Opening a business at any point in Turkey, especially as a foreigner, is a daunting prospect. Restaurants in particular pose significant challenges for aspiring entrepreneurs, and getting started in the midst of a global pandemic when dining establishments face a series of escalating restrictions and ongoing uncertainties only serves to complicate the process. Amidst all the struggle, it’s genuinely uplifting to hear a story of a family venture offering some positivity, confident in a future where we emerge from all of this with a newfound hunger for taking on world cuisines in a city where it can be difficult to find authentic, traditionally prepared dishes from distant lands – but thankfully this is all on offer from Ginza Ginza.
Those familiar with the culinary landscape of Bodrum will know that in early 2019, Ginza Ginza launched to a warm welcome there as Turkey’s first Vietnamese restaurant. When head chef and owner Victoria Zhong (Asian-American of Vietnamese and Indian ancestry) came to Turkey, like so many foreigners here, her original intentions (in this case tech and business) were fairly divergent from where her path ultimately took her. Something as quintessential as sharing the food she loved of her own upbringing with her Turkish husband’s family turned into a passion for sharing that food with a wider community. Thankfully her gamble of opening a restaurant paid off, becoming widely popular and receiving excellent reviews, opening up the possibility of venturing outside Bodrum with her husband and daughter, all the way to the heart of Ortaköy where I was able to pass through their inviting doors, just a few steps from the iconic scenes of the Bosphorus skyline that grace so many photographs of our city.
‘Ginza Ginza’ is a play on Turkish where words are often pronounced twice for emphasis, as well as a reference to a city in Tokyo with important connections for Victoria. When I stopped in, I had the chance to meet both Victoria and her husband, Yunus Durmaz, and see the new space – only a few months in the making. Victoria is warmhearted and especially easy to talk to, with a clear passion and attention to detail evident in everything from the decor and design of the building’s multiple floors, to the menu itself and how she operates her kitchen. Even in attaining harder to find ingredients, Victoria consults a multitude of sources regularly to ensure freshness and quality, and indeed grows a few of her own. In the face of a pandemic, Victoria makes the most of things by seeing an opportunity to thoughtfully prepare for everything, while training her staff on the intricacies of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian dishes. Yunus, in addition to supporting Victoria throughout this journey together, is an experienced sushi chef adding his own mastery to their kitchen.
The space itself boasts several distinct themes on its various floors – from the blue room with traditional sushi style seating, to the orange room which doubles as a karaoke room, to the green room for a more classic seating arrangement. Decorated accordingly with clear Southeast Asian influence, the rooms remain comfortable and intimate, and one can sense that they’ll be a bustling destination once the situations permits people to return to in-person dining.
As someone whose experience of Vietnamese food has admittedly mostly been limited to Phở and whose Southeast Asian culinary pursuits are nearly as unimpressive, I found the Ginza Ginza menu equal parts intimidating and exciting, as many of the dishes were unfamiliar to me and maintain their titles native to Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, etc. with accompanying English and Turkish descriptions. In addition to Phở, Vietnamese essentials like Bánh Mì, Gỏi Cuốn, and others are presented aside dishes that registered as more familiar such as variations of friend noodles and rice, starters like tempura and spring rolls, sushi, curries, salads and greens, and more. In fun testament to Victoria’s time growing up in the States, you can even order her (well received) tacos as a starter.
It’s worth noting that while there are several meat-based dishes, there’s an entire section of the menu taking advantage of fresh, healthy ingredients native to Southeast Asia to offer completely vegan options as well. Additionally, among the dessert options is a Vietnamese fried banana and ice cream dish that immediately pops out, as well as an array of bubble tea choices.
As dining in wasn’t an option, we were compelled to order delivery and for our first taste, we opted to focus on Vietnamese cuisines. As a starter, we went with Gỏi Cuốn Tôm – fresh spring rolls with shrimp, alongside two main courses. The first was Phở Đặc Biệt – a special noodle broth with oxtail, flank, and steak, while the second was Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò – a noodle dish consisting of grilled beef and fried egg roll. Of course, we couldn’t also resist the temptation to get some vanilla bubble tea.
Delivery was fast and thoughtfully put together. For example, the broth was in a glass jar separate from the Phở Đặc Biệt bowl, and was piping hot, while the beef was carefully wrapped on its own as well – with accompanying instructions on ensuring the broth is properly hot enough to cook the beef when both complete the Phở dish. The bowls themselves and general packaging was of a noticeably high quality, allowing us to skip the process of moving them to our own dishware entirely.
Portion size felt more than generous and perhaps the most noticeable impression I was left with was simply how fresh and healthy everything felt while still being as extremely flavorsome and spicy as I typically like my dishes. Aside from the (delicious) egg rolls in the noodles, nothing was fried or felt oily, and the inclusion of herbs and greens really added what felt like a masterful understanding of how the dishes should be prepared.
I do believe I’m in the minority of people who aren’t crazy about bubble tea or their accompanying tapioca pearls, but even this won me over in the end and was a refreshing conclusion to a meal positively distinct from anything else I’ve had in Istanbul. It can be hard to capture the magic of a particular cuisine in delivery, but this was a strong a showing as any, and generated anticipation for what the dining-in experience would surely evolve upon.
It’s safe to assume that Ginza Ginza will continue to impress those of us with a penchant for foreign cuisines, but perhaps most importantly, it’s sure to open the doors to many who have yet to experience many of the regional foods now attainable in this charming destination in Ortaköy. We look forward to literal open doors in the hopefully not-too-distant future so we can visit Ginza Ginza again in person and see for ourselves.
For more information on Ginza Ginza, including hours and how to order, be sure to check out their official website.
