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Ciya Sofrasi
Caferağa Mahallesi Guneslibahce Sokak 43 Cuisines: European, ArabicAbout
Çiya Sofrası is a simple, artisan restaurant -much like a Turkish style diner- owned and managed by a young and educated couple: Zeynep and Musa Dağdeviren. This couple, recognized as "Food Engineers" by many, collect culinary secrets from out of the way areas to create innovative daily menus. The menu changes every single day and is posted online on their Web site, where one will see both a variety of kebab dishes and traditional Southeastern home dishes. There are indeed two kitchens at Çiya; and also in fact two different restaurants across from one and other for these different kitchens. The kebab house is at number 48 / B on the same street as that of the open-buffet Çiya Sofrası (Çiya Table) at No: 43. Musa Dağdeviren explains this distinction by referring to his childhood. He was born in Gaziantep, a gourmet city that has become especially well-known and important thanks to its kebab kitchen. When Mr. Dağdeviren quited his former employment as a baker and set out to find his own unique business in 1987, he also wanted to go beyond the classic notion of Gaziantep kitchen / restaurant. It is thus that he opened also the Çiya Sofrası, where he can focus on his unique culinary interests and create out-of-the-book Southeastern culinary delights. Some of these delights includes lamb stew with eggplant, stuffed eggplants, cracked-wheat rice, dried pastrami (cured beef) with chickpeas and minced meat and interesting desserts like candied pumpkin and a variety of baklawa.
