Monday, October 14, 2013

Homestead experience in Georgia

My 1st night at Georgia was in a hostel and the owner was more concerned about how much I would spend than my traveling experience. I run into a Chinese couple at Kutaisi bus terminal and happily switched to their homestead.

The owners were happily married for 41 years and their children are adults. They made me feel like home and their Georgian homemade  food were supreme. All ingredients were either home grown or organic from the local market. Receiving backpackers from all over the world is their passion and life style. All dishes were delicious and healthy, and they shared their homemade red wine unlimited. They charged one dorm bed, one dinner, and one breakfast only 30 Laris which is about 18 usd.

I was amazed by how close Georgian cousins is to Chinese cousins but with different ingredients, and Georgian is saltier. We had mushrooms, pickles, mixed rices, beans, sweet mixed granita, special pickles, salads, etc.  The owner tour us to their basement for their homemade wine, cheapen, pickles, jams,  etc. They also told us interesting stories of other tourists.  In the afternoon, there were plenty of local grouts and nuts on the dinning table.

The breakfast was amazing. We had the homemade yogurt with homemade jam, handmade meat roll, cheese roll, dumplings, etc., I.e., the best breakfast I ever had in my life. 

Eating khinkali is not like what you're used to doing with dumplings. First of all, you use only your hands. (There's a real reason for this, because cutting the large dumpling would spill the juice and ruin the taste.) Locals will begin by seasoning the dumplings with pepper. Then grab the dumpling however you like, from the top "handle" if it pleases you, and take a small bite out of the side to slurp up the juice. Don't let any juice fall on your plate, or the Georgians watching you will start chuckling, and you'll get your chin messy. Then, still holding the khinkali, eat around the top, finishing the dumpling and then placing the twisted top on your plate—it's considered an extreme mark of poverty in finances and taste to eat the doughy top. It's also nice to look with pride upon all your tops once, with practice, you get into the double digits with these dumplings. 


I signed up to stay at their daughter,s place in Mesdia, but switched to another homestead because they do not have western toiletmebt  and I would like to stay with my new Hungarian hiking group.






No comments:

Post a Comment