The Ultimate Istanbul Food Tour (Balık Ekmek, Kokoreç, Lahmacun)

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Day 10: Istanbul, Turkey - This was one of the best days of eating Turkish food in Istanbul that I had during my visit, and this video is an Istanbul food tour. We started with Turkish breakfast, followed by the famous fish bread sandwich (balik ekmek), followed by kokoreç and midye dolma, and then finally for dinner I ate lahmacun. Although everything was good in this Istanbul food tour, my favorite food of the day was the kokoreç.

00:41 Lades Menemen Restaurant - The first meal on this Turkish food tour was for Turkish breakfast just off Istiklal street. Along with some side dishes, my main order was menemen, which is a type of Turkish egg dish (similar to scrambled eggs) and I got it with Turkish sausage. It came piping hot and bubbling away, and it was extraordinarily delicious, especially with all the other sides. Total price - 34 TL ($11.43) for everything

4:56 Galata Tower - 25 TL ($8.40) per person - On this food tour, we still had to do a little bit of sightseeing, so on our way to the next restaurant, we stopped off at the Galata Tower for an amazing full 360 view of Istanbul. We got there right as they opened, so it was nice and quiet.

Galata Bridge, Eminönü, Balık Ekmek - Perhaps one of the most well known Istanbul street foods is, balık ekmek, a fish bread sandwich. Located in Eminönü, and along the water's edge, you’ll find a handful of boats that grill up pieces of mackerel, stuff them into bread, and serve them with lemon juice. You can sit along the pier, and enjoy your fish bread sandwich, and not only is it good, but the atmosphere is also fantastic. Balik Ekmek (fish sandwich) - 8 TL ($2.69)

10:56 Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar) - If I could choose one of my favorite things to do in Istanbul, it would be exploring the Spice Bazaar which is also known as the Egyptian Bazaar. You’ll find an incredible amount of spices and herbs and flavoring ingredients from around the world, packed into the market. After walking around for a while, Ying and I decided to buy some cherries, and the friendly vendor also gave us some samples of fruit as well. Cherries - 1 kg. for 12 TL ($4.03)

13:35 Süleymaniye Mosque - We were in the general area, so we stopped in at Süleymaniye Mosque, an iconic mosque in Istanbul that dominates the skyline.

15:21 Kral Kokoreç - The next food on this Istanbul food tour is kokoreç, and it’s one of the Turkish foods I was most looking forward to eating in Istanbul. Kral Kokoreç is an amazing, sort of street food stall in Istanbul. Kokoreç is a delicacy of organs wrapped in lamb intestines and grilled. I ordered a plate of it to go alongside some bread and it was spectacular. It was one of the best Turkish food meals I had, I loved it. They also sold midye dolma, mussels with rice and spices, and they were also wonderful. Total price - 29 TL ($9.71) - for everything.

22:42 Grand Bazaar - After that amazing meal, we walked over to the Grand Bazaar, which is not only one of the oldest covered markets in Istanbul, but one of the oldest covered shopping areas in the world. It was pretty amazing to walk around, and admire the shops and the actual structure of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. I think the tea was 1 TL ($0.34).

25:47 Fıstık Kebap Lahmacun - To complete this Istanbul food tour, our final stop for dinner was at a restaurant called Fıstık Kebap Lahmacun (thanks to Culinary Backstreets for the recommendation:http://culinarybackstreets.com/cities...) to eat lahmacun. At first we started off with aryan and kibbeh, before proceeding onto the lahmacun, pide, and the special fistik kebap. Everything was delicious, but I think I really liked the simplicity and lightness of the lahmacun the best. Total price - 58 TL ($19.49).