Alright, hello hello guys.
We are back in Bishkek (Бишке́к) and today is actually our last day in Kyrgyzstan
(Киргизия) and we can't leave the country without making a Kyrgyz food video.
So where are we off to?
Let's see if you remember the name.
I've been calling it the wrong thing probably like 10 times in a row.
We are off to Arzu (Арзу).
Arzu!
Arzu.
Oh my gosh he got it.
He's called it Azur, Azurus.
Basically everything aside from Azur.
Arzu (Арзу).
Hahaha.
Anyways, let's walk over to Arzu we're just like resting in the shade for like a few brief
moments.
It is like 35 degrees outside.
It is so hot and it is only June.
So it is only going to get worse.
Let's go eat.
But anyways food.
We have arrived.
It was a really short walk from out hotel.
And lucky for us they have an English menu because our Russian is really really bad.
But you know what is funny?
Last night we had Korean food and they had pictures but everything was in Russian and
Kyrgyz but we could understand everything was just from the pictures and we were saying
in Korean.
And it was in Korean.
We could read the Korean.
We could read the Korean too.
I feel like such a little kid at the table right now.
This table is like up to my chest.
I'm like urgh the food.
Haha.
But anyways um a few of the dishes have arrived.
And we got some Borsok (боорсок) and these are little fried pieces of dough that
are fried in oil and we had these a lot when we were doing our treks and staying in yurt
camps.
Like as soon as we arrived they would pour us a cup of chai and put a basket of borsook
(боорсок) in front of us and we would have like all of these jams and fresh honey.
This reminds us of horse-trekking and hiking in Kyrgyzstan most definitely.
And so yeah we wanted to kind of replicate that by getting it along with some tea.
Yeah, I mean I don't think it is amazing on its own.
It is just like fried bread but if you add some jam or honey.
Ooh.
It is really good.
Especially with honey.
Honey for the win.
Kyrgyz honey some of the best.
Super.
In the whole world.
Alright, next up.
Next up one of the appetizers we got is Samsa (самса) and before I talk about this
I have to say I'm slightly sad because I had a big dream of having.
A food dream.
A food dream I had a big dream of having pumpkin manti (мантуу) which is like the Kyrgyz
kind of dumplings.
Steamed dumplings and it was going to be filled with pumpkin.
And that is what I wanted but this is an okay replacement.
This is basically it is you can imagine it is sort of like a it looks almost like a pizza
pocket but yeah it is like a Kyrgyz style and they have sesame seeds on the outside
and inside there should be meat and fat and onions.
Oh la lah.
So it is cooked in a tandoori oven so yeah.
Yeah, let's try that.
Big bite.
Mmmmm.
How is that?
Mmmm.
You know what?
I take my disappointment back.
Haha.
This is really good.
This is almost like sort of like a deep-fried manty (манты).
And inside I think what really makes this is just how crispy it is on the outside but
then how juicy it is on the inside.
Like you have a lot of juicy meat and onions and it is just this is really good.
Would you describe it like ground beef or like diced beef?
What is in there?
Um, it is more like a ground beef.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Yeah, but really juicy.
Mmmm.
And to wash it all down because it is really hot outside and just because well I like the
local beer here.
I've got some Arpa (АРПА) and let's give that a try.
You've been having Arpa (АРПА) on the daily.
No, I wouldn't say daily.
Well since we arrived in Bishkek.
Yeah, that is true.
I've had it every day since we've been in Bishkek but I mean it has been so hot.
So this is the perfect way to cool down.
And it is a nice refreshing beer.
So our two mains are here.
And if you take a look I ordered the Laghman (лағмон) and I've been having a lot
of Lagman (лағмон) since we've been here in Kyrgyzstan but usually in soup form.
You can get like noodles with broth and this time around I ordered the fried version.
So it looks like this has been stir-fried in a pan.
This looks really good man.
Look at the ingredients.
We have onions, we have um red and green bell peppers.
What else do we have here?
We have some meat.
Yeah.
I'm starting to see why this is one of the more popular restaurants in Bishkek at least
like we've always been recommended by locals.
Yeah, everyone says Arzu (Арзу).
The quality has been outstanding so far.
And we've been able to order like basically all of our favorite types of Kyrgyz dishes.
Kyrgyz cuisine.
Is it good?
And that is nice and a little bit of parsley on top.
Oh man.
Oh yeah.
Oh man.
She says.
Oh man.
She goes in for more.
Quality control round 2.
Mmmm.
Good?
So Sam also wanted to try yeah some of the Boso Laghman.
Thank you for sharing.
Sharing is definitely caring.
Oh man, I just had a piece of meat and I dropped it.
Let's try that.
I also like that they kind of cut up the noodles.
It is not like long string sphaghetti that you have to twist on your fork.
It is easier to eat.
That is very true.
Yeah, normally the noodles are a lot longer.
Mmmhmm.
They cut them up and this is nice like it is a little bit spicy but not overpowering.
It has got a lot of flavor.
So the thing I really like are the big generous slices of meat that you can find in here.
So yeah, it is pretty wonderful I have to say.
And now time for your main.
