Cihangir'de saklanıvermiş: KAHVE6

 Cihangir'in ara sokaklarına adeta saklanmıs bir cafe daha! Sokagın icine girip de aczık ilerlemeden bu mekanı görmek neredeyse imkansız! Böyle saklı köşede kalması iyi olmuş ama, gelen gecen görmüyor burayı, sadece bileni gidiyor ;) icerideki müsteri kalitesi de bir baska güzel oluyor tabii. Mekan kücük bir oda misali, birkac masa dısında bir de soyle iyicene yayılalım diye genis koltuklar var. İster masa basında lezzetli yemeklerinden tadın, ister yayılın söyle koltuga saatlerce, cayınızı kahvenizi yudumlayın. Her iki secenek icin de mükemmel burası. Ve arkada meger bizi yine bir süpriz bekliyormus: minik şirin bir bahce, ortasındaki süs havuzu ile de adeta büyüleyici! Yemeklere gelince, bir kere dısarıda kahvaltı etmek isterseniz direk buraya yönelebilirsiniz! Kocaman kahvaltı tabagından tut, daha mütevazi kahvaltılıklara kadar bir sürü secenek var. Bir de böyle "can simidi" gibi tatlı tatlı adları var! Ay su bazlama ekmeginde yaptıkları tostun tadı da hala damagımda! Gel gelelim önemli olan kahvaltı tabagının zenginliginden cok malzemelerin kalitesinde! İste tam bu noktada bu mekan on numara bes yıldız! Gidip gidip duruyorum ama hala cözemedim, mekanın bir yerlerle bir baglantısı var, otantik secenekler menude cok, kahvaltıda verdikleri acukadan diyorum ki bir cerkezlik var, sonra menude bazlama ekmekleriyle, falafel köfteleriyle karsılasıyorum. Ardından ana yemeklerde hünkar begendi bir yandan, tabule salatası öbür yandan. Vallahi kafam iyicene karıstı! Ama tek anladıgım o ki, bu malzemeler özel bir yerlerden geliyor, e ziyadesiyle saydıgım tüm bu lezzetlerin tadı sahane! Gerisi bahane! Haydi arkadaslar Kahve6ya , ister öglen bir salataya, ister nefis bir kahvaltıya.

Kitchen Discovery: PASTA with CARAMELIZED ONIONS

It is time to share some kitchen discoveries again!
Here comes an easy pasta recipe which I actually took from a film called 'Chef' . By the way I definitely recommend this film which is totally amusing BUT BE CAREFUL: YOU WILL GET CRAZY HUNGRY while you watch the film as you constantly see crazy delicious looking dishes!
And this recipe I am gonna share is a dish I saw in one of the scenes , where the man cooked a yummy pasta dish: Actually the only thing I saw was that he caramelized onions! And then he added these on the pasta and added some fresh parsley on top. That was it! But this totally took my mind , cause I adore CARAMELIZED ONIONS. And I just said to myself : Caramelized onions with pasta?? Why haven't I never thought of it?! I should try to do this as soon as possible!
So yesterday I gave it a try and as I did not have any recipe I just followed what I saw in the film and added a little bit my own creativity.
So here is the Pasta Dish I created by getting inspired from the scene:
PASTA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND FRESH PARSLEY

Actually all you need to do is to slice TWO LARGE ONIONS and start to cook them on high heat with some OLIVE OIL. After a few minutes , as they become soft , (just before they start to get burned) take the pan and put it on the lowest heat and let the onions get slowly cooked on low heat. This should take at least 20-25 minutes. The more the onions rest on low heat , the more delicious they get: They get perfectly caramelized!
BUT at this point I prefered to add some seasonings: I put some pepper, salt, just a little bit sugar, garlic powder and finally two tablespoons of BALSAMIC VINEGAR which gives a perfect taste to the onions. And then I put the onions on low heat.
While your onions get caramelized all you have to do is to chop the fresh parsley and cook the pasta, drain, set aside. Besides, save a half cup of the water in which you cooked the pasta.
When both the pasta and onions seem ready just combine them, BUT DO NOT FORGET TO ADD SOME BUTTER AND PARMESAN CHEESE. (If you want you can also add some cream and turn it into a cream-sauce but I just wanted that the onions become the star of the dish- so did not add extra cream) Finally add a little bit of the the pasta water ( I did this so that the pasta does not taste too dry) and the fresh parsley. Stir the pasta for a last time until everthing gets combined well.
BON APPETIT!

