Things To Eat in Istanbul

 What to eat in Istanbul, you ask?

Well, let me take you on a journey of food that you must eat when in Istanbul.

As many of you may know by now, food is a huge part of my life. the first thing we planned when we decided to go to Istanbul was to try different things to eat and not eat anything that we would find here in Oman and to stay in our budget while fully experiencing Turkish food, we decided to eat as much street food as we can.

The breakfast buffet at our hotel was incredible.

Breakfast!

Things you must eat when in Turkey

1. Kumpir

You cannot come back from Turkey without  trying this, just dont. You'll thank me later.

Its a giant baked potato with butter and cheese, topped with a variety of toppings of your choice.

I had kumpir thrice during our trip, its that good.

It usually costs around 13-16 TL (360-450 PKR - 1.5-2 OMR) 

Kumpir from 'Otantik Kumpir' at the Forum Mall

Restaurant at Istiklal Street

Restaurant at Istiklal Street

2. Balik Ekmek

If you dont like seafood than this is not for you. But I would still urge you to try it for once.
It is basically a fish sandwich sold on a decorated boat at Eminonu side of the Galata Bridge.
Cost of the sandwich is 8 TL (0.800 OMR / 220 PKR), which is pretty reasonable.
Grilled fish served on a bun with lettuce, a dash of lemon juice and you're good to go.

3. Islak Burger

Super spidy beef burger dunked in tomato sauce. Its nothing like you've ever had before, its that good. Its pretty cheap too, cost 3 TL each (0.300 OMR / 80 PKR)

The one pictured below is from Taksim Park Restaurant at Istiklal street.

4. Doner Durum / Sandwich

Basically flatbread filled with shawarma meat and greens. Pretty good, and sold literally everywhere! 

By all means try the one with doner kebab if you like mutton, we didnt. 

Cost around 4-5 TL.

5. Dondurma
The icecream for which you'll have to literally beg, yeah, that one.
It is one of the best icecream I've had. The texture of the icecream is not like what we ususally eat, its kind of slimy and sticky. Incredibly delicious.
The one which we had outside the Blue mosque was 4 flavors for 7 TL (0.700 OMR / 190 PKR), while it cost us 5 TL (0.500 OMR / 135 PKR) for 5 flavors at the princess island.

Outside Blue mosque. Flavors: Vanilla, Caramel, Chocolate, Strawberry.

At Princess Island. Flavors: Mango, Strawberry, Caramel, Blueberry, Vanilla

6. Turkish Tea

Tea is sold literally everywhere. You'll  find people selling tea out of a small dhabba in small alleyways.

We has the traditional turkish tea with Simit (Turkish bagel) in a small alleyway near Istiklal Street. I loved the tea, really warming in a chilly evening. Najia was not a fan.

We also tried apple tea from a small shop right opposite the Galata tower (dont have the picture for it though)

7. Chestnut and Corn

 You'll see numerous vendors selling chestnut and corn at Istiklal street and many other places.

Just something to snack on while walking. 

Corn was 2 TL (0.200 OMR / 55 PKR) while chestnuts were 5 TL for 100 grams (0.500 OMR / 135 PKR)

8. Turkish Rice Pudding

If you're from Pakistan, this will taste somewhat like kheer, the only difference is that its baked.
Delicious nonetheless. Try it, or no?
7 TL ( 0.700 OMR / 190 PKR)

9. Shish Touk Platter
This was one of the best meal we had during our stay from a small dhabba style place somewhere in the Grand Bazaar. I have no idea about the exact location or the name of the place. We randomly stumbled across this place and decided to eat because we were starving.
The chicken was grilled to the utmost perfection, served with barley, a piece of bread and a tangy salad. Yum yum yum.
22 TL (2.200 OMR / 600 PKR)

10. Bread
If you see anything like the one pictured below, do not, I REPEAT, do dont think that its just blah. This is the food that has been sent down from the heavens for us. Well, not really, but this thing is incredible, so soft. One of the best breads I've had.
You'll find these with variety of toppings ranging from meat, cheese, herbs. The one we had was pepperoni and cheese. I think it was around 4-5 TL.

Other Random things we ate:

Icecream topped with warm semolina. The contrast of hot and cold was amazing. 3 TL (0.300 OMR / 80 PKR)

Grilled chicken and vegetables dunked in tomato sauce. Good and hearty meal.

10 TL (1.00 OMR / 280 PKR)

Handmade toffee from a roadside vendor near Galata Bridge. 3 TL

Cinnamon rolls type something. I have no idea what it called, but delicious. Had this outside the Blue Mosque. 2 TL.

Doner platter. We had this right across the street from the Blue Mosque. 22 TL.

Falafel from a small shop opposite the Galata Tower. 5 TL.

Our view while we had Falafel and apple tea

Strawberries from a random fruit seller. These were the sweetest strawberries I have ever had in my life. If you are from Pakistan, I would definitely recommend that you try the fruit in Istanbul, specially berries, they are incredibly sweet, unlike the tart ones that we have in Pakistan.

Needless to say that I loved Turkish food.

Have you been to Turkey? How was your experience with Turkish food?

Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

The End. Bye.