Istanbul - the Grand Bazaar
Before we left for Istanbul I did a lot of research on the local food scene. Having travelled in Turkey before we had a pretty good idea that you don't necessarily find the tastiest and most interesting food in chic restaurants (and there are more and more of those to be found in Istanbul) So in order to find truly authentic places I looked at foodblogs about Turkey and/or Istanbul. This is one adress I found on Delicious Istanbul , written by Olga Tikhonova who also offers cooking classes that I absolutely intend to book next time I am in Istanbul.
Taking a break shopping at Istanbul's fabulous Grand Bazaar (where you could spend not only fortunes but also days and days) it took us a while to find "Aynen Dürüm", but was it ever worth it! Dürüm are food wraps and the only question we were asked when we got there was "Beef, Chicken or Lamb?" We opted for lamb and after grabbing one of the little stools along a double sided outdoor counter studied what else was on offer:
Flatleaf parsley, dill pickles, grilled peppers
Ismail, King of the BBQ
And as soon as Ismail, the master of the grill had handed over the juicy lamb kebabs stuffed into the wraps we took our cues from our fellow lunchers and went to work adding all the fresh and delicious bits on offer. For the princely sum of 5TL (€ 2; $ 2.86) we had one of our Best.Lunches.Ever. Thank you, Olga!
Best lamb wraps ever: Aynen Dürüm at the Grand Bazaar
Love your photos. Street food in Istanbul is just amazing isn't it? The highlight of any trip there, for us. Will have to look up this kebab joint. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your pictures and experience in Istanbul so I can live vicariously through you. Looks like you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteJulia - do go there,the dürüms are delicious.
ReplyDeleteMichel - thank you and yes we did, except that it was so cold and wet we had to concentrate on indoor activities.
I would love to visit Istambul.And walk through that Bazar.And smell and taste;) Fantastic;)
ReplyDeletegreat photos...I'd love to visit Istanbul as well, do as Dzoli suggests...your pictures encourage a trip! :<)
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful and it sounds like you had a wonderful time in Turkey. We did try Turkish coffee and found it to be wonderful in some places and quite unpleasant in others. I found the coffee served at Starbucks and Gloria Jeans to be only passable, but I realize that could be my taste buds at work. We loved the country and were there for an extended period of time. We overlapped an antiquities tour with a cook's tour and loved every minute of it. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDelete