Actually I would have let the photos talk for themselves, but that would be unfair and incomplete… Last week Bade and Ayşe of MSA send me a notice stating Alancha of Kemal Demirasal will be in Istanbul for a short time of 7 days, at Okulun Mutfağı, MSA. Very exciting…
Hamsi may not be the king of fishes or the fish king itself for most of us, but Karadenizliler -locals of Black Sea region- have an emotional attachment to hamsi. It is more than a fish, but a life culture there. Even when you ask a Karadenizli about another fish,…
I have been waiting for that phone call. Reserved our seats before knowing the menu, date, of course it did not matter. My only concern was to be there, to have a seat, to dine, to enjoy. And then Uğur called, telling me sweet things like menu, date, timing… I…
Kadıköy Balık Pazarı is looking vivid and colorful, with the fish mongers yelling their guts out, they sure do like showing off with their fish! As the weather starts getting cold, the fish gets better and better, their meat fatty and firm. So it is time for a grilled/pan fried bonito…
Sitting by the beach… After countless ice cold beer sessions we ordered a humble lunch, with a view like this. Kızartma, being the ultimate guilt free vacation food, stuffed courgette flowers, garlic and tomato dressed purslane salad… All very fresh and equally delicious. Calamaris sauteed slowly with olive oil, soft,…
To how many of you I recommended Asmalı Cavit I really do not recall, since it is the one place I love going over and over again, it is one of my safest places where I always reserve the same table, it is my table after all. Asmalı Cavit is…
After a beautiful morning with the photographer Jonathan Lewis at Kantin, I suggested Şemsa that we should go to Karaköy Balıkçısı for an escape. And we did. Well, I ended up eating alone cause of the terrible car park nonsense, after half an hour we couldn’t park. She had limited…
When Nil suggested that we should work at Burgazada instead of Istanbul, the next thing I remember is us checking our calendars. Our morning started at Sırma Cafe, where we had tea and homemade poğaça, watching the islanders walk by the street, parted by the horse carriages. The poğaça sans…
You know the rule, if the locals are lining in front any of the eateries, dive in, you most probably are going to get a treat. La Ideal, was packed when we got there, seems the tiny place was always cramped. Impossible to find a table, we squeezed in and found a…