Tag Archives | meat

Adana – Shopping In Turkey Now Made Easier

By Rami on December 24, 2018 in Travel

Wings of Lebanon airline has always been known for operating seasonal flights to neighboring countries and European destinations, and one of destinations they have been heavily promoting lately is Adana is Turkey. I was invited to take part in one of their media tours in the city last week and I believe the trip is totally worth it for one reason: SHOPPING.

Although Adana is a nice city with a good feel, it actually has little to offer as a touristic place since it doesn’t have much attractions like Istanbul does for example. However, its proximity to Beirut and the cheaper prices you find there for clothing products simply qualifies it as a shopping heaven.

Adana Vs. Istanbul

I’m comparing the two cities because most people who visited Turkey landed in Istanbul and are used to the shopping experience there.

First of all the fight to Adana takes around 45 minutes, and it has a quite similar climate to Beirut as opposed to the freezing temperatures you experience during this time of year in Istanbul. Moreover the airport is only ~10Km away from the city center so you can basically start your journey there almost the minute you touch down. On the other hand, the airports in Istanbul are 1 hour away from the center.

With regards to product prices, all those who visited Istanbul know about the good deals they there get when shopping, but Adana is even cheaper simply because it isn’t much touristic. I felt like clothing items are cheaper by at least 25% than Istanbul, and the price difference from Beirut absolutely makes up for what you pay for the ticket price and even much more.

The main two malls for shopping in Adana are Optimum and M1, aside from the street shops that you can of course find everywhere.

Pharmaceuticals

In case you don’t know it yet, pharmaceuticals cost 50% less than what you pay here in Lebanon, and some people I know have totally given up on buying their chronic medications from the local pharmacies and are instead relying on people going to Turkey to get them their supplies.

This is of course one more reason that makes your trip very cost effective.

Food

Just like almost everywhere else in Turkey, Kebab is quite popular in Adana and the city is famous for its Adana Kebab which is a wider version of the regular Kebab with unique flavors. Bottom line, meat lovers will definitely not going to be disappointed.

Accommodation

Hotels are also quite cheap compared to other cities, and you can get a booking at a five star hotel with excellent facilities for no more $80-90 / night.

Do more than shopping!

Even though I mentioned that Adana has little to offer in terms of touristic attractions. You can still definitely do more than shopping there by taking a train to a nearby coastal city called Mersin.The trips costs $2-3 and takes 1 hour.

So you can basically book 3 nights for example, spend 1 in Adana to do all your shopping, and then head to Mersin to chill by its waterfront and enjoy the nightlife there.

Budget

Nakhal is currently offering 3 night packages for New Year starting $285 and of course less after that period. The flight schedule on specific days makes it also possible to simply go in the morning do all the shopping and then come back in the afternoon during the same day.

For more information about the packages and flights schedule you can check www.nakhal.com or call their experts on 01 389 389.

Ichkhanian bakery

By Rami on April 6, 2012 in Reviews

I’ve heard of “the Armenian lady” who makes great Lahme Baajin at Zokak El Blat since ever, but I never bothered checking her bakery out until last weekend and finally knew what was I missing, a lot!

People probably call her “the Armenian lady” because there isn’t lot of Armenian shops in western Beirut, while her bakery is in fact called “Ichkhanian” (by the family name of her late husband) and has been operating since before the civil war.

The Lahme Baajin you’ll find there are just awesome and could be the best in Beirut, the dough is so thin and the meat has a unique taste especially if you ask for the extra spicy mix. Perfect for a quick bite anytime a day.

The bakery also caters Manti, Shish Barak, and Borek at relatively reasonable prices, and I heard they’re great as well.

One thing you should be aware of is the bad temper that Mrs. Ichkhanian sometimes shows, she’s actually a very nice lady but for some reason seems furious all the time. Still, the food is totally worth it.

Here’s a map showing where the bakery is exactly located and how you can reach it.

Real list of Lebanese establishments fined for food safety

By Rami on March 16, 2012 in Lebanon

LBCI published today a list of Lebanese supermarkets and restaurants that were fined for dealing with expired and rotten food.

The only name I was shocked to see making such list is Kababji, I mean that’s the least you expect when you pay 7,000L.L for a tinly sandwich of grilled meat!

Although this list dates back to 2011, I’m guessing it might relate a bit to the recently confiscated amounts of rotten meat by the authorities, but unfortunately it is limited to the Metn area only (assuming by the header of the document).

What’s surprising though is how low the fines are, notice how some of them were reduced from 25,000,000L.L to 500,000L.L, even for big names like TSC.

Tons of rotten meat confiscated in Beirut

By Rami on March 8, 2012 in What the fuck!

Al Jadeed news reported last night that around 40 tons of rotten meat was confiscated from “Al-Natrour” warehouse in Sabra yesterday ( Watch the video above for more details).

