The Tale of the 20 Barbouni

Kyle and I took a long break from blogging...partly because it was too depressing to look at photos of the beautiful Mediterranean when outside our window was the typical Northwest rain and clouds of winter. Partly because we got some exciting news in September...we are expecting our first child this coming June! The combination of exciting news, the holidays, and my lack of appetite (which has FINALLY started to come back, thank goodness--it's hard to blog about food when you aren't hungry!); all of these factors made for an easy excuse to get away from blogging.

So we pick up from where we last left you...onto our favorite stop of the whole trip, Santorini, Greece.

Santorini is everything you imagine and more based off of the classic picturesque photos you might see in Greek restaurants. When we sailed into port, the sun was beginning to rise on this magical island, a good omen for the day ahead.

The whole group booked an excursion together that took us through the old town of Oia, off to a local winery, then dropped us off at Fira on the opposite end of the island. For anyone interested in doing our cruise in the future, I don't think this expensive excursion is worth it. You can easily get onto the island via a gondola, walking up a steep path or a donkey (!). Save your money for some barbouni...story to follow.

The excursion started at 7AM and went until 11AM...just in time for lunch! I'm so glad Kyle took a photo of the restaurant our group found, because finding it again would be a true treasure hunt.

We wanted local Greek seafood and a good view-- this was the perfect find. My mother in law asked that we all wear white to match the white buildings, hence the matching outfits.

We ordered a couple bottles of wine from the winery we visited earlier, including a bottle of retsina, a must-drink while in Greece.

Retsina is a wine special to Greece. Supposedly before impermeable glass bottles, oxygen would get into the wine and it would spoil within a year. To combat spoilage, the Greeks would seal the bottles with pine resin. The resin added a unique piney flavor to the wine. Even with today's glass bottles, the practice has continued in this region. Sort of like a gin wine with the pine taste.

Whetting our appetites. We let my dad do the ordering since he spent several months in Greece back in his 20s. He ordered all the classics, like mousaka, mezes, Greek salad, grilled octopus, and a local fish he loves...barbouni, a red mullet type of fish. We asked for enough barbouni so about 5 of us could sample it, about 5 fish total. Unfortunately, it looks like although this is a touristy town, English is definitely their second language.

We started with some amazing mezes that we slathered onto fresh Greek bread.

My favorite was the smooth, creamy, delicious fava bean puree. We tried to recreate it in Seattle, but the fava beans here make a chunkier puree that is not nearly as creamy as this creation.

Next, it was a classic Greek salad. The feta in Greece is absolutely the best, making it impossible to go back to those crappy plastic tubs of pre-crumbled rubber feta back in the States.

The best moussaka I've ever had. It came bubbling hot in this dish, looking like our own little pot of scrumptious gold. Hey, didn't we order barbouni?

The grilled octopus was not quite as good as the grilled octopus we enjoyed in Montenegro, but still very delicious. We ordered two of the moussaka, dips, salads, and octopus for our table. We wanted to have enough for everyone so ordered two. After finishing our shares of the octopus, we were wondering if they forgot about our barbouni. We decided they must be fishing for it.

And just when we were starting to feel nice and full and were about to tell the waiters to hold the barbouni order, they arrived. It took three waiters to carry out five plates that each contained four barbouni...yes, do the math, that's 20 little fishies ready for us to devour.

The fish were crispy on the outside and moist and flakey on the inside. They had a perfect salty crust. If this had come earlier in the meal, I would have wiped out a whole plate on my own. But at this point, it was a chore to make it through one, let alone the THREE each person was tasked with eating!

Kyle filmed this to capture the moment.

We did our best to get through the lot, but a couple extras had to be packed up for some stray cats we saw along the way home. This tale of Twenty Barbouni is now becoming a legend in our household.

The next day, we docked in Mykonos, and poor Kyle and Joyce were still immersed in the barbouni experience if you know what I mean. It was the gift that just kept on giving.

Happy Eating,

Emi

Turkey Part 2: The Port of Bodrum

Our first stop in Turkey was in the city of Kusadasi. Although we enjoyed some nice experiences, overall we were not super impressed by Turkey. The street vendors were pushy and aggressive, the city was a little dirty (at least compared to the other ports we had visited), it was hard to find decent food, and overall we felt as if everyone was trying to take advantage of us.

Bodrom, our second stop in Turkey on the other hand ended up being the exact opposite experience. Bodrum was a European "holiday" type of port where Kusadasi was more of an urban port. Instead of wandering the streets like we did in Kusadasi, we had previously signed up for a trip through the countryside of Bodrum.

