Turkey Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Turkey.
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groovybaby wrote:
Andy57742 mate, sorry but Turkish meat is not a patch on British meat! Turkish meat is always tough tasteless and they cut it differently.


I completely disagree with you there. The lamb I have eaten in Turkey is always so much nicer than we get at home, far more tender and tasty. The chicken also tastes better, our chicken over here doesn't taste of much at all.
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groovybaby you shoud check your facts before replying with such a silly retort.
98% of british slaughtered meat is killed gutted shinned and then within 2 hours
placed on a wagon for sale inside of 6 hours.
turkish meat (halal) is hung and bled properly .
most of your meat from the uk is also injected with water and preservatives why?
because it looks better on a shelf.

andy
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Why would you want to go to MacDonalds whilst abroad?????

Lisa (England) :tongue
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Why :- I personally am not too keen on this type of stuff but my kids like the odd burger & when on holiday we go quite a few times during our stay my wife & I have a drink the kids have a burger then we go and have our meal & the kids go on beach or round shops ....this keeps everyone happy .

So for a wee bit of piece & too keep everyone happy this is Why we visit McD's whilst away ....simples ;)
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A lot of holiday snobbery in this thread. The OP only asked if there was a McDonalds in Marmaris, a simple yes or no answer would have done the trick. The majority of replies seem to be from people who try to make out that they only eat fine cuisine from Michelin star restaurants.
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Groovybaby, if the meat you're eating in Turkey is tough and tasteless, all I can say is that you're eating in the wrong places!

I rarely if ever eat steak while I'm abroad, but I have to say that I've had some of the nicest, tastiest, tenderest steaks I've ever eaten - cooked to perfection - in Icmeler, and as Kedi says, the lamb is absolutely delicious. We love the slow cooked leg of lamb (which you usually have to order the day before) - it is so tender it literally melts in the mouth, so delicious. I also agree with Kedi on the chicken - it seems to have far more taste, and is less watery than the stuff we get here in the UK. I've never had a bad meal yet in Turkey - and no matter what type of meat I've eaten, it's all been very good indeed. Even cheap meals - such as the kebabs in the beachfront cafes for 5 or 6TL - are very tasty and have always appeared to be good quality meat.
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modoc wrote:
A lot of holiday snobbery in this thread. The OP only asked if there was a McDonalds in Marmaris, a simple yes or no answer would have done the trick. The majority of replies seem to be from people who try to make out that they only eat fine cuisine from Michelin star restaurants.


The OP didn't ask if there was a McDonalds in Marmaris but if anyone else had eaten there. Modoc you will find if you stick around on HT that there are a lot of people that post on here who can not answer a simple question but must question the post in a rather derogatory way. As you said a simple yes or no would suffice.
Holidays mean different things to different people. Spending hours immobile in the baking sun on a beach wouldn't suit me, actually it would bore me out of my mind but some of my friends look forward for a whole year to doing just that and I wouldn't dream of criticizing them, just because it's not my choice.
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Excellent post Judith :tup
I also eat in local restaurants while on holiday but do enjoy a McDonalds ice cream. :tongue
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Good post Judith - this is a holiday forum not a political one - happy hols everyone wherever you choose to go or to eat!!!!!!
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I must admit that I usually tend to eat the local food when abroad; that for me is part of the experience of travelling. Having said that, I have had McDonalds in the US and Bangkok, but that was a one off and for pure convenience - I don't usually eat them even in England. But I think they're OK-ish as far as fast food goes. They're certainly less fattening than donor kebabs, and I've heard lots of stories of some of the rubbish that goes into donor meat.

It's unfair to dictate where McDonalds can set up shop; Turkish people have as much right as you to eat McDonalds if they so wish, and the McDonalds in Turkey are usually frequented by the Turks themselves. No-one is ordering you to eat in McDonalds, but it's nice to have the option isn't it? Turkish people certainly appreciate the option, and whilst I myself don't tend to eat them I don't look down my nose at those that do. Some people find Turkish food too spicy, too salty, too greasy, or too samey - everything's cooked in tomato paste, garlic, aubergine, spicy peppers, chilli flakes or yogurt. I do like Turkish food - occasionally - but when I lived in Turkey for two years I became bored stiff with the same old meals.

Even the tourist restaurants have identical menus: Steak Diane, Steak in Pepper Sauce, T-Bone Steak in Mushroom Sauce, Mixed Meze, Sis Kebabs with Rice and Chips............there's no variation. I've eaten in hundreds of restaurants in Turkey, from Istanbul right down all along the west coast, and along the south coast down as far as Antalya. I've eaten in almost all the major resorts, including small working towns and villages off the beaten track, and I've dined in some of the finest 5-star hotels and restaurants, right down to roadside stalls and tiny makeshift cafes. When I lived out there I used to buy meat in both local and large supermarkets (Migros etc) and also from local butchers in the area. The meat was NEVER as nice as British beef - not by a long shot! In fact, I used to take steaks over to Turkey with me as a treat. My Turkish husband has always said how much tastier and tender British beef is to Turkish beef - and I couldn't agree more. All of the British ex-pats I knew who lived out in Turkey always said how much they missed British beef - and proper bacon and ham!

