Kaymakçı Pando

 

Beşiktaş [buh-shik-tash]. If you're a soccer enthusiast, like T is, the Turkish soccer team comes to mind when speaking about this neighborhood in Istanbul. There is nothing touristy about Beşiktaş and perhaps that is also why it makes this neighborhood charming to get a glimpse of local Istanbullu life. Now when we speak about Beşiktaş, it also conjures up memories of very, very good kaymak (Turkish clotted cream).

The space inside Kaymakçı Pando is tiny and run by the very gentle and elderly Pando and his wife. The bright blue door and the line of people waiting for a table especially on weekends make it easily recognizable. Kaymakçı Pando serves one of the best kaymak and this place has been in business for about 50 years with no change in ownership. A young Turkish fellow ahead of us in line asked how we knew about this place. Oh, from food blogs, we tell him. He responds that people in the online community really like Kaymakçı Pando. We chat in line and upon hearing that T grew up in Singapore, our new acquaintance expresses his desire to be in a student exchange program with Singapore. Traveling to Asia is difficult, he says, and this will be his chance to do it. He recommends us his favorite fish restaurant in Istanbul and writes it down in paper for us. Conversations with locals... always make great memories for us when traveling.

We stand in line and peek through the glass window where Pando's wife constantly scoops a spoonful of kaymak and honey onto each plate as the orders come in from the tables. In between that, she ladles up warm inek sütü [ee-neck su-tu], cow's milk into small drinking glasses. After a quick wait standing in line, Pando comes out to tell us we could get inside to be seated. Of course he says that in Turkish which we could not quite understand but the group of young fellows behind kindly translated that to us in English.

English is barely spoken at Kaymakçı Pando, if at all, but do not let that intimidate you. We learnt some useful words which helped us go quite a long way when ordering food even if it meant that we were not speaking in complete sentences. As long as you can get the point across, that counts, right?







The kaymak is absolutely divine. We smear it and the accompanying honey onto a slice of bread and we're in clotted cream heaven. Not quite as thick as the kaymak at Karaköy Özsüt, but Kaymakçı Pando still makes very, very good and creamy kaymak which I will return to. I'm not sure if I will ever come to a point where I've had enough of kaymak. Who cares about the cold and wet weather outside when we are having a glass of warm inek sütü (cow's milk) and some çay [chai], Turkish tea, inside. Request for the fried eggs to be prepared with sucuk [soo-jook] which is a spicy Turkish sausage. The eggs are crisp on the edges and the thin layer of oil that is flavored from the sausage when cooking enhances the taste of something so simple like fried eggs. Pando may not speak much English but he sure knows how to say "egg" in English. The plate of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, and cheese is somewhat a refreshing accompaniment.







In as much English as Pando could speak, he comes to our table and says to me, Japan? Ahh, no, Malaysia, I say. Pando turns to his wife and speaks in Turkish "......... Malaysia .............". He returns later and asks us about the food, "Very good?". Yes, they're very good. What an adorable man Pando is.




--
Kaymakçı Pando
Koyici Meydani Sokak
Beşiktaş, Istanbul


From the Beşiktaş fish market (located in a triangular site), walk down the street to left and Kaymakci Pando is around the corner on the left. Spot the bright blue shop with a red awning with white words: Kaymakli Kahvalti Burada. It is located across a kebap restaurant.

Karaköy Özsüt

We not only discovered our favorite breakfast dive in Istanbul at Karaköy Özsüt but a new friendship was made between us and Hasan who owns the place. And for that, Karaköy Özsüt will always have a special place in our hearts. The interior is unimpressive in this local dive and the fluorescent lights are dull. But, this is what it gives it soul and for their sake, we hope Karaköy Özsüt remains the perfect way it is.





We arrive in Istanbul the night before and the next morning maKe our way to this breakfast dive. Still trying to get acquainted with the streets and with a map hand, we look hard for Karaköy Özsüt. There is rain-- not hard but irritating enough to get wet with a travel foldable umbrella. Finally we find it-- it actually isn't difficult to locate it but getting used to the curved streets and remembering that not every city is build on a grid like Chicago is part of the fun.

In business since 1915, the dive is officially known as Karaköy Özsüt though the awning at the entrance says Hasan Fehmi Özsüt which reflects the current and third generation owner. Known as having one of the best kaymak [kai-mahk] in Istanbul, Karaköy Özsüt has its own herd of buffalos whose fresh milk is used to make kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) that makes up a huge part of a traditional Turkish breakfast. Hasan frequently drives his truck out to his ranch, 125km away from Istanbul, where he milks the buffalos and gathers the milk to produce kaymak. At one point in conversation, he whips out his cell phone and shows us a short video of his baby buffalo at the ranch.







The Turks eat a lot of bread.  A basket of sliced bread is on the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At breakfast, what else could be better with bread than kaymak? As part of the classic Turkish breakfast, a heaping of kaymak and honey are served together on a plate. The combined clotted cream and honey are smeared onto the bread and eaten together. The kaymak at Karaköy Özsüt put us right into a clotted cream high with its smoothness and creaminess. There is something about the Turkish clotted cream that despite its indication of "cream", it does not leave you feeling heavy and sluggish or like one of those feelings where you feel you've really had enough of NY cheesecake. Nope, none of that. In fact, after a breakfast full of kaymak, I dream of eating it again and again.





Another must-have classic Turkish breakfast item is menemen. This Turkish form of scrambled eggs is made with tomato, cheese, and spices. Sucuk [soo-jook], a spicy Turkish sausage, is a common favorite added to menemen so be sure to request for that. The menemen is flavorful while exploding with different combinations of spices which we could not tell what exactly they were except to just savor each spoonful of it.

Hasan makes the best lentil soup, ever. And he knows it. T and I see a man at the next table drinking a bowl of soup which sparks our curiosity because it looks, oh, so good. T asks Hasan what is that man having and yes, we would like a bowl of lentil soup too, please. We are hooked since and that inspires us on a quest to try lentil soup at every restaurant we visit in Istanbul. The result: none of the others can top Hasan's lentil soup. Hasan let us in how he makes this magical soup. Lentil beans, potatoes, green peppers, and butter are boiled together. On the side, buffalo cream, black olives, and red pepper are boiled together to create the "red oil". The "red oil" is drizzled over the lentil soup. Hasan also offered us a side plate of black olives in olive oil and oregano on the house.

Sipping çay [chai] is to be enjoyed all day in Turkey. The Turks drink çay all the time. The simple luxuries of life with excellent breakfast is how one should begin their day. When accompanied with great conversations, that is even better. Hasan speaks perfect English (his two other employees, however, only speak Turkish) and as it turns out, he studied at the University of Arizona in the 1980s. Upon learning T and I are from Chicago, he asks if we follow the Bulls. We have great conversations with Hasan on our first and second visit to Karaköy Özsüt that include his memories of the U.S., his ranch, how Kurdish food is different from Turkish (in his words, the Kurdish people use mainly flour and water as the base of their food and make miracles out of it), etc. On our second visit to Karaköy Özsüt (the morning before we returned to Chicago), Hasan said to us, Too bad you are leaving so soon. I would have brought you to see my ranch.


T and I will be back. You bet.





--
Karaköy Özsüt
Yemişçi Hasan Sk. No: 9/11
Istanbul


As the name indicates, Karaköy Özsüt is located in the docks neighborhood of Karaköy which is part of the district of Beyoğlu. The restaurant is located at a small open space or "courtyard". Facing the restaurant, AKBANK is on the left. The Karaköy tram station is across the street towards the right. This is the same line that will take you to and back from Sultanahmet (Old City).