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  • - [Narrator] For my next bite, I'll take some of this bread

  • break off a piece of a kebab and then I'm gonna add

  • in some of these onions and sumac.

  • This is one of those pieces of meat

  • that deserves a moment of silence.

  • (pop music)

  • Good morning everyone it's Marc Wiens with

  • migrationology.com in Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Good morning Ying.

  • - Good morning.

  • - It is

  • a beautiful day outside.

  • The buses are running.

  • The streets are not deserted.

  • It is still pretty quiet.

  • But it is a completely different scenario

  • from 24 hours ago.

  • So we're gonna make a move

  • and go have breakfast.

  • Do you want it over?

  • - Yeah. - [Marc] Okay, thank you.

  • We are on our way to a (mumbling)

  • to a breakfast restaurant.

  • (pop music)

  • Okay.

  • That was a very short ride, about five minutes

  • and we got dropped off in (mumbling).

  • This is an amazing little neighborhood area

  • with narrow lanes, lots and lots of restaurants

  • and cafes.

  • And, we were here the other day in the evening,

  • and it was busy and packed.

  • This morning it is quiet and peaceful.

  • I'm so glad we decided to come out for breakfast today.

  • I did not want to leave Istanbul without having another

  • Turkish breakfast, and today is our last full day here

  • tomorrow we leave in the middle of the day.

  • I want to give a shout out to Tuba from both

  • fruityhub.tv, and also

  • IstanbulFood.com.

  • She recommended this place for breakfast, so

  • I'm really glad that we had a chance to come here

  • and that they are open this morning.

  • And I just ordered another Turkish breakfast.

  • Okay, thank you.

  • Whoa, that's a huge dog.

  • The other day

  • when I had Turkish breakfast, I ordered the

  • (foreign language), which is the scrambled eggs.

  • But today I went for more of the fried egg version.

  • And I saw braised beef on the menu

  • and I couldn't resist.

  • It came to our table and it was just sizzling away.

  • You could see the butter and the fat boiling

  • and bubbling over.

  • And the whole egg was kind of like pulsating

  • and it almost looked like a heartbeat.

  • And then there's some braised beef on top.

  • And then there's a sprinkle of, I think, chili flakes

  • and maybe zatar, or some kind of herb

  • sprinkled on top.

  • And, that looks like a wonderful egg dish.

  • Break off a piece

  • and I want to dig right into the middle where that,

  • where all that spice is.

  • Ohhh, yes.

  • Oh, and I love how the egg is just cooked like

  • half way cooked, so it remains raw.

  • And almost like gravy-ish.

  • Okay.

  • Beef, oh look at that wonderfulness.

  • Oh yeah.

  • Wow, that's good.

  • I think there's some cheese in there, is there

  • cheese in there too?

  • That's like

  • melty eggs.

  • Like, half liquid

  • and half cooked.

  • And then

  • it's salty, the beef is really tender.

  • And you've got that hint of like a

  • an herb, I think thyme flavor.

  • I think I may have been mistaken on my first bite,

  • I don't think there's actually cheese in there

  • but I think that cheese flavor might almost come

  • from the yolk and the butter.

  • That is so wonderfully good, mixed within this egg dish.

  • One more bite before I proceed onwards.

  • That is a, a hearty egg dish.

  • And this is another very common thing that you'll find

  • for Turkish breakfast,

  • it is clotted cream

  • with honey on top.

  • And, so you kind of get a combination of both.

  • Wow.

  • Yeah.

  • That is quite a contrast from the salty eggs.

  • But that sweet honey

  • and then just that really

  • it's almost like whipped cream, but just condensed

  • into a buttery consistency.

  • This one is the white cheese.

  • And I think I'll eat that with an olive.

  • Mmm.

  • Just a sensational trio.

  • - [Ying] What's that?

  • - Is that a cat?

  • - [Ying] Yeah. - That just licked my leg.

  • - [Ying] (mumbling) - Where did it go?

  • As I was taking that sip a tea a cat just

  • came up and licked my jeans, I think. (laughs)

  • And then it disappeared.