Yeah, so I'm having Plov (палоо) or sometimes it is also called Pilaf (палоо) and this
is probably one of the most common foods found throughout Central Asia.
Like you will find Plov in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.
Basically in this whole region it is very popular and every country has their own unique
twist to it.
So it'll be interesting to try this.
So this one has meat and it also has it appears to have like um some peppers.
It has carrots, it has some chives.
So let's try that.
Boiled eggs.
Sam's favorite.
And I'll be leaving those for you.
Mmmm.
Oh man.
I had a really big piece of meat and that meat was really like tender and chewy and
fatty.
That is delicious.
And I like this rice is very flavorful too so it is just like all these different ingredients.
You've got the vegetables, you've got the meat and we've got flavorful rice and it just
makes like for a wonderful dish to accompany like something else.
Like if you're having the next thing that we're getting we're getting Shashlik (шашлы́к).
The skewered meat.
So this is a perfect compliment for something like that.
Well?
Well, well.
Since I shared.
No, since I shared mine.
Since you shared your meal with me I think it is only fair that I reciprocate right?
Yeah, and looking at the rice it almost looks like a brown rice.
Like a bit of a wild rice.
Yeah, yeah?
Doesn't it?
Yeah, I was I wanted to say that but I forgot.
Yeah.
It really does it does look like a wild brown rice.
And it is almost a shorter rice.
Mmmm.
Isn't that nice?
That is really good.
It is really good.
And you know what?
What?
They brought us over this like spicy chili paste.
I'm not sure if it is meant for the noodles or for the rice.
I'm just going to put some in the rice.
Yeah.
I forget which dish it was brought with but I have a feeling it is for the noodles.
Maybe for the noodles.
We'll see how it goes.
We tend to roll.
Don't tell anyone.
We tend to roll a little bit weird sometimes so yeah.
Let's see.
Let's try it like that.
Mmmm.
Oh, it works.
It works.
Tasty.
Mmmhmmm.
And definitely more spicy?
Mmmhmmm.
And the star of the show has arrived.
Alright, so this is the last one.
We ordered Shashlyk (шашлы́к) which is a skewered meat.
And we got the lamb.
Ooh.
And it came covered in onions and dill.
Oh, this is where you get to see I don't have a lot of talent in the meat department.
Haha.
Oh, that wasn't so messy.
You got it off.
Alright, so set this down.
This giant skewer that takes up half of the table.
And let's try the Shashlik.
Absolutely.
Dig in.
Yeah.
And like a traditional Shashlik (шашлы́к) is usually lamb but these days you can get
like beef, you can get chicken.
Yeah.
We ordered the lamb right?
Yeah, we got lamb.
It is always the best.
It is the tastiest.
Like we've had a lot of Shashlik and I was a little disappointed by the chicken one.
Yeah.
But lamb you can't go wrong with it.
And when I thought about coming back to Kyrgyzstan the one must food that I had to have again
was the Shashlyk.
That is my favorite food in Kyrgyzstan for sure.
You're going to love this.
Yeah?
So good.
Tender as tender can be?
MMmmm.
Flavorful?
It is really nice.
Really juicy.
Oh man.
Lamb shashlik guys.
The must try food of Kyrgyzstan.
Time for my first bite.
I'm going to try it with the sauce.
Take it for a swim.
Take it for a swim as we like to say.
Mmmmm.
As good as you remember?
It gets better with every bite.
Like it is like it is so juicy the flavor kind of reveals itself slowly.
Ooh.
Mmmm.
Sam is being all poetic about meat over here.
A true carnivore.
Honestly, you know what?
Our very last meal in Kyrgyzstan is going to be tonight and we're going out with friends
and we're going for it was described as a Shashlik blowout.
Oh ho ho.
So we're going to be having more of this tonight.
So this is like the perfect way to be ending things off here in Kyrgyzstan I have to say.
And the meal is over.
Oh, so sad.
So stuffed you mean.
Yeah, sad and stuffed because we originally thought maybe we'd have some room for dessert
but ooh.
My belly feels like it is going to explode right now.
That is the sign of a good meal though.
Anyways, on to that time price point.
So that came to 930 Som which currently is just over $13 US dollars.
Like pretty insane value.
So this is like a popular restaurant.
It is a bit fancier here but still it was really affordable.
So that was like I had a beer with a huge pot of tea.
We had like the appetizers.
Oh, two appetizers.
The pastry and the bread.
The rice, the noodles and the meat.
So you're talking like seven things for thirteen US dollars.
You can't go wrong and I can see why this restaurant is really popular.
It is actually our first sit down meal here.
Uh, actually the very first time we came to Bishkek (Бишкéк) in Kyrgyzstan our good
friend Stephen Lioy recommended we come here for Manti and that was in the evening when
they were actually making it.
So we had only tried the Manti before.
And we did take-away.
Yeah, we did take away so we never sat down here.
So it was our first time to actually come and have a proper meal here and I can say
I highly highly recommend Arzu (Арзу).
The food is fantastic, the prices are just right and the service is great.
So definitely come here if you're in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Кыргызстан).
And I'm so pleased you got the name right.
Haha.
Finally.