Donation from 10,000 soums: about the sparrows being cooked in the teahouses of the valley
In the past, sparrows that used to fly in large flocks, filling the sky, seem to have significantly decreased in number today. A Kun.uz correspondent identified restaurants preparing and selling various dishes made from sparrow meat, gathered some information, and obtained comments from officials regarding the matter.
10,000 soums apiece: about sparrows being cooked in valley teahouses
We started the investigation by first gathering information about which restaurants prepare sparrow meat. We found out that the "Ulfatlar" restaurant in the Yangiyul district of Tashkent region, one of the restaurants in the Buvayda district of Fergana region, and a specialized restaurant located in the Zilha neighborhood of Oltiariq district prepare and sell kebabs and various dishes made from sparrow meat. Having found the phone numbers of the eateries, we introduced ourselves as customers and asked the chefs if they had food made from sparrow meat. The dish we asked for was indeed available at the restaurants. It was revealed that these days, one cooked sparrow is being sold for up to 10,000 soums.
During the telephone conversation, we also asked the chefs where the sparrows were being brought to the kitchen from. They said that the birds are shot by hunters and distributed to the restaurants. No matter how hard we tried to get the phone numbers of the hunters who hunt the sparrows, we were unable to do so.
We set out in search of the restaurants that prepare sparrow kebabs.
The first destination was one of the restaurants in the Zilha neighborhood of Oltiariq district. This was a restaurant built on the shore of a lake, quite secluded and shielded by weeping willows. Various dishes made of fish, sparrow, and coot are cooked and sold here. Introducing ourselves as customers to a restaurant employee, we obtained some information.
Showing 200 sparrow carcasses kept in the refrigerator, the chef said he would cook them in tail fat for 8,000 soums apiece. According to the chef, the sparrows are shot and killed by hunters and delivered to the restaurants. No matter how much we asked the chef to give us the hunter's phone number, he refused our request, saying that he could not give the number to anyone and that the hunter himself had instructed so.
The next destination was a restaurant located in the center of Buvayda district, which specializes in preparing and selling dishes made from sparrow meat. The restaurant turned out to be quite famous. It also has many customers. The chef and the restaurant staff are extremely busy. Sparrows, plucked and reduced to a piece of meat, are being thrown into large, heated cauldrons filled with oil...