Russian Dining
Of all the countries I've been to, Kazakhstan is probably the most difficult to navigate. Maybe because business establishments are hard to distinguish from private houses, street signs are written in Azbuka, and approximately, one out of a hundred speaks English.
So when we (with my officemate, Jason) bumped into this pretty Kazakh-Russian lady named Daria while looking for an internet shop, it was like we won in a lottery. And as a gratitude for all her help, we went out dining with her.
She brought us to this Russian restaurant called Medved Tavern and Restaurant. Medved in Russian is a bear (obviously, as seen at the background ^_^). This dining place has an interior of traditional Russian house; it is very cozy - with lots of rustic decor.
And since Daria was familiar with the menu, she picked Russian and Kazakh food for us. We told her we want to try their local cuisine.
As appetizers, we had holodets paired with tomato juice and vodka. According to her, the tomato juice goes well with vodka... First, the holodets - it was like jello with meat strips and it tasted like soup (bulalo style) na pinalamig. Next, the tomato juice - first sip: ok lang; second, third sips: I needed to drink vodka right away; fourth sip: ayoko na, it was like drinking ketchup!!!!
Then, the salad came. Ok, the presentation was great that, if my recollection was right, I ate only the olives and as for my companions, I forgot. But the vegetables were almost untouched.
And finally, the main dish - shashlik. Shashlik is the must try dish in Kazakhstan and all over Central Asia. It's like a kebab - grilled meat served with pita bread and side dish. Me and Jason had pork shashlik while Daria had chicken shashlik.
All these with two bottles of vodka cost 16,000 tenge - just enough to savor Russian-Kazakh cuisine (except for the tomato juice). The food was a delight to my tummy - indeed, a happy tummy experience. (Wink)
So when we (with my officemate, Jason) bumped into this pretty Kazakh-Russian lady named Daria while looking for an internet shop, it was like we won in a lottery. And as a gratitude for all her help, we went out dining with her.
She brought us to this Russian restaurant called Medved Tavern and Restaurant. Medved in Russian is a bear (obviously, as seen at the background ^_^). This dining place has an interior of traditional Russian house; it is very cozy - with lots of rustic decor.
And since Daria was familiar with the menu, she picked Russian and Kazakh food for us. We told her we want to try their local cuisine.
As appetizers, we had holodets paired with tomato juice and vodka. According to her, the tomato juice goes well with vodka... First, the holodets - it was like jello with meat strips and it tasted like soup (bulalo style) na pinalamig. Next, the tomato juice - first sip: ok lang; second, third sips: I needed to drink vodka right away; fourth sip: ayoko na, it was like drinking ketchup!!!!
Then, the salad came. Ok, the presentation was great that, if my recollection was right, I ate only the olives and as for my companions, I forgot. But the vegetables were almost untouched.
And finally, the main dish - shashlik. Shashlik is the must try dish in Kazakhstan and all over Central Asia. It's like a kebab - grilled meat served with pita bread and side dish. Me and Jason had pork shashlik while Daria had chicken shashlik.
All these with two bottles of vodka cost 16,000 tenge - just enough to savor Russian-Kazakh cuisine (except for the tomato juice). The food was a delight to my tummy - indeed, a happy tummy experience. (Wink)
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