Dining Out in Doha: Iskender Kebab

If your are looking for an authentic Turkish restaurant in Doha, Iskender Kebab comes close - well, sort of.  When we dined out there, there was a Nepali waiter, Filipino cook and Lebanese Restaurant Manager, that's Doha for us and I suppose, it is okay.

The restaurant, however, has lots of old Ottoman pictures, which gives the "illusion" of authentic Turkish restaurant.

The food is almost Turkish, the Iskender Kebab is almost similar to the ones we tried back home in Istanbul, not as delectable, but good enough here in Doha!

Well, I have a happy Turk here, so it might be a little bit- authentic. Now writing about this, makes us what to go there again. It's located along Salwa Road Petrol Station, too far for comfort from where we live but in a not so busy day, it'll be worth the drive.

Yummy, Iskender Kebab in Doha!

a little too happy, are ya

and here is the free Turkish tea!

not as good as it was at home, but good enough!

Afiyet Olsun!
 

Turkish Meatball: Kemal Pasha Meatball (Plus Kemal Pasha Dessert)

The best meatball in Turkey is from Bursa! Bursa, 2-hour drive from Istanbul, is famous for this "Kemal Pasha" meatballs (obviously named after Turkey's most iconic leader  - Mustafa Kemal.) It has a unique taste - marinated with the best spices and sauces.

There are hundreds of meatball shops on highway of Istanbul-Izmir. Most of these shops goes way back like 40 years (goodness)! The cooks are usually and the cooks the owner and are very professional on meatball and other local tastes like Kemal Pasha dessert. Ahhh Kemal Pasha dessert is simply divine. This is served with sherbet and topped with nuts. Like the country's history, this dessert is well know for over a hundred years!

We have tasted this glorious meat and dessert last summer, summer of 2011 and we have experienced taste bud sensations like no other. It's really so good, you will forget your name. Really! Okay, it might be an exaggeration but it really is worth a 2-hour drive just to taste Kemal Pasha meatballs!

It was an awesome experience!

we went to one of the meatball shops in Bursa - Meshur!

fresh bread and fresh salad - a little taste of heaven before the actual heaven! 

FRESHNESS GUARANTEED! 

one serving of Kemal Pasha meatball! 

the happiness on the Turk's face is priceless! Obviously, he loved the meatball! 

Okay, she loves the meatball too, she's just being silly! 

Kemal Pasha dessert - BLISS! 

For now, we'll just drool on these photos and maybe get to taste them again next year. 

Afiyet Olsun!

Turkey Central Restaurant (Al Saad)

TURKEY CENTRAL RESTAURANT IN AL SAAD maybe the most popular Turkish restaurant in Doha. Honestly, we don't like dining there much - to use my Turkish husband's rant: "It's not Turkish!" Well then, he knows.

But we do love their Shawarma. Can't get enough of it sometimes. Might be the best Turkish Shawarma in Doha,

Turkey Central Take Out - yeah!

loving the Shawarma 

examining what's inside... 

Quick meal in Doha - Shawarma. Awesome!


Keep exploring!

Traditional Turkish Hamburger: Kizilkayalar

Have you tried the traditional Turkish Hamburger? Should you visit Turkey and happen to shop in Taksim Square why not drop by Kizilkayalar. These popular snack are really delish and a refreshing break from all the healthy food we probably are eating as Turks are known for healthy dishes. Shameless plug --> Come and explore the Turkish Dishes in our page.

The best of it all costs so cheap at 1USD per burger. Mix it with Ayran or Cola, it's a perfect snack or dinner as you wish!

Afiyet Olsun!

Exploring Istanbul: Classic Turkish Beverage and Turkish Desert

It was one rainy, cold afternoon when we took a walk around the commercial streets of Istanbul. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce to Kylie some traditional Turkish food.

