At long last, the Top 8 meals of the trip!

I figure I've had near 350 meals over the course of this trip. Many got highlighted on the blog. A full 28 got special recognition as memorable. But we have to get even more specific than that. We have to get down to a smaller list, and they will be ranked!

Last to make the list but not least in terms of yumminess, #8 is the fabulous meatballs on a hill in Turkey. Kofte at Yucetepe, a small cafeteria on the top of Buyukada, was spectacularly simple and delicious. The meatballs sang with the combination of freshly ground meat and a small number of spices. They were grilled to perfection, with char marks and a crisp exterior yielding to luscious medium rare meat inside. Superbly fresh veggies on the side, a hit-the-spot pilsner to wash it down, and a view of all of Istanbul's glory made the meal one of complete happiness. Full post here.

Lucky #7 is the brunch at Gugelhof. Were I ever to live in Berlin, I don't know how I'd let a month pass without making it here for brunch at least once. The flammenkuchen showed off the locally harvested chanterelles. The egg dish was simple done beautiful and perfectly. And the choucroute plate, oh choucroute plate, was bite after bite of delicious. The element that took this to the upper echelon, however, was the blood sausage. It was like cake, it was like sausage, it was like a pack of delicious spices. It was all of these things and more, combined to balance on the palate like an egg on a knife's blade. Full post here.

Just out of the top five but still on the list at #6 is the transcendent dumplings at the sidewalk stand in Ha'erbin. Max and I had variably luck, to be sure, but this meal made all missteps worth it. Perfectly cooked dumplings. The exterior, a rice-flavored pasta that had been hand-stretched and cooked until it was tender and chewy, but not sticky. The interior, a mix of pork and herbs that created a juicy flavor explosion with each bite. And the dumpling sauce, simple yet high-quality vinegar and chillies to bring the most out of each of the 16 perfect little pillows. Full post here.

Coming in at #5, the various Turkish breakfasts in Istanbul but, especially, the delightful treat at Kale. My first taste of simit, a sesame bagel stretched to the limit and toasted until crisp. My first plate of marinated olives that were so packed with flavor they didn't need stuffing. My first (and simplest) shepherd salad, with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and Turkish peppers mere hours from being picked. And the bal kaymak, well, about the bal kaymak I can only say that this clotted cream and honey spectacular may have taken some time off of my life but it was well, well worth it. Full post here.

Next up, at #4, the very unknown and very delicious tasting menu at Chaya Mario in Hiroshima. Presented by an ambiance that felt like a homey inn on the side of a travelers' road, I immediately warmed to the place and the two friends running the establishment. Their tasting menu, of which I only have the untranslated Japanese kanji, presented surprise after surprise with a handful of standouts. The first dish, a rectangle of tofu topped with salmon roe, redefined what tofu could be. A clam soup, thick with the grain of a barley, redefined hearty in the Japanese style. Importantly, early on, this meal blazed the trail of a true "What's That?" experience that would be an enduring source of exploration in the months to come. Full post here.

With the bronze medal, at #3, is fresh fish. But not just any fresh fish. The best fresh fish I've ever had. And I only had to wait three hours in the rain in Tokyo to have it, not a bad deal. Piece after piece of amazing nigiri sushi flowed our way. The uni was melting like butter from the sea, an extravagant bite. The spanish mackerel packed a wasabi punch that amplified the fish's own flavors. And the kawahagi, a slice of fish with a piece of its own liver on top, was the chef's recommendation and a truly unique mouthful. I was raving throughout and raving afterwards, and now I still don't know when I'll be able to have nigiri sushi again without comparing it to this fantastic set. Full post here.

Oh-so-close, our runner-up, at #2, the seafood feast at Long Beach Restaurant in Singapore. I knew I would love the pepper crab. And I did, oh I did. Savoring every bite, licking the black pepper flakes encrusted on the crab's shell, it was superb. But then! Out of nowhere! Golden river phoenix fish! Steamed a la Penang! Wow, this fish created new possibilities for what steamed fish could be. It was cooked so that a simple poke with a pair of chopsticks would reveal a luscious bite of fish. The fish itself, sans sauce, was full of great meaty flavor. But the sauce took it to the beyond and back. Tomatoes and scallions to bring flavor and depth and some chillies to add the needed kick. Long Beach is known as the splurge place in Singapore and I can definitely see why. Full post here.

