(This venue is closed.) The awning promises Уйгурская и Узбекская кухня, Uighur and Uzbek cuisine; a gallery inside displays photos from the chef's previous home, Bishkek.
Last summer these were the premises of China House, which kept a halal kitchen shared by chefs born in Hong Kong and Uzbekistan, and which employed a Kazakh waitress-cashier and a Kyrgyz deliveryman. But lately Charles Bibilos (United Nations of Food) had heard of a change of ownership, and a new chef from Kyrgyzstan. Over lunch our dining buddy Eric Malson (Mahlzeit!), who flipped repeatedly to the Cyrillic side of the menu, and our Uzbek waiter, who spoke fine English, helped to identify some less familiar fare.
The cuisine of Kyrgyzstan draws on influences from all along the Silk Road. Typically, as at Cafe Avat, the food is halal. This afternoon a number of enticing items were not on offer, most notably kazy, a housemade sausage, and the meat-and-onion fry-up called kazan-kavab. We were immediatly drawn, however, to ashlyam-fu ($6.50), whose aspect was as striking as its name. In this cold dish, a tangle of slippery lagman — the ubiquitous hand-pulled noodles of Central Asia — are smothered by a vinegary heap of tomato and cucumber, in a thin red sauce with a red-peppery edge. Even more slippery than the lagman are ghostly fingers of mung bean jelly; they contribute texture but little flavor of their own.
From the name we quickly pegged the Chinese influence in gan-fan ($5.99). Vegetable-and-beef stew over steamed white rice, though it may sound like the weary product dispensed by a thousand takeout kitchens, was easily our favorite dish of the day. (We very nearly ordered seconds, but some of us had to leave room for an early dinner.)
Also shown: juicy kebabs ($3.99 each) of lulya, or ground lamb, and lamb meat, whose richness was well-matched by raw onion and dill; hanim ($5.95), a sheet noodle wrapped around shreds of potato, flecked with black pepper but lacking a kick; home fries with mushrooms and garlic ($5.95), billed as such and delivering same; assorted pickled vegetables ($5.50), highlighted by the Korean-leaning spicy cabbage called chim-cha; a glass of kompot ($1.50). Though desserts, like the kazy and the kazan-kavab, were unavailable this day and don't seem Cafe Avat's strong suit in any event, Bakery Baku was just a short walk away.
Cafe Avat
2158 Bath Ave. (Bay 29th St.-Bay Pkwy.), Bath Beach, Brooklyn
718-676-4667
