Kazakh Cuisine

Peter Kenyon, wrote a great piece about Horse meat within the Kazakhstan culture
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/03/04/173448013/in-kazakhstan-no-horror-at-horse-meat
In Kazakhstan horse meat is a very popular and is usually the most expensive meat that you could find it the stores.

The Kazakh cuisine revolves around mutton, horse meat and fermented milk products (including camel and horse milk as well).

At large functions like weddings the starter would include various salads, salmon and horse sausage and other cold meats.
Besbarmak is a tradition dish that includes boiled mutton or horse meat served with a broth, pasta sheets onions and potatoes, and is also very popular dish for weddings.

One of my favourite is Baursaki, a deep-fried dough ball (almost like a doughnut - but without all the sugar).

Lagman is another great dish, which is a pasta dish with a meat sauce. Manti is the local version of dumplings and then there is also Pilaf, a meat and rice dish ( pictured below).

Samsa is pasties or pies filled with meat and/or potatoes and other vegetables.

The traditional bread made here is just as great, the best for me is a flat round bread with stamp patterns on,  as seen in the pictures below.  Unlike other countries, here they don't put preservatives in their bread, so don't expect bread to last more than 2 or 3 days.

Generally, the flavours are not really strong and might seem bland to some individuals that are more accustomed to rich, strong and complicated flavours.

The basics of all Kazakh dishes are meat, onions and potatoes, which is strongly influenced by the Soviet era. Although the Soviet era was marked by long queues and limited ingredients, it also created a whole new approach to food which was about less complicated flavours. An interesting article by Sergei Roganov describe how this Soviet food is finding renewed popularity with in modern day Russia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/russianow/cuisine/9778200/soviet-food-popular.html
This craze is even stretching as far as the States with the Iron Curtain Restaurant in New York http://gothamist.com/2012/06/06/get_a_taste_of_iron_curtains_pan-so.php

Zeloni Bazar , the Green Market

It seems that every Central Asian and Middle Eastern country has a green market.

Almaty also has its well known Green Market (Zeloni Bazaar) close to Panfilov park.
It is even on the top 19 things to do in Almaty according to TripAdvisor.

Parts of the bazaar is covered while other parts are out in the open.While the stalls outside seem to be more reasonably priced (seen below)

At the Zeloni Bazaar you will find almost everything, from hardware stalls, home appliances, clothing and of course food items (a very popular place for fruit, vegetables and nuts). I personally am just a little wary of the meat here and prefer to buy that at the supermarket, where hopefully they practice more hygienic practices and don't break the cold chain.

Many locals do all their shopping at the Green Market. It is advisable to buy fresh fruit and vegetables here, because the turn over is so high.  I am, however, wary of stalls that don't display prices. Even some of my locals friends feel that they have been ripped off on some occasions. You will find a lot of stalls sell the same items, and  I have noticed that the locals prefer to go to stalls that have other customers as well ... maybe they all know that the service is better at that particular stall compared to the other much quieter stalls.

I must confess I still struggle with the concept of paying more for an item just because I am foreign.

The only real problem I have with the Bazaar is that it is focused on selling larger quantities. Some of the stalls that have the nicest produce don't want to sell anything less than 2kgs.
Another thing is that fresh produce just does not last long - where every you buy it in Almaty. The only reasonable explain for this is that  fresh produce takes a long time to get to the end consumer. I have bought potatoes that looked perfect the one day and was soggy the next day.

If you haven't been to the Green Bazaar, you must go as it is very much apart of living in Almaty, and you will find lots of friendly and helpful people here, even though there might be a language barrier.
Granted it is not as magical as those found in Turkey or Tehran, but it is an experience.

Tips when going to the Green Bazaar

• Dress comfortably 
• Carry smaller notes as most vendors do not have a lot of change
• A grocery trolley is great for all your purchases...you can even buy the trolley at the Bazaar's hardware section. 
• Try to bargain if you can
• Walk around first to get an idea of the going price for a particular product.
• And try some of the freshly baked goods : ) 

Good luck with your shopping at the Zeloni Bazaar and enjoy this lively part of city life in Almaty!

