Food in Tbilisi

Natakhtari beer, one of the more popular local beer around (or so I was told)


one of the many wine cellars in Tbilisi. I had quite a few glasses of gorgeous Georgian wine here


Local lemonade with pear. Delicious drink. There are various flavours, including one with tarragon, which is a funky green color. Other available flavours include lemon with mint, cream(!), cream with chocolate(!!)


As mentioned, tarragon flavoured lemonade. I brought some back to Istanbul for friends who remarked that it tasted really ‘herbal’ and ‘medicinal’. The taste grew on me the more I had, so yes, it has at least one more fan in this world.


Fish cooked using an ancient Georgian recipe (as described on the menu). It is essentially fried and seasoned with fresh onions and cilantro and pomegranate with a dash of lemon juice (I believe)


Khashi (soup of beef stomach and hooves, with vodka and bread)


Chanakhi with Georgian bread. Traditional Georgian lamb stew with vegetables


Khinkali and fried quail with tomato sauce. Learn how to eat Khinkali before going to Georgia, but you will not regret those delicious dumplings (which are similar to the Shanghainese xiaolongbao, but with a thicker dough skin)


Banana caramel ice cream from Luca Polare, a seemingly popular local creamery. It was okay to me.

Alas, my two fantastic days in Tbilisi flew past, and it was time to return to Istanbul, where I have a test scheduled for 0840 that morning. Tbilisi airport is a small airport with pretty much zilch entertainment (except for free wifi). However, past passport control, there are 3 duty free shops, with 1 solely dedicated to Georgian wines, where I purchased yet another bottle. The staff are really friendly and warm, so do not hesitate to ask them to allow you to taste test the fantastic wines. Do bring a few bottles back home, as the ones I had really lived up to their reputation as excellent wines.


Tbilisi Airport once again!


In the duty-free area

30th November 2015
Tbilisi International Airport – Istanbul Ataturk Airport
KK6795
Aircraft Type: A321-211
Aircraft Registration: TC-ATY
Departure: 0513H
Arrival: 0521H
Flight Time: 2:08
Seat 8C

It was another uneventful flight with AtlasGlobal. I chose an aisle seat as opposed to my usual window seat as I needed to get through immigration as quickly as possible to catch the metro. There was a simple meal similar to the inbound flight served on board the short flight on this sector as well. We landed ahead of schedule and parked at a remote stand again at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, where for my first time, there was no queue at passport control. Some stringent checks later (due to my prolonged stay in Istanbul, no doubt), I was cleared to re-enter Istanbul. However, it was a long 40 minutes wait for my baggage, which meant I eventually failed to appear for my quiz, but that’s another story altogether.

Final thoughts:
Tbilisi was a destination that, just 4 months ago, I would never have given any thought to. However, it did not disappoint but instead, fascinated and captured me with its delicious cuisine, sights and wine. Two days was barely sufficient to scratch the surface of Tbilisi, but I believe there are so much more that Georgia can, and will offer (I’m looking at you, Batumi, Kutaisi, Gori!). Rarely do I sing high praises for a city, but I really wished I could have stayed a few more days in this magnificent country. For now, Tbilisi seems very much untouched by Chinese tourists and gives off this rustic vibe that I really enjoyed. Without a doubt, I will return to Georgia if the opportunity presents itself but let’s face it – Georgia is not exactly the most accessible country, especially from South East Asia. I hope this report brought some new insights to most readers as to what Tbilisi has to offer.

Having flown three sectors with AtlasGlobal, it has been a rather affordable and reliable carrier that is reasonably comfortable with edible food and okay service standards. All my experiences with them thus far have been positive, and I hope it continues to improve. In contrast, some of the other Turkish carriers need drastic improvements.