There's a few reasons to go to the Asia side of Istanbul - to view Sultanahmet from the ferry, to wander through the food markets, to get away from the hordes of tourists, and lastly to eat at Ciya.
Before the easily accessible days of tourist Google maps, I didn't know where Ciya actually was within the Asia side. After asking in a bakery and confusing them with my mispronunciation, we eventually worked it out (it's pronounced "chi-ya") down the road. I didn't realise there are actually two branches of this and there wasn't any information online back then on the difference. Apparently the full restaurant is better than the kebab one (as I recently read in 2017), but I'm sure both are ok.
These days there's still no more famous restaurant in Istanbul, at least on the Asia side, but there's plenty more reviews available and choices.
I'll make a more dedicated effort to be back there when I return to Istanbul one day...