- All right, check it out, guys,
it's Trevor James.
We just got into Antakya, Turkey,
one of the most famous food destinations
in the entire country.
We are right on the border
of Syria, Southeast Turkey,
and there is a lot of amazing food here,
and we're going for a full-on tour.
Let's check it out, guys.
Get ready for the ultimate street food tour
of the mega food hotspot of Antakya,
in the south of Turkey.
'Cause today, along with Turkey Tourism,
we're going full on
for five insane street food locations,
including going to one of the best hummuses
in the whole world,
worth flying in directly to eat for.
Let's eat!
Wow, look at this beautiful old ancient city.
There's a lot of history here and a lot of food.
And we just got in, right off the flight,
and we're hungry, aren't we?
- Yeah.
- Hi, Emrah.
- Welcome.
- How are you? - Fine, how about you?
- Here we are. - How was your flight?
- Hot day.
- Yeah, welcome to our city.
- So excited to be here.
- Try lots of foods.
- Lots of food.
- Yeah, we will try lots of food,
lots of desserts.
- And we're right here in the old old center.
- Yes. Now, we get started.
- Let's go.
And here we are. We're going to try the famous--
- And this is the place that we are going.
- Okay.
- From 1660.
- Wow.
- One of the oldest places here.
- Oldest. - Yeah.
- Okay.
And we're going to go in.
Look at this courtyard restaurant.
We're going to watch the making
of the special Tubtic Kebab.
But it's more like a circular, giant meat patty.
And look at all the meat in the back.
Hi.
And here comes the, the beef!
Look at this giant chunk!
Wow!
So he's just masterfully taking a chunk there,
and then a little parsley,
green pepper and red pepper.
Okay.
Look at that.
It's like a sword, just for one clove of garlic.
Okay, here we go.
Wow!
So we got the parsley,
we got the beef, we got the fat,
we got the red pepper, garlic.
Wow, it's super aromatic.
Look at how fast it's just getting ground up there.
Add a little salt.
- Add salt.
- Salt.
- Pepper.
- Pepper, chili.
- And some water. - Water.
Oh and then it's going to get nice and soft.
Look at that.
Okay and then here's the tray.
This is the moment we've been waiting for.
Let's see how it's made.
He's just coating it.
What is this? A pepper paste on the bottom?
- Tomato paste.
- Oh and then he's just putting it all down.
A little water and making a flat,
almost like a giant patty.
Okay. Let's see what's next.
Oh, just precisely pressing it down.
Look at that. Wow. Look at that.
Green pepper, tomato, some potatoes on there!
Slice potatoes.
Beautiful.
It's a work of art.
Oh, and then onion.
- You need a picture.
- Oh, look at that, it's beautiful.
So it's finished now or?
- Yes, its finished now.
- Ready to go.
- Time for the oven.
- Okay.
- Straight to the oven.
15 minutes in the oven and then we're going to eat.
Thank you.
Oh, and time for some bread.
Oh, a little sesame and nigella on there.
Nice! Oh, look at this.
Tepsi is just pouring this tomato,
tomato sauce.
Wow! And then back in the oven!
Beautiful.
Okay, and here's the moment we've been waiting for
the Tepsi Kebab is almost ready, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much. Here it comes.
The Tepsi.
Oh, look at that.
Wow! Look at that.
It's so steamy.
And the coal's, oh coal's right underneath, yeah.
Wow! Look at that.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
That's the hot thai Tepsi Kabob.
Can you take like a big chunk of the kebab with it?
Like just scoop up a big meaty section.
- Yes.
- Use the three finger technique.
- Yes.
It's got the parsley. It's got the garlic.
Ooh, the red pepper.
- Yeah.
- All the beef, both fatty and lean.
Mm. Mm!
- How is it?
- Oh!
- Perfect.
- Wow!
- You like it?
- That is incredible.
That right there is so flavorful.
The pepper gives it a spiciness,
but not like a super strong spiciness.
It's just smooth.
It's got a punch and then it's so juicy.