8 March 2013

So the 8th of March is a big deal in Kazakhstan...  International Women's day is a national holiday here. International Women's day has a strong history within the  Soviet culture, which started as a socialist political event and is still celebrated in most former Soviet Countries.

Men buy chocolates or flowers for all their female co-workers.  While the supermarkets are really busy the day before as everyone stocks up on groceries and especially alcohol for the weekend's celebrations.

Expect lots of events happening at the main square (The old square) and other main gathering points in Almaty, and flower stalls popping up everywhere for this special holiday.


The International Women's day theme for this year 2013 is "The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum"

Happy Women's Day !!!

English communication from Kcell & Activ now possible

This is brilliant news!!!

Thanks to the people from My Destination Kazakhstan for sharing with us this useful information.
 http://www.mydestination.com/kazakhstan


If you have a Kcell or Activ mobile number  dial *000*3# to change your language setting and to receive notifications in English.

Skiing and snowboarding in Almaty

Maybe this post is a little bit to late in the season but if you were wondering about skiing in Almaty here is the information.

The ski season is roughly from November up to April.

Shymbulak Ski Resort
Shymbulak (also known as Chimbulak) is just a few minutes drive from the centre of town.
Easily accessible and very popular!!!

Read more about Shymbulak -
http://www.shymbulak.com/en
http://prezi.com/ge5bj4vqqfly/welcome-to-shymbulak/
http://www.shymbulak.com/en/о-компании/

Everything can be rented at the ski resort.
Lockers are 500KZT with a 2000KZT deposit.
Equipment is +_ 5 000 KZT for the day
Entrance to the resort is also between 2 000 and 5000 KZT

Transport to Medeu / Shymbulak

Cars and busses travel only up to Medeu the open air ice rink (http://www.medey.kz/en/) .
At Medeu you pay the entrance fee to the ski resort  (you require some form of identification) and take the gondola up to the ski resort.


Gypsy taxis cost +- 2000KZT one way. Don't worry there is quite a few taxis waiting for you at Medeu to take you back to town : )

There is also a no. 6 bus that also goes up to Medeu (80KZT) , it is suggested that this bus runs every 30 minutes during weekends from the Kazakhstan Hotel on Dostik Road and every 90 minutes on week days (frequency of the no 6 bus is unverified)

Travel time from the centre of the city is roughly 30-45 minutes depending on your means of transport.


Other resorts
Both Tabagan and Ak Bulak are not as accessible as Shymbulak and not on the same scale as Shymbulak, this means that they will also be quieter.

I don't know of any busses that will take you there and because it is out of Almaty I don't know of any person that has taken a taxi to any of these ski resorts or how much it will cost.
Hopefully you will find friends that will take you to these resorts if you don't have your own transport.

Tabagan
http://www.tabagan.kz/page.php?lang=3

Ak Bulak
http://www.akbulak.kz
It is said that Ak Bulak attract mainly two types of skiers: beginners and thrill seekers.
Ak Bulak is apparently the best place to learn for beginners as the beginner's slope is very mild : )


More information is available from

http://www.edgekz.com/about-kazakhstan/ski-kazakhstan.html

I hope you found this information enjoyable !!!
PS. I don't like passing off other peoples information as my own, and therefore you will notice the my posts contain a lot of links to other pages : )

Central Craft Fair

The Central Craft Fair is back in Almaty 2-3 March 2013

It will be at the Central Museum on Furmanova Street (opposite Ramstore)
Entrance will be 100KZT
This is a great place to find gifts for family and friends ... or yourself

Almaty in the News

Maybe you have noticed that Kazakhstan and Almaty is in the international news again, as the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program are continued in Almaty today. Good publicity for KZ!!!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/25/us-iran-nuclear-us-idUSBRE91O0J120130225

http://www.bnews.kz/en/news/post/126503/