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...the amazing trio of Sichuan dishes I had over three weeks in China. The Sichuan hot pot, half and half yet full of flavor. When the big bold chillies overwhelmed, a brief retreat to the soothing broth would ready me for more. Sliced meats, great veggies, more pig brain, and Kung Fu noodles, definitely a full-on feast. The Sichuan dry pot, a mix and match of pick your own ingredients. The cow stomach, a new favorite for me in China, blended well with mushrooms, bamboo, and others. But, really, they were just a side note to the resplendent Sichuan peppercorn. This little feisty guy doesn't bring the heat, he just makes your mouth numb in an amazing, novel, and let-me-have-it-again way. And, at the top of the list of Sichuan meals, the near religious experience I had eating the slices of beef poached in chili oil. Sure, there were other things on my table, like lettuce and peanut sauce and some Chuan noodles, but the poached beef was king. Each bite transported me to a land I had not seen before, a land full of spice and heat. Each bite also confirmed that my chopsticks would head right back for the fiery broth just as soon as my corporeal body would allow. I walked home delirious from that night, that meal. These won't be the last great Sichuan meals I have. Full post here.

Penultimate food post: Memorable meals from the trip

122 days, 17 weeks, 4 months, a third of a year. Any way you slice it, that's a lot of eating. But what really stood out, what were the memorable meals? To answer that question, I'm going to use only my memory, and leave the blog archives for another time. After this chronological review, I'll sift it all down to a Top 8 of the trip. Here are the candidates:

Japan

Sushi near Tsukiji Fish Market: The freshest, fishiest, most flavorful sushi of my life (details)

Tasting menu at Chaya Mario: Unbelievably good tofu and surprise after surprise hidden away in Hiroshima (details)

Iron Chef Matsue nights: Round after round of local seafood and bizarre creations (details)

Indonesia

Roast pig at Babi Guling: Succulent, spicy, and celebratory, as all roast pigs should be (details)

Mangosteens on Gili Meno: The essence of simple, bursting with vibrancy (details)

Singapore

Intricate Chinese tasting menu: Taste after taste of new eats ending with a hands-on demonstration of a sensational omelette (details)

Long Beach seafood extravaganza: Fantastic black pepper crab and a steamed fish that was even better (details)

Ah boiling at a hawker centre institution: Amazing and amazingly unexpected peanut dumplings in broth (details)

China

Hunanese fish head: A very big fish head with very many chopped chillies, soon reduced to bones and nothing more (details)

Ha'erbin streetside dumplings: After many, many plates of dumplings, these reigned supreme (details)

Sichuan, Sichuan, Sichuan: A hotter-then-hot hot pot in Shanghai, a bowl of chili oil for poaching, and a dry pot so spicy it made me numb (details 1, details 2, and details 3)

Sour cuisine of Guizhou: A big bowl of pig stomach and sour seasonings and, as a side, smelly fish grass salad (details)

Turkey

Kofte with a view: Meatballs and uberfresh vegetables on one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara (details)

Feast at Ak Deniz: Where the food started and just kept coming, showcasing Turkish food done right (details)

Turkish breakfasts: From Kale at the beginning to Caffe Privato near the Galata Tower, a range of treats that makes any morning lavish (details 1 and details 2)

Israel

Home-cooked food from Ima: Delightful starter spreads and a tour through the best of Israeli cuisine (details)

Poland

Zapiekanki to celebrate: A pizza baguette after a fantastic set of World Cup semifinals (details)

Germany

Eating without seeing: Going dark at a dunkelrestaurant with ok food but an amazing eating experience (details)

Biergarten all afternoon: The biggest and best pretzels I've ever seen, raw radishes with lots of spice, sausage and whole fish to boot, rounded out by stein after stein of delicious weissbier (details)

Brunch at Gugelhof: Seriously the best blood sausage and seriously surrounded by three exceptional brunch-time dishes (details)

Doner kebab at Hasir: After one bite, I could feel the new addiction forming (details)

Czech Republic

Redemption at Lokal: Czech cuisine saves itself with fresh horseradish, fresh dumplings, and great beer (details)

Denmark

Arty cafe treats: At the Louisiana, easily one of the best museums I've ever been to, the most beautiful food that was fresh and tasty as well (details)

The Netherlands

Late-night Netherlands: Stuff-it-yourself falafel and vlaamse frites with special sauces end any day well (details)

Hoşçakal, Turkey: Thoughts on my time split between Europe and Asia

Another country complete, and now I head firmly for Central Europe. But first, a couple of thoughts on my three-ish weeks in Turkey.

