2009 - July 29 (Baku)

I took a risk at getting breakfast again at the restaurant in the hotel. I asked for fried eggs, over medium, and crisp bacon. I got fried dry eggs, soft bacon. But they were edible and not really bad. I want to find out something from those of you reading this blog. Is it only in the US that eggs come in variations of fried? I can get fried, over, poached, boiled, and scrambled when I travel. But over easy, over medium, over well, sunny side up, and broken are all types I can get in the States. What am I missing in my efforts to get an over medium fried egg? You know, one where the whites are done and the yolks are thickened and not either runny nor hard.

I finish breakfast ($30.00 USD) for two eggs, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of toast, and two coffees. Stepping outside I see clouds for the first time since I left Singapore. The temperature is in the low 70's and the breeze is moderate. Almost like a Fall day at home. Rain would be nice for me. Don't know what others might want. I just miss the rain. It was quiet, only light pedestrian traffic around the hotel and plazas. Birds could be heard in the distance but I don't see them very often around the squares. Not sure what they look like here.

The day went quickly, really speeding up since there are things not being done right here and I am having to work with the IT group to build fixed processes. Lunch with Rufat, who is the IT manager here. He only has four employees and one contractor. With that he is required to support to sites in Baku, a barge offshore, and a site in Khazakstan. Young guy, lovely wife and three year old boy. He is the one who introduced me to the Russian restaurant and has been my guide and companion each day I have been here. We had lunch at a cafe in the office building. I found out that our building hosts both the US and UK embassies. I also found out they charge 50 cents for a packet of ketchup (catsup?). Guess those exotic sauces are expensive. Thankfully the caviar served as a garnish is cheap.

Spent the afternoon after work in the plazas again. Stopped at a street vendor and ordered a sausage kolache. At least that is what it looked like. The guy selling it to me asked me a question twice in a language other than Russian, or perhaps it was a dialect. All I could do was point, indicate one, and shake my head. He decided he had enough information to work with and wrapped one up. I held out two Manats. He paused, took one, spoke to me with his hand held up, and went to the back. He came back and handed me change with a smile. How nice. He could have kept the bill and I would not have known or complained. What a difference from the clerk in the cafe who tried to keep twenty Manats when she gave me back change for buying lunch. Don't assume that street merchants will always try to cheat you. Watch out for those in suits and uniforms. More risk there.

I chose to have dinner at the restaurant in the hotel on the top floor. This is the Chinese/Asian/Japanese fusion place. I get sushi and it is actually quite good. Nothing exotic but it was fresh and well made. I did have some surprises. First, I saw something listed as Shrimp Egg Nigiri Sushi. Well of course I had to order that since I had never heard of it. Turns out I knew it when it was served. It was Masago (smelt eggs). And it was just fine. Then I ordered Ama Ebi, or raw shrimp tails with fried shrimp heads. Not here it isn't. It was just Ebi on rice. They could not figure out that I was expecting raw tails. And heads, fried or even garnish, was not an option. Actually fine, just surprising. And they could not make hand rolls (Tekamaki). Only normal maki and Nigiri sushi was served. But, as I said, it was all fresh and well presented. They even had cold sake, but there was only one type and I suspect it was their hot sake, just not heated. No problem. It tasted just fine.

I have my second food craving decided. Masa Sushi on a Friday night when Michael has some really fine and fresh items to eat. Put it on the calendar. Who' up for sushi with me and Roy?

I talked with the manager for a while, discovering that the chef does come directly from China. We discussed the common event in the US of having Mexican cooks in all restaurants, regardless of style of cuisine. He was surprised. We chat about food in the city and I mention my desire to eat more Azeri food. I mention eating at Beh-Beh. He tells me it is not really very good or even representative of local food. He then makes a couple of recommendations. Now guess where you would go in this city to get a high-style Azeri fine dining experience. Wait for it ... Wait for it ... The answer is ... "Haute Cuisine" of course! In defense,he did explain that the restaurant had opened originally as a French restaurant and had closed within a couple of years. It then opened and closed several times with different owners before the current owners opened the place with authentic local food. To save money they kept the name and signage. I suppose if one of our best Italian restaurants can be named "Frenchies" I can accept Azeri food at "Haute Cuisine". He also mentioned a place in the old city, a Medieval walled area of town that is nothing but winding streets and alleys. Even more winding than the rest of downtown Baku. I have been in that area twice and it is so difficult to find your way around it actually scares me even in the day. Going there after dark is beyond question.

I took some pictures of the city in the afternoon sun as I ate and put them on Facebook. I think the city is beautiful in the sunset. I watched the sunset a bit longer and returned to my room. It was around 9PM and as I looked out the window I noticed something odd about the city below me. I could see a large part of the city that included both commercial and residential buildings. And what I noticed was how many of the buildings were either completely dark or had no more than one or two lights on in them. I mean that they did not even have the aircraft warning lights, entry way lights, or advertisement lighting. Our cities are bright at night until very late. Even very sedate places like Salt Lake City have more night lighting. I couldn't believe that people did not cut on lights, or that they were already asleep since the plazas were still crowded with people. The city is either mostly empty or people don't have electricity in many of the buildings. Yet people are everywhere. Even alleys are filled with people coming and going during the day. This city has a secret that I really cannot yet understand.