|
Kazakhstan is by far the largest of the states of Central Asia of the former USSR. It has borders with Russia, China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is the world's ninth biggest country by size, and is more than twice the size of the other Central Asian states combined. Its lack of significant historical sites and endless featureless steppe have put many off Kazakhstan, but many are captivated by the emptiness and mystery of this goliath state. It will be many travellers' first port of call on their Central Asian adventure, and there is much for the intrepid traveller to enjoy.
More in
Kazakhstan >>
EAT
Forecast currently unavailable.
|
|
 |
 EAT
Meat, potatoes, rice and pasta. And lots of it. If you're vegetarian be wary, because if it doesn't have meat in it, it was almost certainly cooked on meat stock.
Some recommend dishes:
- Laghman - a thick noodle dish, usually served as a soup
- Manty - large steamed dumplings full of meat and onions
- Plov - wonderful dish of fried rice, meat, carrots, and sometimes other bits such as raisins or tomatoes
- Beshbarmak - wide, flat noodles, with boiled horseflesh on top - the traditional meal of Kazakhs
- Shashlyk - skewered, roasted chunks of meat, served with some sort of flatbread (usually lavash) and onions
If you're a vegetarian, you're probably thinking there's nothing for you in Kazakstan. And you're right - so long as you eat out. But if you're cooking your own food, you'll be more than satisfied. Kazakstan has some excellent produce available at little markets everywhere. For a treat in Almaty, try Govinda's, a delicious vegetarian Hare Krishna restaurant. Malls have food courts with some vegetarian options too. Even some small Kazakh eateries will prepare vegetarian meals for you if you make it very clear to them (e.g. "byez myasa" (without meat), "ya vegeterianetz" (I [male] am a vegetarian), "ya vegetarianka" (I [female] am a vegetarian) in Russian). At some places (e.g. smak) you can even find vegetarian manty made with pumpkin.
On the other hand, in Kazakhstan you can find any dishes you want, but Chinese and Japanese dishes are very expensive.
The most delicious is caviar, which is very cheap, you can buy 1 kilo of caviar for less than USD300 in Almaty Zyeloniy Bazaar, but you can't export or take it with you home, you will be stopped at airport and pay high fines...
|
|
|
|