Review: Qazaq Gourmet, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
One of my favorite things to do when traveling to new countries is sampling local foods. I’m a huge meat fan, and since Kazakhs eat “steppe food” and Central Asian dishes, I knew I was in for a treat.
We asked the hotel in Nur-Sultan for a recommendation, and they booked a table at Qazaq Gourmet for us. This is a beautiful restaurant that really gets you in the setting. Often, these kinds of places cater to tourists with kitschy decor and low-quality local dishes, but there were lots of locals at this place.
We first got this local flatbread with a creamy cheese + onion dip. To drink, my mom had horse milk (khymyz), which has a smoky flavor. Since it has alcohol, and I don’t drink, I only tried a sip. It’s much less sour than Mongolian airag, which is the only other time I had horse milk. I had camel milk (shubat), a thick milk with a little tingle.
Then we got a lab assortment of local fried bread rolls. We were told only the plain ones are traditionally eaten, but this restaurant also makes some with herbs and a cheese stuffing. Next, we had an assorted meat plate of smoked turkey, veal, camel, and horse meat. Finally, we had Beshparmak: horse meat over dumpling dough and horse broth. I especially liked this dish because it allowed us to try three different cuts of horse meat.
I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. Most places on the main strip in Nur-Sultan— and Almaty— do not serve local food. So, this is a great place to immerse yourself in Kazakh cuisine.