Up next in 10
DIY TURKISH FOOD TOUR IN ISTANBUL! Where To Find The Best Food In Istanbul!
24K views
Sep 6, 2023
Day 82 of our new life as full time travelers // Recorded on November 25th 2021 After spending almost three months traveling around Turkey, we felt completely qualified to create our own DIY Turkish food tour in Istanbul. We asked around our new Turkish friends, did our research online, and came up with 14 different foods & drinks we wanted to feature in this Istanbul food tour video. There were 2 drinks we couldn't find though, but we'll try those next time :) It was so much fun to walk around Istanbul and try so many new foods and old favorite ones too. Turkish food is delicious! We liked *almost* everything! We hope you enjoy today's video. It was really fun to create this DIY food tour in Istanbul... as you will see towards the end. We had to sacrifice one for the team after all ;) Thanks so much for watching and we will see you next time!! XO Aimara & Gordon Key Moments in Video - Here are all the foods we tried: Intro 00:00 Dish #1 Borek 00:33 Dish #2 Simit 01:45 Dish #3 Tulumba 03:38 Dish #4 Kestane Kebap (Roasted Chesnuts) 05:12 Dish #5 Cag Kebap 06:35
View Video Transcript
0:00
Good morning from beautiful Istanbul
0:06
Today is Thanksgiving in the US and we thought it would be super appropriate to attempt
0:11
to make a DIY food tour of Istanbul's most popular foods. So we ask our friends, we asked locals, we did a research online and we found 14 foods
0:22
and drinks that seem to be like the most popular in the city
0:27
And we're going to start with breakfast and we're going to end with dinner. And we're going to try to do this all in one day
0:32
So wish us luck. Our first stop for breakfast is Budec
0:49
This is one of the most popular breakfast dishes in all of Istanbul. So we have a potato of Burek and a minced meat Budec
0:56
And it's obviously a savory dish. But it's delicious. our favorite foods in all of Turkey and Istanbul
1:03
It's like a very thin filo dough wrapped around these savory ingredients
1:07
It comes with chai. This is a little bit of an aggressive start for our meal
1:11
I don't know if we'll finish all of it, but let's see how this one is. So there are many different types of Burek
1:27
This one is baked. You can also get it fried. and they bake it in these long, I guess, like, rolls that they pull together and then chop it into these bite-sized pieces
1:35
And it's delicious. Like the potato that I have is a little bit spicy, but none of the dough is greasy and it's actually a pretty light and delicious breakfast
1:59
This is Simit. This is one of the most popular street foods in all of Turkey
2:08
The last three months we have seen it literally everywhere and it's been kind of our bus station go-to
2:14
It's pretty basic. You know it's toasted bread with sesame seeds. I think the dough is made
2:18
with molasses but it's a very affordable kind of on-the-go bite so there's stands all across
2:24
Istanbul you just go I think it's usually two and a half Lita which is like I don't know less
2:29
and a quarter to just grab and go and fill your stomach. We ordered it with paineer like a cream cheese
2:35
so it's a little bit more exclusive than the typical cement. But it's very delicious, it's toasty, it's soft
2:42
and it's one of those simple things that we're gonna miss when we leave turkey. It's weird to say, but it really is delicious
2:54
It's so simple, but it's like crunchy on the outside, very soft on the inside
2:59
It varies depending on which place you go. Sometimes it's super crunchy, sometimes it's soft
3:03
This is like a perfect mix. And the cheese is a good touch
3:09
I am gonna miss this a lot. It's been a couple hours
3:14
This wasn't on purpose. We tried to try other foods before lunch
3:19
But a lot of the things were closed, surprisingly. It seems like Istanbul is very quiet in the mornings
3:24
and there's not a lot of food options. So now we're heading to try some of those things
3:29
to see if they're open. In a way it's kind of like Thanksgiving, you know, you have a like breakfast
3:34
and then you stuff your face with food for hours. We just stumbled on a guy that we have been
3:40
seeing here every single day selling this name called Halka Tadlisi translates to ring dessert
3:48
and it's like a Turkish churra but he always stands there with the biggest smile on his face
3:53
and we're not like sweet people like we don't like dessert but we're gonna buy some now because he's just
3:59
so nice and it's another thing to drive from Lewis so let's go. So, let's go
4:03
So I sort of messed up and didn't get the interaction on camera where we bought this from the nice old man
4:16
But what we had here is something that we don't know the name of. It's kind of like a chudo
4:21
There's different types of fried dough desserts here in Turkey. And this is one of the more popular street versions of it
4:27
