Dear Steemit friends:
Today, we'll be returning to the Sultanahmet (Old City) part of Istanbul for our Miss. Delicious adventure. This part of Istanbul is essentially what used to be called Constantinople - the capital of Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor The Great Constantine.
The Sultanahmet is geographically a peninsula which is separated by the Bosphorus straight. To the east of the Bosphorus, we have Anatolia otherwise called the Asian part of Turkey, and just below the peninsula, is the Sea of Marmara.
Even though the restaurant of choice is called Olive Anatolian Restaurant, it is actually situated in the European part of Turkey and not the Asian part (Anatolia). Still, the restaurant is perfectly situated in the heart of the Sultanahmet, just minutes walk away from the Gülhane Park and Topkapi Palace Museum.
⬆️⬆️⬆️
Location of Olive Anatolian Restaurant
I was very fortunate to have some time to relax after a day of visiting the various ancient monuments of the area. A long strip of pasture that is Gülhane Park provided a much needed sanctuary for relaxation as the sun began to set. Of course, it's also the golden time (pun intended) for some nice pictures!
After a short walk along the lovely stone mosaic pavements of the old city, I arrived at the Yasmak Sultan hotel. It's situated at the corner of the street which bisects Erdogan Sk. and Ebussuut Cd.
From the outside, the hotel building holds a rather classy demeanour. A step inside and you'll find an equally impressive interior.
Very modern and clean refurbishments makes the place just that much more welcome..
But alas, this adventure is not about the Hotel. A quick enquiry to the friendly reception staff and I was on my way to the sixth floor for the restaurant.
If you decide to take the stairs, you can walk directly up to the 6th floor.
Or, if you're tired, lazy (or both) you can take the lift to the 5th, then walk up one floor.
Voila!. We finally arrived and it's time to take our first steps into this little gem of a restaurant.
The first thing you'll notice is the traditional Turkish music which is being performed live by a small quartet just at the landing area of the restaurant. They certainly have no reservations when it comes to performing loudly and proudly as you will find the music being played to almost a deafening volume. For some, it is perhaps the preferred delivery of entertainment over dinner, but for me, definitely a bit overwhelming.
Other than the central area where the musicians are performing, the restaurant is very spacious and occupies the top floor of the building, offering some of the best views of the old city and even parts of the city over the Bosphorus straight.
The musicians were so focused on their performance that they barely gave me any attention when I took pictures and videos of them!
The Menu
Time to see what food awaits!
The plates here are beautifully designed. I'm not certain what the significance of the design is, but it is seen on all of the plates.
A couple of cocktails to start off, pictured here we have my new favourite drink, the Pina Colada, and Vinkara Doruk.
I've found that Turkish cuisine really likes to make use of various kinds of dips and sauces which can be combined with all sorts of dishes throughout the course(s) of the meal.
Here, is one example which are the 3 default 'dips' served along side the complementary bread. Garlic, Sun dried tomatoes and ground olive paste. I personally like the sun dried tomatoes the most, they have so much flavour, even more so than if not sun-dried!
As a warm starter, I decided to try the Turkish Ravioli Feraye. This was one of the Chef Signature Dishes and is served with Pepper and Yogurt sauce. I have eaten plenty of Italian style ravioli but they are almost always very moist and taste a bit diluted of flavour. Here, the Ravioli really absorb the Yogurt and Pepper dressing, and not only that, it's skin is crispy!
Like with almost all traditional Turkish meals, a selection of Turkish Meze helps to diversify the taste of your mains. The hummus and egg-plant work really well with Ravioli, and of course, the garlic mint sauce is like the swiss army knife of sauces. It literally tastes great with anything!
Next up, we have the Ottoman special; the Sultan Kebab. Another one of the Chef's signature dishes, it is a Grilled Filet Mignon with meatballs, sauteed with butter and served with crispy potato, Yogurt and Tomato Sauce.
I really love how it is served in a bronze Cloche, hiding it's splendour right up to the moment it is unveiled before your eyes.
I'm not usually a big meat eater, but this probably changed my mind - at least for the night.
The crispy potato tasted a little like french fries but supplemented with the Yogurt and Tomato sauce. This is a winning combination, particularly if you are the kind of person to enjoy french fries with ketchup - I certainly am!
At this point, I was already very full from the Sultan kebab, but my friend wanted to try the Grilled Filet Mignon with a different pesto like sauce. It turns out that the meat can taste significantly less tangy if you use herbal sauces! What's great, is the mashed potato underneath absorbed a lot of the juices from the meat and tasted fantastic with the remaining sauce!
Our last Chef Signature dish, the Turkish Style Chicken Kebab which is a piece of Chicken Thigh, and Chicken Breast Sauteed with butter, served atop of eggplant puree.
Eggplant is prepared quite differently here. At least compared to China. Smoking it has made it taste a little 'slimey' (in a good way) and has allowed it to absorb much of the taste of chicken.
