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Horse Meat Plovs and Hast Imam Mosque
Tashkent is also known as the ancient city on the great Silk road from China to Europe. The Telyashayakh Mosque (Hast Imam Mosque) is one of the most beautiful mosques I have been till now. It is the religious center of Tashkent and located in the old town. The national dish of Uzbekistan is Plov and it is served at weddings and any other celebrations. Each family and province has their own way. Every one of them proudly claim that he’s is the best! People still make it with mutton fat! The rice is cooked with yellow and orange carrot, pea, quince, mutton, beef, horse meat, dried apricots, spices, raisins,…
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In the Uzbekistan Airways Catering Kitchen
I conducted three master classes and developed a few recipes for the State Enterprise "Catering" of National Air Company of Uzbekistan. It was an unforgettable experience. The Kitchen staff of the airlines were so warm and full of hospitality. I helped out in the preparation of flight meals in the best traditions of Asian cuisine and gave tips to improve the quality of the dishes and their garnishing.
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Fruits and Food Galore
The open air markets in Tashkent are a great place to stock up on dried fruits, fresh fruits and fresh breads. Bread is respected and relished like if it is holy. My guide and interpreter told me that in traditional homes, a piece of the Uzbek non is placed under the head of a newborn baby. This is to wish him or her a healthy long life. The most popular bread is non, a round bread, and it is available everywhere. In the market, I saw the bread sellers selling the breads on old fashioned baby prams! The breads are baked in clay ovens called tandir (it is like the…
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Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent
Eski Juva bazaar is the biggest and oldest, not only in Uzbekistan but in the whole of Central Asia. Located in the heart of the Old Town of the capital and next to Chorsu square, Eski Juva has been operating on the same spot for over two thousand years. It is built near the majestic Friday Jami Mosque and the Kukeldash Madrassah, dating back to the 15th - 16th centuries. The stalls in this ancient bazaar stand under seven huge domes covered with colored glazed tiles. I was so overwhelmed and impressed with the abundance and diversity of the produce and products sold.
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Master Classes in Tashkent
My trip to Uzbekistan was sponsored by the World Association of Chefs and the Association of Cooks of Uzbekistan and International Centre of Uzbek Culinary Art. I was here to teach the best of Asian dishes and to deliver talks to couple of culinary schools. The chefs here have not been exposed to many of the Asian cuisine like Thai, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese or even Malaysian and Singaporean style cuisine. Ingredients were not easy to get and I had to modify each and every of the traditional recipes to suit the Uzbek taste buds too.
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Best of Both Worlds
This tiny and proud country has everything for you – fishermen’s shacks, palaces, church in a cave, bright blue fjord, nice rocky paths for you to walk and then disappear in the woods, small hotels and resorts! My host World Association of Chefs invited me to stay in the association run Hotel Residence Milocer Hotel. It is run mostly by hospitality and tourism students. On the high end, there is the Aman Sveti Stefan, located in the centre of Montenegro’s Adriatic coastline, south of Budva and between the villages of Pržno and Sveti Stefan. Both hotels have breathtaking views of the sea, across the bay and along Montenegro’s most renowned…
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Winter in Pljevlja
Winter in Montenegro is generally welcomed in the North of the country, where the winter sports centers in Durmitor and Bjelasica begin to provide tourists and Olympic athletes alike an enjoyable winter in Montenegro. I came up to the North to teach at the Culinary school here.
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Sleepy Old Village in Milocer
I stayed at the Hotel Residence Milocer Hotel that had a great view of part of a beach and so I decided that I will take a walk there. It was less than 25 minutes of peaceful walk to the beautiful beach. Hardly saw anyone along the way………well it explains, Montenegro’s population is less than 650,000 people!! Along with ancient style stone houses, you can also see modern buildings like this below. There are also lots of new developments in Milocer. Many seafood restaurants dotted the place. Some had very unique fascinating fascade. Some restaurants called seafood “sea fruits”.
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Montenegro country markets
Montenegro is a new country and don’t have much definition on what is its National cuisine. Since the country is very small, it has lots of influence from the neighbouring countries. Since Serbia ruled it for years, the cuisine is almost the same. I saw lots of roasted seafood like cuttlefish, lamb, cured meats and cheeses. I saw wheels and wheels of cheese when I went to the Farmers’ market. There were many sheep’s milk cheese.
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Chefs In Training
I was approached by World Association of Chefs if I am keen to take on an assignment to go to Montenegro as part of the Train the Trainers Program to teach chefs and wannabe chefs on Asian food. Of course I took this opportunity to show off my skills as well as to visit this country. It was a pleasure working with all these wonderful young trainee chefs and some chef owners of restaurants. They were all very enthusiastic to learn Asian cuisine eg. Korean, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