Döner, İskender nereye kadar? Biraz da yurdumun sebzelerinden söz edelim: HELVETIA

Türk Yemeği dendi mi illa da Döner, Kebap, İskender demiyoruz ki kardeşim!
Tencerelerde pişen güzelim sebze yemeklerimiz, zeytinyaglılarımız, bakliyatlarımızı unutmak olur mu hiç? Alın benden size bu yemekleri bulabileceginiz muhtesem bir mekan:

HELVETIA

 

Sıcacık leziz mi leziz ev yemeklerinin mükemmel adresi burası ! Bir de fiyatlar acayip uygun olunca müdavimi oluyor tabi insan. Minnacık mutfaklarında hepsi birbirinden lezzetli türk yemekleri yapıyorlar bir de güzel vitrine diziyorlar ki sormayın! Hepsinde gözüm kalıyor, her gittigimde hangisini sececegime karar veremiyorum. Bir yandan tadı damagımda kalmıs olan yemekler bir defa daha beni cagırıyor, bir yandan yeni lezzetler sec beni diyor! Ay karar vermek cok zor! Burada klasik şu: Vitrinden sec begen al, ister bir tanesiyle doldur tabagını ister beş.

Çeşit sayısını ne sen sor ne ben anlatayım! İçeride piştikçe pişiyor. Hepsi de bir ayrı güzel gözüküyor,kokuyor ve aynı gözüktükleri gibi de güzel tadıyor. Sen seciyorsun, onlar tabagını dolduruyor, ısıtıyor ve masana sıcacık getiriyor. Sen de afiyetle yiyorsun , alnına kadar doyuyorsun, bir de komik bir para ödüyorsun: 13-15 lira civarı. Bu kadar saglıklı, taze yemegi yemek, bu kadar secenek, bu paraya İstanbul'da vallahi saka gibi. Ben tabii ki her defasında beş çeşit secip dolduruyorum tabagımı. Bir cok sebzesini denemis bulunmaktayım ve bir tane bile begenmedigim olmadı. Burada ne yediysem acayip lezzetliydi. Hem karnımın nefis doydugundan hem de oh ne saglıklı yedim diyebildigimden dolayı her defasında yüzümde kocaman bir gülümsemeyle ayrıldıgım mekan burası. Ne sececeginiz tamamen o anki keyfinize, zevkinize baglı, hicbiri sizi hayal kırıklıgına ugratmaz ama ben yine de tabagınızdan TAVUK GRATEN ve FIRINDA MAKARNA yı eksik etmeyin derim!



Mekan nerede?
Cok kolay! İstiklalin bir ucu olan Tünelde: Alın arkanıza Tüneli, yani nostaljik finiküleri, direk Asmalımescid'in girişini göreceksiniz zaten. Asmalımescid'in icine daldıktan sonra dümdüz yürüyor, House Cafeyi geciyorsunuz: Helvetia hemen karsınızda. Kösede kalan minik sevimli restoran!

Trattoria ENZO: I found the best Pizza in town - but the children almost killed me !

FINALLY !
I FOUND IT !
I found the best pizza in Istanbul ! It is classic, it is yummy , it is gorgeous , it is Italian !

