Saturday, December 26, 2009

Catching Up on Turkish Food at IST

Döner kebap and Ayran

With such little time on the ground here in Turkey, I really didn't get a chance to do the food proper justice. But at least I could still pick up a few things while I was at Istanbul airport this morning, like this döner kebap, which I made sure to get in a pide bread sandwich form rather than on a plate. This really wasn't much more than just meat with a little bit of garnish on dry bread though; in that sense, I still prefer the German version with all of its chopped veggies and sauces.

Burma Kadayif with Pistachio

A number of airport shops were also selling baklava from Karaköy Güllüoğlu. I gave this kadayif stuff a try this time. It was similar to baklava in that it used syrup and things like pistachio nuts, although it was based on shredded wheat-like strands rather than filo pastry. Fortunately this wasn't too sweet either.

Some kind of snacks at Istanbul's Millenium Lounge

The last item here wasn't even a proper dish - it was just a collection of a few things that I picked up at the lounge, but all of which surprised me by how much I liked them. The red stuff on the left was couscous-like, but was a bit sour. Similarly, that shredded pink cabbage stuff was also a little sour. The cucumbers and tomatoes were plain - but lemon juice and olive oil were provided as condiments, so of course I made them a bit sour too. I don't know the names of this stuff - nor if I ate these the right way, but they were refreshing.

3 comments:

dfdfd said...

That sandwich looks great, I want one now!

tanya said...

oh that kebab looks good. I live in the Ghim Moh area of S'pore and there's a guy who's opened a kebab shop in the hawker centre ($6 for a kebab and fries). The meat's good, but the bread's too thin, more like a tortilla than pita. Alas...

Unknown said...

Hi Hungryboy,
I remember eating the best kebab in Turkey. The food in Istanbul was just so good and so tasty.
My hubby tried a kebab in S'pore but did not like it because it did not taste authentic. We were living in Geneva for many years and were able to eat good kebabs there. If you happen to be in GVA for work or leisure and have a craving for kebabs or shawarmas you can go to Rue de Berne in the area of Paquis where there are quite a few turkish and lebanese eateries:

Istanbul Kebab
29 rue de Berne
1201 Geneva
(good lamb or chicken kebabs)

Marmara
23 rue de Berne
(IMO, even better kebabs and good karniyakik)

Parfums de Beyrouth
18 rue de Berne
(delicious lamb shawarmas, but mv favourite is the veal tongue shawarma prepared with just sliced onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. Very popular place.) Cheers.