Happy Thanksgiving







She'll have the fish...



Being, as it was, Thanksgiving, six of us (adoptive parents) decided to go to the most expensive hotel in Astana to celebrate together having heard that they were putting on a traditional Thanksgiving spread. How wonderful, for we would not have guessed we would find Turkey and Cranberry on a menu here.

As you can see from the menu, this was not to be a casual mix of bread, bird, and berry. When first we arrived, we were seated, and given regular menus. Well this was not our hope. We then explained that we had heard of a special Thanksgiving menu and after some shuffling and back and forth to the kitchen, the special menu was presented to us.

We passed the single menu around, and after discussing the seemingly non-traditional starter courses, asked if any substitutions would be allowed, only to be told that the Chef felt that it was important to stay true to 'American history' which in his view made any deviation unacceptable.

So we talked amongst ourselves and decided that most of us would still go for the special menu (at $50+ per person), but to our incredulity, upon trying to order, had it explained that the Thanksgiving menu wasn't available on Thanksgiving.

What! How can such things be? We were then shown that - as printed on the top of the menu - Thanksgiving dinner was to be served Friday the '23th', in keeping with American history one must presume.

In the end we all ate well and agreed that, on most occasions, a good story is worth more than a good meal anyway. Take Care.