You remember the show Mr.Ed? the talking horse? when I was a kid I used to watch this black and white show on TV and was mesmerized by the idea to have a talking horse in one's backyard. hey, don't judge me I was 6-7 years old, what did I know? You believe in the easter bunny too so why not in a talking horse? by the way, you probably noticed how I emphasized the words 'black and white'. It was just to give you an idea of how old this dude is. Nahh! 42 is not old is it? I mean 40's are the new 30's right? am I right?
Other than my encounter with Mr. Ed as a kid I never cared for horses in my whole life. But our ways somehow crossed in a lavishly decorated restaurant in the dusty desert city of Astana, Kazakhstan. In the past two years I travelled three times to Kazakhstan, mostly to Almaty where I participated at exhibitions or visited customers. I was always accompanied by a customer during my trips so I didn't have to look for restaurants. that was a decision I left to my Kazakh friends. So this time they took me to an Uzbek restaurant somewhere in Astana. Don't ask me what it's called cause I can't remember. But it was a nice building and the waiters were dressed in traditional clothing. We were 7-8 people and we took a separate chamber, which we had all for ourselves. Of course, they ordered what they thought would be appropriate for my European stomach and I was delivered one dish after another. Most of them dishes were meat dishes like kebabs and whatnot and very delicious must I say. However, one dish that I was served was extremely delicious. Soft chunks of meat dipped in a sweet spicy sauce. Very nice. So I asked my friend what it was and he said it was meat horse. Of course I was shocked at first mainly because horses were a taboo thing to eat in Germany. We just don't eat this kind of stuff. We like 'Sauerbraten mit Knöddel or Schweinehachse mit Sauerkraut'. But horses? The lovely animals of our childhood heroes and best companion of John Wayne? What am I gonna do? I was torn and filled with guilt...but it lasted only a second!
I stabbed my fork into that soft meat and ate it. Yes, I did it. As delicious as this dish was, the drink I was served was disgusting. It's called Kymyz and it's the milk of a mare but it's fermented. So it has some alcohol in it but it was very sour. Didn't work for me. I stuck with my coke. Most of the dishes were served with pilav. Some rice dish that is also very common in Turkey. Actually most of the Kazakh dishes had Turkish names, which is normal I think considering that both countries have common anchestors. But then again, eating horse meat is also a taboo in Turkey since it is considered a vulgarity. It's a sacred animal. There is some sort of horse worship in Turkic cultures. You don't eat your friend, right?
Other than my encounter with Mr. Ed as a kid I never cared for horses in my whole life. But our ways somehow crossed in a lavishly decorated restaurant in the dusty desert city of Astana, Kazakhstan. In the past two years I travelled three times to Kazakhstan, mostly to Almaty where I participated at exhibitions or visited customers. I was always accompanied by a customer during my trips so I didn't have to look for restaurants. that was a decision I left to my Kazakh friends. So this time they took me to an Uzbek restaurant somewhere in Astana. Don't ask me what it's called cause I can't remember. But it was a nice building and the waiters were dressed in traditional clothing. We were 7-8 people and we took a separate chamber, which we had all for ourselves. Of course, they ordered what they thought would be appropriate for my European stomach and I was delivered one dish after another. Most of them dishes were meat dishes like kebabs and whatnot and very delicious must I say. However, one dish that I was served was extremely delicious. Soft chunks of meat dipped in a sweet spicy sauce. Very nice. So I asked my friend what it was and he said it was meat horse. Of course I was shocked at first mainly because horses were a taboo thing to eat in Germany. We just don't eat this kind of stuff. We like 'Sauerbraten mit Knöddel or Schweinehachse mit Sauerkraut'. But horses? The lovely animals of our childhood heroes and best companion of John Wayne? What am I gonna do? I was torn and filled with guilt...but it lasted only a second!
I stabbed my fork into that soft meat and ate it. Yes, I did it. As delicious as this dish was, the drink I was served was disgusting. It's called Kymyz and it's the milk of a mare but it's fermented. So it has some alcohol in it but it was very sour. Didn't work for me. I stuck with my coke. Most of the dishes were served with pilav. Some rice dish that is also very common in Turkey. Actually most of the Kazakh dishes had Turkish names, which is normal I think considering that both countries have common anchestors. But then again, eating horse meat is also a taboo in Turkey since it is considered a vulgarity. It's a sacred animal. There is some sort of horse worship in Turkic cultures. You don't eat your friend, right?