Trattoria Enzo !
I was constantly looking at the photos of this place on Instragram and their pizza looked so yummy that I even started to see them in my dreams.... So at that point I realised that I have to go to this place as soon as possible !
And that day came last week. I am so happy to tell you that the Pizza tasted even more delicious than I thought ! A wonderful crust and an amazing sauce. The crust is so thin and crispy in the middle but then it suddenly surprises you with its fluffy corners!
The crust and the sauce: Aren't they the most important and the hardest criterias when it comes to a GREAT PIZZA? The toppings matter for sure, but to find tasty toppings is not as hard as managing the crust and the sauce. I suppose that is why I am not even a little bit surprised when ı see this huge creativity on the menus of many pizza restaurants in Istanbul when it comes to the combination of the topics ! Each restaurant has minimum thirty different pizzas on their menus ! When the basic of the pizza is disappointing, why not hiding it?
But THIS PLACE does not need any creative pizza combination to satisfy the customers because the pizza itself is so delicious! As a result they only have maybe 6 or 7 different options. Besides they dont throw the toppings like crazy on the pizza like every other pizzeria in town - you can still see the crust rather than a 'chunk of toppings in a disc form'.

So when it comes to taste I give a 10 to this place! By the way we went to this place carrying our dreams of the pizza, however we left it not only with the memory of the surprisingly good taste of the pizza but also the pasta ! Oh and these fresh warm breadsticks they serve with some olive oil ... They should not be forgotten either !

BUT UNFORTUNATELY when it comes to the place , I wont be giving a ten ! Here are some reasons:
Let's be honest: The decoration is wonderful with all details: especially with the classic italian table cloths they managed to create this typical italian trattoria athmosphere. HOWEVER it is completely IMPOSSIBLE to feel like you are in a cozzy italian restaurant: The first reason is the rush of the waiters which I totally could not understand! The second reason is the BIG MISTAKE the restaurant has made by opening this place in a SHOPPING MALL! Unfortunately, these families that obviously shopped like crazy for hours choose to have a break not in the food court but in this restaurant. It seems like they try to give around a message:  'Oh, we are so rich and intellectual that we do not eat at that simple food court of the shopping mall like the other losers! '
I really don't understand these people... They go inside carrying hundreds of shopping bags, order almost all the dishes written on the menu BUT do not even know how to sit proparly on a table and eat. Why all this drama?? Why is it such a BIG DEAL when they taste some pizza or pasta which the people in Italy eat almost every day for lunch??? Furhetmore, while the parents act so 'high', their children act the opposite way: Like they are put in an amusement park ! Playing around, throwing balls, in a RESTAURANT ! For these reasons I felt uncomfortable in this place.
But however I should admit that I still cannot forget this amazing taste of my pizza ! So, although these families drove me crazy, I am again expecting to go there again and get another pizza !!!

Where is it?

In a shopping mall called ' AKASYA ' at the asian side of İstanbul. Check the google maps! 

 

Çeçen Sok. Akasya Acıbadem
Acıbadem/İstanbul

Turkish Food is not only about ISKENDER !!!

If you ever come to Istanbul , of course you should not be leaving this city without trying our authentic traditional cuisine! But I should tell you this: Turkish cuisine is not only about KEBAP and ISKENDER ! It is much more ! People always think about heavy food when it comes to Turkish Food . But actually we have lots and lots of traditional dishes which are totally HEALTHY such as our crock pot dishes we make with lots of vegetables and legumes.
And here is a great spot where you can find an enormous selection of these kind of fresh, healthy and EXTREMELY DELICIOUS turkish dishes: HELVETIA

 In this tiny restaurant the tradition sounds like this: They cook in their tiny kitchen, put the dishes on a big table, you go inside , check out these yummy dishes on the table which all look and smell and taste yummy and pick whatever you like. You can either full your plate with just one dish or you can pick five different dishes ( which I always prefer ) . There are lots of different dishes , some are vegetarian some include meat or chicken. Just pick what you would like to try: You won't get dissappointed about any of them! I have been to these place dozens of times and I loved every dish I tried. Because they cook with love , they cook with fresh ingredients. And the best thing about this place: It is so CHEAP !
You get a full plate with so healthy and delicious dishes and they charge you only about 13-15 Turkish Lira for this big plate !

