Shash Description

BY Sean Silbert Plenty of verbiage resembling Russian, Chinese or Arabic bubbles from the alcoves at Shash. The restaurant is located in a stone castle tucked in the downtown area between Tuanjiehu and Hujialou stations, with a spacious, tapestried interior that focuses around a stage by the entrance, used for weekend musical performances. While China’s hermetic neighbor to the northeast – known here as the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – draws plenty of attention for its isolationist policy, famines and frankly-poor quality of life, its  border-neighbors to the west also have their own issues with how they treat their citizenry (those that survived the torture and mass killings, that is). Part of the result of this is that Central Asian cuisine, with its elements from all over the continent, has been ignored as the big issues deservedly take the headlines. Shash fills this niche with panache, reaching a comfortable  middle-ground between dictator’s theme park and garish Uzbekhi dictator’s hideout. When touring an ‘ethnic’ restaurant full of faraway specialties, it’s tempting to just pick the dish with the name of the country in question in front of it. That’s easy enough to do with the hard disc of dough that is the “Uzbek Bread” (RMB16), but anyone who does the bare minimum of Internet sleuthing before stuffing their face will be in for a delight with the anor gusht (RMB78). The bite-sized chunks of tender lamb are prepared in a pomegranate stew, glazing over the meat with a fruity, yet slightly sour, tinge to the flavor. The Uzbekhi influences go further than just the costumes on the waiters. The Silk Road travels through here, with dishes like kovatok dulma, a platter of stuffed vine leaves (RMB28), packed with mild-spiced ground beef, in a thin wrapper that manages to hold together even when smeared with the cool yogurt that comes with it. The characteristic dish lagman (RMB36) is essentially a miniature lamb-and-noodle soup, though substantial enough to be served as a small meal or a large appetizer. Thick pieces of mutton top piles of pulled noodles in a savory broth (though this might be somewhat pricey if you want to compare it to the local version in Beijing). The same goes for a simple tomato and onion salad (RMB28). Fresh ingredients in a refreshing arrangement make a fine opener, but are nothing impressive. Strangely, there’s currently no longer the option to try plov, the Uzbek specialty of rice pilaf cooked in lamb fat with hunks of meat – despite its status as the national dish of Uzbekistan. The region is famous for its meat, so take solace in the thick lamb or beef kebabs (RMB28) which provide a substantial amount of introduction to the cuisine. But one of the best primers might be in the pahlava (RMB26), a sweet, bready and nutty cake perfectly set to finish off the gastronomic adventure.