And there's like a little bit of pistachio, fried. dough and simple syrup it's not bad super crunchy sweet I didn't like it I
4:41
couldn't eat the whole thing it's like it's a little bit intense but a couple bites
4:45
are right we are now walking to the old city which is where most of the things
4:50
that we're gonna try for the rest of the day are there's like a row with like a
4:54
bunch of like traditional restaurants and that's where we're going next where we're gonna make a quick stop at
4:59
square that is very hectic and that really half one of the foods that I been dying to try which is roasted chestnut
5:31
or kestana kebab and kebab actually means roasted in Turkish we learned this in
5:36
three months that we've been here and I've been dying to try them we saw them in Rize it for the first time and we were holding off on trying them until this video
5:45
and it's hard to resist because they smell so good and they roast them right in front
5:49
of you and I'm gonna try them for the first time I thought that would be sweet
6:01
but they're not sweet. They're savory and nutty and you can taste like the charcoal, is that like the right word
6:08
Like the brand, the roasted part of it? It's real delicious. I feel like we're gonna have a lot more of these
6:17
So there's one food that we're not trying here in Istanbul and that is Balik Ekmec, which is fish sandwich
6:22
And you literally see it everywhere all over Istanbul. They're selling it from the boats here
6:27
They're selling it all along the bridge. But we don't eat fish anymore because of overfishing and we
6:31
We also read that the phosphorus is like way over fish, so it's not for us
6:51
So this is Saj Kabaab. We haven't seen this anywhere until we reached Istanbul. I think it's popular in a city on the eastern part of Turkey. And it's kind of like one of the more Urmei
7:01
lamb kebubs and what's unique about it is they do it on a horizontal spit so it's not donor
7:06
they don't do it on like a traditional or vertical and I think the cuts of lamb are just like higher
7:11
quality basically I think it's rib-meat and you can see a little bit more fat in there so it's
7:14
supposed to be really delicious I'm very excited to try it I'm getting hungry just looking at it so it's time to try it
7:31
This is very delicious. The bread is just super light and you just use it to pick it up and the lamb is tender, a little bit fatty, but in a good way
7:42
It's not like too lamby, I think you'll enjoy it too. But this is awesome. This is one of the best kebals
8:01
This is Cocte, also known as Turkish Meals. We've had our fair share of Cocte since we got here, and we have to admit that we kind of maxed out right at the beginning of our trip, so we haven't had them in like five weeks
8:16
And honestly we were planning on including them in the tour, but when we're doing the walking tour or guide pointed out to this place that's been around since 1893, and we saw that they served them like differently with like a bean salad on the side and not how we had how we had, how we had, how we had
8:31
had them before so that's why we decided to try them because we do like them let's see
8:36
oh my love it's fine I miss them that's all this is spicy that sauce is spicy
8:50
the red one but in a good one
9:01
This is called La Machuuuuu is one of our favorite dishes in all the turkey and the first time we've tried it was in Koja and we fell in love with it even though we thought it was beat up but obviously it's on and what it is is just like a thin dough and they spread it thin
9:31
and they put the ground, I think it's beef and lamb mixed with a lot of spices, some garlic and vegetables
9:38
and they put the meat while it's raw, and they spread it all over the bread and then put it in a break oven
9:43
for like, I think he said two minutes, and then they take it out, and then this comes, and it is heaven
9:52
You put lime. Here in Istanbul, they serve it with lettuce, which is fine too
10:01
It gives like a little freshness and crunchiness to it. And to make it even spicier even though we order it spicy we put some of this and you rolling It looks giant I promise it not that heavy It is so good
10:20
It's so good. It gets spicy and garlicky and flavorful and spiced
10:30
Let me introduce you to another thing that we're going to miss from Turkey
10:34
It's called Airan. And it is the perfect pairing for most Turkish foods because the
10:38
food here has a lot of spices and this is just like a yogurt drink that is sour and
10:43
a slightly salty and they usually serve it in a plastic cup but in here they serve
10:48
it like this with the foam so it's like made like homemade or like made fresh and it's
10:54
delicious it's gonna be messy so it's so it's so good
11:08
Are you full
11:19
Not too full, I mean we just had three lunches but now it's time for dessert
11:23
And we're gonna have a chicken dessert. This is, I think, called Savuk Vogue Su
11:50
