I finally got a chance to try out the wonders of Kitchenette, and I have to say, I was impressed with the food, the service, and the cocktails. A great experience all around. I’ll definitely be a regular visitor.

Blueberry mascarpone cookie loaf, with handmade spiced Baileys cream. The delicacies of winter.

Just some of the fantastic holiday offerings.

Beauty inside and out.

Now that I’ve finally joined the modern smartphone world, I have access to the full spectrum of fun retro photo apps. I know a lot of people have let these apps replace all their other photography, and others refuse to use the apps at all, but I just see them as a way to take quick-and-dirty snaps at times when it’s not necessarily appropriate or convenient to be whipping out a larger camera. It’s just creativity of a different kind.

This is the Başoğlu fish market on a Sunday morning.

Now that it’s not hot anymore, it’s a great time of year to spend time at sidewalk cafés. Most have free wifi and almost all have great coffee, which is a nice change from five years ago when all you could get in Antalya was lukewarm Nescafé.

People complain about the quality of desserts at Starbucks. I’m wondering if I’m eating at Starbucks in a parallel universe, because their desserts are amazing.

My friend and I ate at YOMA last week.

This is what you get when you order the risotto frutti di mare. That’s a deep fried crab puff on top.

This is what you get when you order the cheesecake.

The setting.

The autumnal foliage.

The private side of the marina.

The commercial side of the marina, featuring the spectacular Odessa Star.

All of the above was visible from our table. Lovely day out.

Things are really shaping up around here on the supermarket front. There are now several places in Antalya where one can buy reasonably-priced caviar. It’s fantastic for an afternoon snack. I like it on toast with cream cheese.

I’d heard fantastic things about the fresh fish market at Canyon/Mini-City, but when I went last week, the place was virtually abandoned. No one in the fish market, no fish, no nothing. They did have a lovely pond with some intentional faux-rural decay, which made for good photos, but I still don’t have any fish to eat.

I know I say a lot of negative things about summer, but holy cow, the tomatoes are good.

Okay, it’s a bit warm still for lentil soup, but sue me, I’m looking forward to autumn.

I have no idea why I thought turning on the oven in August would be a good idea, but I was in the mood for a baked meal and a savoury mushroom cobbler hit the spot. I have to admit, it was tasty, but it basically turned the entire house into an oven, which wasn’t terribly fun. I think I’ll wait for October to do any more baking.

In the summer, it’s best to keep breakfast simple and as cold as possible. “Mostly fruits and vegetables” is a good rule of thumb.

My house guest made french toast for breakfast. It was unbelievably good.

I bought myself a walnut wine rack a few weeks ago (my first sort of grownup furniture purchase), and now friends have been bringing me bottles of wine as gifts. Wonderful.

I’m not sure how long Waffle Art has had a branch in Antalya, but we went to visit it today, and it was well worth it. Anika in particular enjoyed her waffle enthusiastically.

Ready…

Aim…

Fire.

My friend Anika and I went and had cocktails at the Hillside Su. It was a crazy week and we needed to end it right.

One of the restaurants at TerraCity has crème brûlée on their menu. If there are any other restaurants in Antalya that serve it, I’m not aware of them.

Carrying on from the world cuisine theme earlier in the week: Restoran Maslina, or Zeytin, or Olive if you wish. Georgian food in Kaleiçi at very reasonable prices, and as you can see, they have a gorgeous courtyard.

Normally I’m the type to buy whatever budget wine is on special offer, but this past weekend I did something out of character and spent four times what I usually spend on a bottle. I got this limited edition Consensus wine, and although I was initially freaked out at how much I paid, when I opened it I was absolutely shocked at the quality. I had no idea wine could be so nice. It was so great, in fact, that I’ve gone back and bought two more bottles for my wine rack. I have no idea when I’ll drink them but I’m sure an occasion will come along. I don’t need much encouragement.

I discovered a new restaurant in Lara that does Japanese fusion food: Cosmopolitan Sushi. This may sound like no big deal, but sushi restaurants are pretty rare around these parts, and to find sushi crossed over with Mexican food is just unheard of. I’ve eaten at Cosmopolitan twice now, and both times were fantastic. The prices are decent, as well. Link

I used to think nothing could ever touch the ice cream one buys on street corners in Italy… but Mövenpick comes pretty damned close. It’s certainly the best mass-produced ice cream I’ve ever tasted.

As my friend Josh so aptly put it, the Swiss really have a thing for dairy.

I remember a time when it was nigh impossible to get this kind of food in Antalya. Now there are quite a few restaurants offering a great variety of world cuisine.

This fantastic lunch came from Vanilla Lounge in Kaleiçi.

Last week I hosted a friend visiting from England, and we had a great evening out at Vanilla Lounge. You really can’t beat the atmosphere and service, the food is out of this world, and don’t even get me started on how great the cocktails are.

We sat by the fire for happy hour.

A truly wonderful place to have dinner!

Hare Ahududu, straight out of the freezer. It’s not sweet like other raspberry liqueurs; this one’s all about the tartness, and it’s lovely in the autumn.

Döner Gazino, Antalya’s famous rotating restaurant on the mountain. Great food, and even better views.

I don’t usually do a lot of food photography, but it was my half-birthday last week, and I couldn’t resist picking up a cake from The Cheesecake Lounge. It looked great, and it tasted okay, but honestly it didn’t hold a candle to the cheesecake at Vanilla Lounge, which is still the best in Antalya, by far.

We’re finally starting to get some great Istanbul chain restaurants down here. I never thought I’d be so happy to see a chain, but SushiCo is certainly a welcome sight.

Fresh sushi hand-rolled by real Japanese sushi chefs.

They serve all kinds of Japanese, Thai, and Chinese food, and so far everything I’ve tried is amazing. SushiCo is a bit pricey, but if you want decent Asian cuisine in Turkey, you pay what you have to.

The beautiful outdoor dining area: