Sushi "a la" P.F.Chang's; Yum, yum and yummier!

Dear readers,

I don't know about you...but I am a huge fan of sushi! So, when I found out a couple of months ago that P.F.Chang's, my favorite Chinese restaurant was planning on adding sushi to their menu I got very excited...

Sushi service began at P.F. Chang's at the beginning of June and I had a lovely lunch with Fatoş Ertaş Doğan (PR & Marketing Director) to sample some of the goodies this past Friday (June 27) .

I at first thought it was odd that a Chinese restaurant would add sushi to their menu, but there are a few examples of these types of restaurants in Istanbul, but I'm not sure if this is a common practice in other cities around the world, but heck, who cares as long as it is good!

I arrived at the restaurant a little early, so I had time to take a look at the colorful menu with lovely pictures of the sushi and sashimi dishes available.

Compared to a regular Japanese restaurant, the selections are limited - for now, but Fatoş has informed me that the menu will most probably include other selections in the Fall.

Since I am more a fan of sushi versus sashimi and there is just so much you can eat in one seating, I opted to try the sushi maki rolls...

Most importantly, I was very impressed with the quality of all the ingredients (fish, vegetables, rice) and the sauces used. Surprisingly, in some Japanese restaurant the rice is either very spongy or soggy, but here it was just right.

P.F. Chang's sushi menu includes 8 types of maki rolls and each is prepared "a la" P.F. Chang's so the flavors are a little different... but oh so good! I tried 5 of them!

You won't find this maki roll at any other restaurant besides P.F. Chang's because it is prepared with their signature "Dynamite Shrimp" from their Chinese food menu! The roll is stuffed with tuna and hot dynamite sauce and topped with warm dynamite shrimp - heavenly! 

The Dragon Roll at P.F. Chang's with spicy tuna, avocado, cucumbers and topped with kanikama (surimi) and slivers of very very hot red chili peppers! I cannot begin to tell you how exquisite the combination of flavors are! 

The crunchy ebi is also very tasty and is prepared with shrimp tempura, cucumbers and dynamite sauce - very simple, yet the sauce adds that extra "kick" to the roll.

I always have to have a California roll when I eat sushi which is prepared with kanikama, avocado, cucumbers and sesame seeds... very fresh and delectable!

Last, but not least...

The rainbow roll was absolutely divine as well! It is prepared with tuna, salmon and wrapped with seabass, rice and coated with avocado!

As you can imagine, I thought I would bust after our sushi feast which I had with hot sake (best accompaniment as far as I'm concerned!). The maki rolls are available in portions of 4 or 8 pieces (versus the classic 6) and range in prices from 10 TL to 38 TL for 4-8 pieces. However, the rainbow roll is only available as 8 rolls.

Although I didn't have room to taste the sashimi dishes, I wanted to share a photo from their menu to give you an idea of the selections available...

Also nigiri sashimi and P.F. Chang's style sashimi (salmon, tuna and seabass) are also served and are very thinly sliced pieces of raw fish in a special sauce.

What can I say? I can't wait to go back for more and I'm sure I'll go again in a few days before I go on an extended vacation to the Aegean coast of Turkey next week... I have to have my "fix" of these delectable morsels!

Moreover, P.F. Chang's has a take-away service... but for now, you can call in your order and then have to pick it up yourself, but I'm happy to report that this too will also change starting in the Fall season and delivery service will begin!

Enjoy your meal! Thanks P.F. Chang's ...now I have one more reason to visit your restaurant (not that I need one!)


Nispetiye Caddesi No. 94 Etiler

Tel: (0212) 358 60 60

Stay well,
Dani

Cantinery: Welcome to Zorlu Center!

Dear readers,

When Lucca opened,more than a few people probably thought first time restaurateur and owner Cem Mirap had a few screws loose for opening a restaurant/cafe/bar on an obscure corner (and with new view no less!) in Bebek in a space that once occupied a bank!

10 years later, Cem (I can call him that because we've become friends through the years) proved everyone wrong because he didn't have a few screws loose and Lucca is still one of the most popular venues in Istanbul! I've lost count on the number of times I've been to Lucca and can also remember the first meal I had there 10 years ago!  