And this we definitely have not seen anywhere besides we're here in Istanbul
11:55
And it's basically a milk pudding with shredded chicken breast on the inside
12:00
So very unique, I'm excited to try it. And I think it was a delicacy made for Ottoman Salton's
12:06
So we're having a Salton's dessert. And it's usually served with chai
12:10
It should be good, let's see. It's very good. It is very good
12:23
You don't like, you don't taste the chicken. You don't really see the chicken
12:27
It's not too sweet. It just tastes like a very mild milk pudding, basically
12:34
Actually, now I taste the chicken. But it's still pretty good. still pretty good it doesn't seem like a weird mix I don't know I like it
12:40
okay my turn okay I'm a little afraid to try this I don't really I don't really
13:07
but it's like creamy and mild but there's something like weird when I'm not too
13:18
convinced I don't think the sultans would be very happy with my reaction to
13:24
this but I don't like it I'm a Sultan to me
13:37
This I know I'm gonna like this I know I'm gonna like
13:51
We, I've never really liked back ever really liked back over until we tried it in
14:07
has the answer and this place is supposed to be really good I haven't had baklava in a long time and
14:14
this is the first time we see that they serve it with this cream and we asked what it was and
14:19
he said it was milk milk sauce so I'm just gonna dip it in there
14:37
We are in Taxim Square and we have two more foods to try, two more drinks, but since the food is considered drunk food, we're having some beers first
15:07
It's time for wet burgers. This is called a slack hammered, also known as a wet burger
15:30
And it is, it looks like a burger pretty much. It has meat in the inside and the ketchup, it's kind of like a garlicy ketchup
15:40
And it just feels like wet and it doesn't look that good. But it's supposed to be really good, so that's why we're trying it
15:46
We have to get two of these
15:58
I'm going to finish it. Like the beef is really good
16:10
That ketchup, like you can really feel the garlic? I made you
16:14
I made you. Because I'm drunk. It's like a 50-cent hamburger. I think it's pretty good
16:27
It seems that. Oh, you like it? Mm. So the wet burger is like one of Istanbul's most famous drunk foods
16:42
So that's why it's probably so delicious to us right now. And the bun is like a little bit soggy
16:49
It smells very garlicky, which is awesome. Mmm
17:05
I just like hits all the right spots. Like garlic? It's nice and hot
17:14
Like a little bit spicy too. I don't know what that is. I don't know if it's like like chili and the ketchup
17:21
This is really good. We're gonna get one more. Done with the wet burgers
17:28
Last time of the night of the day. Lamb intestine. incestine sandwich
18:02
lamb intestine sandwich so it's basically like a kebab like it's grilled lamb
18:09
intestine like over like charcoal and I think on the inside they put lamb fat I
18:15
think and then they chop it up with different like vegetables and spices it
18:20
smells good it looks pretty good like the bread is like fresh and looks pretty delicious
18:32
It's pretty good. It's good
18:44
You can tell that it's lamb, for sure, and there's different spices in there
18:48
They added, like, hot peppers, I think. It's not super strong, which I'm a little bit surprised by
18:56
It's like a little fatty, but not overwhelmingly, like, tasty. It's not bad, but it's not blowing my mind
19:05
So that is it for our Istanbul food tour. That was a lot of fun. It wasn't too filling
19:10
I think I could even have like another wet hamburger or two. But it was cool to try like different foods that we haven't like seen yet and all of Turkey, like here in Eastable
19:19
So it was a lot of fun. I tried everything. Can't say the same for my partner in crime here
19:24
It's true. I didn't try everything. I didn't try two lamb dishes
19:29
But I don't really eat lamb. So I think I did pretty good in Gaciantz if you watched that video
19:33
I already tried it back then. Anyways, today had so much fun and it was great to try all these foods in one day and we hope you enjoy it
19:40
Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you next time. Bye. I'm finishing up with an orange
19:46
I just needed something where the main ingredient wasn't fat. So this is my final dessert
19:53
Good morning. It's a surprisingly... Surprisingly peaceful morning. surprisingly peaceful morning here in Istanbul and today we are going to Asia
20:04
So I mentioned this on another video but Istanbul is the only city in the world that is on two continents
20:09
It's on Europe and on Asia and most of the historic sites are on the European side and most
20:14
visitors probably don't head over to Asia. But today we're doing just that
#Breakfast Foods
#Cooking & Recipes
#Cuisines
#Events & Listings
#Food
#Food & Beverage Events
#Gourmet & Specialty Foods
#Restaurants