- Yeah. It's juicy.
- So juicy.
Peppery,
and the bread just soaks up the juice.
That's what it's meant for, right?
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- Incredible, isn't it? - Incredible.
Wow.
Okay, so we just had that amazing Tepsi Kebab.
And now we're going to watch the making of Kunefe,
classic Antakya cheesy dessert.
Oh, just loading it with butter.
Look at all that butter.
Oh, and here's the kadyif.
- Yes.
- Wow.
That smells amazing with the butter.
And here's the cheese.
- That's the cheese.
- Wow!
It's like light milk cheese, right?
Very light.
- It's not salty.
And then we've got more of the kadyif.
- Yes.
One layer kadyif,
one layer cheese,
and one more layer kadyif.
- Okay. - On the top.
- So you were saying Kunefe is the best in Antakya,
right?
- Yes, here's the capital of Kunefe.
- The land of Kunefe.
Oh, and then here it is,
look at that.
Right on the fire.
Let's take a look underneath.
Ooh, getting nice and toasty under there.
Golden brown.
Okay, so these have been cooking for about
five, six minutes now.
And this one is just needing a few more minutes
and then we're going to flip it
and see how that Kunefe is finally prepared
with the syrup.
Buttering up the sides so it can flip easy.
Look at this, look at this.
Butter going in there.
It's going to flip so nicely and smoothly.
Here's the flip.
Lets see how it's done.
Here we go.
Ooh nice!
Yeah!
Look at that.
And now it's double sizzling.
Oh, look at the cheese melting.
Look at this finish, the syrup.
Ooh. Just sizzling with syrup.
Wow!
Okay, so then it's cut into like giant slices.
Look at that.
Ooh, it's cheesy.
Nice!
And then it's served.
Oh, and then another layer,
another layer of syrup.
Oh, and then pistachio.
So this is going to be ultra premium.
High-end pistachio just added right on.
Ooh.
And here we are.
Look at that beauty.
Kunefe.
Best like, Kunefe in all of Turkey
is in this city? - Yeah.
In Aktaya.
- In Aktaya.
- And it's really good with the pistachio.
- Really good with the pistachio?
And ah.
- Let's try it.
- Can we just go in?
Yeah.
They've really perfected the golden brown
outer crispy layer there.
Look at how gold it is.
Ooh, super hot.
Look at that.
Super hot and just, wow.
Cheesy.
Look, look at that.
Mm.
Oh, oh.
Mm.
- Incredible.
- Wow!
Look at that,
look at how crispy it is on the outside.
And then gooey, it's so gooey and stringy,
and cheesy on the inside.
Mm, and then with that syrup and pistachio mix.
That's the perfect desert.
- Sometimes if I've,
if I'm free about work.
I buy a ticket to come to that area.
Have some meal and go back.
- That's the good life.
Thank you.
See you.
And we're going to keep exploring this market.
There's a lot of stuff in here
and look at this guys,
spices everywhere.
And there's another specialty here.
Merhaba!
Oh, what do we have here,
in the pumpkin?
Kabak Tatlisi.
- Tahlisi is dessert.
- Oh, it's a pumpkin dessert.
- Pumpkin desert.
It's crispy outside and soft inside.
- Okay.
- And juicy inside. - And juicy.
Oh, this is just amazing,
we just got invited in to watch the making of this,
oh, giant pumpkin dessert.
Okay, so he's slicing up the pumpkin here.
This is like a Turkish pumpkin.
Ooh, so satisfying to hear the noise.
Okay, and then he's just getting each slice
perfect and editable.
- When they slice it,
they are going to put inside the lime water.
- Okay.
- And it stays in the lime water one night.
After that night,
they are going to cook it for 8 hours in the oven
and on the third day it's ready for eating.
- Oh, beautiful.
Oh, and this is it here.
This is full of syrup.
- Yep.
- Oh wow. Pumpkin dessert.
Ooh, look at that!
Giant pumpkin slices.
Oh, those look delicious.
That's the hot day special.