What’s more surprising than traders dealing with such big quantities of expired goods is the fact that the mentioned warehouse used to supply very famous hotels and restaurants in Beirut with meat! I’m really curious to the know the list of these places that dealt with Al-Natour.

Le Relais de l’Entrecote Beirut

By Rami on February 2, 2012 in Reviews

The name pretty much says all what this restaurant has to offer, entrecote meat. I went there a while ago an totally loved it. They have a fixed menu consisting of a lettuce-and-walnut salad as a starter, followed by two servings of steak cooked to your taste with butter sauce and fries on the side. And trust me, the steak is really really GOOD, I had mine medium cooked.

A dinner for two with drinks will cost you around $75-80, and I know you would be paying less than that for a bigger portions at e Cafe, but Le Relais de l’Entrecote offers a really different (don’t read better) experience and atmosphere that are worth paying for.

While one could save Le Relais for romantic dinners, e Cafe is to me more suitable for casual outings, and they’re both my favorites.

Le Relais de l’Entrecote is located at Abdel Wahab el-Inglizi street and has two other branches at Verdun and Downtown.

Le Montagnou Faraya – A social dining experience

By Rami on February 4, 2011 in Reviews

A cold weather and a good company is all you need to enjoy a pierrade at Le Montagnou Faraya! The restaurant has a really beautiful scenery in daytime, and feels really cozy at night.

I had a mushroom soup as a starter with a small share of a grilled chicken fillet course, and they both tasted good.

Then came the yummi pierrade with this large pot of cholesterol melted cheese. I had to deal with some guilt afterward but it was ok! 😛

… but I got a bit disappointed towards the end with the chocolate fondue, as the chocolate didn’t really taste the way it should be.

Anyway, having a friendly staff, a nice atmosphere, and good food, the place is totally recommended!

Rotten meat at TSC Supermarket (City Mall)

By Rami on September 28, 2010 in Reviews

Having TSC Dora (located inside City Mall) very close to my workplace, I got used to passing by it on my way back home to buy my groceries and take advantage of the crazy offers they do every now and then.

Few weeks ago I wanted to buy some entrecote steak, so I went there and just asked one of the butchers for what I wanted. He proceeded with picking one of the vacuum packages, opening it, and cutting the meat on one of the table, but just as he started working with the meat he grabbed a large portion of it, smelled its odor and directly threw away the whole package. I immediately concluded that the meat must have been rotten from the expression on his face, still I made sure to ask him as he approached the refrigerator to pick another package and he confirmed the meat was bad.

The meat refrigerator at TSC Dora

I disregarded what happened and said to myself it might happen anywhere… but I got really surprised when the same thing happened when he picked the second package and threw it away, and AGAIN with a third package! As he picked the fourth one, he opened it right in front of me, smelled it and said “This one is OK”, but I insisted to check its odor by myself, and turned out it was really ok. I was a bit hesitant about continuing to buy the meat, but then just told him to proceed and give me 2 Kilos. Note that the packages were all refrigerated and had the very same color.

Few days ago, I went to get some rib cutlets, and that’s when I got shocked. As usual after getting my order, the butcher proceeded to pick one of the packages and went to his table. He opened the bag, and this time directly smelled the meat and threw it away!!! He approached the refrigerator and picked another package without giving me any explanation, so I just called him and told him to disregard my order. I wasn’t ready to risk my health again!

The first time it happened I just assumed it might be a bad coincidence, but turned out it’s a recurring thing at TSC! And by observing how the butchers were behaving, it seemed like they’re very used to encountering rotten meat while working.

And I’m not the only one who’s complaining about it, I did a quick search on Google for reviews on the meat at TSC, and found that the same thing happened to Samer almost 2 years ago. The funniest thing about his experience was when the customer service personnel told him he’s ready to cook the meat and eat it as a proof that it doesn’t cause any harm!

Needless to say this is so wrong on all levels, and I hope the people in charge at TSC can read this post or Samer’s to implement the necessary controls on their meat before making it to the shelves for people to buy.

My experience probably poses the issue of food safety in Lebanon in general and not at TSC only. I happened to be one of their regular customers, but the same thing might be happening at Spinney’s, Le Charcutier Aoun, Abi Khalil, COOP… or any other place! Which is scary indeed…

World’s largest Kebbe plate

By Rami on August 31, 2009 in Lebanon

The small town of Ehden in north Lebanon gained an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records on Saturday for producing the largest ever kebbe — a dish of minced meat and cracked wheat.

To create the giant circular 20-square-metre (215-square-foot) kebbe they had to mix 120 kilos of mince, 80 litres of olive oil, 80 kilos of cracked wheat, five kilos of salt and a mere kilo of pepper.

Via AFP

My favorite restaurant in Ehden is “Al-Ferdaws”, they make the best Kebbe there! Although it’s full of fat and cholesterol, but very tasty! 😀

What’s next? World’s longest Markouk & Labneh sandwich in Chtoura?