In Transit: Everything memorable I ate in Türkiye
and how it made me feel (for when sharing on Instagram stories feels too transient)
Quick note: This post is too long for email so I encourage you to read this in the website or the app (which is much cooler anyway 😉).
If there’s one thing I discovered about myself lately: one of the major reasons I enjoy travel is because of food. At this point, I classify myself as a foodie. Dating someone with as much interest in eating good (and comforting) food didn’t hurt either. So whenever I go places, I make it a point to seek out a place to eat at or a particular dish and put it in the itinerary.
This post came about because 1) I really enjoyed reading
’s own eating escapades on her lovely newsletter and I figured that talking about food is also something I really like doing - so this is me making my own version of it (hi Amy 👋, I hope you don’t mind 😅); 2) I’ve been sharing some stuff in my (personal) Insta stories when I have the energy but I wanted some place I can keep them organized, to look back to. Plus, I take too many pictures of my food and it’s bound to go somewhere, right?; And finally, 3) this is also an effort to internalize my travels more, instead of just breezing through them and moving on to the next.In one of my Glimmers posts, I briefly shared about a week-long trip to Türkiye that my girl friends and I took last April 2025. This is essentially about that.
So, without further ado, on to the main event…
Turkish Breakfast
This is the first ‘proper’ meal we had that first full day in the country - and what a feast! Turkish kahvaltı (breakfast) is one of the best unique breakfasts I’ve ever had during travels. I love the full selection of things (that I can’t even remember all) which is perfect for someone like me who always can’t decide between sweet and savory and just wants a little bit of everything. I booked an early breakfast in this cafe with a view of Hagia Sofia for the full experience but even the breakfast buffet in our cave hotel in Göreme didn’t disappoint (I would say it was slightly even better than the one in the cafe!, but buffet style). As someone who is obsessed with cheese, the amount of cheese selections made me feel over the moon! My favorites: Turkish cheeses (especially the tulum and feta cheese), borek (with feta), kaymak (similar to clotted cream) with honey, and, of course, the tea. There is also this dip (?) made by cooking down crushed black sesame seeds with syrup / sugar in a bit of oil. I asked what it is, the owner told me, I couldn’t remember for the life of me the name of that dish — but I liked it very much. 10/10, highly recommended. And an experience that you shouldn’t miss if ever you visit.
Turkish Coffee
Getting drunk on Turkish coffee anytime, anywhere, during the whole trip is an experience I will forever cherish. This is not my first rodeo with Turkish coffee (first was in this Turkish cafe in Glasgow) but drinking it at the source definitely hits different - it was so much better for reasons I can’t quite point out. Turkish coffee has a specific brewing method that uses finely ground beans and boiling them in a special pot called cezve (middle photo), then serving the unfiltered coffee after the grounds have settle at the bottom of the cup. I am a person that treats my coffee as a dessert so I am not used to drinking it black, but in Türkiye, I didn’t mind - which I found surprising. Because the grounds need to settle at the bottom and is left over once the coffee is drank, tasseology is a popular past time. My heartbeat was consistently above the 100s all throughout the trip, maybe partly because my body was fighting off sickness, but I think a lot of it is because I’ve also been downing a lot of cups of this stuff. It is on the intense and stronger side, after all. The best Turkish coffee of the trip perhaps is the first (first photo) and I can’t even remember where we got it from. We just sat at a random place near Basilica Cistern and surprisingly got our best coffee experience in the city. Having it with a view also adds to the experience (see third photo above).
Turkish Tea
Another one that got us ‘drunk’ throughout the trip is the Turkish tea. My friends, who don’t really drink coffee, drank a lot of it. I also had a lot of it, particularly in breakfasts. It’s customary to drink çay (tea) before coffee, and also usually taken before a meal (while coffee is taken after). It uses black tea, specifically the Rize tea (oof, it’s one letter away from my name!), and is quite strong as well I would say. It is traditionally served in a tulip-like, slim-waisted glass called ince belli which look so nice. It can be served strong or weak, depending on how much you dilute it in water. If I wasn’t too hung up with the coffee, I think this will be my ‘drink of the place’ of sorts. But I still enjoyed it very much. A fun fact that I just discovered recently: Turkey has the highest per-capita tea consumption in the world (annual consumption of almost 3 kilograms per person) in 2014 - so they really know their stuff. Also, tea is the most popular hot drink in the country despite their strong coffee culture and that says a lot.