A food culture focused on local, fresh, and simple: The food, at its best, was very fresh and often composed of only a handful of ingredients. One of my favorite meals was the plate of kofte meatballs paired with grilled tomatoes and peppers on top of the hill on Buyukada. Indeed, the fancier that Turkish cuisine tried to get, the more it struggled to retain great flavor. The virtue of this approach is that great meals could be had nearly everywhere and there was no need to pay a premium for preparation, only for freshness.

A unique place seriously straddling two very different parts of the world: I come away fascinated by the one of a kind history and current situation Turkey plays in the world. In the past, it was the meeting place of people from all over, the center of a very tolerant Ottoman Empire that didn't know much nationalism. Now, it finds itself between Europe and the Middle East, and the tensions are apparent. It seemed to me to be at its best when it took the best parts of each of these traditions and made it into something specifically Turkish.

A great chance to travel with family: It was excellent that, in the middle of my trip, I had the opportunity to meet up with all of my immediate family. There were great group experiences and lots of fun one on one moments. And, of course, more time with my giggly niece!

And, with that, the Turkey chapter of this trip is complete. To Berlin!

One last meal in Istanbul, by the sea

And so it was that we were back in Istanbul, one final night before we re-dispersed to the winds. As we would all be heading to the airport the next day, we stayed not too far away, in the seaside community of Yesilkoy. It was a superb choice, much better than next-to-the-airport hotels. It gave us the chance to go for one last walk and choose our dinner from amongst the restaurants on nearby.

The area was buzzing, and we had a hard time getting a read on any of the places. At last, we saw a place that looked a bit busier and a bit better than all the rest. Jenika and I had a quick chat with the host, and he assured us we would be delighted with the meal, that it would be inexpensive, or else it would be on him. We sat down.

Then we got back up. Jenika and I had to pick out the meze from the display case.

One selection was eggplant salad with red peppers. This was quite tasty, as the big chunks of eggplant had been cooked long enough to get all the way to delicious.

Number two was a big plate of fava bean paste. Though we desperately wanted some more hummus, none was to be had. So we went for the hummus backup, a pleasing plate of mashed favas.

Third was a wildcard, marinated octopus salad with pickles and green olives. We had to go for it after seeing the odd combination of ingredients. It turned out to be very good. The long pieces of octopus managed to taste a little bit like tuna. The green olive that would pop up every now and then was a scrumptious change of pace.

The final meze was yogurt with some kind of vegetable. I didn't catch the name, but this was a pretty good plate of yogurt.

Then came the salad course, fulfilled by the ever-present shepherd's salad. A good rendition with excellent knife skills on display.

Seafood was up next. First some fried calamari, a nicely done version with freshly fried calamari still meaty and not too bready.

More seafood would follow. A dramatic dish of a fish stew wrapped in foil, opened at the table, brought sea bass with tomatoes and herbs to our plates. This was excellent, with the fish having pulled in some of the steam from the cooking. All the pieces left the foil and went to our bellies quickly.

While we were eating, a gentleman was walking around peddling nut plates. On seeing many other tables with them, we got one ourselves, a plate of walnuts and almonds on ice. The nuts were a refreshing and fresh contrast to the prepared food we had during the meal, as well as a nice meal cap.

As the meal was winding down, the table next to us began to celebrate a birthday. Out came the cake, a quick little song, and the birthday was celebrated. Then, surprisingly and nicely, the table, composed of young men in their twenties, offered Sahana a slice of cake. She was initially shy but then saw the cake and took it with relish. This capped off two weeks for her where her cheeks were continually pinched without warning by strange people, all done in good humor.