You pay a little + you get totally full + you are totally happy about the fact that you tasted so delicious food = Isn't it just a dream??
So when you are in Istanbul , PLEASE make a stop in this place and give a chance to our authentic vegetable and crock pot dishes !
And I remind you again : Of course you have to try our famous DÖNER and ISKENDER and whatever but if you like vegetables , you will be once again amazed by our vegetable dishes which are only cooked in a way that is only found in turkish cuisine.

WHERE IS THIS PLACE??
It is located in this famous districh called Asmalımescid which is located on Tünel. Tünel is the second end of the Istiklal Street. ( The fisrt end is the Taksim Square )
Here is the map:

Trattoria ENZO : Pizzanın tadı damagımda - ama cocukların da gürültüsü kulagımda !

Instragramdaki fotograflarına baka baka agzımın sulandıgı ve en sonunda gidip o son zamanlarda rüyalarımı süsleyen enfes pizzayı tatmayı basardıgım mekandır kendisi. Lezzeti en az görüntüsü kadar muazzam! önce pizzanın enfes domates sosuna ve incecik hamuruna hayran kalıyorsun,daha sonra kenarlarına dogru geldikce hamurunun o nefis kabarıklıgı ile pizza seni tekrar sasırtıyor! Pizzada esas meselede bu işte! Hamur ve sosta iddaası olmayanlar doldursun tabi üstüne malzemeyi! Bu sehirde denedigim cogu pizzacının zengin malzeme kombinasyonlarındaki yaratıcılıklarına sasırmamak lazım, pizzanın temelinde iş yok ki! Trattoria Enzonun ise binbir ceşit malzemeyle ikna etmeye ihtiyacı yok: menude ya altı ya yedi cesit, her biri iki üc malzemeli kısa ve net pizza secenekleri var. Benim de en cok begendigim tarafı bu oldu. Üstelik malzeme de öyle pizzanın kendisi görünmeyecek gibi boca edilmemiş: mantarlar pizzamın ortasında nazikce serpilmiş ve pizzanın kendi güzelligi böylece ön planda kalmayı basarabilmişti! Anlayacagınız tad konusunda yıldızlı on benden bu mekana. Yıldızı da önden gelen taptaze grissini,ekmek ve zeytinyagı üclemesinden geliyor. Ha bir de dana incikli taze makarnası! Pizzanın hayaliyle gittik, birde makarnanın ugrattıgı şok ile cıktık. Yanlız mekanın kendisi on numara diyemicem ne yazık ki.gerekcelere gelirsek...

Dekorasyon tüm ayrıntılarıyla düsünülmüs, kırmızı beyazlı örtüleriyle tipik bir italyan restoranı ambiyansı yaratılmaya calısılmıs, iyi hoş ama kendini italyanın o tatlı mütevazi trattorialarından birinde gibi hissetmenin mümkünatı yok! Gerek garsonların acayip bir telaşı, gerek icerideki bangır bangır müzik... en acı gercek ise alısveris merkezi icinde olması "hatası" nedeniyle delice alısverislerine ara vermiş olan sevgili ailelerin ugrak mekanı haline gelmis olması. Ah o aileler,  "food court bizi kesmez, italyan restoranında yeriz biz" mesajı verircesene etrafa süper havalı bakışlar atan, sonra o masayı kıtlıktan cıkmışcasına her türlü italyan spesiyalleri ile sadece donatmıs olmak icin donatan ve üstelik o güzelim yemekleri de masaya carpık bir sekilde oturarak sallapati yiyen aileler... Bu kasıntılık neden? İtalyanların her öglen tatillerinde bir kadeh sarap esliginde yedikleri makarnayı siz yiyince  niye lüks? Anneler babalar kasılırkene cocuklar ise tam tersi, lunaparka gelmiş misali ! Restoranın icinde ben diyim size körebe, siz diyin bana saklambac .. Ne oyun ararsan var! Kısacası pizzanın tadı damagımda kaldı, ama gönül bir de isterdi ki o leziz yemegin tadına şöyle sakin sakin hakkıyla varabilmek...

