I was lucky to visit Almaty, the historical capital of Kazakhstan, this summer for the first time. That was also my first visit to Central Asia and the gastronomical side of it was full of discoveries. Horse meat, qurt cheese, lagman noodle, beshbarmak noodle, manti dumplings, tapchans (arbours where you eat seated on pillows at a low table), beautiful mountains under sparkling sun - all felt like being Alice in a wonderland. That's my first take on the city of Almaty and I'm sure it won't be the last one.