So it is lunchtime here in Bishkek (Бишкек), Kyrgyzstan (Киргизия) and today we
are going to be having a feast.
We are going to be sampling all of the traditional dishes that we've been eating over the last
three weeks because that is how long we've been traveling in the country.
So we're ordering a big spread.
This is probably enough food for like five or six people but Sam and I are going to try
and eat it all and just showcase what Central Asian cuisine is all about.
So we hope you enjoy.
So we've decided to be a little bit adventurous with what we're drinking and we are having
kymyz (Кымыз).
We're having kumis (Кымыз).
Do you want to tell us what that is?
This is basically considered the national drink here in this country.
In fact, the city of Bishkek was named after the paddle used to churn this and it is basically
it is mare's milk.
It is fermented mare's milk.
And that is all you're having?
That little sip.
It has a slight amount of alcohol.
Yeah, we're taking it easy here.
So.
Let's try it.
It has a very strong smell.
Okay.
Well?
So imagine like the saltiest milk you've ever had that has also been slightly watered down
and tastes a little bit alcoholic.
You can taste a little bit of the alcohol.
So that is exactly what it tastes like.
Mmmm.
Mmmmm.
And we've got a liter of that just to ourselves.
The strange thing is I don't know if Sam managed to get some bread crumbs into the milk or
if that actually belongs in there.
No, that is just how it is.
That is just how it is with brown chunks.
It has some chunks in there.
Brown chunks in the mare's milk.
Alright.
Hahaha.
Arrghh.
Bit of an acquired taste?
Oh man.
It tastes like cheese.
Like salty cheese and it is fizzy.
This is the one thing that we're trying for this video that is for you guys.
I mean we probably wouldn't order this on our own but it is a very important part of
the culture here.
An acquired taste I'd say.
Yeah.
We'll leave it at that.
Yeah.
We're starting our meal with some bread.
Yeah.
So this is like the traditional Kyrgyz flatbread.
And you can find this basically at every meal that we've had here.
Bread is like a very important part of the meals.
And especially when we were staying in the yurts we were eating this a lot.
So let's just dip it in here.
A bit of here.
It looks like sour cream.
Yeah.
Mmmmm.
Yeah, it comes like a creamy butter actually.
It is a little bit sour but not too much.
Mmmm.
And that bread is really good.
You can tell it is homemade and fresh.
Aside from the flatbread we also ordered Samsa.
So I'm just going to break that open.
And our Manti (манты) is coming.
Look at this.
Oh wow.
Look at that.
It kind of reminds of an empanada.
So you've got like a bread exterior and it is filled with meat and chopped onions.
Oh, it looks good.
It is nice.
How does it taste?
It is really savory and peppery.
Lots of ground pepper in there.
So this is actually a snack that you pick up at a truck stop.
It is really popular and it is super cheap as well and really filling.
You can also get vegetarian ones.
I had one that was filled with potatoes.
Next up we got a plate full of manti (манты).
It is manti (манты) time.
And of all of the Kyrgyz food that basically we've had over the last three weeks this is
one of my absolute favorites.
It is basically like a steamed dumpling.
If we take a look down here I'm going to dissect it here for you.
So this one, we ended up getting pumpkin, so I don't know if you can see the orange
in here.
Oh, look at that.
You can see the pumpkin puree in there.
Well more liked diced pumpkin.
More like diced pumpkin.
That is true.
So you can get, of course you can get a pumpkin but you can also get all kinds of different
ones.
Like a lot of the ones that are most popular are actually with meat.
Yeah, so there is beef, lamb and you can also get potato.
Yeah, so whatever you want to get it is available.
Alright, so let's try this.
Mmmmm.
Oh my.
I'm going in for a second bite.
Mmmmm.
Oh, it is just delicious.
Such good dumplings.
Like, wow.
We were just in Korea not too long ago eating Mandu which was a Korean dumplings and so
this is a perfect fit for me.
Transitioning from there to here.
So I am now moving on to the Lagman (лагман) and this is a noodle dish.
Sometimes you can get it as a soup but I opted for the fried variety.
I like the fried one the best.
I know.
This one is really good.
So it comes with chopped onions and peppers and we've got some chives and meat.
It is a little bit of everything.