Honest Istanbul Guide Vol1: GALATA

LETS GET STARTED WITH MY HONEST ISTANBUL GUIDE

I am a fan of this city and I go out almost every weekend to discover some nice places, because to be honest, although there are like thousands of cafes and bars around in this huge city, just a few of them have a really good quality. Yeah I know, what a shame! But unfortunately, after searching and tasting and discovering like crazy I have to admit that most of the spots we see around have just spent the money on the decoration but have no idea about the quality of service and food!
And thats why I am writing to you right now! So that you won’t get dissappointed and just pick the right places with my help . İstanbul is such a great city but to see its real great beauty, you have to know the city pretty well, cause its way too big and complicated!!!

Thats why I am here to share my best discoveries, to share the most wonderful local spots that I personally enjoy ! So here are some tips from me:

We start with one of my favorite districts in İstanbul at the European side: GALATA 

Galata is full of little cafes, which are located in little tiny streets rather than the main street. So it is a little hard to find them , I am gonna try to describe where they are but I suggest you to check this internet site foursquare.com  , where you can find all the cafes and their exact locations I am gonna suggest you. You  just need to enter the name of the cafe or restaurant and it opens you directly its location on google map!

BUT I AM ALSO GONNA MAKE SOME SCREENSHOTS FROM GOOGLE MAP AND PUT IT HERE. 

Okay, lets take this famous GALATA TOWER as the center. Firstly I suggest you going up on this tower as the view is fantastic! This is of course a MUST DO thing in Istanbul! But be careful about the timing cause the line gets too big, especially in the afternoon after the dreadful sun gets less effective. So you better visit there in the morning for example. I know, the sunset view will be awesome too but dont worry, I will tell you another place very soon where you can not only enjoy the sunset but also maybe a beer or cocktail! So Galata Tower is just in the middle and there are lots of streets around it. At the towers right side, right at the corner there is a hotel ( ANEMON GALATA ) and there is a street going down right near it. When you go that street down, you will find a great wine bar on your right side: SENSUS WINE .

 Its a great place for the evening to taste some wine ( especially the turkish products are suprisingly good! ) but sometimes you need a reservation, but you will probably find place on the bar. The prices are fair. Normally in the restaurants if you order just one glass of wine they dont have many options and they charge you pretty much for a tiny glass of wine ( they usally fill the glass just a little ! I HATE THAT! ) 

BUT this Wine House, as they sell their own products, offer you about 15 different wines that you can order just as a glass . And the prices change between 9 Turkish Lira to 25 Turkish Lira. So that means you do not have to open a bottle and stick to one type of wine- Get their special menu for Glass Wines and pick what you want, try some several different options-! That was what I exactly did- of course I prefered the cheaper ones and they honestly tasted all good ! So this place is PERFECT for a cheap but definitely quality WINE TASTING!

Anyways, if you pass this wine bar and continue to walk down, there is a super sweet cafe called CAFE VELVET: great place to drink a cup of coffee or something refreshing such as their homemade lemonade! By the way, if you wanna try something authentic: TRY THEIR YUMMY TURKISH DESERT: “KAYMAKLI UN HELVASI”. I mentioned more info about this place already on my blog! So check the special post about this place !

Now lets go back to Galata Tower. At the left corner there is an authentic turkish cafe where people generally have turkish tea for about 1.50 or 2 turkish lira and chat and watch around and this time there is again a street going down full of cafes. At the beginning of this street there is a shop which sells some authentic turkish products.So when you start going down this street, the streets automatically turns right. Follow it and you will see a coffee shop on the right side: CHERRY BEANS. 

Its one of the most peaceful places for a cup of coffee, its really tiny. The coffee is really good and their homemade cakes go great together. This spot is definitely one of my favorite spots for a COFFEE-BREAK. Inside smells awesome ( a lovely tasty combination of fresh coffee and warm homemade cookiieess and cakesss ) 

What I secondly adore in this place is always the music playing inside: sometimes they often play easy listening classical tracks and it goes perfect while sitting in this cute cafe, watching outside and drinking your fresh warm coffee.

 http://www.cherrybeancoffees.com/

If you skip this one and keep going down, you will see CAFE KONAK at the left side. This cafe is a standard patisserie but they have this terrace on the top of the building and it has an awesome view! You can drink maybe a turkish tea and enjoy the view: Galata Tower right on your back , which seems so close like you can even touch it, and the amazing bosphorus on your front. 

