Lezzet-i Şark (Delicious East) is a small lunch place on the back side of the Egyptian Bazaar near Ocakbaşı restaurant. On a tip from a friend I stopped in for künefe (pictured below) and was so impressed that I went back the next day to try out some other menu items including a most delicious morsel called İçli köfte (pictured above).
İçli köfte is a complicated food from the East of Turkey, made by frying ground beef with onions and spices then stuffing it into a dough made of cracked wheat and wheat flour with eggs and water. Then, you seal the egg shaped thing with more dough and dunk it into the deep fryer. The shell gets crispy and the inside stays juicy and tender. This dish is exceedingly complicated to execute so has become a sort of status symbol for visitors at the family house. If someone serves you İçli köfte consider yourself an honored guest.
The Adana kebap dürüm is delicious as well.
The true gem at this little shop though is the künefe. Imagine crispy shredded wheat covering a pool of melted cheese and coated in simple syrup, grilled over a charcoal fire and served on the grill plate piping hot. It is sweet, it is salty, it is crunchy. Here is a video of them making it:
CAUTION: do not attempt to consume an entire künefe by yourself, it might overwhelm the less stable patrons. Bring a friend and share the little hot plate of crispy-cheese-nirvana.
- Don’t Miss: Künefe
- Best Perk: Authentic flavors
- Average Price: 10tl
Lezzet-i Şark Sofrası Hasırcılar Cad. no. 52 Eminönü 212-514-2763
View Lezzet-i Sark in a larger map