  • I have a slice of tomato.

  • Oh, and I think there's a little bit of olive oil

  • down here.

  • Mmm.

  • Tomatoes are so good in Turkey.

  • I'm gonna add this chili to the eggs, put that in there.

  • Break off a nice piece of bread.

  • And I'm gonna make this bite count.

  • I'm gonna make it a nice and big bite.

  • Ohh, this egg dish

  • is just impressively good though.

  • Ohhh, look at that.

  • Okay. (laughs)

  • There's like half an egg yolk in here.

  • Chilies, and braised beef.

  • One more thing to add to this bite before I take it.

  • Gotta hit that with some pepper.

  • Oh yes.

  • And I may as well pepper my whole eggs

  • while I'm at it.

  • That is amazing.

  • That was another amazing Turkish breakfast.

  • And this is the type of ambiance and the hip place

  • that you just, you don't even want to move after you eat.

  • You just want to sit here and relax and enjoy

  • the ambiance, the street,

  • the other cafes around.

  • This is an awesome, awesome place.

  • (pop music)

  • Beşiktaş is such a cool neighborhood.

  • I'm loving just walking around the narrow streets.

  • There's so many restaurants and cafes.

  • There are markets.

  • There's street food.

  • Great places to just sit and hang out.,

  • or to people watch.

  • (pop music)

  • (foreign language)

  • - [Marc] Thank you.

  • We're on our way walking to the Bosphorus

  • and we're gonna take the boat.

  • But I decided to get a quick simit.

  • This is something you will see everywhere

  • walking around Istanbul.

  • This is one of the most popular snacks on the go,

  • or light meals.

  • It's available throughout the day.

  • It's kind of similar, in appearance, to a bagel.

  • It is a circular shaped piece of bread.

  • And this one is topped with sesame seeds, and yeah,

  • literally everywhere you go in Istanbul

  • you will see carts set up selling simit.

  • Yeah.

  • It's just plain

  • but the, what I like about it is the sesame seeds.

  • The sesame seeds give it that extra flavor and touch.

  • The texture is a little bit chewy.

  • And, a little bit dry.

  • (pop music)

  • We made it to Beşiktaş Pier and we're gonna take

  • the boat across the Bosphorus to Istanbul today.

  • (pop music)

  • Thank you.

  • (pop music)

  • Istanbul is the only city in the world

  • that is divided between two continents.

  • Or, can I say, straddled between two continents

  • with the Bosphorus Strait.

  • And so we've been on the European side for our

  • entire trip so far.

  • And yesterday, I had planned to go and spend

  • the entire day on the Asian side of Istanbul.

  • When things didn't turn out quite so planned.

  • But that is okay.

  • This morning we are on the boat now

  • and we are heading to Asia.

  • Across the Bosphorus Strait.

  • We're on a boat that's gonna take us to (foreign language).

  • (pop music)

  • Welcome to the Asian side of Istanbul.

  • And we are gonna walk around this area.

  • It was exactly one week ago today

  • that we were in Mumbai, and we took that ferry

  • to the island.

  • This was a completely different ferry experience

  • from in India.

  • Both amazing.

  • I will link that video below

  • if you haven't already seen it.

  • Ahhh.

  • This is a very nice and very peaceful neighborhood.

  • We are now walking down the street

  • and on our way to Kadikoy Market.

  • (world music)

  • Oh Ying, this is what I want to eat, this fish here.

  • We made it to Kadikoy Market.

  • And we are in the fresh market section.

  • It's a little bit quiet today, because it's Sunday

  • and I read that some shops don't open.

  • But it's still a wonderful market, an open air market.

  • Lots and lots of colorful vegetables and fruits.

  • There are lots of olives and fish.

  • The fresh fish.

  • Oh, look at all this produce

  • and these wonderful fruits.

  • Look at all those cherries.

  • And then if you walk

  • a little bit up the hill a little bit,

  • you come to lots and lots of clothes shops

  • and cafes, and restaurants.

  • Can I have one kilo?

