I first came to Central Asia in the summer of 2019, when our lives were still undisturbed by the plague 2.0. I originally wanted to travel to Greece, but Juan convinced me to opt for Central Asia, since plane tickets were the same price than for Greece, but cost of traveling once at the destination, much lower…
So before going on this unconventional journey to the center of the Earth, I started doing some research on my destination. Meaning I tried to figure out what kind of local specialities I would be able to enjoy during the trip.
And that’s when I started getting scared. Really scared. Because no matter which source I turned to – be it Lonely Planet or Caravanistan, a blog specialized on travel in Central Asia -, I was only reading scary negative reviews about the food found in the area.
So not only was Juan taking me thousands of kilometers away from the ocean in the middle of the summer, but I could also say goodbye to any taste-bud entertainment during two weeks! At least according to my sources… Let’s just say this trip did not start on a good note…
Fortunately for me, Central Asian hospitality and the local food scenery soon proved us all wrong. Indeed, far from being dull and bland, as announced in the Lonely Planet for Central Asia written in the 2000s or on the blog Caravanistan, probably first published at the same time, cuisine in the region proved itself to be quite varied, tasty, and much different than what is found in Europe.
So through this blog post and the next few ones, I am set a mission for myself to give the proper credit that it deserves to Central Asian, or at least Uzbek, gastronomy, to update everyone on the state of Central Asian cuisine, and to protect future culinary-experience-oriented travelers in the region from unnecessary anxiety regarding their food options in the area.
But first, let’s talk about Milliy Taomlar…
What is a Milliy Taomlar?
Milliy Taomlar is the Uzbek term used to qualify restaurants serving local cuisine. The roots of these words come from Arabic, with milliy meaning ‘national’ and taom ‘meal’ (lar indicating plural). So basically the equivalent of a diner in the U.S.A. or a brasserie in France.
And the reason why I am talking about Milliy Taomlar here is because these are the restaurants you want to visit if you’re ever interested in trying out Uzbek food. And believe me, the more simple the restaurant’s façade, the better dining experience you will get.
For example, Juan and I once got lost in the neighborhood dedicated to construction materials in Tashkent and found this small cafeteria-like restaurant with a completely washed out sign. Regardless of the appearance of the place, it was one of the most delicious Uzbek meals we ever had in Tashkent. Unfortunately I do not remember its name…
But anyway, here are some of the best Milliy Taomlar in Tashkent:
Rayhon, Buyuk Ipak Yo’li branch, for the best plov in town
Rayhon means basil in Uzbek. Basil grows amazingly well in Uzbekistan, as can be seen in the picture below. It grows very well in Uzebkistan, except in my garden, which is absolutely unfair…
But back to Rayhon. On top of representing the national herb of Uzbekistan, Rayhon is the Milliy Taomlar to try if you want to have a taste of real plov. Indeed, you probably already know this, but plov, or osh in Uzbek, is the country’s national dish. Its main component is rice, fried in mutton fat, and mixed with miscellaneous ingredients, the most common ones being carrots, chickpeas, and dried grapes. It is usually accompanied with sheep or beef meat, and, for special occasions, quail eggs and horse sausage.
You guessed it, this dish is not particularly vegan friendly. It is also a quite heavy meal. This is so because it is usually served at noon, mainly to construction and other manual workers.
So, if you want a taste of Rayhon’s plov, I highly recommend going there for lunch.
Plov can be declined in many ways to honor different occasions, such as weddings (wedding plov), the Persian new year, Navruz (Sitora plov), or the end of the Friday prayer (conventional plov at any plov center). Each region of Uzebkistan has its own plov, from the most simple with only rice and carrots in Khorezm, to the most elaborate, served with tomato salad and sour creme, in Samarkand. At Rayhon, you’ll find Tashkent-style plov.
The reason why I am praising Rayhon’s plov so much is because, when cooking this dish, it is very difficult to give credit to all these different tastes (mutton fat, chickpea, meat, dried grapes) at the same time. But this restaurant wonderfully succeeded in doing so.
