Tag Archives: restaurant review

August 9, 2024 · 5:35 am

Fun Food and Photo Friday — Istanbul Favorites and Dining on Balik Ekmek Beneath the Galata Bridge,

Beneath the Galata Bridge lie many restuarants specializing in balik ekmek and other delights

One of our favorite things to do in Istanbul is to head on over to the Galata Bridge for balik ekmek. These tasty fish sandwiches are generally affordable, and the restuarants offer great views of the Golden Horn and, on the east side of the bridge, the Bosporus. Welcome to today’s combination Fun Photo Friday/Fun Food Friday, where I will share with you our lunch this past 21 April, as well as some favorite images I took on this visit to Istanbul.

An obviously revered Istanbul resident enjoying a pile of rugs

We’ve done this Galata Bridge dining experience before, as you can see here: 54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Galata Bridge, Golden Horn, and Lunch. But whereas that lunch many years ago was at a restuarant on the Bosporus side of the bridge, this year we opted for one on the Golden Horn side.

Our lunch this day began with the bread you see above. We followed that up with a delightful and tasty fish soup:

We ordered a side of fries to accompany our sandwiches. They were tasty and as crisp as they appear here:

This is the point where I made an error. Ursula chose fresh (unsalted) anchovy, and I opted for a filet. Usula’s choice was the better of the two:

Ursula’s sandwich made from fresh anchovy

Now on to today’s Fun Photo Friday of Istanbul favorites:

Hippodrome of Constantinople; Obelisk of Theodosius (right)

Next week we’ll continue with our look at the Topkapi Palace.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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Filed under Fun Food Friday, Fun Photo Friday, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as balik ekmek, food, Fun Food Friday, Fun Photo Friday, Galata Bride, Galata Köprüsü, Istanbul, Meşhur Eminönü Balık, photography, R. Doug Wicker, restaurant review, travel, travel photography, vacation

July 26, 2024 · 5:35 am

Fun Food and Photo Friday — Istanbul Favorites and TuR DÖNER for Döner Kebab

What’s that old saying? Oh, yeah. When in Türkiye, eat Turkish. And döner kebab is about as Turkish as it gets. Located approximately three minutes, via foot, from our hotel in the Sultanahmet District of Istanbul was what appeared to be a local favorite — TuR DÖNER. How good was this place. Well, I didn’t know it at the time, but 559 Google reviewers give it an average 4.9 rating. I just looked that up for this article, and I have to concur with that extraordinarily high rating. But Ursula and I figured the place was a winner when we saw that most of the clietele were locals. That’s something we look for when sampling the local fare.

Traveler Tip of the Day: When asking your hotel staff or a local for a restaurant recommendation, inquire where they like to dine for local fare. That generally will get you to the best place for local cuisine, and watch how the local’s face lights up when they understand you want to partake in their country’s food culture. It also keeps you out of the more touristy establishments.

Döner kebab rotating on vertical rotisseries — lamb and beef

The address for this wonderful establishment is Mimar Mehmet Ağa Cd. No. 6, Sultanahmet, Fatih, Istanbul. The place had the feel of a family-run endeavor, and the staff were incredibly friendly and accommodating to our linguistically challenged presence. Indeed, I got the impression they were falling over backwards to cater to us. Around the corner is a similarly named Turgut Döner, but I do not believe they are affiliated. Adding to the confusion: TuR DÖNER’s paper placemats are apparently from Turgut Döner.

Ursula and I both had the beef döner, which turned out to be way too much for us as it also came with TuR DÖNER’s incredible hummus.

Just one of our two beef döner kebab orders

This was my very first experience with döner kebab, but it certainly won’t be my last. Now, the next time I visit the Middle East (Abu Dhabi and Dubai articles will follow this series on Istanbul) I want to partake of the similar Arab dish shawarma. But for this day I was just glad we decided to go native:

Today is a two-fer. Not only are you getting a Fun Food Friday, you’re also being treated to the first of several Fun Photo Fridays of Istanbul favorites:

Beginning next Monday I’ll take you on a photo cruise on the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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Filed under Fun Food Friday, Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, Restaurant Review, travel, vacation, Wine & Food

Tagged as döner kebab, doner kebab, food, Fun Food Friday, Fun Photo Friday, Istanbul, photography, R. Doug Wicker, restaurant review, Sultanahmet, travel, travel photography, TuR DÖNER, vacation

February 2, 2024 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo/Food Friday — Singapore in Pictures 4; Beaulieu House for Lunch

Everybody likes colorful pictures of delectible food, right? Well, I hope today is not an exception as I present images from our tour group lunch at Singapore’s Beaulieu House.