  • - [Man] Okay.

  • - [Marc] Of cherries.

  • - [Man] (mumbling)

  • - [Marc] Thank you.

  • Ying and I have been loving the cherries so far

  • since being in Istanbul.

  • Just the other day we bought a kilo of cherries

  • which we finished.

  • So we saw the cherries here and had to get

  • another kilo of them.

  • Look at these beauties.

  • Mmm.

  • They're so juicy.

  • And so plump.

  • Hello, thank you.

  • There's so many different types of pickles in here

  • and many different chili pastes, as well, and olives.

  • - Pickle juice? - [Marc] Yeah, pickle juice.

  • Yes, okay.

  • I think just one. - One.

  • - [Marc] Yeah.

  • Thank you.

  • I saw this in a TV show about Istanbul.

  • Drinking pickle juice.

  • And so I was just walking through this market

  • I saw this pickle shop.

  • I came inside and asked him for some pickle juice.

  • And he just gave me a cup of pickle juice.

  • Oh, wow.

  • Yeah, that is straight up pickle juice.

  • That is sour and salty.

  • Hooo.

  • That will wake you up in the morning.

  • I kind of like it.

  • Ho.

  • Thank you.

  • Don't let the color of this fool you.

  • Although it looks like grapefruit juice.

  • It is absolutely nothing

  • like grapefruit juice.

  • Ho, that's like

  • that tastes very like

  • kind of cleansing and like

  • energy filled though, because you've got

  • all those salts in there.

  • The sourness.

  • It's like a

  • a powerful concentrated energy drink.

  • Ha.

  • I think I got my sodiums in for the day

  • just from that one cup of pickle juice.

  • But I won't deny, I enjoyed that.

  • (pop music)

  • (mumbling)

  • Sardine grilled, scorpion fried.

  • (mumbling)

  • - [Marc] Hamsi grilled.

  • - [Man] Okay. - [Marc] Hamsi grilled

  • and also the.

  • Ying (foreign language)

  • We walked through the market

  • that was very enjoyable.

  • And then we came across the street

  • to a different neighborhood.

  • And we are now sitting down at a restaurant

  • called Balikci Lokantasi.

  • And this restaurant specializes in seafood.

  • After walking through the market

  • and seeing that selection of seafood

  • I wanted to eat seafood so badly,

  • so we're at the restaurant now.

  • And I ordered some anchovies.

  • To begin with, we have this beautiful plate of salad.

  • There is parsley on here, there's lettuce,

  • there's cucumbers and carrots and tomatoes

  • and, I'm gonna squeeze on the lemon.

  • Just let me start with a bite of the salad.

  • Mmm.

  • There's arugula down there too.

  • Oh, that's nice.

  • I absolutely love the rocket, or the arugula.

  • It just, it gives salad an extra flavor

  • that is so good.

  • Wow, that smells incredibly good.

  • This is a dish that I really wanted to try

  • at this restaurant.

  • There are cubes of fish

  • and it came in this, I think it's a clay

  • a clay little vessel.

  • It came just bubbling over.

  • The aroma of this is incredible, you can smell

  • all those onions.

  • You can smell like an herb, maybe some thyme in there.

  • And there are tomatoes in here, there's chilis.

  • Wow, this is just amazingly

  • amazingly smelling.

  • Oh, there's even some mushrooms in here.

  • Okay, I'm just gonna take a straight up bite first.

  • Mm-hmm.

  • That is really hot.

  • And incredibly good.

  • That's almost like lava, down there. (laughs)

  • But that is wow, that's unbelievable.

  • Oh, that's so good.

  • It's salty.

  • It's, I think that's

  • is that all butter?

  • Let me just see.

  • I think that might all be oil, or butter.

  • But it just provides an immense amount of flavor.

  • You can taste the, maybe a little bit of

  • black pepper in there.

  • You can taste the herb in there.

  • The tomatoes, the caramelized onions.

  • The onions are a little bit sweet.

  • Wow.

  • That is remarkable.

  • I think

  • it would be good with a little squeeze of lemon.