Other dishes to try out at Rayhon include kourma lagman, which takes the form of fried noodles with meat, tomatoes, and peppers. You can also try beshbermak here, which is more of a Central Asian specialty, and finally minced meat skewers.
But before you head to Rayhon, a word of caution. Tashkent has many restaurant franchises (Socials Cafe, Rayhon Milliy Taomlar, Grand Somsa, etc.). However, franchises in Uzbekistan certainly do not mean that the taste and quality of the food will be the same in every branch. So mark my words when I say that I only recommend the plov at Rayhon’s Buyuk Ipak Yo’li branch.
Aksu, a modern take on beshbermak
As I said before, beshbermak is more of a Central Asian than Uzbek dish. It is also a very hearty dish composed of lasagna-like pasta cooked in meat broth and accompanied with various types of horse meat, onions, and sometimes, other vegetables.
So all in all, a very rustic dish. And that’s where the restaurant Aksu comes in. Aksu took the core beshbermak recipe and developed it into multiple styles of beshbermak. So now, there is a bershbermak for everyone and every taste, including vegans!
Juan’s favourite beshbermak is the Shymkent-style beshbermak. Shymkent is a Kakzakh city at the border with Uzebkistan. This Kazakh style dish is composed of mutton, horse sausage stuffed with dried tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, carrots, and dried tomatoes.
My favourite beshbermak is the vegetarian one. This dish is served with white beans, tomato sauce, peppers, and dried tomatoes. For a dish that is traditionally constituted of meat, I think Aksu did a great job at inventing a vegetarian beshbermak recipe while keeping the right amount of falvours.
Once again, we have only tried Aksu’s Olmazor and Chilonzor branches, so we cannot vouch for other Aksus out there.
Chorsu, the best barbecue experience in Tashkent
One cannot talk about Milliy Taomlar without bringing up Uzbek, or Central Asian, barbecue. A barbecue style that is so exceptional that will keep all Brazilians, my husband included, in eternal wonder.
I know that there is a kind of never-ending international cold war over which nationality makes better meat/barbecue, but after trying out barbecue here, I can safely say that Central Asian barbecue, also known as shashlik, is truly the best in the world. Indeed, Central Asians have found the secret to keeping meat tender and juicy, while barbecuing it. No more North American-style burnt burger, or French style raw steak, just barbecued-to perfection chicken, mutton, veal, and beef.
If I am completely honest, the best shashlik that Juan and I ever had was in an obscure Milliy Taomlar near I-don’t-remember-which train station in Almaty, Kazakhstan. But in Uzbekistan, the best place to try barbecue, in my opinion, is probably that small outdoor restaurant with blue plastic chairs and tables situated inside Chorsu bazaar, the biggest and most famous market in Tashkent. Its name is ASL Samsa, but I think they mostly do barbecue.
There, you will see your shashlik being prepared right before your eyes and enjoy the sights and sounds of the bustling and lively market place that is Chorsu. On top of the privileged spot of this Milliy Taomlar, the kindness of the waitresses will make you forget about the questionable hygiene of the place. Shashlik here is perfectly tender and heavenly seasoned. Having shashlik in Chorsu is also the perfect tourist experience. However, try to go there during the week, because the restaurant is very busy during the weekend.
According to Juan, the Brazilian meat lover, the Milliy Taomlar Osiyo, in Mirabad district, is even better than shashlik in Chorsu. They also serve a delicious Mastava, which is a soup made with beef and rice that is cooked for several hours. However, they rarely have anything on the menu. Plus, they recently changed the restaurant’s style from Kirghize yurts to a “Louis the 14th in Bukhara” style which removes much of the charm of this very rustic place.
I would have so many other Uzbek dishes to recommend and Milliy Taomlar to bring to the internet’s light. I still have to write a love song about Uzbek soups. Or maybe just a whole blog post about them will be enough.
But anyway, the tourist or expat experience is also about discovering things for yourself. So now that I have established that yes, Uzbek food is just as good as, and sometimes even better then, any other food in the world, come here and try it out for yourself!
Ann'-Cha in Tashkent 