m1cksut
02-10-2009, 01:37 PM
i went on holiday.
i went to dalyan, dalyan is in turkey.
it was HOT.
i went to lots of restaurants, and ate lots of food, and drank lots of beer.
beer almost makes me fall over.
food makes me round like a weeble, so i wobble but DONT fall down, even after lots of beer.
and now pop pickers, this weeks rundown of where is hot and where is not in Dalyan.
Number 1, favourite place in Dalyan, The Kral.
fantastic location, cheap drinks, fantastic location.
could, (and did) sit for hours staring at the tombs, and this place seemed the best place this side of the river to see them.
ok, the pool looked a bit, errr, green, i think is the best description, but it was fenced off, and obviously not for paddling etc in.
but that view, worth every mozzie bite for the fortnight.
as far as eateries go, and in no particular order, my view on the ones we went to.
Gerdas.
really chilled little oasis, just opposite LTs and next to the PTT.
beer always cold, (although the first time i went in, they DID run out of the dark stuff, so had to have a gusta, looked like i was drinking dish water, tasted slightly like coffee, but a bit insipid, would drink it again if there was nowt else)
waffles and hot cherries and fruit and ice cream in abundance, not particularly cheap, but a perfect end to the day, usually some nice easy to listen to jazz or euro pop, played just loudly enough to hear without spoiling the conversation.
mrs m1cksuts favourite place, she just loves waffles.
Cardak.
Dont know what the food is like there, not got to taste it, after waiting an hour, (and five beers), we left never to return.
now i know what some of you will be thinking, five beers dont sound a lot for a man who never shuts up about beer, but i dont normally get beyond two before getting served, so even for a dipso like me, five was too many, to add insult to injury others who came in after us, and orderd after us, were served long before even my limitless patience wore out.
Safran.
This place was a very good contender for best overall restaurant, mrs m, who never touches red meat at home (OY! stop it, i mean beef etc) had several steaks here, three nights out of four visits, something i have never seen her do before.
again, a good view of the tombs at night, but right at the end of an interminable alleyway, worth the walk, and the service is, errrrmm, relaxed.
Cagri.
Its cheap, its cheerful, its bloody good, cant say better than that. she says it was the best pizza she ever had, and made right before her very eyes from rolling the dough to sprinkling whatever it was she had on it, something about a happy chap, or a fun guy, something like that, i never really listen to her, i had the chicken shish which was excellent.
Bin Kaya.
Meeting place for the message boarders, hi steve and mrs steve, and the winters (senior, i think) good to meet you all.
pleasant place, pleasant staff, nothing bad about the place, except its a bugger to find on market day!
Blue Bar.
Worst meal we had in dalyan!
I had the balti, she had the tikka.
these dishes were identical apart from a swirl of what looked like cream in the middle of the tikka, and a bay leaf on the balti.
nothing more than chicken in tomato sauce, with tough chicken, at that.
apparently the proper chef has left to go to uni, i wish he had left them his recipe book!
a real zero out of ten.
sorry banjoman, i know you were impressed here.
LTs.
not a fair comparison, because as far as i could see (from Gerdas, across the road) it was just a brit bar, with loud brits, getting drunk (i know, i know, kettle, pot, black!) not my kind of place at all, had one drink there the first day, and didnt even finish it.
Hidden Garden.
Ok food, again not very good service.
is it always like that in Dalyan?
i know its not, because we did find a couple of good ones, one a surprise, and one a pleasure.
Demek.
this one had surprisingly good service, from a child, who whilst i am sure was legally old enough to work, looked no more than 13.
it would be kindest to say he was big boned, but boy oh boy, could that kid wait tables, i had barely got the froth off the first beer when our food came, a simple durum, a couple of lira, but so good we had another one straight after, and this one was equally delicious and equally quickly served, i think we tipped the kid more than the meal came to, we were so impressed with him.
