If like us you don't often come across Uzbek restaurants, you won't want to miss out on light-and-airy Chaihana but just make sure to drag a local along with you. Beautifully adorned inside with the types of luxuriant drapery and tiling which betray Uzbekistan as a former constituent of the Persian Empire, its menu is full of tasty aromatic dishes centred around mutton and rice/noodles but is also sadly one of the toughest to crack in the entire city. With some much-needed assistance from a Good Samaritan (the slightly sulky waitress couldn't or wouldn't), we went for some somsa dumplings and their signature Tashkent Pilaf and enjoyed every mouthful.
