Best Things to Eat In Istanbul – Part 2
Turkey has a very diverse and world-renowned cuisine and Istanbul is the place in which you can find all of them. Since Istanbul has many representatives from all the cultures, you will see and taste unique things in this metropolitan City. In our Part 2 article of best things to eat in Istanbul, we will continue our Part 1 with new and more delicious foods!
In our Part 2, our first must try food is a special meat which is cooked in an underground pit oven – or tandoori.
Kuyu Kebabı – Tandır
Kuyu Kebabı is a special food from the central Anatolia but it has a specific city which is associated with it, Kastamonu. This food got its name from its cooking style. Tandır or the tandoori is a special oven which is situated under the ground and the kuyu means ”well”. Mostly they use lamb meat in this food and let the meat cook slowly in a well or specially constructed oven which is situated underground with a charcoal fire. For the best flavor, locals use pine tree branches.
And for the Istanbul, among the best places for this food, you should definitely visit the Siirt Şeref Büryan Kebap Salonu which is located in the Fatih.
Iskender Kebap – Bursa Kebap
Even though there are lots of kebaps in Turkey, this one deserves a special place among them all. It is actually made of döner meat and originated from a neighboring city, Bursa. After cutting the döner very thin – it is so thin that Turkish people call it the ”yaprak döner”, which means döner as thin as a leaf – they add special ingredients. First, they add pieces of pide, a kind of bread such as pita – on the ground of the plate, and then they add the döner, afterward the most delicious part, the tomato sauce comes on top of these and they put some yogurt on the side of the plate. Ta-da!
Even though it is originated from the Bursa, you can find some good places that cook this delicious kebap in Istanbul too. Moreover, the original restaurant that discovered the Iskender, Iskender Iskenderoglu has many places in Istanbul, Besiktas, Şişli and many more. But, if you want to try a different and good version, you can try the Bursa Kebapçısı in Atıf Yılmaz Street in Beyoglu.
Lord of the Kebaps – Adana Kebap
This one is often called as the lord of the kebaps and it has a special reason for this. It takes the name after the city of Adana and it originates back to there. Since there are many kebaps that call themselves Adana, this one has had ”Controlled Designation of Origin” since 2009. You can only find original Adana kebaps at places who are inspected on the spot and approved by the Adana Chamber of Commerce.
Even though the ingredients aren’t that much, the making process is what makes this kebap hard and delicious at the same time. It has many herbs but the most important ingredient is the lamb meat, and the other one is the tail fat. According to the traditional recipe, the meat must belong to the male lab that is younger than one year of age, ”süt kuzu” in Turkish. Moreover, the natural habitat of the animal is also important and it has to be raised in a local flora. Adana is among the cities that have husbandry and breeding at the highest levels in Turkey. After the cleaning process of the meat, you add dried red and green hot pepper and some fresh local red peppers, brochette mounted on the skewers, and grill it on the charcoal fire. It is served with a traditional bread named ”lavas”, it is kind of a pita but thinner and they give grilled onion, tomato and green pepper on the side.
Among the best and approved places you can eat this delicious kebap in Istanbul, you can visit Adana Sofrası Ciğer ve Kebap Salonu (Beşiktaş), Adana Yüzevler (Etiler), Kebapçı Enver Usta (Beyoğlu-Tünel), and Zübeyir Ocakbaşı (Beyoğlu). Besides, you can eat delicious kebaps in our Sultanahmet Hotel, Sura Hotels too.
