Five Days in Antakya & it’s Pudding Time ! Discovering new places to eat and local food specialties is always an important element of mine and Ben’s travel anywhere & Antakya is definitely a ‘foodie town’. Antakya’s amazing mix of Turkish, Lebanese, Arabic and French influences offer the most delicious repertoire of local speciality dishes. I have to admit to being a bit of a ‘pudding person’ and the discovery of the famous Hayatalı Dondurması dessert was an absolute revelation ! Lebanese in origin , it is a shocking-pink layered pudding of ice cream, salep custard and rose water.
The ‘Haytalı’ discovery was made when we visited Affan Kahvesi, an authentic coffeehouse, in a building dating back to 1911. With it’s gorgeous tiled floor, shady courtyard, trailing wisteria and locals sitting around playing backgammon and cards ... it’s a lovely place to stop & while away a hot sunny afternoon in Antakya . Renowned for their Haytalı .... ..it had to be tried.
Initially Ben and I were a little phased by the extreme pinkness ! But I have to say once you’ve got through the pinkness ... it is just delicious .....and a visit to Affan Kahvesi and a portion of Haytalı (of course) became a daily ritual of our afternoons in Antakya .
For a peek at this delicious desert being made watch this little clip !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp3J5rVt1nk
- Put the water and sugar in a deep saucepan and dissolve over a low heat.
- Dissolve the corn flour in a glass of cold milk and add it to the sugar water in the saucepan.
- When the consistency becomes thick like custard , remove it from the stove.
- Leave to cool
- Mix the rose water and icing sugar into a syrup
- Serve in individual bowls; a layer of custard , two scoops of icecream and generously pour the rose water syrup over the top.
As they say in Turkey, “ Afiyet Olsun “ Enjoy your food !