Shir Ali, yet to come, is learning a lot. He wanted to be a foodie, but his experience with cooking was at the amateur level for cooking homemade food. But not a restaurant.
And to go to restaurants, cafes, and even more so travel the world, you needed knowledge, money, and understanding of how to conduct a tasting of food. This required at least an understanding of taste, knowledge of food processing methods, slicing methods, storage methods, transportation methods, and much, much more.
He had a dream, he had a desire, but the knowledge was not enough.
Grandfather, sitting on the veranda, looked at the approaching dawn. On the horizon, the sky was painted in light pink tones, a fresh breeze pleasantly blew across the face of his grandfather, tugging his gray hair. Grandfather, thought about the fate of his stubborn, little grandson. He did not want to study, but his desire to work was burning.
But the capital is not a desert. There are other tastes in people, other requirements for food.
On the steps next to him, on a thick, quilted pillow, sat his naughty grandson.
"ShirAli, do you know how to conduct a tasting"? suddenly asked him, Firuz-Mirzo.
"No, grandfather! But, probably, people come, order food. Then they try it. Evaluate whether it is delicious or not? I think so "he answered yawning and stretching.
"Oh, little one, you still have a lot to learn, read books!"
"The most important thing in the assessment during the tasting is the" appearance "of how" the food looks "and its" taste ". And everything else is only emphasizing or vice versa losing the dish itself. "
Silence fell for a moment. But she was immediately defeated by a perky, childish, sonorous voice.
"Grandfather, I realized that I still have a lot to learn, but I would like to go around the cafe and try different desserts and teas"!
"Everything has its time, grandson! Learn to make money first! Spend less than you get! Save it! Pick it up! Invest! Learn! Learn new! You will understand what it means to be a cook, you will understand what it means to be a gourmet! Then I will give you permission to go three times a week to different cafes! "
"Grandfather, why not restaurants?" I heard they're the most famous chefs work! "
"Grandson, only parasites go to restaurants! We are from the working class! We need to learn how to save money! "
"Well, grandfather, I understand you!" Shir Ali, for myself, I realized that my grandfather is against, which means that he will have to get out once a month and try different tastes and manner of cooking.
"I see in your eyes that you have not reconciled! But understand that restaurants are not necessarily good cooks, they can also be in cafes and canteens! "
"Well, since you are so annoying, once a week I will take you to the most famous metropolitan canteens of national cuisine and cafes!"
"Thank you, grandfather! Hee hee hee hee "laughed, thick-cheeked, ruddy granddaughter.
Grandfather waved his hand and just smiled.
Since that time, the grandfather, every weekend, drove his grandson to a cafe to his acquaintances, where they learned something new about cooking and understanding how to be a good gourmet.
The first cafe they visited in the "Old City". There they reached the subway. 12 stops and two transfers. Riding the subway was a pleasure. On the street, there was a 50-degree heat. People grew old to hide in the shade of trees. Hide under the crown of trees to wait out, take a breath, and again send on a journey through the sun.
Having descended into the underworld, ShirAli fell into the world of labyrinths and knocking monsters. These were electric dragons with wide eyes of fire. There were many people, Sunday.
Large and wide granite stairs led travelers down. Inside, on the lower floor, were giant marble columns with delicate carvings on them. The walls of the tunnel were decorated with exquisite frescoes depicting the beauties of the east in thin silk robes on the right side. And on the left, the powerful warriors of farmers and nomads.
Small-An, a country, as it was called during the Tang Empire, was a country created by nomads and farmers. The country of the seen empire - Persians, Greeks, Chinese, Tibetans, Huns, Türks, Arabs, Mongols, Great Northern Empire. Therefore, the culture and art of Small-An were so rich and diverse.
A cold wind blew from the tunnel, from where a terrible electric monster came out. It stopped on the lower floor and opened its gut. People came out of it, while others came in, and he was with his grandfather. So represented the journey on the ShirAli undegraund.
Having passed 12 stops and twice crossing new lines, grandfather and he arrived in the "Old Town".