For years, Cem has been asked "why don't you open a branch of Lucca in another part of town?" The smart person that he is, his answer has always been "no, I don't plan on opening a branch of Lucca, however, I might at some point open a totally new eatery with a different concept".

Well... that day is now, or rather it was May 8, 2014 when Cantinery opened its doors to the public at the 8 month-old Zorlu Center in Levazım, Istanbul.

It took a little longer than expected for the "Coming Soon from the owner of Lucca" sign to come down, but it was definitely worth the wait!

About a week from the official opening, Cem Mirap started organizing "tasting" lunches and dinners at Cantinery to test the dishes, service, etc... and I was happy when I was invited to one of these events... I attended the final "tasting" dinner the night before the official opening.

I arrived at Cantinery at about 8:00pm with lots of anticipation and of course high hopes because I know how hard the team from Lucca and Cantinery worked together to make this happen and of course everyone had the "pre-opening" jitters!

The kitchen was abuzz with activity prepping for the arrival of about 50-60 guests under the leadership of Willy Moya, one of Seville's most prestigious chefs and Chef Pelin Çakar at the helm. Pelin also oversees the kitchen at Lucca and is an excellent, creative and innovative chef. Unfortunately, there aren't too many woman chefs in Istanbul. For the past few years, Willy Moya has joined the team and is responsible for planning the dishes at Lucca (and now Cantinery). I had the chance to meet and chat with Willy that night and like everyone, he was excited about this new venture and had been in Istanbul for a couple of months working on the menu; from this point on he will be coming back to Istanbul on a monthly basis to oversee the operations. 

Pelin Çakar and her team at Cantinery/Zorlu Center

The tables were set and the waiters were working on the final touches... and we had a wonderful feast that night... we started off with a selection of cheeses and continued with the most amazing prawn carpaccio; absolutely delicious lobster burger (served with a tall shot of beer - exquisite!); tasty pizza, delectable tomato salad and for the main course either a lovely beef ragu pappardelle or perfectly oven braised sea bass served with a side of risotto...  

The piece de résistance of the evening of course was the dessert... I'll let the video do the talking!

Since my first visit to Cantinery a month ago, I have been back many times with friends, but mainly for cocktails, but did have another lovely lovely meal with Ebru Eke, the Editor-in-Chief of Food & Travel and La Cucina magazines Turkish versions last week Thursday.

Let me start off by talking by the menu...

Cantinery's lunch and dinner menu is changed daily. Yup... you read right! This is of course not the easiest thing to do, but Cem and his team wanted to create a menu that includes only dishes according to the fresh produce they are able to obtain daily. This doesn't mean you won't see some of your favorites over and over again, but don't be surprised if it is not included on the menu either.

The menu is straightforward and includes "Starters", "Salads", "Pasta/Pizza", Meat/Fish" and "Desserts" and each category includes at most 8 dishes. Only the "Meat/Fish" dishes change on the dinner menu. Prices are moderate and start at 12 TL for starters; 25 TL for salads; 30 TL for pizza/pasta; 25 TL for meat/fish and 14 TL for desserts.

The wine list is also quite extensive with also a large selection of Turkish and International wines starting at 17 TL/glass and cocktails are 30 TL. Beverages available include lemonades, homemade ice teas, smoothies/milkshakes, healthy juices, ice and hot coffee. 

I had another excellent meal at Cantinery as you can see from below...

I would like to mention that the portions you see here are just "tasting" sizes and are not the regular portions served.

We started off with my personal favorite... "Prawn Carpaccio", which is so fresh and the the kicker here is the hot red peppers, so if you are not into spicy food, I don't recommend you eat them, because they are hot! Then we had the "Organic Farm's Market Salad", which I totally flipped for because the greens were so fresh that you'd think they were just picked from the garden and the salad dressing was just right requiring no additional seasoning, proving once again that "a salad is not just a salad"! The ingredients and dressing must be on par! Next up... "Buffalo Burrata on a bed of sun-dried tomatoes & pink tomato paste topped with roasted almonds". I don't need to add that the almonds and tomato sauce was a very nice touch to the burrata which was very fresh,creamy & soft. We continued with a "White Cheese Pizza" topped with zucchini blossoms and fresh basil. Loved it! Our main course was "Oven Braised Wild Sea Bass" served on a bed of slightly under cooked (on purpose & delicious) artichoke and potato with turmeric fish sauce. Once again, the fish was cooked to perfection.

