Asian fastfood won over Western in Kazakhstan

By Ilya BLOGGER

A beauty of life consists of small things

Fyodor Dostoevsky

In globalization era Kazakhstan became an arena of competition for various direction and flows in all spheres of local life. In politics the authoritarian East is winning, in fashion – the democratic West, in cars – Germany and Eastern Japan are holding parity, and in fast food the East is winning.

For almost two decades the whirlpools of globalization are mastering steppes of Kazakhstan. However, the McDonald’s couldn’t fight any significant niche for itself here. Taste habits and culture of catering gave garland to Chinese (lagman and ganfan) and Turkish systems of fast-food. Japanese sushi and Italian pizza are also took its niche. Chachlyk and Uzbek pilaf, samsa, meat pasty and manty, which are traditional for these lands, have kept and even strengthen its positions somewhere. However, it can be said about Chinaization as a tendency in Kazakhstani food services.

The heart of Kazakhstan is still Almaty. Its sizes, geographical position, ethnic composition and financial resources established an amazing variety of culinary and gastronomy possibilities for the city. This effect that the only metropolis of Kazakhstan staggers with cosmopolitism and delicacy of its catering.

The list of the basic cuisines of Almaty is already huge. It contains Kazakh, Russian (including Soviet), what is called European, because it represents a variety of products and dishes, which are traditionally perceived as French salads, German sausages, Italian pizza and other European cuisines. To the South of metropolis is Central Asia with its pilaf and other typical viands. To the East is Eastern Turkestan, and there are Uyghur and Dungun foods. Far to the sunrise are Chinese and Korean cuisines. Chachlyk is allegedly a Caucasian attribute, but in Almaty it is perceived as immanently (internally) belonging to city’s catering.

Of those, which comparatively recently were brought by the winds of globalization, are Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Argentinean (grilled meat) and Cuban cuisines. Turkish one is supposedly novice here, but wide spreading of doner-kebab is more and stronger including itself into usual menu of Almaty citizens. The names of cafés, restaurants and night clubs are looking like geographical reference: Salvador, Venice, Borodino, Cuba, Versailles, Beijing, Dublin and many others.

Since each certain cuisine has its list of beverages, then Almaty has assortment to be proud of. From Ukrainian gorilka and Scotch to Georgian wine and French cognac. At that, many elements of different cuisines are easily combinable. For instance, Dungun salty beans and Czech beer. Judging by the number of fish courses you too can’t say that major part of the country is situated in arid zone and there is no entrance to open sea.

However, such huge variety is already leading to the fact, that number of natives is expressing alarm over the destiny of Kazakh cuisine, which proportion is gradually decreasing. An inconceivable phenomenon to 19’s century appeared – Kazakhs-vegans, Kazakhs, whose organism can’t process lactose and they can’t properly consume milk products. This herein, that meat, milk and dough – a pillars of Kazakh traditional cuisine. During the famine of 1930’s many Kazakhs died including for the reason that they haven’t enough ferments in their digestive systems to get nutrient materials from vegetable food, when they were deprived of meat and milk.

If to speak about modern menu in Kazakhstani catering, then it can be stated about loss of ethnical identity over foods. Of course, traditional course called Beshbarmak, natural products such as Kazy, Karta, Zhaya, Shuzhuk (horse sausages) weren’t extinguished ouf of consuming (and they hardly will), but many other things are changing. A pat of Kazakhs are already don’t take troubles cooking Beshbarmak, but inviting guests to the restaurant with such menu instead. There is also more retreat of canons in its preparation.

The situation is paradoxical, but it is impossible to buy Kumys and Shubat, traditional Kazakh milk beverages, in Kazakhstan. It is similar if one couldn’t order wine in any restaurant in France, whiskey in Ireland or vodka in Russia. It is easy to reference on imperfectability of local economical model, which is not encouraging any production; but if the demand would be firm and solvent, then it would be enough offers.

On this point it can be stated about globalization of taste preferences. Indeed the same Japanese sushi appeared to be competitive far abroad of its country of origin. However, another reminder about favors: Kebab won its place in the sun in Almaty and other cities, whereas McDonalds not. Kazakhstani consumers prefer a rich meat to semi-finished products, because they have a lot less part of chopped meat, sausages with various fillers and other products of meat processing. The more meat is close to initial condition, the more chances that a dish would be acknowledged.

There are own remarkable points in Kazakhstan. The best place to buy doner-kebab is near Jubilee store in Almaty. It is better to buy tandyr samsa on Arharly mountain pass between Almaty and Taldykorgan.

If to look on abundance of draught beer shops over the metropolis, many wouldn’t believe that only a hundred years ago the majority of Kazakhstan’s population didn’t knew about this hopped beverage. And let Kazakhstan is obviously not Czech Republic or Germany in terms of beer consumption, but still the arrearage between the countries is gradually decreasing.

Happily for locals, Kazakhstan isn’t situated on main routes of genetically modified meats, which are fulfilled with growth hormones . but those who tried such beefsteaks abroad stating that you can just as well chew rubber sole of a boot.

Obviously, catering in Kazakhstan is changing, as it’s with favors, but all of this is going gradually, without breakthroughs. The core is still a meat, which is drifting to the side of more vegetable foods, fish and seafood. As a matter of fact, fast food is hardly connected with traditional Kazakh tableful, where people used to eat long and appropriately. However, the speed of modern life is dictating its rules. Wherever it is, kebabs and lagman are continuing to won over hamburgers and hot-dogs.