Our day out birding in Kazakhstan was long. It was time for an afternoon’s tea when we finally pulled into a village for lunch. Bakht, our guide and driver, had warned us that lunch would be very late but pleasant. It was a self service restaurant and we inspected the food on offer. Lots of meat and rice as always in Kazakhstan, but also the usual salads, and some grilled veggies. The Family and I decided to share plates. She ordered plov, the Kazakh version of pilua, and a large salad. I chose a lentil soup and a plate of meat. The portions were large and pooling would be right for the two of us.
The skewers of meat had not escaped my attention. I thought they were kababs until Bakht said “Shaslik” and ordered a combination of skewers and rice. I hadn’t realized that we were in shashlik country. That was something to keep in mind for later. All three of us decided to have a chai with the food (it was tea time after all). Later I walked up to the sweet counter and chose a few baklava for everyone to share. They turned out pretty decent.
Before we drove off I turned to take a photo of the restuarant. We were happy with it and I wanted to keep it in my memory. It was a good thing I took that photo, because I wouldn’t have remembered its name otherwise. Later I found that Degirmen was a well-known chain of restuarants across Kazakhstan. It serves good food at a very reasonable price, and the locals love it.
Don't hold your breath 