(Inaudible)
It looks good.
Let's try one out.
Oh, it's so just gorgeously vibrant
and it looks so soft and jelly like,
even though it's pumpkin.
Wow.
Luxury! Try it out.
Mmmm.
- Not only for you.
- Whoa!!
Wow!
Oh my, that is extreme, like so very good.
- It's not like pumpkin, isn't it?
- No.
- It's crispy.
- It's very sweet.
- Juicy.
That right there is
one of the top street deserts of the world.
Just so much flavor,
so much juice and it's just coated in a syrup,
it's amazing.
- Incredible.
And it explodes.
It doesn't look like it,
but when you bite into that,
it explodes in your mouth.
Thank you.
- Your welcome.
- Mm mm.
Okay, next stop,
there's a special, like a medicinal drink here,
right?
What is this?
- That's actually, all right.
- So here they are,
this the, the special tree root,
medicinal tree root, from a local tree, right?
- Yeah.
It's called the, what is a Turkish,
Turkish native tree.
- The English name is Ark Tree,
but we call it Mayi cu cu.
- Mayi cu cu.
- Yeah.
- Okay, look at the root.
So he's going to grind these down
and look at the inside.
You can see that it's actually like
already quite fibrous.
So that's gonna break down into a fiber
and he's going to make a tea out of it.
Okay.
And he's going to add it in.
Wow!
Super unique, just filling it up with water.
The Ark tree that's ground down in the summertime.
Oh, then he's just draining it out.
Okay, so he's just washing it one time.
- Only for washing.
They will drop all this water and
- Okay.
- They will pour it.
- Okay.
And it's good for your like,
it's good for your health?
It's a medicinal thing, right?
- It's good for stomach actually.
- For stomach?
- Yeah.
- After the meal, when you drink it,
it's not like sportsmen water,
but, you know, it fills you better.
- So this is going to soak for
two and a half hours,
and then we're going to come back and enjoy.
Look at this traditional way.
The traditional giant jug for the medicinal drink here.
Ah, here he comes.
Here he comes.
Amazing.
Look at how he's pouring it for the locals.
Oh. Wow. Thank you.
Very nice.
Look at these skills.
This is the traditional way.
Wow.
Cheers.
Lets try it out guys.
Owww.
This is strong.
Wow. It's like a bitter medicinal,
slightly sweet,
yeah, medicinal syrup.
- Tastes like coffee syrup.?
Ah.
Thank you.
Next stop, look at this guys.
We're going to an ancient cafe here,
right on the corner.
Look at this.
(Speaking Turkish)
How are you?
- This is the main area.
Also, they have a garden over there.
- Oh wow.
And a special dessert here, right?
- Yes.
- Okay, so what's this?
Is this like a pudding here?
- It's kind of a pudding, right.
- And then,
oh, he's just cutting it up.
Oh, and then some ice cream, look at that.
Wow!
Oh wow!
And then a rose water.
- Rose water, yes.
- Look at that color.
Rose water vanilla ice cream,
special pudding underneath.
Thank you. Let's go try it out.
So the pudding is just a milk and sugar and..
Starch - Starch, yes.
- And then all for that first bite.
A little touch.
Ooh.
Look at that, that's going to be strong.
How is it? How is it?
Mmmm.
Wow.
All that is an unbelievably good.
Oh, it's so florally.
Flowery from the rose syrup.
Fresh, sweet, cooling dessert.
- It makes you fresh.
- Wow. Really good food here in hot day.
As soon as you land, it's just like,
everything is delicious.
Thank you.
It was delicious.
So icy, so nice.
Thank you.
And what a beautiful city this is.
So ancient, so full of life
and we're going for more and more.
Food all day.
Okay, next up is hummus.
And because we are near,
I think this is correct.
And because we are near Syria,
there's a hummus influence here, is that right?
- Yes.
We are on the border of Syria actually.
We are so close,
it's not more than 40 minutes
to reach the boarder.
- So there's a hummus influence here.
- Yes.