  • And the fish itself is also really good.

  • It's

  • very soft.

  • But not

  • like starchy or mushy.

  • That is superb.

  • Get some bread

  • go ahead and dip into that butter and the fish.

  • With that lemon.

  • And those onions.

  • Those onions are insane.

  • Okay.

  • This is one of the best dishes so far I've had in Turkey.

  • And also, the other dish that I was

  • really looking forward to, and I'm glad

  • I have a chance to try it in Turkey is hamsi,

  • which are anchovies.

  • And I got the grilled version.

  • Looks like they kind of butterfly cut the anchovies.

  • And maybe there's a very light breading

  • or batter on them, before being fried.

  • Or these are grilled, yeah.

  • And then they sprinkle them with some chili

  • and some, I think it's an herb, or maybe zatar.

  • And, I'm just gonna try one of these guys first.

  • Put this down on my plate.

  • Oh yeah.

  • Anchovies are a beautiful thing.

  • Mmm.

  • Has just a very faint bitter taste to it.

  • But then they're really soft, really tender.

  • They have a little bit of a crispy exterior.

  • And then just a very light finish with that herb and chili.

  • Anchovies are a wonderful thing from the sea.

  • They also dished us this side plate

  • and I think this is the

  • maybe this is roasted chilies in tomatoes,

  • I'm not totally sure.

  • And then, I'm not sure what that is.

  • I'll try this thing, which I'm not sure of

  • what it is first.

  • It doesn't really have a smell at all.

  • Ohh.

  • I think that's eggplant.

  • Roasted eggplant.

  • And then this one, I've had it a number of times already

  • so far being in Turkey.

  • And it is marvelous.

  • I think it is red chili.

  • It's a little bit sour.

  • And there's like a, I think it's a really nice

  • parsley flavor.

  • I'm honestly not sure if this is oil,

  • like olive oil, or butter.

  • But it is so good.

  • Now I'm just trying to fish out all of the rest

  • of those herbs and onions.

  • And also the garlic in here.

  • That's so good.

  • This was one of my favorite dishes so far this

  • entire trip to Istanbul.

  • Wow, that was good.

  • I just paid, and we were about to leave

  • but then they gave us a cup of tea and some dessert

  • to try, so that is very kind of him.

  • I don't know the name of this, but I think

  • I've had versions of it.

  • I think it's semolina.

  • And then served with bananas.

  • Let me taste a bit of this

  • with a banana.

  • Mmm.

  • Yeah, I think that is semolina.

  • It has a grainy texture.

  • A little bit of a honey like sweetness.

  • And with that banana, it actually accompanies it

  • very well.

  • If you eat that together, it's almost like banana bread.

  • In a different shape.

  • Ahhh.

  • Oh yeah.

  • Always good to finish a meal with tea.

  • That was an amazingly good meal.

  • The staff and the owner and the waiters,

  • they're all really nice at that restaurant.

  • And it's in kind of a really quiet street.

  • Very close to Kadikoy Market.

  • I found that restaurant just by doing a quick

  • Foursquare search in this area.

  • And I wanted to find somewhere that served hamsi

  • which are those anchovies.

  • The anchovies were good.

  • But that black sea salmon

  • turned out to be the absolute winner, one of the

  • best dishes, maybe the best dish I've had so far

  • in Istanbul.

  • That was amazing.

  • (pop music)

  • We're getting back on the boat

  • heading back to the other side

  • back to Europe.

  • (pop music)

  • And I'm not really sure why, but both times we took

  • the boat, it was free, there was no charge.

  • I'm not sure if it's just today

  • or if we got on the free boat.

  • I don't know, but it was free, both times.

  • We decided to take a little stroll up the hill.

  • We're now in the vicinity of Galata Tower.

  • (world music)

  • We have come to the base of Istakal Street

  • and there's one thing we just got to do.

  • I'm gonna pass the camera to Ying

  • and I'm gonna be the victim.

  • (world music)

  • You want vanilla or chocolate?

  • - Vanilla, chocolate, lemon.

