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Bazaar of flavors: where to eat well (really) in Turkey | Israel today

2022-12-10T07:33:41.162Z


Modern chef dishes, great street kebab, quality oil and mouth-watering salads • Culinary jump to Turkey, farthest from the security problems


The average Israeli tourist only knows the edge of Turkey: the shopping, the huge decorated and breathtaking mosques of Istanbul, the magical Southern Sea strip of Antalya.

This time we will go to northwest Turkey, for a delicious, unique and destination-worthy journey - also cheap.

The starting point is Izmir, an hour's easy flight from Istanbul.

Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey, lies on the Gulf of Izmir that cradles the Aegean Sea.

Instead of visiting its wonders, we will go to the small towns and villages that surround it.

This region, which was of great importance in the days of the Roman Empire, boasts a long tradition of olive oil production and a culinary tradition based on it.

Here, too, olive oil has great cultural, historical and gastronomic value.

And like olive oil, also in the realms of taste there is an evolution between tradition and the future.

A peddler in a fishing town called Iskal, photo: Maya Darin

Village meal: Asma Yapragi, Alacati

The Asma Yafragi experience is like a rustic and magical time tunnel.

The traditional restaurant is located in a large and spacious garden.

Olive and fruit trees grow in the orchard, beds of spices are interspersed among the tables scattered outside.

Small greenhouses that have been converted into sitting spaces, and the food is cooked in a small kitchen like grandma's.


It is recommended to walk around, look at the spectacular collection of enamelware, the decorated glass goblets, the antique cutlery sets and the vintage furniture offered for sale.

Approach the traditional meal with openness and curiosity for similar-but-different tastes from our own.

Appetisers such as raw beet salad with pomegranate seeds and nuts, roasted eggplant meat with yogurt, hummus spread seasoned with paprika, rocket salad with the fruit of the catalav tree, fried dough puffs filled with green and sour herbs - and of course vine leaves filled with rice and other spices.

Wonderful lamb stews are served for the main course, and cinnamon-scented rice pudding for dessert.

Chef's dinner: Vino locale, Urla

In a small house surrounded by lemon trees laden with fruit is located one of the renowned chef's restaurants of the area.

The young chef Ozan Kumbasar is an Instagram anchor and a celebrity chef in his districts.

His partner and partner, Sarai, graciously hosts and pours wines respectively.

Set aside some quality time with the two, and you will have a wonderful and meticulous modern experience.


Among the dishes that Kumbasar serves: a potato sliced ​​into thin slices that form a dense rectangle and fried until delightfully crisp.

Top it with truffle shavings and around it a Parmesan cream sauce based on reducing the liquid of seasonal vegetables grown in the garden.

Small and beautiful aioli filled with eggplant cream and served in a delicate olive oil sauce, with a light touch of honey and roasted hazelnuts.

Juicy fish fillet in miso sauce, whiskey and lime with fresh herb salad.

And to finish - lemon custard from the trees in the garden.

Breakfast at Alacati Gaia Hotel, photo: Maya Darin

Breakfast: Alacati Gaia hotel

The boutique hotel "Gaia Bazaar" is beautifully designed.

Characterized by spectacular monochromaticity with required minimalism.

Besides the heartwarming design, the breakfast is also different and welcome.

No more a crowded buffet, but a meticulous, personal and refined breakfast - just like in a good restaurant.

A wooden tray with slices of a variety of local cheeses, hot and fresh breads, jams, concoctions, spreads, dips, fresh vegetable salad, excellent coffee and egg dishes prepared to order.

DIY meal: Foodrum, Bodrum

A little south, and we are in Bodrum.

Here, in the prestigious coastal city, the young chef Flynn Dumanelli opened a cooking school and workshop class.

Those who wish to deepen their knowledge and learn the secrets of local cooking are invited to stay with the lively chef who knows how to chat quite a few words in Hebrew.

Flynn buys all the raw materials in the small markets, chooses the freshest fish that came up on the fishermen's rods, and tells about gastronomic processes alongside folklore stories from the local culture.

During the workshop, the guests enjoy tasting the dishes around a table overlooking the demonstration kitchen.

Local olive oil tasting: Olivurla, Urla

The award-winning Hebed House offers guided olive oil tasting in a restored and magical space.

Here you can enjoy explanations about the quality of olive oil, how to identify its nature, how to taste and distinguish the different aromas, and of course buy local olive oil from the variety of decorated bottles.

Tourist dinner at 7. Kat Teras, photo: Maya Darin

***

Do you have a few hours left in Istanbul until your flight home?

Even in the popular city there is plenty of cuisine and delicacies for every pocket.

It is recommended to simply walk around the city and explore, taste everything nearby, show an interest in new foods, approach a vendor who prepares one bite of spices in a crooked street cart, and try to understand what is being cooked in his dish.

Here are recommended tastings for a culinary, casual and delicious time in Istanbul.

A pita meal: Engia usta

The simple and popular shawarma is often considered one of the best in the Galata area.

No juggling, and no additions except a slice of tomato and a handful of chopped green onions.

This shawarma is innocent of any kind, very tasty and surprisingly cheap - 65 Turkish lira per portion (about NIS 12).

A meal in the alley: Dort mevsms bufe

Also in Galata, in a small alley hidden from view, there is a small and hot grill where they grill up to eight kebabs.

Only kebabs.

They are served in workers' white bread, or on a plate accompanied by rice, vegetable salad and onion salad.

There is no news here, but there is a particularly delicious kebab.

Very crunchy, without aggressive seasoning and with a subtle but distinct meaty taste.

A plate of kebabs full of everything costs 85 Turkish lira (about NIS 15).

Chef's dinner at Vino Locale, photo: Maya Darin

Grilled meal: Zubyir

I returned to "Zubir" after many years, and found it good and recommended when it was.

On a side street up the Istiklal is the old grill restaurant that has become an institution.

A large and impressive charcoal grill stands in the center of each floor of the restaurant, on which great cuts are grilled.

Zubir's lamb chops are among the best and recommended I've tasted in my life, and the Orfali kebab is also wonderful.

The starters are traditional and simple, but fresh and good.

A juicy and generous portion of ribs costs 230 Turkish lira (about NIS 42).

A cafe in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, photo: Maya Darin

Tourist meal: 7.Kat teras

The tourist terrace, located on the seventh floor of a run-down building near the fish shops street close to Istiklal, is a tourist restaurant.

Her menu has everything - and everything is good and tasty.

That's right.

The touristic element and the view over the roofs of the city do not detract from the quality of the food at all.

Here, too, the best dishes from the local cuisine are served: lamb chops, kebabs, shishlik, grilled fish, fried fish and even schnitzel.

Although the restaurant does not have any news, the ingredients are fresh and of very good quality, with cooks who know their job.

Lunch for a couple costs 550 Turkish lira (about NIS 100).

A restaurant in the town of Orla, photo: Maya Darin

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Source: israelhayom

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