49 Pizza - A real place where real people go...

Tucked away in a narrow street just off İstiklal Caddesi where the famous Galatasaray Turkish Bath is 49 pizza is one of the places that feels like a real discovery. The shop itself is very cozy with red brick walls, huge windows and home like decor.

There is a wine cellar on the lower floor which you can take a peek at because some of the floor is made of glass. Also there is a tiny antique open lift which can go between the three floors. If you're lucky you might even see it operating. It is pretty cool because it actually looks like someone is just rising out of the floor.

Their pizzas are great. Though my favorite is the one with tulumi cheese (a turkish cheese) and caramelized onions. You should also try their wines. Their house wine called the Desperate House Wine is pretty good but you can also try a couple of more expensive wines as well.

The place is lovely, the staff is warm, the pizzas are delicious, and the prices are low. What more could you want?

Traditional Turkish Fast Food - Altıntaş Büfe

In Turkey 'tost' which is obviously dervied from toast is a very common and traditional fast food which is basically a warm sandwich. It can be eaten as breakfast, lunch or after drinks. The 'tost' places are called 'büfe' from buffet and they also usually sell burgers and döner (meat) sandwiches.

The most famous ones are Bambi and Kızılkayalar both located just off Taksim square and open till morning. But I would definitely reccomend 'Altıntaş Büfe', a very small shop located on Asmalı Mescit Street on the other end of İstiklal Street. It basically has two tables so be ready to eat while standing.

Try a "Dilli kaşarlı" which is a tongue and cheese sandwich. Tongue may sound weird but it is delicious. If you cannot bring yourself to eat tongue you may try "sucuk" which is a traditional turkish sausage made from veal. 

You may also try Ayran (yogurt drink) with it or get yourself a nice, freshly squeezed orange juice. This is a very nice snack or breakfast, and a cheap alternative too. 

The owner of the shop a tall man with a big smile is usually there. Check him out, he looks like the big bird from Sesame Street and that always makes me smile. 

Morro - İstanbul

We went to Morro, a couple of days ago with a party of four. They have  a beautiful interior decoration with retro tiles, wooden bar and a fireplace which is nice to look at but occasionally fills the restaurant with unwanted smoke.

The food was ok. I had the fried goat cheese entree which was pretty good and tasted the grilled asparagus which will be my first choice if I go there again. Then I had the risotto with shrimp and that was only ok. My friend had the seafood linguini which tasted ok but they put in so much linguini that it was impossible to find the seafood. A little less linguini would probably solve the problem. 

The dessert Napoleone was no good though. The crispy bits were burned and there was very little custard. And it is not good with bananas. They should serve it with berries or not serve it at all. 

The service was good and the price range seemed ok for the overall experience but the food could definitely be better. 

And dude! You have to do something about that fireplace!

Yauatcha London - Go for the beancurd cheung fun, skip the desserts...

We went to Yautcha last time we were in London. We were a party of four and a baby. They don't have baby seats and lots of people come there for business but the staff was pretty friendly.

The entrance looks like a pastry shop with colorful sweets in the window. Inside it's a bit less colorful and pretty modern with a huge aquarium on one side.

We ate lots of dumplings, stir fried scallops and some fish and everything was very good. We wanted to order a couple of more dumplings so we asked the waitress. What would you recommend? She recommended the prawn and beancurd cheung fun. Well it was one of the best things I've ever eaten until today. You must go there, you must order it and eat it. It was so good that I think there might be a restaurant selling just that. The beancurd cheung fun place...

After the lovely, lovely prawn and beancurd cheung fun we ordered some dessert. I have to say that they looked great, all velvety and posh but they tasted really avarage. So no desserts might be a good policy in Yauatcha since everythingis quite pricy.

Ducksoup London

If you are in London you definitely have to visit Ducksoup, a nice and unpretentious place on Dean Street.

They make reservations for lunch but not for dinner. We went there around 14:00 and it was still packed. We had to wait a bit for our table but let me tell you, it was well worth the wait. The staff was really friendly and since we were 4 people we got a chance to taste different stuff.

The hand written menu was hard to read but once you crack it you can get ready for blissful deliciousness. Try the pumpkin mash with goat curd, the fried baby squid and the duck with pickles for sure. The lamb chops were also good but my favorite was black cabbage and beans if you are into healthy stuff that tastes great.

Our spanish and spicy red wine eas a blast too...

So if you're in London, give Ducksoup a try.