Food notes, mostly

Off the Desk

Traveling through food has always been one of my favorite ways of understanding the world. I love finding local, everyday places where you can sit for a while, watch the rhythms of daily life, and get a small but honest glimpse of a city’s character. Here, I’m sharing one restaurant or café from each city I’ve visited. I try to keep the list as local as possible, but sometimes I can’t help going for the classics. All findings are, of course, highly subjective and peer-reviewed only by appetite.

Mini Food Guide

London skyline with the London Eye and Big Ben on a sunny day

United Kingdom

London

Borough Market / Hanbaagaasuuteki

London is one of my favorite cities, not only for its energy, but also for its food. If you are feeling greedy and want a bit of everything at once, go straight to Borough Market. It is a classic for a reason. Then take a walk along the Thames; if you are lucky, the sun might even show up over Big Ben. And if Borough Market feels a little too obvious and you are after something more low-key, head to Hanbaagaasuuteki for wonderfully original burgers.

Greece

Corfu

The White House

I found my way to Corfu, and eventually to Kalami Bay, by following the traces of the Durrell family. Gerald Durrell may have introduced me to the island, but it is this bay, where his brother Lawrence once lived and worked on The Alexandria Quartet, that I would send you to. Today, The White House is both a hotel and a beautiful restaurant, and honestly, if you live in a place like this, you either become a writer or you become a writer.

The bay is quiet, gently breezy, and full of every shade of blue, which is exactly the kind of scenery that makes you hungry. The White House menu only adds to the pleasure. The only drawback is that getting there takes a little effort, but some things taste better when you have to work for them.

Türkiye

Istanbul

Karaköy Lokantası / Baylan

Istanbul is, without question, the hardest city for me to choose just one restaurant from. It was home to me for three years, and it remains one of the cities that shaped me most. In the end, I decided to choose the one place I try to visit every time I go back: Karaköy Lokantası.

What makes it special, beyond the excellent food, is the way it quietly carries Istanbul in its details. No, there is no Bosphorus view. But the blue tiles on the walls, with their uneven rhythm, were inspired by the waves of the Bosphorus. In the small, intimate garden, the trees above you are magnolias, one of Istanbul’s symbols.

Go on a summer evening. Sit in the garden, order fresh Turkish meze, take a sip of rakı, then step inside for a little Bosphorus breeze from the blue tiles. Before you leave, look up through the magnolia leaves at the night sky and send a small thank-you to Istanbul, and maybe one to me too.

Bonus: If you want to chase one of my favorite desserts in the world, somewhere between ice cream and cake, find a Baylan patisserie and order yourself an Adisababa.

Venice lagoon at sunset with San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance

Italy

Venice

Harry’s Bar / Suso

I am not sure I can name a city as authentic, romantic, and elegant as Venice. Get lost in its narrow streets; you will not have to try very hard, since Google Maps seems to lose its confidence there too. A city this elegant deserves a recommendation to match: go to Harry’s Bar, the birthplace of the Bellini. If you are lucky, your best friend will be sitting right next to you.

And of course, I cannot leave an Italian city without recommending gelato. For that, head to Suso.

Fun fact: Venice has a special place in my academic life. I happened to be there right after the worst exam performance of my entire life. If you want to guess the subject, be my guest. My mind kept moving between the beauty of the city and the horror of my exam paper. I was convinced I would be kicked out of the PhD program, but at least I was in Venice.

Italy

Rome

Two Sizes / Matricianella

Rome is the city where I feel most out of this century, and where I tasted the best tiramisu of my life.

But before dessert, we need a primo, sì? I am not the authority on ranking Roman food, but I love how simple and striking cacio e pepe is: two ingredients, the name says it all, and yet it still requires Italian expertise. Reserve a table at Matricianella, enjoy their encyclopedia-thick wine list, and let yourself fall into the comfort of good pasta.

Then grab a tiramisu from Two Sizes, or two, and walk toward the Trevi Fountain. To me, it is one of the most fascinating human-made sculptures. You may agree once you see it at night: the deep navy sky, the delicately carved white marble, and the turquoise water of the fountain are completely mesmerizing.