Adana Kebab
Of course, eating around Türkiye wouldn’t be complete if we don’t get kebabs. We usually mostly ordered the platters so we can try a little bit of everything - but the one thing that stood out every time amongst all the types of kebab we had was the famed Adana kebab (which our guide claimed is the best kebab in Türkiye). It’s a minced lamb meat kebab that is leaning towards (hot) spicy — and it was amazing. The perfect condiment for me is that yoghurt they usually serve it with to balance the spiciness. We loved it so much!
Lentil Soup
If there is a dish I will forever associate with Türkiye, it probably is this — just because we ate too much of it. And I don’t even eat lentil too much. Lentil soups just feel like a comforting warm hug, even if it was a 20+-degree C lunch outside.
Ottoman Sherbet
This drink was a revelation and we were only able to see it and drink it in one place. Ottoman sherbet tastes like a spice-forward, non-alcoholic sangria. It is made by boiling down sugar, a mix of spices, and specific fruits for a long time and then chilling them in the fridge. It cannot be served hot and has medicinal properties as well. Definitely the most special drink we’ve tasted. Truly unforgettable!
Turkish Delights and Baklavas
Turkish delights and baklavas usually have a bad rap to me just because of how sweet they are, as someone who doesn’t like too-sweet deserts. But considering their coffee and tea leans toward the bitter side, I can understand how pairing these to those drinks just works so well. Having Turkish delights right at the source was a different experience as well though. I discovered that I actually liked them when made well. I took home a lot of these Turkish delights from the tour, specifically the dark chocolate-covered dried apricots, and they were amazing. I’ve been rationing them since.
Turkish Ravioli
One of the most unique dishes I’ve tried, Turkish manti or Turkish Ravioli is made as small boiled dumplings with minced spicy ground lamb and beef. A generous amount of melted butter and that beautiful garlicky yoghurt is poured on top of it and it is served warm bordering on cold. The tang from the yoghurt really provided that unique taste to me that is refreshing and also offsets the richness from the butter and the lamb-filled dumplings. We had it as our first dinner in Cappadocia in this restaurant with a view and is a nice way to punctuate our first night in one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been to. I still think about it sometimes.
San Sebastian Cheesecake
For some reason, cheesecakes are very popular near the Galata Tower area considering how many cafes were selling it. We settle to get a seat at this cafe with a view that could accommodate our group and of course ordered the famous San Sebastian cheesecake (which is essentially a Basque cheesecake), drizzled with milk and dark chocolate. It was rich and chocolatey and gooey - and a nice break from all the savory foods we had at that point. Add the fact that we were eating our cheesecakes (with Turkish tea and coffee, of course) with a direct view of the historic Galata Tower.
Semolina Halva with Ice Cream
At both times we ate this, it was given to us for free and what a dessert to share among us friends, while enjoying the hospitality and generosity of Turkish people. The semolina halva was warm and mellow and the vanilla ice cream provided a nice contrast. It was an unassuming dessert, but delicious its own way.
BONUS: Grilled corn on the cob and roasted chestnuts
This probably do not look like something special but it’s a memory I wanted to keep. Eating grilled corn (sprinkled with some salt) and roasted chestnuts from a random stall in front of the Blue Mosque, on our last night in Türkiye. From the photos we took during this time, we were all visibly tired from the trip but I remember being so excited to eat this in the street. The (still smoking) hot corn on the cob provided a nice warmth against the cold night. It was simple. It was nice. And it was oh so memorable.
Our favorite restaurant from the trip:
Old Ottoman Cafe and Restaurant
I tracked back and I kept coming back to this restaurant: the food, the service, the people, the memories. We initially went to the Old Ottoman Cafe and Restaurant because the place where we were supposed to go for lunch wasn’t available. We loved it so much that we came back again on our last dinner in Istanbul. Most of the stuff I listed here, we tasted for the first time in this place: the Adana kebab, the lentil soup, the famed Ottoman Sherbet, the semolina halva with ice cream. They kept offering us free rice and free tea. And at both times we went there, the owner gave us complementary desserts and kept talking to us. We were their last customers on our last night, and they waited for us even when they were already doing their post-service family dinner. It was just a masterclass of service and hospitality. And it really left a mark on me. I would definitely come back if I can and I highly recommend this place with all my heart.
Whew, that was a long post typed and fuelled by OPM songs and my 3am energy. I really enjoyed that, and I hope I can make another list like this again in the future. 😉
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