"Five fingers", a traditional Kazakh food.
"Beshbarmak", a stew with leaves of noodles and pieces of lamb.
"Baurzaki", heavy, spongy bread dough cooked in deep fat (similar to a donut, but not sweet).
"Plov", a rice dish with meat and carrots or other vegetables.
"Shashlik" (Russian: Шашлык) is the most tasty Kazakh food. It is a kebab that is made out of chicken or lamb. Shashlik is not fried, but is grilled over saxaul. Shashlik is popular throughout this part of Central Asia. You can also easily find "doner kebab" or "shaurma" at any number of stands through the city. Just be sure to use the stands with the most customers – it is often the best food, and it is freshly prepared.
Almaty has many modern supermarkets, offering everything from a bakery section to toiletries and vodka. Any food you could possibly want to find is readily available. There are four major supermarket chains: Ramstore, SM-Market, Gros and City. And plenty of single supermarkets and small local grocery shops.
Chain called "Gros" (really) has convenient locations around town and a good selection of drinks and snacks. Ramstore also has at least three locations, but is a bit pricier. The favorite stores among locals are Stolichni (Ablai Khan and Kabanbai Batyr) - super helpful staff and decent fruits/vegetables year around, but vegetable prices are very expensive. Dastarkhan (Gogolya Street between Ablai Khan and Furmanova) has excellent baked goods, especially cakes and cookies. Silk Way City (Tole Bi and Nauryzbai Batyr) shopping center has a supermarket in the ground floor.
Of course, if you really want to save money and enjoy an adventure, go to the Green Market and bargain with the old ladies selling Korean salads, apples, eggplants, cheese, honey, and even arucola and rosemary sprigs!
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Almaty
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Almaty - updated Apr 2024
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Almaty Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
