We do not think anyone would visit Uzbekistan for a culinary experience, especially fish lovers and we came with fairly low expectations. On the whole we were pleasantly surprised but after a few days noticed that all restaurants provide broadly the same menu. There are some similarities with Turkish food, although spices are used much less, pulses and cheese are limited as is the choice of fruit and vegetables.
Uzbeks like meat with the national dish being plov. We went to a plov making demonstration in a shop which doubled as a family home with the kitchen in the basement. Plov is a meat, generally lamb or beef, pilaf. Other than meat (which can be quite fatty) the main ingredients are rice, carrots, garlic, a mixture of spices and chilli. Uzbeks eat plov on special occasions and any other time where budgets stretch to it.
Most Uzbeks, being fairly strict Muslims, do not drink alcohol but beer and vodka are readily available for tourists at very reasonable prices as there do not seem to be alcohol taxes. Some restaurants are alcohol free but where alcohol is sold it is illegal to sell it for cash; it has to be paid for by card. The same applies to cigarettes (although we saw very little smoking), due a recent law designed to combat illegal sales and tax evasion.
Since the 1960s Uzbekistan has been producing wine. The grape varieties are a mix of local, Georgian and French. We went to a wine and spirits tasting but left more than we drank. On our trip we stuck to local beer which was palatable.
All cities have central food markets in Soviet style buildings. The fruit and vegetables are good quality, much of it grown in greenhouses. We bought strawberries and cherries which had just come into season. We also bought almond oil which is rich in vitamin E, to help clear up our colds, a recommendation of our guide whose parents were both doctors. As well as beef, lamb and chicken, horse meat is very popular as are all things sweet. We didn’t (knowingly) eat horse meat but we did discover that the yoghurt drink we are familiar with from Turkey (ayran) is sometimes made with horse milk. We were advised to avoid the “cheese balls” as the farmer producers are not always diligent with handwashing.
Shilli-Fully Travels 