This is one of your favorite dishes isn't it?
Mmmm.
One of your favorite Kyrgyz dishes.
Yeah, and apparently it has Chinese roots.
Chinese origins.
So it kind of reminds me a little bit of a stir fry.
It is really good.
And the beef is so tender oh my gosh.
That was good.
Wow, it looks like there is a lot of cut up scallions (green onion) too.
And the food keeps on coming.
It sure does.
Next up we're basically trying the fried-rice so if you look down here we have the Plov
(плов).
Plov or Pilaf.
Pilaf (плов) too.
It is called both here.
And it comes typically with meat so you see some meat here and you also see peppers.
It has onions.
It has carrot.
It has different kinds of seasonings.
Dill.
It smells nice.
Yeah, and it is prepared in a massive cast iron cauldron and what was really cool is
when we were covering the World Nomad Games, just behind these like tent type of restaurants
you could see it being prepared.
And it was just like this massive cauldron.
It was really cool.
It is a really popular dish.
We ate a lot.
Really popular dish.
We really have.
Mmmmm.
Yeah, that is really good.
It is savory but it is also a little bit juicy with the different peppers.
So, a really nice taste.
We had nearly forgotten about the Shashlik (шашлы́к) with all of the food at the
table but is has finally arrived.
And that is kind of embarrassing because really this is the star of the meal.
This is what I've been looking forward to the most.
So this is your classic skewered meat.
This is like super popular in Kyrgyzstan.
You can find actually restaurants that specialize in it.
And you're classic shashlyk (шашлы́к) restaurant you're going to find like a small
little restaurant outside and you'll see a guy out on a grill just whipping up a whole
bunch of these.
Yeah, like it also a popular street snack.
You can buy it on the street.
Yep.
And typically it is lamb but we have ordered beef.
We decided to mix it up and go with beef but the lamb one is delicious.
We tried the lamb last time and it was.
I'd probably recommend going with that one.
So here is the beef one anyways.
Mmmmm.
Are you getting those smoky flavors?
So smokey.
It has got a lot of flavors, a lot of salt.
It is a really juicy meat.
And it reminds me a lot of anticuchos in Peru.
Yeah.
So if you've tried that in Peru then you have an idea of what this tastes like.
Well, except anticuchos are organs and this is actually a really nice cut of meat.
That is true.
But the taste both of them is awesome.
Yeah.
And we also got a pot of tea since we weren't huge fans of the mare's milk.
We figured we needed something to wash all of the food down.
Um but yeah typically at the table the youngest person is in charge or pouring tea for everyone.
So if you're having like a big family meal or you're out with friends that responsibility
could fall on you depending on your age.
And also while we were doing the yurt stays we realized that tea plays a huge role in
hospitality here.
So when you're a guest one of the first things they do is like offer you tea and they keep
filling up your cup until you are about to burst.
It is literally the first thing and the second you're done your cup.
Like they are ready to refill, right away.
The host is on top of it.
On top of it.
Your teacup is filled up.
Hahaha.
So how is the tea?
It is good.
It is green tea.
So typically you get black tea when you're in a yurt but we went for green.
So we're almost done the meal.
Any particular favorites?
So stuffed.
Um, the shashlik (шашлы́к) was amazing.
That was so so good.
It was so juicy and they don't really put a lot of spices on the beef but it just has
like that natural flavor so that was really nice.
It was smokey, tender flavor.
Love that.
It was good.
And also the rice.
I'm usually not a very big fan of rice but it was really good.
It was like wild brown rice so that was really tasty.
Yeah, those are two of my favorites as well.
And I'm going to add that I really like the manti (манты).
The pumpkin dumplings.
Of course.
Dumplings.
So that wraps up our feast of feasts.
It was an amazing like traditional Kyrgyz meal.
We ordered so much food that we're actually taking a lot of it home.
This is probably enough either for three or four people and in terms of the price it came
to one thousand two hundred Som which right now is seventeen US dollars.
So that was incredible value.
I mean we got three different kinds of drinks, we got tea, we got a liter of Pepsi, we got
a liter of mare's milk plus all of that food that we showed you including the bread, the
dumplings, the meat, the rice, the noodles.
So you can come here and have an epic feast and it is not going to cost you a fortune.