We took a bus with a group of 30 others about an hour into the countryside of Bodrum. Highlights of the tour included a visit to a mosque and a meeting with a local family who showed us their handmade Turkish rugs. Although we went into the trip with no intentions of buying a Turkish rug, of course Emi was swayed and I had to lug one back home.

Prepping our Turkish snacks.

To butter us up they served us Turkish wine and a crepe like buttery cheese sandwich. They were served hot. The outside was buttery and flaky and the insides were filled with gooey, fresh goat cheese and other herbs, I think I noticed fresh dill, spinach, and parsley.

Salty, buttery, crispy, and cheesy. A great little snack. We didn't turn down seconds.

After we had a few glasses of wine, some fresh, juicy fruit, and the pastries we were ready to shop. We spoke to a few other couples after we left the house and all of us had the same intentions, but those went out the door when the beautiful handmade rugs were laid in front of us.

After buying rugs, we were dropped off at a local market, where they had olives, olive oil, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Turkish cheese

I was hungry again so ordered one of the crepe like sandwiches. To make the sandwich they took a layer of the dough off the mound and heated it up on a hot griddle and then filled it with all the goodness.

As you can see they also had some red chili flakes in their to add a little spice. After filling up we went to an authentic Turkish bathe and that was quite the experience. Besides picking up one of these wraps and a Turkish rug, you need to check out a Turkish bathe. A unique, fun, relaxing, out of this world experience that you can't pass up if you ever make it out to Turkey.

What a fun relaxing day we had. We even splurged at the bathes and added on an extra massage. We were re-energized with new memories and a relaxing spa experience and were ready to take on the rest of the cruise.

- Kyle

Kusadasi, Turkey Part 2: Hookah and a Turkish Lunch

After spending the morning with the locals in town, we decided we needed to hit up the beach. Getting there was a pain. The taxi driver ripped us off, the beach was super crowded and dirty, but after wading out into the clear, warm, blue Mediterranean, perspective came back real quick. A memory I'll have for the rest of my life. The experience reminded Emi and I how fortunate we truly are.

One of my top priorities going into this trip was to smoke hookah in Turkey. We found a nice beach side lounge and ordered an Effes beer and a hookah.

Smooth, apple hookah. Also for those of you unfamiliar, it's perfectly legal. When you smoke hookah you smoke flavored, molasses flavored tobacco through a water pipe. Instead of a harsh smoke, you inhale a sweet (apple, mango, mint, lemon, caramel, etc) flavored tobacco.

Honestly there is nothing more relaxing than having a view of the Mediterranean with a beer and hookah pipe in hand with no where to go.

All of that reflection and relaxing I was hungry. We headed back into town to pick up some Turkish food. I was a little disappointed by the availability of good Turkish food ( there was an abundance of burgers, pizza, and pasta), but we finally found a place that looked decent.

I started with their minestrone soup. I expected it to be thicker, but it was more of a broth with a slight lemon aftertaste. The soup was a nice, light, palette cleaner. Subtle and delicious, not like the overpowering Mediterranean food I had come to expect.

Boom, straight into the gyro combo dish. The rice was cooked in some form of meat grease/broth which added a lot of flavor. The meat of course had all the spices we enjoyed throughout the trip which included lots of salt and garlic. They drizzled a tomato sauce on top of the meat and served the meat and rice with fresh tomatoes and a grilled pepper. Also what is a gyro dish without fries!

Emi went a slightly different route with the meat skewers. All in all, a solid filling meal.

mmm, my favorite, Turkish desserts. Crispy, light, honey soaked filo over stuffed pistachios and other nuts.

We weren't done yet. Emi wasn't ready to get on the boat yet, so we stopped in the port for some gelato. Big mistake! Never eat in the port right off the cruise ships unless you want to pay double if not triple what you would across the street.

Luckily the girl who served us was friendly and made for great company. However the gelato, Turkish coffee, Turkish delights, and water ran us each $20. Emi wouldn't let me drink the water, at that price though what a waste!

Emi and my expensive ass gelato :). Nothing compares to the gelato in Italy, however on a hot, humid day like the one we experienced in Kusadasi, the gelato was a nice treat before we headed back on board the cruise ship.

- Kyle

Kusadasi, Turkey: A Whole New World

As we pulled into our first port in Turkey, scenes from Aladdin started streaming through my mind. I was on a Disney fantasy kick during this trip.

Kyle and I walked around the market place, hoping to find a couple bargains and a good place for breakfast. I stopped into a shop with floor to ceiling shelves full of Turkish goodies.

