Uzbek food is similar to that of the rest of Central Asia. During the summer and autumn, there is a wide variety of fruit: grapes, pomegranates, apricots – which are also dried and sold at other times of the year – and, dwarfing them all, mountains of honeydew and watermelons. Uzbeks pride themselves on the quality and variety of their bread. In general, hotel food shows a strong Russian influence. There are a number of restaurants that serve both European and Korean food (Stalin transported many Koreans from their home in the east of the former Soviet Union, believing them to be a
security threat). There is a hard-currency restaurant at the top of the Hotel Uzbekistan in Tashkent that serves Chinese and Korean food. Beer, wine, vodka, brandy and are all widely available in restaurants.
National specialties:•
Plov is the staple food for both every day and celebrations, and usually consists of chunks of mutton, shredded red and yellow carrot and rice fried in a cast iron or aluminum pot. There are dozens of variations of this dish.
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Shashlyk (skewered chunks of mutton barbecued over charcoal – kebabs – served with sliced raw onions).
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Lipioshka (rounds of unleavened bread) are served in restaurants and are often sold on street corners and make an appetizing meal.
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Samsa (samosas) are also sold in the street, but the quality is variable.
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Manty are large boiled dumplings stuffed with meat.
• S
horpa is a meat and vegetable soup.
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Strogan is the local equivalent of Beef Stroganoff.
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Pirmeni originated in Ukraine and are small boiled dumplings of meat and vegetables, similar to ravioli, sometimes served in a vegetable soup.
National drinks:• Tea is the staple drink of Central Asia, and
chai-khanas (tea houses) can be found almost everywhere in Uzbekistan, full of old men chatting the afternoon away with a pot of tea in the shade.
•
S
hampanski,
sparkling wine.
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Kefir, a thick drinking yogurt, is often served with breakfast.
Tipping: It is usual to tip 5 to 10 per cent in restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Restaurants in international hotels usually include service in the bill.
NightlifeTashkent has a variety of theaters that show everything from European operas to traditional Uzbek dancing and music. The Navoi theater, opposite the Tashkent Hotel, shows opera and ballet. The prices are low by Western standards; shows generally start at 1800. There is also a number of themed Western-style bars, restaurants and discos.
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