Ali's. (NOT ALI BABA's)
good location, prices fair, service ok, food ok, not great, but ok, the main problem with this restaurant is that it is directly opposite Dalyans star, Ramazan Han.
Ramazan Han.
what can i say?
great tasting food, good service, pleasant staff, the best we found, even better than the Safran. Good prices too, i wont put what i paid for a couple of reasons;
a) i cant remember
b) the total price on the bill will be slewed by the amount of drink, as indeed was i.
c) i cant remember.
So, all in all, Dalyan is a fantastic place to holiday, and we will definitely be back.
one thing we did whilst there was to take a day trip to Bodrum,to see an old friend, despite nearly 10 hours on various buses, im really glad we did, as it made up our minds not to go back there again, this after 9 0r 10 visits there, Dalyan has, im afraid, spoilt it for me, and you locals will have to get used to my moaning about how slow the service is generally.
this may seem a small, even petty point, and i know i keep going on about the service aspect, but as an ex hotelier and licensee, i know that even ordinary fare can be improved no end by giving good, prompt service, and while it is great that the general ethos in dalyan is relaxed, i believe that it should not be to the detriment of good service.
this apart, the only really bad thing about Dalyan is the large number of free roaming cats and dogs.
several times we sat near english people feeding these waifs and strays, and when i asked them the very simple question, "if you went into a restaurant in england and a dog was sat under the table would you still eat there?" some said certainly not, and some became quite irate with me for asking, as if i had suggested some exotic practice with the said animals, and became quite abusive, as if it was my fault that there were hygiene laws in england.
all i will say is, i dont like cats or dogs, i especially dont like them near food, i especially dont like it when they are flea ridden street animals.
i know a lot of them are owned by locals who just turn them out, knowing that the stupid tourists will feed them, but this is one problem that would make me think twice before coming back.
so, in conclusion, a great time was had, notwithstanding the above niggles, and we will definitely be back, probably mob handed next time, as we have already evangelised to sis in law, and ma in law, two teenage lads getting the treatment next, then my grown up kids.
now, off to bed for an hour.
i went to dalyan, dalyan is in turkey.
it was HOT.
i went to lots of restaurants, and ate lots of food, and drank lots of beer.
beer almost makes me fall over.
food makes me round like a weeble, so i wobble but DONT fall down, even after lots of beer.
and now pop pickers, this weeks rundown of where is hot and where is not in Dalyan.
Number 1, favourite place in Dalyan, The Kral.
fantastic location, cheap drinks, fantastic location.
could, (and did) sit for hours staring at the tombs, and this place seemed the best place this side of the river to see them.
ok, the pool looked a bit, errr, green, i think is the best description, but it was fenced off, and obviously not for paddling etc in.
but that view, worth every mozzie bite for the fortnight.
as far as eateries go, and in no particular order, my view on the ones we went to.
Gerdas.
really chilled little oasis, just opposite LTs and next to the PTT.
beer always cold, (although the first time i went in, they DID run out of the dark stuff, so had to have a gusta, looked like i was drinking dish water, tasted slightly like coffee, but a bit insipid, would drink it again if there was nowt else)
waffles and hot cherries and fruit and ice cream in abundance, not particularly cheap, but a perfect end to the day, usually some nice easy to listen to jazz or euro pop, played just loudly enough to hear without spoiling the conversation.
mrs m1cksuts favourite place, she just loves waffles.
Cardak.
Dont know what the food is like there, not got to taste it, after waiting an hour, (and five beers), we left never to return.
now i know what some of you will be thinking, five beers dont sound a lot for a man who never shuts up about beer, but i dont normally get beyond two before getting served, so even for a dipso like me, five was too many, to add insult to injury others who came in after us, and orderd after us, were served long before even my limitless patience wore out.
Safran.
This place was a very good contender for best overall restaurant, mrs m, who never touches red meat at home (OY! stop it, i mean beef etc) had several steaks here, three nights out of four visits, something i have never seen her do before.
again, a good view of the tombs at night, but right at the end of an interminable alleyway, worth the walk, and the service is, errrrmm, relaxed.