Florence skyline with the Duomo at sunset

Meringue cake with berries at Trattoria Sostanza in Florence

Fried tortellini at Dalla Lola in Florence

Italy

Florence

Trattoria Sostanza / Dalla Lola

Mamma mia. Even the sun seems to have a soft spot for Florence. It rises differently here, it sets differently too.

Florence is the city where I somehow had no bad food, and the hardest time ranking the places I tried. It was not just me; even my most food-obsessed friends found it almost impossible to choose favorites. So, like the sun, I am going to show Florence a little favoritism and name two restaurants. Grazie.

The butter chicken at Trattoria Sostanza is out of this world. What is that sauce? Just butter? No, it cannot be. And then comes the meringue cake with tiny wild strawberries, which is refreshingly beautiful, if that is even the proper way to describe a dessert. The room is not exactly soft or romantic; it feels more like an old Florentine shop that somehow became a legend. White tiles, marble tables, close quarters, no unnecessary decoration. Very little performance, and a lot of sostanza, in every sense of the word.

The second place, Dalla Lola, has a completely different energy: younger, louder, more playful. It feels like being hosted at the home of your cool older sister, the one who lives with her even cooler ragazzi, all of whom happen to be wildly talented in the kitchen and happily unafraid of experimenting. The menu changes daily, but I am confident they will surprise you on any day. I am not usually a gnocchi person, but the one I had there completely changed the terms of the debate. And the fried tortellini was simply genius.

One general note on Florence: wherever we went, the desserts were truly beautiful, the kind that taste like they came straight out of your grandmother’s oven.

I know some people will try to take you for affogato here, but I promise I will take you to another city for the best affogato ever. Like, ever. Trust me.

Firenze, sei semplicemente bellissima.

Singapore skyline at night with Lau Pa Sat in the foreground

Pastries at Tiong Bahru Bakery in Singapore

Singapore

Tiong Bahru Bakery / Tian Tian / Birds of Paradise / TWG

I had the chance to visit Singapore while my advisor was spending his sabbatical at NUS. Many things fascinated me there: the kindness of the people, how green the city is despite its incredibly beautiful skyscrapers, and, of course, the food.

First, I am taking you to breakfast at Tiong Bahru Bakery, where I found both excellent food and the kind of warmth that stayed with me. I am not usually a sweet-breakfast person; at the end of the day, I am Turkish. But their pastry section had me standing there for five full minutes, just looking. It was art. I ended up choosing a raspberry-and-pastry-cream croissant, mostly because it was too cute not to, and their Hot Honey & Parmesan Shio Pan: the soft, almost brioche-like bread, with a sweet and spicy flavor that comes gently from the back. Am I Italian now, calling every soft bread brioche?

It was the morning of the day I was leaving the city, and while we were chatting, the woman working there asked me about my trip. Then she packed a couple more pastries for me to take on the flight back, asking which ones I would like to try. Can one become more touched by kindness? I am still dying to try the rest of their pastries, but unfortunately I am very far away. If you ever find yourself in Singapore, please try some of them for me.

For lunch, let’s head to one of the city’s most famous hawker centers and be basic tourists. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is simple, but extremely rich in its few ingredients: as comforting as food can get. Two tips: be prepared for a very long queue, although it moves faster than you think, and bring cash.

Singapore is hot and humid, which means you may need ice cream at any time. Before flying out, stop by Birds of Paradise, either in the city center or at the airport. Try one of their more distinctive flavors, black sesame, for example, and enjoy the perfect sugar balance and smooth texture. It is definitely one of my favorite ice cream places in the world.

One last tip is for anyone looking for a gift. Tea has a special place in Singapore, and for this, I would head to TWG. You may know the brand from other countries, but there is one loose-leaf tea that you can only buy in Singapore: Tea 380. The name refers to the Airbus A380. Singapore Airlines was the first airline to fly the A380 commercially, with its first service from Singapore to Sydney on 25 October 2007. The blend brings together three teas: white tea, oolong tea, and black tea, representing economy, business, and first class. It also has flowers and soft vanilla notes, so it smells as elegant as the story sounds. It is light, beautiful, very Singapore-coded, and easy to fit into your suitcase. A great gift, no?