When you only have a couple hours in a port, you get a little taste of the flavor of the country/city. I mean this literally. One of the flavors in Turkey we had to get a sample of was the Turkish coffee. We found out that the coffee itself is not Turkish--it's probably the same beans that we drink in the U.S. It is the style of coffee that makes it unique.

The coffee is a dense concoction with thick sludgy coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup. You don't drink this part of the coffee, but it definitely helps to give the drink an extra punch of flavor and caffeine. A nice pick-me-up when you dock at 7AM in a port!

I had the Turkish apple tea which is a tea with a subtle apple flavor. You can add a sugar cube to add some sweetness.

As Kyle and I strolled around the city, we quickly discovered that this was a tourist hot spot by the fact that every breakfast spot advertised an "Irish breakfast." This was a bad sign. All we wanted was a true Turkish breakfast. We were starting to wear down and decided to stop anywhere that at least owned a meat spit, which would indicate they eventually sold some type of Turkish food at some point in the day.

I was slowing down to look at a restaurant when an older gentleman started chatting with me, suggesting I stop for breakfast. He was perched on a little stool outside a jewelry shop and spoke perfect English. We took a seat and asked him what Turkish people usually eat for breakfast. He told us that they don't typically eat breakfast like Americans. Breakfast is usually a light meal of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, some feta and a little bread. The main course is the Turkish coffee. He waved the waiter down and spoke in Turkish, telling him that we wanted a Turkish breakfast. For 10 euros, we drank coffee and tea, munched on sweet, fresh tomatoes, crispy cucumbers, some delicious feta, and crusty bread. Best of all, we learned a lot about Turkey from our new friend, who told us to call him "Kevin" because it was easier to pronounce that his true name.

 

Kyle and I made up a story for Kevin, that included a tale about Kevin being a fugitive hiding out in Turkey. Kevin told us he speaks 7 languages and appeared to know everybody. He sells jewelry for his friend and tried to convince me to buy a $900 ring (I had to go into the shop after all the time and effort he spent talking to us during breakfast! I know Jasmine would do the same). When we asked him to take a photo with us and the restaurant owner, we took several photos and Kevin did not look at the camera in any of the shots! He was my Turkish mystery man.

 

Sometimes food can create stories, but in this case, the food tasted better because of the stories, thanks to Kevin and this Aladdin-like land.

 

Happy Eating,

Emi

Athens Part 2: Exploring the Plaka and in search of a Greek gyro

After finishing up our lunchtime feast, we decided to walk it off by exploring the Plaka. One nice thing about traveling with our parents is we didn't have to lug gifts back to them. Instead we did some shopping for ourseleves. When one thinks of Greek cuisine, gyros, olive oil, and ouzo are usually the first things to come to mind. Lucky for us olive oil shops were on every corner.

We never knew how much of a difference a quality olive oil's taste could have in comparison to a cheap American olive oil. We probably never knew because we were so used to the flavorless American variety. Also what's nice is that in Greece the olive oil is relatively cheap. The same bottle that would run $20+ in the US was half the cost in Athens.

Of course they had tons and tons of Ouzo. We brought back a few bottles as gifts for friends. A light, affordable, compact gift.

Steve ran into a pistachio vendor and needed to buy a bag for all of us to enjoy. They were amazing! Oven roasted and salted. Much more savory than their weaker California cousin. They had a smoked flavor to them.

Ice Grill was recommended to us by our tour guide. We asked for an authentic sit down eating experience along with a place we could find a good simple gyro. 30 minutes earlier we had finished our sit down feast, but I was NOT leaving Athens without a gyro!

Emi's mom thought this picture was funny because I was so excited to get started on lunch #2.

mmm, the first bite

Even though I was somewhat full, I found a second stomach in order to enjoy this tasty gyro. I noticed everything in Greece is either stuffed with fries or comes with them. They love their fries. I could have gone without them, but in general great gyro and another checkmark for my food eating To Do list.

In the hot, humid, July, middle of the day heat these sweetened ice coffees were a welcome reprieve from our dry, hot mouths.

Kanafeh/Katayifeh or whatever you want to call it as some of you may remember from my memorable meal at Ala Turka in Singapore is one of my favorite desserts of all time. This one proved to be super sweet and a little soggy. Not as amazing as the one in Singapore, but something I had to eat in the Mediterranean.

This baklava was in a cylindrical shape. Different. I usually enjoy the layers of philo. In this shape it was a giant, sweet mass. After enjoying a salty, savory gyro the sweets were a nice change of pace.



Some of you may not know, but Emi's dad has spent a good amount of time in Greece, so he wanted to show us how to deal with the locals.

Little did we know, but we were still in for some amazing, life changing meals during our travels through Greece.

- Kyle