Cagri.
Its cheap, its cheerful, its bloody good, cant say better than that. she says it was the best pizza she ever had, and made right before her very eyes from rolling the dough to sprinkling whatever it was she had on it, something about a happy chap, or a fun guy, something like that, i never really listen to her, i had the chicken shish which was excellent.
Bin Kaya.
Meeting place for the message boarders, hi steve and mrs steve, and the winters (senior, i think) good to meet you all.
pleasant place, pleasant staff, nothing bad about the place, except its a bugger to find on market day!
Blue Bar.
Worst meal we had in dalyan!
I had the balti, she had the tikka.
these dishes were identical apart from a swirl of what looked like cream in the middle of the tikka, and a bay leaf on the balti.
nothing more than chicken in tomato sauce, with tough chicken, at that.
apparently the proper chef has left to go to uni, i wish he had left them his recipe book!
a real zero out of ten.
sorry banjoman, i know you were impressed here.
LTs.
not a fair comparison, because as far as i could see (from Gerdas, across the road) it was just a brit bar, with loud brits, getting drunk (i know, i know, kettle, pot, black!) not my kind of place at all, had one drink there the first day, and didnt even finish it.
Hidden Garden.
Ok food, again not very good service.
is it always like that in Dalyan?
i know its not, because we did find a couple of good ones, one a surprise, and one a pleasure.
Demek.
this one had surprisingly good service, from a child, who whilst i am sure was legally old enough to work, looked no more than 13.
it would be kindest to say he was big boned, but boy oh boy, could that kid wait tables, i had barely got the froth off the first beer when our food came, a simple durum, a couple of lira, but so good we had another one straight after, and this one was equally delicious and equally quickly served, i think we tipped the kid more than the meal came to, we were so impressed with him.
Ali's. (NOT ALI BABA's)
good location, prices fair, service ok, food ok, not great, but ok, the main problem with this restaurant is that it is directly opposite Dalyans star, Ramazan Han.
Ramazan Han.
what can i say?
great tasting food, good service, pleasant staff, the best we found, even better than the Safran. Good prices too, i wont put what i paid for a couple of reasons;
a) i cant remember
b) the total price on the bill will be slewed by the amount of drink, as indeed was i.
c) i cant remember.
So, all in all, Dalyan is a fantastic place to holiday, and we will definitely be back.
one thing we did whilst there was to take a day trip to Bodrum,to see an old friend, despite nearly 10 hours on various buses, im really glad we did, as it made up our minds not to go back there again, this after 9 0r 10 visits there, Dalyan has, im afraid, spoilt it for me, and you locals will have to get used to my moaning about how slow the service is generally.
this may seem a small, even petty point, and i know i keep going on about the service aspect, but as an ex hotelier and licensee, i know that even ordinary fare can be improved no end by giving good, prompt service, and while it is great that the general ethos in dalyan is relaxed, i believe that it should not be to the detriment of good service.
this apart, the only really bad thing about Dalyan is the large number of free roaming cats and dogs.
several times we sat near english people feeding these waifs and strays, and when i asked them the very simple question, "if you went into a restaurant in england and a dog was sat under the table would you still eat there?" some said certainly not, and some became quite irate with me for asking, as if i had suggested some exotic practice with the said animals, and became quite abusive, as if it was my fault that there were hygiene laws in england.
all i will say is, i dont like cats or dogs, i especially dont like them near food, i especially dont like it when they are flea ridden street animals.
i know a lot of them are owned by locals who just turn them out, knowing that the stupid tourists will feed them, but this is one problem that would make me think twice before coming back.
so, in conclusion, a great time was had, notwithstanding the above niggles, and we will definitely be back, probably mob handed next time, as we have already evangelised to sis in law, and ma in law, two teenage lads getting the treatment next, then my grown up kids.
now, off to bed for an hour.