M40間諜米格魯的秘密日誌

Once in a while, I read about some tourists complaining about the lack of culinary variety in Turkey.  It seems there is a deep-lying (mis)conception that all you can eat in Turkey is doner, kebab and bread. This always makes me wonder: where have these guys visited during their visit and what have they been eating all the time? OK, although I would not go as far as to place Turkish cookings on the very top of my World Culinary Scale (for your information, the top 4 on the Scale being: 1. Italian 2. Thai 3. Indian 4. French), nevertheless Turkish cookings are delicious, nutritious and satisfying.

For those of you who ate nothing except doner kebab and bread throughout the whole time you were in Turkey, it's time to take a look at the following pictures I have taken during my latest visit to Turkey:

A hearty and healthy dinner I had at a nice little family-run eatery (Lokanta in Turkish) at the port city of Iskenderun, Hatay Province. All of the above cost just 7.25 YTL (less than 4 euro). For those who thought it was impossible to find rice in Turkey, don't be silly: rice in Turkey are extremely common and delicious! Unlike in most of Asia, where rice are cooked and served plain, rice in Turkey are cooked with chicken broth and oil, as a result of which they have a wonderful flavour. Salad is also an important part of Turkish cuisine: usually salads are included in the meals and do not cost anything extra (with the exception of tourist places such as Istanbul and Cappadocia).

Clockwise frrom top left to right: Chicken Sis (Tavuk Sis/ Charcoal Grilled Chicken Pieces) served on a bed of freshly made  paper-thin warm bread ; Grilled Tomatoes and Green Chilli with Sliced Onions and Spices; Rice (Pilav); Fresh Salad.

More rice (I love Turkish rice) for my dinner: fresh salad, fresh oven-baked naan bread, and minced beef meat balls (Kofte) with potatoes and carrots ... (photo below)

(Above: Traditional Turkish Minced Beef Meatball) This meal (beef meatball, rice, bread, salad, ayran and a bottle of mineral water) costs 8 YTL.

One of my all-time favourites: minced beef with aubergine, tomato, and assorted vegetables and beans, with a touch of red chillies. This goes so well with rice, I can eat 3 plates of rice with this. 7YTL for the minced beef with aubergine, rice, salad, bread and mineral water.

A wonderful meal at a small family-run restaurant called 'Damla' on the main Antalya - Demre - Kas road., near Andriake Hotel in Demre. This is chicken stuffed with rice, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, vegetables and herbs, then backed in a traditional stone oven until the skin is golden (10YTL). The chicken is juicy and succulent, the skin crispy and melts in the mouth. Yummy!!!

This restaurant also serves some of the best chicken sis I have ever eaten in Turkey. Juicy, tender and tasty, accompanied by lots of side dishes (salads, yougurt, bread, grilled vegetables etc. 7.5 YTL) Their creamy beef soup with lemon juice also tasted excellent: however I forgot to take a photo of that.

A traditional over-baked meat/chicken dish in a clay pot or tray with green peppers and tomato: it's called 'Tavuk Guven' (chicken) or 'Kusyalik Guven'(beef). 7.50 YTL including bread, salad and a bottle of mineral water.

Tasty stir-fried chicken with vegetables: one of my favourite Turkish chicken dishes. This photo is taken at a local eatery located round the corner of Taksim Sqaure in Istanbul. As usual, I ordered some rice to accompany this.

Traditional Turkish Breakfast served in Adana, accompanied by lots of Turkish tea.

Clockwise from top left: Fresh goat cheese, hard-boiled eggs, olives with herbs, fresh yogurt, freshly prepared fried Turkish spring-rolls with cheese and herb fillings; molasses with whole walnuts.

For those of you who cannot survive without kebab, this is how authentic Adana Kebab looks like.

Clockwise from top left: Adana Kebab with bread; Sliced Onion Salad with Herbs and Fresh Lemon; Petersillie with Fresh Lemon; Fresh Salad. 5 YTL for everything in the photo above.

Real Adana Kebab eaten in the company of real Adana men (in this case, my personal Turkish bodyguards a.k.a my turkish students...)

Copyrights 2009. All photos and text by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.