Food Safari - License to Eat

Istanbul has a long connection with the 007 franchise, three of the films have had sequences shot there. Skyfall, 2012, takes us to Old Istanbul. The film opens with James witnessing his fellow MI6 agent being shot at the Deutsche Orient Bank, he drives down the front steps of the Old Bank before a famous motorcycle chase scene, continuing on the roof tops of the nearby Grand Bazaar. The Old Deutsche Bank is now a hotel where we stayed for a short break to indulge in the foods of the Ottoman’s and famously where Asia meets Europe over the dividing Bosporus Strait.

Breakfast

We experienced two different styles of breakfast, a local market version as well as the ‘Old Bank’ version.

The local market breakfast included lots of different dishes shared by the table. For example traditional feta style cheeses and a goat’s cheese cured in the goat’s stomachs referred to locally as ‘bagpipes’ for the more adventurous! There were olives galore; Turkey produces more than 118 varieties, four types found it to our table. Acujika is a sweet chilli, tomato and nut paste. Countering the savoury, they served local hazel nut pastes and sweet clotted cream topped with local honey. Traditional sesame topped simit bread is provided alongside sesame breads filled with spicy sausage, scrambled eggs & tomato, cured pastrami style meats and sharing plates of Menemen, soft scrambled eggs, grated tomatoes, green peppers, onions, ground black and red pepper, very simple and a delicious start to the day, served with sweet mint tea.

The Old Bank breakfast was more akin to a tapas party for one, each small dish was presented in a specific order, served with mint tea, freshly squeezed pomegranate juice and a glass of local fizz. We enjoyed the ‘??lb?r’; two poached eggs cooked in garlic yoghurt and spiced butter simply delicious, and recently made Insta-famous by Nigella Lawson who included it in a recent series.

Markets & Bazaars

By the Old Bank there are a huge amount of stalls. The two main attractions are The Spice Market and the infamous Grand Bazaar. Despite its scale and size, the Grand Bazaar is disappointing in terms of shopping. It is however fascinating to see and get lost in with over 4000 shops across 66 streets.

The Spice Market was a much more satisfying food destination. It is housed in a beautiful old concourse with lots of old details and architecture having been recently renovated and restored to the original 1600’s designs and features. 85 stalls being far more negotiable than the Grand Bazaar.

Asia

We ventured across the Bosporus on a commuter ferry. Stunning views of both sides of Istanbul, traditional on one side, more modern on the other. Alcohol, on the traditional side, is not visible at all and generally only available in restaurants and hotels. It is very expensive even for local wines and beers. On the more modern Asian side, there are plenty of bars and alcohol is much more accessible, hence people travel across the river to make the most of it, with drinks roughly a third of the price.

We found a number of very traditional and local establishments.

Kimyon Retreat

A simple café that specialises in a local ancient soup recipe, Beyran, which is a slow cooked Turkish lamb soup. The lamb neck and bone stock is the secret, cooked for several hours with plenty of lemon, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and cooked rice. Such simple ingredients but a delicious dish.

Ciya

Ciya is a traditional restaurant that started out serving old-fashioned kebab and Lamachan (a flash cooked flatbread topped with minced meat, chopped tomatoes, onions, seasoning and parsley – think Turkish Pizza). Chef Musa Dagdeviren is head of the Ciya empire, and has featured on Netflix Chef’s Table, as well as featuring in numerous global food publications, promoting his traditional Ottoman recipes. The New York Times promotes Ciya as a food destination.

We started with tamarind sherbet as a pallet cleanser; it was sharp as you would expect. This was followed by the creamiest of houmous, smoked aubergine yogurt, Zhartar salad with wild thyme leaves, pickled thyme leaves, walnuts, pomegranate, Kisir Turkish bulgur tabbouleh with home made simmit bread.

As we strolled back to the Bosporus we enjoyed a pistachio, goat’s milk and Salep ice cream. Salep is the natural gum used to thicken and is made from local orchid roots. After that little pick me up, we headed for the last dish of the day …

Iskender Kebab House

Iskender Kebab House is the oldest in Istanbul dating back to 1867, and specialises in Iskender. They use the traditional 4000-year-old horizontal style to roast donner meat. Rest easy, this is nothing like the donner you can get at the weekend, this contains only premium cuts of lamb. Iskender is simply grilled/roasted lamb donner served on a base of freshly baked pitta style bread, roast chillies, sliced tomatoes and fresh plain strained yogurt. They then douse the dish with lashings of brown butter.

Sweet

Turkish people definitely have a sweet tooth and a penchant for every flavour of Lokum (Turkish Delight), served with drinks and after meals usually in very small portions. Flavours include rosewater, bergamot, orange, lemon, cinnamon, mint, topped with chopped dates, walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts to name a few.

Another sweet treat is Baklava, the history of which dates back to 1473 and the Ottoman Empire. Made traditionally with filo pastry, it has a chewy rich nutty texture; Specialist shops are found all over Istanbul. Often given as a gift it is an important sweet in ceremonies around the world at Christmas, Easter, Lent; with tradition saying the 40 layers represent the days in Lent, or 33 layers symbolising the life span of Christ. Turkish Baklava can have 60 layers.

Overall, the food and the people were fantastic. Istanbul is well worth a foodie short break. There is something for every taste. We loved most of where we ate including a great fish restaurant on the edge of the Bosporus, you simply chose your fish from the counter and it was cooked over charcoal. Our favourite though was ‘Sehzade’ a small family run outfit with formica tables, plastic chairs, paper napkins on request. No tourists, just locals, found just off the high streets near the ferry port.