  • - [Ying] Vanilla.

  • - Vanilla please.

  • - Vanilla please.

  • (singing)

  • - He's so fast, I don't even know what's happening.

  • (foreign language)

  • (singing)

  • (laughing)

  • (singing)

  • (laughing)

  • - Taste.

  • - Mmm.

  • - Taste. - I think I got it now.

  • (laughing)

  • I'm not totally sure, but I think I've got it.

  • Even though you see the ice cream man dishing

  • out the ice cream and playing with their customers

  • when you're actually the victim of it

  • (laughs) you really don't even know what's happening.

  • They're so fast.

  • And, it's pretty awesome.

  • It's such a sticky ice cream.

  • I got a few licks of ice cream

  • when we was dishing it out to me.

  • But let me taste it really now.

  • (drumming) Oh yeah.

  • Mmm.

  • Yeah, it's such a sticky ice cream, it's almost like

  • it has some elasticity to it.

  • (singing)

  • Whoa.

  • Yeah, it's so sticky, it's like dough almost.

  • Wow.

  • (laughs)

  • - Yay.

  • (kissing)

  • (laughs)

  • - (laughs) Thank you.

  • Thank you. - [Marc] Thank you.

  • Every time I'm walking past

  • and I see somebody orders ice cream like that

  • you always see them getting played with.

  • And so you think you know exactly what they're gonna do,

  • but they fool you every single time.

  • (laughs)

  • (foreign language)

  • How's the ice cream?

  • - Ay, it's good.

  • - Yeah, it's a really sticky ice cream.

  • It almost has like a

  • a mozzarella cheese, but we got the vanilla flavor.

  • It's almost a mozzarella cheese flavor.

  • And a little bit of an elasticity, as well.

  • Or some serious elasticity, that's how they

  • can play with it so much.

  • (pop music)

  • This is the restaurant we are looking for right here.

  • Hello.

  • - Are you Marc? - [Marc] Yes.

  • - How are you?

  • - [Marc] How are you?

  • - Fine, thank you.

  • - [Marc] Did David?

  • - Yeah. - [Marc] Send you a message?

  • - He send me a message.

  • - [Marc] Okay. (laughs)

  • - And also some pictures.

  • - [Marc] Okay.

  • - This way.

  • - Thank you very much.

  • Hello.

  • Oh yes, he said this is the best

  • for the kabob.

  • (pop music)

  • I am sitting here

  • bar side, watching him grill the meat.

  • And the smoke coming off the aroma of that meat

  • and just the expertise of how he is grilling it

  • is incredible.

  • For the kabob, he mixed the minced meat with the spices

  • right there before he put it onto the sword.

  • And then he put it onto the sword

  • and then stuck it straight onto the hot charcoal.

  • This is an incredible experience.

  • This restaurant is called Zubeyir Ocakbasi.

  • And this is a style of kabob and a style of grill

  • where they have, it's right, the grill is right

  • in the center of the restaurant.

  • And then there's this like metal chimney

  • which goes up through the roof.

  • And that is the centerpiece of the restaurant

  • and that's where all the meat goes down.

  • That's where all the meat is grilled.

  • And that, it's almost like a vacuum, it just sucks

  • up all this smoke, and just, it's incredible.

  • It keeps the fire so stoked and so hot

  • as it grills the meat.

  • We got a lamb kabob.

  • We got some chicken.

  • We're gonna get some lamb chops, as well.

  • And then also he roasted some chilies and tomatoes.

  • Look at that, you can actually still see

  • all of the spices mixed in.

  • There's maybe that's some parsley.

  • You can see the little chili flakes in there.

  • I have to begin with a kabob.

  • And I am just gonna go pure meat on this bite.

  • Wow.

  • Look at how tender that is.

  • Oh, it's so tender, it actually just falls apart

  • in your fork.

  • Oh wow.

  • Oh my goodness.

  • That's absurd.

  • Oh, that is

  • that is unbelievably flavorful.

  • Oh, it's salty.

  • You can taste the lamb flavor and the lamb fat.