Cute Cafe with its SECRET GARDEN !

Before starting to post my travel guide, 
Here is another tiny spot for a small coffee break while hanging around in the city: CAFE LUMIERE

This place is one of my new discoveries and since I found this place it became one of my favorite spots for a little break- maybe a cup of coffee !

I generally prefer just to order a drink such as tea or coffee in such small cozy cafes but I just let you know: They have some pretty nice dishes too - I can tell this from what I saw. The dishes on the other tables looked pretty nice- especially I liked the salads. And when it comes to price: The dishes and the drinks are definitely cheaper than most of the restaurants and cafes around.

A generous cup of FRESH FILTER COFFEE: 5 Lira
That is fair enough!

What I loved about this place???
Definitely it's tiny sweet garden at the back!
From its front you can never understand that this tiny cafe has a cute garden at it's back which is definitely bigger than the cafe itself!

So I guess I should recommend you this place when the weather is nice :/
But actually I am gonna go and have a look in winter too and FIND OUT what they do with their cute garden in the winter ! Maybee they have already found a solution!

Culinary Discovery: Istanbul Culinary Institute

This spot is definitely one of our favorite spots for a yummy dinner. It is not only a restaurant but actually an institute, a culinary institute where they have professional certificate programs. The young people who graduate from a culinary bachelor program in a university in Istanbul make their second stop here and take a course because this institute offers them fantastic experiences. They have these amazing big kitchens where the young chefs gain great skills. Besides the professional programs they have these workshops for people like us who love to cook as a hobby and look for some new Technic and recipes!

And of course the best thing about this institute is the fact that the young chef students share their experiences with us ! ! ! The institute has its own restaurant where only the students cook. As they gain more and more skills the menu gets better and better! Yeah the menu actually changes monthly according to the new discoveries and recipes of the young chefs.

We love the fact that the menu gets refreshed every month and as the chefs are seriously good the food is of course seriously tasty! We loved everything we tasted. Furthermore, the prices are totally fair enough for a place like this. You cannot find this quality of ingredients and cooking skills in a standard restaurant but the prices of the dishes are just the same like every other standard restaurant outside.

http://www.istanbulculinary.com.tr/

Kitchen Discovery: Baked Eggplant Sticks!

Here is a super quick and tasty appetizer recipe:

BAKED EGGPLANT STICKS served with a quick MARINARA SAUCE

All you need is:

1-2 eggplants
a little bit olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg white

For the marinara sauce:
2 cups crushed tomatoes (you can use 2-3 fresh tomatoes and blend them in a food processor)
2-3 cloves garlic (smashed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt,pepper to season
1 tablespoon tomato paste (gives a great taste and color)
chopped fresh basil or dried basil
It is not necessary but you can also add one onion

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven. Line baking sheets on a baking tray-so that the eggplants don't stick on the tray!
Cut ends off the eggplant. Slice eggplant in half, then into 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut each slice into 1/4 inch strips. Now you have your finger shaped eggplants. Don't forget to put the eggplant sticks into a bowl full with cold water and some salt and let them wait about 7-8 minutes. Drain them with paper towel and put them this time in another bowl, season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In another bowl combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Dip the eggplant sticks into egg whites, then into the breadcrumbs. Place the sticks on the baking sheets. Sprinkle a little bit more olive oil on the sticks and bake for about 10 minutes. Turn over and bake an additional 10 minutes.

That is how easy it is ! A great appetizer which is delicious and totally healthy as you don't fry them but bake.

BUT you definitely need your marinara sauce to dip these yummy sticks. And this is how you make your marinara sauce:
In a medium pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. I also added one cup of chopped onions. Add crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper,tomato paste. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add fresh basil. I did not have fresh basil so I added 3 tablespoons of dried basil in the very last minute and then removed from heat.