I buy my beef in England from either Waitrose or Sainsbury's, though sometimes I buy it from a local butcher, and it is always delicious. I also buy a rib of beef to do a roast (something I never found in Turkey) and the meat on that is out of this world. None of the Turkish beef I've had has been really tender or flavoursome, except for a couple of occasions when we ate in the Ece Saray Hotel in Fethiye. But even then it wasn't a patch on British beef. I spoke to a local butcher in Fethiye and he told me that they don't hang the beef for long out there - and you can see that when you look at it in Migros. You can tell by the colour it hasn't been hung for long.

Andy, British beef is NOT sold within 6 hours of slaughter - not where I buy it from anyway. Most British beef is hung and matured for up to 21 days to bring out the flavour and to make it tender. You go to Waitrose or Sainsbury's and buy a Rib of Beef, or Fillet/Ribeye/Sirloin/Porterhouse Steak and you'll understand what I mean.

As for Turkish lamb the reason it's tender is that they slow-cook it for about 12 hours. I've never found sis lamb particularly tender in Turkey - it's just the same as sis meat in England. Perhaps you're confusing the taste of the charcoal with the taste of the meat?

What people sometimes forget is that meat has always been expensive for the majority of Turks; thus why there is no big demand for it, therefore the farming methods do not meet British standards. They even cut the meat differently. I have heard that there has been some improvement recently, but the cost of beef in Turkey is so exorbitant now, that most people cannot buy it - and that's including tourists and ex-pats. It's also true what Groovybaby said about donkey meat - it was in all the Turkish newspapers just recently. Some hotels and restaurants are using it and passing it off as beef, especially by mincing it and sprinkling it on lahmacun etc.

Strawberry
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Strawberry

As always a well thought out post making some excellent points.

McD,s is not a meal or snack that I would go for but they must be doing something right as the place always has people buying stuff. Personally I love the ice cream there and thats what I will buy.

Always find the palce and the toilets are spotlessly clean as well

Stewart
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hiya, i don t usually go into macdonalds in uk, but a few years ago we were in beijing and there were 52 macdonald outlets, was i glad proper toilets instead of a hole in the floor. :whoops
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There were 40 Brownies with their leaders in the Bodrum McDonalds all buying ice creams last month. :tongue
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Hi Stewart,

You're absolutely right - McDonalds had over 76 million customers last year - just in Turkey alone. So yes, they are doing something right.

Of course, most people wouldn't want to eat Big Macs every day, but as an occasional treat they're absolutely fine! They're tasty, inexpensive and convenient. And I don't see any reason why someone shouldn't be able to enjoy one whilst on holiday. Lots of people enjoy a good old English breakfast when abroad, so I don't see the difference between that and an American burger. Besides, no-one is forcing anyone to eat them.

Incidentally, McDonalds milk shakes and apple pies are to die for in my opinion. Unfortunately I have to watch my weight, but if I didn't I'd be a frequent visitor!

Of course, it's nice to eat freshly cooked local cuisine; a beautiful salad and fresh meze with hot houmous sprinkled with hazelnuts and melted butter, piping hot lavas (the Turkish bread that puffs up like a long balloon) followed by charcoaled fish or kebabs is delicious, but it's still nice to have the option of a fast-food burger. No-one seems to complain about English breakfasts or Chinese/Indian/Italian resturants in Turkey - so why complain about an American restaurant?

Strawberry
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Of course, most people wouldn't want to eat Big Macs every day, but as an occasional treat they're absolutely fine! They're tasty, inexpensive and convenient


how inexpensive are they ? ;) :tongue
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I wasn't having a go at people wanting to use McDonalds, for it is silly to do so, and as I pointed out it is a convenient and familiar place to eat out in when abroad. Also I am sure that the local population do use McDonalds, just as the local population do here in the UK, nothing new there. What I was attempting to do was to inform people using such global organisations that they are supporting mega-rich businesses that make it much harder for small local businesses to thrive, any small business owner will tell you that, and it is done by gaining subsidies unavailable to smaller businesses from local governments/councils, undercutting small businesses which cannot afford to offer food at such low prices, and dominating the markets by launching expensive advertising campaigns which, again, small businesses cannot do.
And all this is lining the pockets of the already mega-rich fat-cats, whilst local businesses that are often a person's only means of livelihood go to the wall.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of any local community, whereas huge global organisations just leech them dry, by offering a few basic rate jobs to locals, whilst forcing countless small business owners into bankruptcy.
But it's your call, just don't say you haven't been informed.
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I have visited the Mc D's in Marmaris, but only to use the toilets!
Each to their own choice of course post edited due to potentially libellous content. Dazbo HT Mod
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After many visits to Marmaris,I decided last week to try Burgerking at point Centre for the first time,I was very impressed they taste just like back at home,I had a double cheese burger,fries and large drink,only 6.50 lira,very clean and airconditioned upstairs. ;)
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I can't see why my comment could be deemed libellous. I did state that it was" my concern" and it is a statement I have made on TV and in the national press without any problems.
But, if it keeps you happy........................ :)
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