This time, I passed on dessert because I'm on the Dukan Diet and I had already eaten everything that is NOT on the diet plan! Oh well, you gotta cheat once in a while or life can be unbearable!

Let me end my post with some general photos of the interior... 

Cantinery/Zorlu Center

Cantinery/Zorlu Center

Although Cantinery is only a month old, it has already become quite popular and getting a table is not an easy feat. Reservations are not accepted for lunch but I recommend you make reservations for dinner. Cantinery is open daily from 10:00am (breakfast is served) to 1:00am. (Tel: (0212) 353 63 65)

Happy dining!

Stay well,

Dani

Eataly Istanbul: "Italy is Eataly"

Dear readers,

The title of my post is not my slogan but rather belongs to Eataly!

According to my Foursquare check-ins, I have been to Eataly Istanbul, located at Zorlu Center in Zincirlikuyu 20 times since its opening on December 16, 2013... I personally think the number is higher and that I forgot to check-in a few times!

Why so many times you say? Well... Zorlu Center, one of the newest shopping malls on the European side in Istanbul, opened in mid-October 2013 and is about a 5 minute walk from my apartment! As a result, it's very convenient, and it is a partially "open-air" mall and besides a number of wonderful eateries (Tom's Kitchen, Morini, Jamie's Italian, Parle, etc. and the soon to open Cantinery), some of my favorite shops are there too (Louis Vuitton, Beymen, Michael Kors, Apple, etc.) According to my Foursquare check-ins, I've been to Zorlu Center 40 times and its become a running joke among my friends that it's my "home away from home"! I know I haven't written a general post on Zorlu Center, but I hope to get around to it at some point. 

Eataly was established in Torino, Italy in January 2007 and now has a total of 24 branches in Italy, Japan, NYC, Chicago, Dubai and now Istanbul and more are on the way in different cities around the world.

Before Eataly opened in Istanbul, I had an opportunity to visit their headquarters in Torino during my trip to the Piemonte region in October 2013 and was impressed with the concept and couldn't wait for the Istanbul branch to open... We also had a chance to have lunch at their fine dining restaurant Guido Per Eataly, which was excellent! 

The 2-story Eataly Istanbul is 8,000 square meters (the second largest branch after Rome) and has 7 restaurants (some with outdoor seating), a very spacious market, and an outdoor cafe on the first floor.

Eataly Istanbul

Eataly Istanbul

Eataly Istanbul

Eataly Istanbul

The above photos are just a very small sample of the products sold in the market at Eataly Istanbul, but less than the selections available in Torino. However, that's understandable because of importation, prices, etc. Besides a very wide range of Italian products, Turkish brands are also sold to include tea, coffee, cheese, chocolate, etc.

Although I have been to Eataly Istanbul at least 20 times, I haven't had a chance to test all the eateries, but I have eaten at what I call the "Top 3": Meat, Fish and Pizza/Pasta.

My first restaurant experience was at La Carne, located on the 2nd floor with an outdoor terrace...

Eataly Istanbul/Vitello Tonnato (left); Roasted Beef Polpettone (right)

On my first visit, I had the roasted duck - also preferred by my friend's husband and my friend had the grilled chicken. The "roasted" dishes on the menu are cooked on a rotating grill. On my second visit, I had the Vitello Tonnato which I ate a ton of while in Piemonte (very typical dish) and my friend had the Roasted Beef stuffed with spinach. 

If I had to critique the dishes we tried... I personally think the roasted dishes need some more work... the taste is "okay", but it's missing something...

My favorite among the three restaurants I visited is Il Fritto e Il Pesce, or Seafood Restaurant...

Eataly Istanbul/Grilled Red Sea Bream

 I've had lunch here by myself twice and both were excellent experiences! The restaurant has a menu, but I haven't even glanced at it yet to be honest! I prefer to look at the fish display (see picture above in the general section on market) and make my own selection with the help of the fishmonger. Once you make your selection, the fishmonger weighs the fish to determine the price of the fish and then 15 TL is added to the price of the fish. The dishes are served with a side of roasted potatoes and greens, but as you can see, I only opted for lots of greens on both occasions! 

