After 5 hours on a dirt road, we pulled into a small village that lined the waters of Issyk Kul, an alpine lake, as the sun was setting. The whole village was quiet and calm as we went down to the lake to swim.
The next morning for breakfast we had плов, манти, fresh apricots from trees right beside the dining hall, cherries, potatoes, chicken and more. There was of course tea and compote. Compote is a popular Kyrgyz drink made of fruits and spices. It is sweet and full of flavor and can be enjoyed hot or cold. Плов pronounced “Plov” and Манти pronounced “Manti” are the two most popular Kyrgyz dishes. It is almost always served when guests are invited to a Kyrgyz home. Плов is similar to fried rice. It is rich and greasy and consists of rice, carrots, and lamb meat. Манти is a dumpling filled with meat and potatoes. It is almost always jam packed with meat. Meat is often the main component of Kyrgyz dishes which speaks to their nomadic roots.
Кыликовскии is a popular Russian dessert chain. They have ice cream cakes, tiramisu, cheesecakes and more. The deserts in Kyrgyzstan tend to be less sweet but full of natural flavors.