It was a great last meal to end a great time in Turkey.

Final lunch in Avanos

Our time in Cappadocia is sadly drawing to an end. This afternoon we will head off back to Istanbul. But before we do, we make a journey to Avanos, the pottery capital of the region. I unfortunately didn't manage to get any pictures of the pottery, but there were some cool items available. One neat one, spotted by my sister, was a wine flask that had an open circle in the middle. The story went that someone could carry this large amount of wine on their arm just by slipping it through the hole. If they wanted to carry a large amount of wine portably, that is.

We also had time for one more lunch. We were out of luck in that our desired destination had moved a kilometer or so away and there was not time to find it. So we settled for second best and went to a place right across the street.

I ordered this dish, supposedly yogurt with red peppers. However, try as I might, I could find no red peppers nor any other flavor besides the very thick yogurt. It wasn't bad, and served as an effective butter replacement on the bread, but was not what I was expecting. I would still love to try yogurt with red peppers.

My main was a kiyamli pide. This was quite good, even though it didn't rate best of the trip. Others' mains were disappointing however, especially the sucuk pide, which was nigh on disgusting. Best to stick to the minced meat in these situations.

So, it was a bit of a bummer that we couldn't make it to our original lunch spot. Instead, we had to make do with a much inferior product.

Do you hamam? Yes, yes I do.

After my experience with public baths in Japan, I was very excited to try the Turkish variation. Turns out I would have two opportunities.

The first was in Istanbul, as run-up to the wedding festivities. Our group of 30 segregated by gender and the ten of so of us guys headed in. It was a gorgeous place and really old to boot. The lobby / locker room had three floors of windowed rooms where you change and leave your valuables. These were outfitted with lovely stained glass windows. There, we put on the hamam attire, which is nothing more than a thin piece of fabric wrapped around the waist.

Upon entering, the first stop is the very hot and very humid sauna. Nothing beats a good sweat! After 20 or so minutes of that, it turns a little more free form. This bath had one main marble platform and then about 15 marble basins with spigots. Water of a temperature of your choosing (mine was pretty cold) comes out, and you can hydrate your skin with it. We just sort of milled about for a little while.

Step three was the truly Turkish part. Here, a rather large man escorts you to a small marble stall to be washed. Sitting on the ground, he dumped buckets, alternatively, of incredibly hot and freezing water on me, then proceeded to soap me up and loofa me down. The loofa was like a mitt made out of sandpaper. It is supposed to have redeeming qualities. Then he passed me off to another guy who is the massage king. There, lying on a marble slab, he proceeded to use his knuckles to try to get my flesh to separate. It was more of the deep tissue type massage than a leisurely stroll in the park.

After that, a quick rinse and we were done. Upon exit, we were toweled down professionally and then served copious amounts of tea and Turkish delight. Quite an experience!

Then, in Urgup in Cappodocia, my dad and I decided to do it again, as a parting gift from Turkey to us.

This hamam looked very similar. It was also similarly deserted until we arrived, and we had our run of the place. The inside of the bath was outfitted with a large octagonal marble slab for resting, and this sauna was made out of wood. After a while to sweat out the toxins, we underwent the scrub and massage treatment. One of us would be scrubbed and soaped while the other got the massage, and then we switched. The guy with the loofa really did his job, so much so that I lost a fair bit of skin and had to recuperate a little while the next day. But, still, it was a great experience.

A kebap you could store for a long time before heating and serving

Dinner on Thursday took us to Dimrit, not too far from our hotel or Ziggy's, for that matter.

I was very excited for this meal. According to my dad, it was his favorite place on their last visit to Cappodocia.

The meal started with the waiters bringing a big tray just full of mezes. It was a beautiful sight and I would've love to try each one. We settled on three, which were, left to right: yogurt with dill, fava bean puree, and eggplant salad with roasted tomatoes. All were quite good, especially with the flatbread that came alongside. The yogurt I would like to give special attention to, because it retained so much flavor in each bit, never getting the least bit dull.

We also got a full sized tomato salad. This was the one miscue on the evening, as it was like a not as good version of the eggplant salad, and really lacked flavor.