To separate the taste of the eggplant with the chicken, the meat has been garnished with various herbs and sauteed with butter. Once you bite through the surface, the strong taste of the sauce is neutralised by the tender plain texture of the chicken.
Last but not least, the ever so popular traditional Baklava served with Vanilla Icecream. This particular version was freshly baked with pistachio and raspberry - both help to nullify some of the intense sweetness. When the sweet taste dies down a little, you can take a small serving of the icecream to wake those tastes buds back up!
Watch the video and see the atmosphere of the restaurant!
And that wraps up our Miss. Delicious episode #75!
Certainly a very lively and scenic restaurant with some superb food to match. As it is almost certain that visitors to Istanbul will visit Sultanahmet, I would highly recommend this restaurant for an evening of wonderful traditional Turkish Music as well as a really delicate dining experience.
Please upvote if you liked the post, follow to stay up to date with my posts, and leave a comment to let me know what you think!
今天相带大家继续去探索土耳其的美食，伊斯坦布尔的苏丹阿赫迈特老城区，不仅是浓缩伊斯坦布尔历史精华的地方，同样也是土耳其地道美食最为集中的地方。在游历了老城区这个漂亮又极具土耳其民俗风味的公园之后，我们决定寻找一家与众不同的土耳其餐厅，现在就请大家和我一起去探索吧。
这家餐厅名字叫Olive Anatolian橄榄安纳托利亚餐厅，这家餐厅是我认为，如果你只剩下2个小时，想要最快速的了解土耳其民俗文化和美食艺术，就选这家餐厅吧。因为这家餐厅是一个楼顶餐厅，有非常赞的观景大玻璃，可以让你在吃美食的同时，欣赏着苏丹阿赫迈特老城区的几大主要建筑，在暮色下闪着灯光，熠熠生辉，例如托普卡帕宫，蓝色清真寺和圣索非亚大教堂都可以在吃饭的时候观赏到。而这家餐厅最大的特色，也是我最喜欢的地方，就是它美妙的现场土耳其民俗音乐表演了。照片上，我身后就是这四位音乐演奏家。所以你可以在这家餐厅享受到的，会比你所期望的要多很多，一边品尝土耳其最地道的美食料理，一边倾听土耳其民俗音乐里的悲伤和欢喜，同时还能欣赏到窗外这座城市的灵魂清真寺，当然是你能迅速认识并熟悉这座城市，本土民俗文化的最佳方式了。
橄榄餐厅位于亚斯马克苏丹酒店楼顶，这家酒店不临主街，而是藏在主街边的一条坡路上，傍晚时分，酒店的建筑亮起了灯，周围一些古老的建筑相称在一起，美极了。走进这家酒店，装修的简单明亮，酒店的标识告诉我们，餐厅位于6楼，而电梯只能到5楼，最后一层就要爬上去了。推开餐厅的大门，四位演奏家，弹着不同的乐器唱着歌，把我一下子带入了土耳其民俗歌曲的氛围中，节奏一会欢快，一会缓慢，曲子声调一会激昂，一会低沉。虽然完全听不懂他们的歌词，但是从他们的歌声中，我能感受到他们想要诉说的悲欢故事。仔细听听他们歌曲的旋律，还真有几分咱们新疆民歌的神韵呢。酒店的桌椅布局的很整齐，装修以大红色为主，除了桌上的红色台灯，屋顶像倒挂着的雨伞的红色灯罩和用红色珠子串连起的吊灯也都美的惊艳。这里的菜单制作精美，用餐的器具更是美轮美奂，好喜欢这个盘子上的图案，一朵盛开的鲜花。我们点了各种不同口味的鸡尾酒，每种都很好喝，最有趣的是，杯子里的搅拌棒上还有笑脸和椰子树的图案，真可爱呢，每一杯鸡尾酒还配送了一串好吃的新鲜水果。接下来就让我们一起尝尝土耳其的传统美食吧，
首先上来搭配面包一起吃的，土耳其晒干的西红柿和其他味道酸酸的酱料。现做的前菜包括土耳其特制酸奶和salsa沙拉等等，这些也是最著名的小菜。土耳其的油炸混沌，上面撒了写胡椒和辣椒粉，我感觉比之前吃过的土耳其水饺味道更好。苏丹烤肉串，羊肉的味道一点也不膻，反而非常香，加了特质的酱料，更加惊喜我的是下面的炸土豆丝，有点麦当劳炸薯条的香味。烤里脊肉片下面也铺了层软软的土豆泥，虽然在全世界都能吃到里脊肉，但是土耳其的里脊肉加上当地特质的小料，味道还真是不一样呢。另一个朋友点的烤鸡，看到这个油光发亮的色泽，就知道味道不会差了，鸡肉吃起来松软好吃又多汁。这个土耳其1的著名甜点巴卡拉浇上了蓝莓酱，还配了一小碗仙草冰激淋，味道没有过于甜，简直是又好吃又爽口。今天的土耳其传统美食之旅就到这里了，之后还有更多有趣的美食想要分享给大家。