In somewhat reverse order, we started with a "wet burger" at Kizilkayalar in Taksim Square. Basically, where the kiwi might resort to a kebab on the way home after a big night, this is what the Istanbul contingent reach for. The website Istanbul Eats describes these as a burger that is essentially incubated in a burger-hamam before being squished into a fluffy white bun. They sum up this guilty pleasure thus: "at 2 a.m. on a Friday night, nothing is as good as a Kızılkayalar wet burger – except for another one".
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Pretty much standing room only.
Open 24 hours, although apparently boarded up since the 2013 protests. |
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| People dining in the middle of back streets. |
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| Fried mussels, stuffed in hollowed-out sesame bread, served with a garlicky, almondy sauce. |
When we could not eat any more and with little treats of 'loukoumi' (Turkish for Turkish delight) in our bags, I was escorted to some incredible rooftop bars to digest over beers and wait for Sus and Kat to arrive from London. I can't remember what this place is called but on the Beyoglu side and up a rickety lift, voila one of the coolest drinking spots ever.
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| Beers on a roof |
Eminonu fish sandwiches (move over fish and chips):
Since Istanbul straddles one of the world's busiest waterways (the Bosphorous) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, fish and seafood abounds and this is no more obvious than on and around the Galata Bridge. One street-food taste not to be missed is the fried fish sandwiches served up straight from boats late-afternoon, on the spice bazaar side of the water, on the right at the end of the bridge if you are walking over from Beyoglu. For a few lira you get fresh barbequed fish sold directly from the fishermen, tossed into bread with salad, onion and fresh lemon. Simple and not to be missed.
Cooking fresh fish on a bbq boat moored next to Galata bridge
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| YUM! (crowds not shown) |