What I can remember are the two classics: 

• SALEP is  a classic Turkish beverage usually served during winter. It is made from the roots  of several species of orchids made by whisking the powder with milk, sugar and spices (cinnamon)

SALEP

• TAVUK GOGSU or Chicken Breast Pudding: with lots of sugar and again cinnamon, I and I liked it a lot, although really sweet for a chicken breast. 

The outer left is the Chicken Breast Pudding

  More Turkish Foods coming up.

Loving Mediterranean Breakfast

Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. And Turkish people do live by it everyday. One can survive with just one meal a day - it has to be breakfast.

At a minimum, a typical Turkish breakfast is served as:

•  Tomato 
• Cucumber
• 2-3 types of olives 
• 2-3 types of cheese
• 3-4 types of naturally preserved jams
• 3 minuted boiled eggs 
• lots of bread
• lots of servings of Turkish tea 

Serving salami, sausage or hot dog is usually practiced once (once!) a week.

one of the breakfast we enjoyed for 23 days

Everything our body needs.

It's just a lot of adjustment for a Pinay like me to eat this over a period of one week. My body kept shouting "WHERE'S THE RICE AND MEAT?!" But I could really feel the difference in my body, skin, reduced weight and how easy for me to stay awake and perform the daily routines of vacations.

After two weeks of having this breakfast, my body got used to the healthy living. Sighs but after going back from vacation - how easy it is to go back to turkey slices, beef bacon and sausages.

More breakfast pictures  - oh the joy we are missing!

First day of 2011 breakfast with extended family

January 1, 2011 with Miray and Nilay Demirkol

Breakfast the day we left Istanbul

Turkish pancake - we put the egg, jam or meat here and we roll it up! yum!

Simit - the very infamous Turkish bread - doughnut shaped bread with sesame seed

As much as I love Tapsilog, I have to admit that this is healthier. ;)

Ready, Ready, Ready....

I really need to snap out of it and actually be ready to aim and fire.  Or better yet to keep on firing and aiming for continual or drastic improvement.

Oh just read that - I didn't mean to be so cryptic but I need to practice blogging again. This is  a public blog - missing the carefree days of  Multiply Account.

Here's writing whatever comes to mind, just to gain momentum:

FOOD: Since we got back from Istanbul, me and husband have been trying to adapt the healthy eating habits for us and the kids. Oh boy it is difficult! We got successful at almost half the meals we tried so far. Buying canned organic soups should count for me, right?

My salmon was a hit -it is a Turkish recipe and I felt that it was Caroline-proof for mistakes. So I tried it. Baked salmon - what more could be healthier.. and delicious too.

this is how it looked before oven and spices

with garlic and lemon prepared by my Sous chef - Raynard ;) 

after 20 minutes in the oven

Although, I have no idea why the garlic turned bluish green.. yikes!

I thought about Salmon at Chilis, my brother ordered the last time we ate there last week, it costs 82QR or roughly 22USD. The meal only costs 55QR or 15 USD for a kilo of salmon. Looks like we'll be eating this every week.

Half way through the oven time, my husband arrived from work and reminded me that for every inch thick of fish, it should stay in the oven for 5 minutes. He was a bit scared that I would under cook the fish and turn it to sushi, which happens to be my favorite dish. Funny husband! New tidbit for me though.

Speaking of my husband and his cooking skills, he has been cooking a  lot lately. He created a blog as well to showcase Turkish dishes and really loving all these dishes that I gained kilo(s) already. UUGGHH

Just take a look at these photos:

Hungry yet? Treat this as a sneak peak. Will be linking his blog when he actually tell me the blog site.


CRIMINAL MINDS: Since I refuse to my vacation bubble to burst, I found some quality ME time by sedating the kids to sleep (kidding!) and watching Criminal Minds series from Season 4 to Season 6. I think Thomas Gibson is so hot! But I never look at him this way when he was in Darma and Greg. Oh yum!

MOM BLOG: I created this blog last week and actually started a number of blogs. This blog is listed in TheMomBlogs.com.



READY. FIRE. AIM - And off  I go. So come and follow me. *winks*