  • Oh, and that like extra smokey fire

  • it just gives it like this incredible

  • like depth of smoke embedded into the minced meat.

  • I have had kabobs before, but I have never

  • had a kabob like that.

  • For my next bite, I'll take some of this bread.

  • And then break off a piece of a kabob.

  • It's so tender.

  • And it definitely has a high fat content in there

  • because it is so just packed with flavor

  • and juicy.

  • And then I'm gonna add in some of these onions

  • and sumac.

  • That is meat sensation.

  • Next I'm gonna try this eggplant salad.

  • Roasted eggplant.

  • I'll take some of that bread.

  • And just scoop, scoop a bit of this up.

  • Mmm.

  • That is fantastic too.

  • Extremely creamy.

  • And I think there is some chilies in there, too.

  • I think that's, could that all be parsley?

  • And then tomatoes.

  • Ah, this is beautiful.

  • I think that's a balsamic

  • and olive oil dressing.

  • But really like densely flavorful.

  • And then, diced up tomatoes.

  • And I think that's parsley.

  • I'm gonna move a chili, one of these

  • roasted chilies over my plate.

  • Oh.

  • And also one of these scorched tomatoes.

  • Open up this.

  • I really love these fire-roasted chilies and tomatoes.

  • I just got to have a piece of that chili.

  • That fire-roasted flavor

  • they're soft on the inside

  • and have that skin, that like burned skin.

  • Oh, that's very like crackery.

  • Mmm.

  • Yeah, that's like a

  • a very paper thin

  • almost cracker like crispy.

  • And then I think it's topped with

  • dried chili flakes.

  • Or maybe a chili paste.

  • And some kind of herb, maybe either parsley or cilantro.

  • This restaurant is known for their kabobs

  • but I think they are most well known for

  • their lamb chops.

  • So the lamb chops have arrived

  • and these are fresh off the grill, just moments ago.

  • Oh these are, I can't wait.

  • I can't wait.

  • Ohh yes.

  • Oh, look at that, get a close up of this interior.

  • Oh yeah.

  • That is remarkable.

  • Wow.

  • That is impressively good.

  • Oh, I don't even barely know how to describe it,

  • it's, oh wow.

  • You can taste the pastures.

  • You can taste the pastures.

  • Maybe with some onions on this next bite.

  • Set this down.

  • And I think that is a little layer of fat

  • on the edge there.

  • And I will

  • these are some, it's definitely

  • expertly grilled and seasoned.

  • But at the same time,

  • this is some very good quality lamb.

  • Yeah.

  • Wow.

  • That is a

  • a very a lamb chop that you'll never forget.

  • This is Ying's position.

  • Ying being (mumbling).

  • (foreign language)

  • Ending our meal with some watermelon

  • and maybe honeydew melon.

  • Mmm.

  • Nothing like juicy sweet watermelon.

  • After such a a meaty, salty,

  • marvelous feast.

  • That was not only

  • one of the more incredible meat meals that I've had,

  • that was just an unbelievable meal experience.

  • That food was so good, that kabob and those lamb chops

  • just, mind blowingly delicious.

  • Special thank you to Ali, who took care of us

  • in that restaurant.

  • That was fantastic.

  • And also to Mr. David Dudi,

  • Nama, and Honuman, thank you all for your recommendation.

  • That was just another just outrageously good meal.

  • in Istanbul.

  • And actually today,

  • we have had three back-to-back amazing meals.

  • This has just been a,

  • this is actually our final day, tomorrow we are

  • going to the airport and we are leaving Istanbul.

  • So it is

  • it was just an absolute joyful

  • last full day in Istanbul.

  • And I'm gonna, Istanbul.

  • (shouting)

  • (laughs)

  • Some great people and so much good food in Istanbul.

  • I'm gonna end the video for today right now.

  • Thank you all for watching today's video.

  • Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it.

  • And leave a comment below, and make sure you subscribe

  • for lots more food and travel videos.

  • And, thank you again for watching.

  • (upbeat music)

- [Narrator] For my next bite, I'll take some of this bread

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