That was quickly forgotten, however, when the hummus with pastrami arrived. Like its predecessors, this version was thick with tahini and thin with oil. And it was great, subtle, rich, and that perfect bite with just a little pastrami and some hummus, on a slab of freshly baked flatbread.

My mom and I decided to split two mains. She would start with the yogurt kebap with eggplant. Hidden in the delicious yogurt covering the plate was creamy eggplant and flatbread croutons. This was superb, probably the best version of this dish had so far.

I started with the oddly named testi kebap. Turns out that testi means pottery in Turkish, and this dish is loaded into a sealed clay pot, cooked, and then broken tableside to be served. the waitstaff even let me wield the cleaver that would release the kebap.

The kebap itself was excellent. It was a dish very different from the usual kebap. It was more like a stew of the lamb and vegetables that had been stuck inside the clay together for hours. Rich and meaty, the stew benefited from the side of rice that soaked up the delicious juices. I can see why my dad was such a fan of this one!

Bevy of beards, part two

More Turkish beards!

Beard, Ottoman-style, at the Topkapi Palace balcony in Istanbul, June 20, 2010.

Beard enjoying a lovely waterfall, June 25, 2010.

Beard taking in the ocean from a castle on an island, June 26, 2010.

Beard soaring 4,000 feet above ground, July 1, 2010.

Your grapes are a little off, my friend

Right near our hotel was a winery called Turasan. Tempted by the opportunity to feel a little more at home, just like a trip to Napa or Sonoma, we wandered in for a tasting.

Unfortunately, the tasting wines we tried, one white and one red, were no good. The white was pure sugar and had not the least hint of flavor. The red, by contrast, was quite acidic yet similarly lacked taste. To make matters worse, we were charged 2YTL for the privilege of trying some very bad wine.

Take me down, to the underground city!

The next place on our tourist list was the Derinkuyu underground city. In a handful of places throughout Cappodocia, residents had carved impressive tunnels and rooms underground, all connected up like miniature cities. Their purpose was to serve as a temporary hiding place during the periodic invasions from outsiders. Indeed, there was even a beacon system that could send news of incoming armies, to give time for all the residents to grab their things and head underground.

Derinkuyu itself has over 8 floors underground and full complement of civic buildings in addition to residences.

We descended into this abandoned town. The hallways were not that nice, often very short (three to four feet tall) and sometimes quite dark. But the rooms really did open up. We saw houses, stables, churches, a winery, and other assorted buildings.

One impressive part was the locking system they had. Every so often on a staircase, there would be a large marble wheel that could be rolled over the passage way, sealing it off from foreigners that wished to do them harm.

There were many dark tunnels to explore. One was a loop, and I unexpectedly ran into my sister!

We also found the school, and the hopefully poorly named "student cells."

Finally, eight floors down, we found the end of the line, an unceremonious small room likely used for storage (and maybe used for graves).

What a cool place to explore, literally!

Food borne on the river

Jenika, Liz, Ann, and I arrived in the small town at the end of the 4km, meeting up with my parents and Sahana. A well known tourist hike has created a bunch of riverside cafes, most with the opportunity to eat on a small platform sitting over the river.

We took them up on the offer for lunch.

First was a bread course, which came with the fixings of crumbled cheese, butter, yogurt, and a small salad. The bread was excellent, obviously freshly baked. It was good dipped in the yogurt, with a little bit of cheese, or just plain.

Next was a whole trout, freshly caught and freshly grilled. This was good, rich from the grilling process with other vegetables in a casserole dish.

The lamb casserole we had was just ok. The lamb was a little off and the mushrooms, while a great conceptual addition, were dried out from the grilling process.

The grilled chicken with assorted vegetables, however, was excellent. The grilling had done its job nicely and created juicy and charred bits of chicken, which were well complemented by the marinated onions on offer.

Also good was the chicken cooked with bulgur, which had a nice tomato sauce on it that wasn't too heavy but imparted a wonderful bit of flavor.

There was a bit of back and forth over the bill - some items had been added and others overcharged for, but, in contrast to the experience at Konak Kebap, this one was resolved excellently by the host, who explained that they are used to tour groups (and overcharging them?) and so don't get many walk-ins. A novel explanation!