I met Marina after a long while of no see. We have filled in each other on the happening of the past few months over a tall glass of lemonade at Fazıl Bey, a respectable coffee spot and simply a institution.
As we parted ways Marina, once local to the area but now a proud resident of Büğükada, the largest of the Princess Islands, asked me for a fresh idea, “Where can I grab something to eat? Not a big meal but rather little something?” I thought of all the usual suspects and could not come up with anything exciting for my low-card dieting friend. Until it occurred to me I have been ignoring the obvious, “Gözde! Why don’t you go to Gözde? They have great meze and a few tables outside!”
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The other day we all happened to be in town - me and Özgür for our clients and anne for her doctor. Done and starving by the afternoon we thought, “Why not to eat at the Kadıköy market?” This was the first time for me in Istanbul together my mother-in-law and as the Kadıköy market is my territory I was determined to get her the best. Fish at Kadı Nimet Balıkçısı followed by the baklava from Bilgeoğlu and washed down with seriously good Turkish coffee at Fazil Bey. Failure-proof plan. Or so I thought.
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If you look for a decent Istanbul fish restaurant and don’t want to commute far you can safely head out to the local fish market. You may not get supreme dining experience there but fresh fish perfectly grilled or fried will be served to you without fail. There are great finds around Kumkapı, Galata, Beyoğlu, Beşiktaş, Sariyer and Kadıköy - all known for their bustling fish trade.
My neighborhood is Kadıköy. It is overlooked for everything including its fish restaurants. People you see at the Kadıköy market either live around or come for the sole purpose of eating at Çiya. I am hardly seduced by Çiya because my mother-in-law can easily compete with Musa Dağdeviren, chef of this famous restaurant, in the knowledge of the Turkish regional home cooking and eccentricity of the ingredients. That’s why when I eat out in Kadıköy I am way more interested in fish.
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Winter has arrived to Istanbul unannounced. It has been in an agony of suspense the whole summer so it decided to deprive us of any autumn. From late summer we have transited into early winter. Fashionable wellingtons, practical Timberland boots, cozy berets and warm winter jackets - kept at the storage or thoughtfully bought a week ago - have flooded Istanbul streets. As if the streets were not already flooded by the tons of rainfall which poured on Istanbul all at once.
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Our place in Sapanca is a food heaven: with 5 fridges, 3 freezers and 2 wall-size shelves refilled twice a week it is hard to think of a food item that Zeliha Hanım would not have in her professional kitchen pantry. Yet a day comes and I get Istanbul-seek and start longing for my own fridge stuffed with very particular food I pick from very particular vendors at the Kadıköy market in Istanbul.
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In Istanbul fish is a poetry recited to the whisper of the blue Bosphorus waves and silent vastness of the Black Sea by the terse fishermen who go to the sea to find the world’s wisdom in the salty waters. They would keep the found wisdom to themselves and you could only dimly guess which marine secrets are hidden on the fish stalls at the local markets spotted with the shimmering scales and turned outside deep red gills attesting the freshness of the catch.
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