Sense III – The Flavors of Istanbul – Part II

I realized after posting the last blog that I have not done enough justice to the flavors of Istanbul. So if you are here without reading Part I, go back and read that first. Because I remembered many more things that were worth mentioning. Hence part 2 is a continuation of the amazing flavors of Istanbul. 

Have you heard of the saying eat breakfast like a king? Well, the Turkish definitely seem to eat breakfast like the kings. There is a vast variety of food items for breakfast. Most of which I’ve already shared with you previously. But here are the items that I’ve missed. 

Simit is a kind of bagel coated with sesame seeds, early morning the streets smell of the Simit being baked around the city. It is cut into pieces and served in a bread basket everywhere you go for breakfast. You can have it as a snack as simit carts are common around the city.

Borek another savory pastry filled with meat or cheese is a sought-after item for breakfast. We had a breakfast place close to our hotel, which I intended to visit one of the days I was around. Unfortunately, it was open for breakfast only and I missed my chance to have borek freshly baked. 

A sweeter form of pasty is the baklava which is a famous sweet dish across the Mediterranean and Middle East. Baklava is thin sheets of pastry stuffed with pistachios or walnuts or other nuts, you can even get baklava in chocolate flavor. Though there is a huge conflict about who the pioneer of baklava is, one thing is for sure the Turkish have perfected the art of making baklava. 

On our first day when I had dragged my friends to Hafiz Mustafa for their Kunefe, we ordered one slice of Baklava and fell in love with the taste. We brought back baklava to Karachi for our families and regretted getting so less of it. 

Speaking of sweet dishes, if you come to Turkey and don’t try their Turkish Delights you’ve wasted the trip. I had the chance to try out a mars flavored delight that was just heavenly. The roasted peanuts added to the whole flavor. I loved it so much that I got back a whole box of it. It was just out of this world.

Sausages are another form of meat that everyone in Turkey is crazy about. I could have had sausages for breakfast lunch and dinner and they are served with the same frequency. 

Next on my list is Pide, which is pretty much like a Turkish Pizza, although the dough may be different the flavor is amazing. We were hooked to the Pide and ordered it very regularly. It was an item we began to recognize and went with it every time we were introduced to a new menu and were unsure of what to have. It is relatively inexpensive and very filling. 

Pide was our go-to towards the end of our trip when cash was low and we had to eat on the go most of the time.