- Oh, and this is it here.
Okay. And we're going to see how it's made.
This is special hummus.
Okay, we've just walked into
the ultimate hummus station.
- First, we're gonna show you how they've put
it on the fire.
- Okay, hummus is just amazing.
One of the best foods of the world.
- Five, six hours it stays on the fire,
then they start to mash it.
- So we've already got some partially mashed
chickpeas here.
Oh, he's just, pro.
- He mash it like that,
then that mashed one become like this.
- Oh, look at how creamy it looks!
Oh, here's what the Taheena.
Oh, that looking so rich.
A little salt, there's a little garlic.
And then here's the magic.
- Lemon juice.
- Lemon, fresh lemon juice right in there.
- It can not be (inaudible).
- Ooh, he's been doing this 50 years.
- Working as a master.
- Wow.
Oh, here it is!
Look at that.
Oh this is where it's,
look at how it's just whipped
into a perfect circle.
Look at the spices going on.
Cumin, chili, parsley?
- Yeah.
- Oh, and then a tomato.
Oh, and then some pickle.
Oh, it's so beautiful.
Look at the, just vibrancy and color of it.
Oh some carrot.
Wow.
Oh, more pickle, like a cabbage pickle.
Olive oil, look at that.
Wow.
That's so beautiful.
Oh, thank you.
Look at that.
Wow.
It's so, so beautiful.
Look at the color of the vibrancy.
We got to try that. We've got to try that.
Okay, time for a mixed plate now.
Okay, hummus in the middle.
This is the eggplant.
- Eggplant yogurt.
- Eggplant yogurt dip.
Look at all these dips.
Now we've got the red pepper with Walnut
and then this is like the Baba Ganoush.
- Baba Ganoush.
- Oh wow.
Oh, and then here's the Fool.
It's all here, so we've got Fool,
we've got Baba Ganoush, Red Pepper Walnut,
we've got Hummus,
couple varieties of Eggplant Dip
and Yogurt and Pepper Dip.
And he's just garnishing it now.
Oh, and then just garnish with olive oil.
Oh look at that, covered in olive oil.
Oh, Pomegranate Molasses.
It's so beautiful. Thank you.
Amazing.
50 years of mastery here to make this piece of art.
They've got the most beautiful artwork here.
Mixed spreads, got a few varieties,
Baba Ganoush, Pepper Paste,
we've got the Fool,
we've got a few different varieties with pepper
and yogurt.
And then here, look at this,
this is the special Hummus, beautiful.
And we wash and mix with the lemon.
We wash and mix with Tahini.
There's pickles, there's carrots,
there's tomatoes, there's parsley,
It's all on there.
And it's opened since 1920s.
Wow, okay.
And then the Fool as well,
oh let's just take some of that bread.
Take some of that Hummus.
Oh yeah, Look at that.
Oh, it's so thick, by hand,
hundred year old, third generation shop.
We want to make that first bite count.
Look at that.
There's pickles, tomatoes, parsley,
chili, cumin.
This is upgraded Hummus.
Super premium level.
Lets try it out, thank you.
Wow. Okay.
Mmm!
Wow, that's the best!
It's so delicious!
You can taste the cumin, the chili.
So many light aromas in there.
Let's go in for some of that pepper.
So this is red pepper and Walnut, right?
Shake it with a Pomegranate Molasses on top.
Wow, premium artwork here.
Mmmmm.
Whoa!
That's the best!
It is spicy.
- Chili?
- Yeah, a little spicy.
Red chili, red pepper.
- But not much, right?
- Not much.
Mmm.
It's rich and nutty,
from the walnut.
That hummus right there is the joy of life,
like seriously.
That's what brings you straight happiness.
This is seriously one of the best meals
of my life right here.
I'm just, I'm never gonna forget this meal,
the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
What a day!
What an amazing day.
Wanna give a big thank you
to Turkish tourism for helping arrange
all these spots and this trip
and to our amazing guide Emrah- thank you.
Awesome day. Thanks for watching guys.