They chose the Likya Residence Hotel and Spa as their base and were impressed with the quality of the food in the hotel restaurant, so on our final night with them at the end of the first week, they treated Steve and I to a slap-up meal there, high on the cliffs above Kalkan Town, overlooking the harbor.
We wandered down the hill (top tip, don't bother with heels in Kalkan, you will just fall over. Wear flats) just before sunset to have a look at the view out over the bay before being escorted to our table.
When I say escorted, I don't mean by a human being. There are packs of stray dogs in Kalkan, all of whom are very friendly, and they each have their own turf. When you enter one of their patches, they will pick you up and walk with you down the hill until you arrive at the patch of another pack. The dogs will then hand you over to the next pack, making sure you are in safe paws before trotting off back to their business, and the next pack will then escort you further down the hill. It is a very surreal experience. Most of the dogs are collared and tagged, and they are all looked after by the local restaurants, bars and hotel owners. This blonde boy was our restaurant escort.
The view from the hotel was stunning, a panoramic sweeping vista of Kalkan Bay framed by the Taurus mountains. You could see right down in Kalkan Harbour and when the sun set and the lights came on, the entire hillside lit up like a Christmas tree. It was a simply stunning location to sit in, enjoy the light breeze off the hillside and enjoy one of the best meals I think I have ever had.
I started with a cocktail, one that was easily one of the most delicious things I have ever drunk and I only wish I had the first blue clue as to how to recreate it. It was a gin (obviously) fizz and was muddled through with a simple basil sugar syrup and slices of cool, fresh ginger that infused gently as your stirred. It was sublime.
The Likyan clearly likes its table theatrics, and this was evident from the start when they delivered the traditional bread basket, served with its own table toaster for you to toast your own. This came with a herb infused butter and was closely followed by an odd combination of a homemade ravioli and hummus. We didn't order this - it just showed up and Mum and I then spent the next 10 minutes cooing over the crockery. Those white plates are so impractical, take up a ridiculous amount of space on the table, look nigh on impossible to store and yet I must have them. Just have a look at the other plates and bowls further down as well, they are things of pure beauty, like the sails of the ships in the harbor below us.
Dad and I then opted for the oysters with chilli for our starter. Not as good as a Whitstable oyster I must say (they were rather small) but tasty nevertheless. I am probably slightly spoiled when it comes to oysters though, living where I do. By the way. You can't eat the starfish so don't try.
For my main I opted for the lobster. The waiter came and asked me what size I wanted, and I did originally ask for a small until Mum told me to go larger and she would have some of it. So I did. I also ordered a portion of chips, as I am of the firm belief that you can't have lobster without chips.I realised my error the second my 4 plates arrived, all for me. This was an obscene amount of food.
I tried, I really, really tried but I could not touch the edges of the chips, or the salad, or the cooked vegetables. I did eat all the lobster, even after Mum decided that she didn't want any after all, and the lightly pickled crudites were crunchy and delicious, an amazing counterpoint to the lobster and one that I must remember for the future. This meal was just divine and the others all had similarly wonderful meals, although none were quite as large as mine was.After gorging myself on shellfish, I went for a walk around the bar and pool to try and alleviate the overstuffed feeling I was experiencing. The pool and bar are wonderfully camp, and look like something straight out of Cocktail. It was a really lovely place to sit and digest, before the waiters bought over the dessert menu.
I couldn't face the thought of anymore food, but Steve had eaten decidedly less than I had and tucked into the mezze platter of sweet things, with a plethora of fresh fruit, ice cream, macarons and baklava as well as Turkish delight and sweet fudge..
As the night deepened the moon rose above the mountains and cast shimmering reflections over the bay. I tried to capture it with my camera but the photo's really did not do the landscape justice, it was truly beautiful
Mum, Dad, thank you for a wonderful meal and a wonderful holiday. You really spoilt us.
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