Eataly Istanbul/Grilled Shrimp

I sat on the terrace because the weather was gorgeous, but indoor seating is also available.

The last in my threesome is the very popular La Pasta e la Pizza Restaurant, allocated the most area with spacious indoor and outdoor seating areas. 

Eataly Istanbul

Eataly Istanbul/Margherita Pizza & Homemade Pasta Display 

Eataly Istanbul/Tomato & Mozzarella & Lasagna

Eataly Istanbul/Beef Carpaccio

I totally enjoyed all the dishes I had at this restaurant and all were absolutely delicious! When all the ingredients are homemade and fresh, it makes a big difference! On my first visit for lunch (self), I had a Margherita Pizza, which was exceptional! Second time, I went for dinner with a friend where we shared Homemade Mozzarella Cheese & Tomato and for mains, my friend had lasagna (delicious) and I had a pasta dish which I took a photo of, but to be quite honest, the picture didn't do the dish justice and I didn't want to post a poorly taken photograph... I can't remember the name of the dish I had because it wasn't a "typical" penne, linguine.. type pasta and it was prepared with a plain white sauce (just pecorino cheese). I looked at the menu on their website, but it's not listed there because this dish, along with a few others have recently been added to the menu, which has not yet been updated on the website. And... just a couple of days ago, I stopped by for lunch and had the best Beef Carpaccio I've had in ages! What made the dish soooo good was the olive oil/lemon dressing which was perfect and I didn't have to add any other flavors to "jazz" it up! Of course, all the the above mentioned dishes in all sections of the restaurant were accompanied with a glass (or two) of Italian wine! The Italian wines offered at each restaurant might not be the same, so you will have an opportunity to try different Italian wines at affordable prices. 

Final note on all restaurants: you can't make reservations for any of the restaurants, so be prepared to wait, especially on the weekends and during the evenings. Also... there is no coffee/tea service at any restaurant and there are a variety of small "cafes" on both levels as well as Caffe Illy, their main cafe on the 1st floor.

Eataly Istanbul/Caffe Illy

I stop by Caffe Illy every time I go to Eataly, so I have been there at least 20 times! I enjoy having a cup of coffee, wine or prosecco (depending on the time of day) before or after I buy my fruits, vegetables, wine, etc. before I make the short walk home... The hot/cold beverages list is quite extensive (including Turkish coffee and traditional Turkish tea) and the menu also includes wines and liqueurs. There is also a dessert menu with delectable goodies which I haven't succumbed to eating at the cafe yet, but I must admit, I did purchase to take home a few times (no wonder I can't stay on a diet anymore!). However, just last night, I stopped by Eataly with my friend Nur after we had dinner at another eatery at Zorlu and had ice cream! It is not served at the cafe, but you can purchase your ice cream and then sit at the cafe and order a beverage. 

Eataly Istanbul

Finally, for the past month or so, Caffe Lilly started serving a variety of hot/cold sandwiches from its two restaurants Il Panino & Piadina, also located on the first floor, but which do not have outdoor eating areas. I've tried a few of the hot sandwiches and highly recommend you try "Verdure Grigliate" (grilled mixed marinated vegetables with homemade stracciatella cheese) and "Erbetto E Scamorza" (spinach, chard and homemade melted scamorza cheese), which is pictured above.

Well... I'm done! I hope I have been able to give you a well-rounded feel for Eataly's concept and why I do so enjoy going there... I can buy top quality fruits and vegetables (Kolaylar Manav, a well-known green grocer is their supplier), meat, fish, wine, cheese, bread... you name it to take home; have a meal at one of the 7 restaurants; have a glass of wine, a frothy cup of Turkish coffee or a macchiato at the Cafe during the day or night. Check their website for opening/closing hours as it varies and I hope you enjoy your visit to Eataly Istanbul. (www.eataly.com.tr) 

Stay well,
Dani

Coming soon! Just like at the Eataly in Torino, by the end of May, a fine dining restaurant will be opening at Eataly Istanbul! 3-Michelin Star Chef Massimo Bottura, owner of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy (ranked in 3rd place at "The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2014") is opening "Ristorante Italia", his first restaurant outside of Italy in Istanbul at Eataly! Can't wait to try it out!

3 Michelin Star Chef Massimo Bottura