Coming out of the dungeon, they again felt the power of the weather. The heat fell on them. The sun was burning. An electronic thermometer hung on the wall of the exit from the metro; it showed off-scale numbers of +73 degrees Celsius. Such was the temperature in the sun, and only +49 degrees in the shade. Local authorities never said that the temperature exceeds +45 degrees, as this would mean an increase in salary of 50 percent. Extra charge for harmful work. But she was never paid. Such a nuance in order to maintain a budget.
The "Old City" was a city that has remained since the end of the 19th century. Small two or three-story houses. Made from adobe bricks, coated with clay and whitewashed lime. Although some of the houses were built, later in the 30-40s of the 20th century. But using the same technology, simple and cheap. Surprisingly, such houses withstood earthquakes for 130 years.
Small streets with a width of no more than 1.5 meters extending snake far into the depths of urban labyrinths. In this part of the city, all the neighbors knew each other in person and by name. Five generations of artisans lived here. Potters, joiners, manufacturers of sweets, gunsmiths, and money changers.
If it were possible to carry out excavations, archaeologists and historians would have discovered a lot of interesting things. Monuments of cultural heritage could be envied by the most famous museums in the world.
Under the old city, lay an even more ancient city, which was at least 4000 years old!
In the 60s, part of the buildings of the "Old City" was demolished, and in their place, police departments, shopping centers, hospitals, pedestrian crossings, and subways were built. During the construction, underground passages were accidentally discovered, going from old houses to cemeteries, to markets and to religious buildings built in the 15th century. Archaeologists have discovered that the passages were 7 meters wide, 5 meters high. The passages were faced with burnt bricks, with arches. Separate passages were 15-45 km long.
What is interesting inside were large rooms with air ducts. There were copper pots, pockets, the remains of firewood and wood coal. Clay and earthen pots and in them, there is a grain of wheat, rice, millet, peas. Some old kitchens, the remains of libraries. Caches with gold coins, old books, rifles, and machine guns from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were also discovered in some of these tunnels. And then the secret police arrived and covered all the exits with earth, referring to the fact that people could suffocate if they conducted independent research.
Grandfather told his grandson all this while they walked along such a small street to a cafe.
"ShirAli, look, here you see, there is a house, but 50 years ago, a spring with clear, sweet water beat here, and now it is gone. The water is gone. There were many springs in the city, and now almost nothing is left! " with annoyance in his voice, his grandfather continued to recall.
Shir Ali, possessing the strength of a cultivator of level 4, did not feel tired, but his grandfather was tired.
"I need to give my grandfather dried meat, what I have left to have strength" such thoughts were with the grandson.
The street curled deep into the block. From the side of the street peered only small wooden, carved doors. Old Arabic words were carved in Kufic style. These were the doors of the late 19th century. Sometimes there was a large iron gate, the 20th century. They were shabby, but with nice and beautiful forged patterns, it was already the era of the 20th-century empire. Sometimes among the deaf white, gray, brown walls, there were luxurious steel automatic gates, this century was 21.
A narrow street with time-beaten asphalt, with different patches of the 20th and 21st centuries. Sometimes you could see the old foundation, bricks of the imperial time with the logos of factories, which have not been mentioned for 170 years. Each brick, by the way, in the 21st century costs $ 5. Sometimes you could see the ancient bricks of the 15th century.
The journey to the old city dragged on. On both sides, only walls were visible, and with his head up, you could see the beautiful turquoise sky of the capital. After an hour of walking, a tired and hungry grandfather was at the same cafe. The grandson was full of strength and energy. What really surprised his grandfather very much!
The cafe was not noticeable. A small wooden sign on which was written "Cafe of national cuisine." Whitewall. Small iron, forged gates. Having opened which, the grandson saw a long corridor, on both sides of which there was the same wall, but already painted in a pleasant eye, a warm peach color. The corridor was about 7 meters, it ended with access to a small area. She was not more than 30 square meters. meters. Seated around the perimeter with fruit trees of apricot and cherry. In the center was a small source of water, lined with a white stone with pink veins. It was not processed marble. The source beat from this stone, and below it was created by the hands of man, a small body of water, and a shallow body of water.
In the depths of the square, there was a kitchen, and the tables were taken out to the square, there were not many of them only 3 tables. Which were covered with beautiful tablecloths. And on both sides of the tables were light turquoise wooden benches.
There were a lot of people. This suggests that here they are deliciously fed.
After standing in line for about 20 minutes, the line came before them.