Among the members of the imperial family, nobility and creative bohemia it was common to travel outside the city to relax where, away from everyone else, they could be inspired by the picturesque landscape, create something, or simply take some time to reflect on things. Those who favored a more luxurious lifestyle however would entertain themselves by throwing big loud parties for themselves and large groups of friends. Regardless of how people preferred to relax, one thing always remained unchanged – an elaborately laid table with many culinary treats. Although many years have passed since imperial times, these culinary traditions haven’t changed. Still today in what are considered to be the “nicer” places people go to relax, guests are invited to try a wide variety of delicious dishes. To prove this to ourselves, RTG TV host Rumiya Niyazova visited one such place, the La Viva complex, located in the country. With the help of Palazzo’s restaurant chef she prepared true culinary masterpieces from the restaurant’s menu.   Recipe «Fish trio» Recipe «Lobster tail with mashed potatoes and a saffron mayonnaise» Recipe «Berry soup dessert»   Fish trio recipe serves 1 person; preparation time ~ 20 minutes; cooking time ~ 60 minutes Ingredients: 200 g. salmon fillet, 200 g. pike perch, 1 scallop, 30 g. butter, 2 g. sambal oelek paste, olive oil, salt, pepper. Ingredients for the side dish: 2 potatoes, 50 g. milk, 50 g. gorgonzola cheese, white breadcrumbs, 2 peapods, fresh parsley, fresh dill, frisse lettuce, balsamic cream, lemon juice, olive oil, 30 g. mayonnaise, saffron, 1 radish. Ingredients for the lemongrass sauce: 1 Schisandra bulb, ½ a white onion, 1 clove garlic, olive oil, 100 ml. dry white wine, cream. Ingredients for the Sicilian orange sauce: 100 ml. juice from Sicilian oranges, soy sauce to taste, butter. Directions: Sprinkle salt and pepper on the salmon fillet and rub oil on it. Place it in the pan with the skin side facing up. Mix the butter and sambal oelek paste together and rub this mixture on the pike perch. Bake both fish fillets in the cooker for 7-8 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the scallop, drizzle on some olive oil and fry it in a pan. To make the mashed potatoes, first boil the potatoes and then dry them off. Put them back in the pan along with milk, butter and the gorgonzola cheese. Mash everything together until smooth and used a culinary mold ring to give the potatoes a definite shape. Cover the top, bottom and sides of the portion of mashed potatoes with the white breadcrumbs and lightly fry them in a pan. To make the second side dish, cut off the ends of the pea pods and cut them into thin strips. Boil some water and put the peas in it for 5 seconds, ice them for 3 minutes and saute them in olive oil. To make the third side dish, the mixed salad, wash and tear up the parsley, dill and Frisse lettuce. Squeeze on some lemon juice and olive oil. To make the lemongrass sauce, crush the Schisandra bulb with the flat edge of a knife. Finely chop the onion and cut the clove of garlic in half and squish them a little. Put all of these ingredients into a preheated frying pan with olive oil, add in the white wine and saute everything until the onion becomes clear. Once the wine has burnt off, pour in the cream. To make the Sicilian orange sauce, pour the orange juice into a deep frying pan and bring it to a boil. Next add in a several drops of soy sauce and a little butter. Mix the mayonnaise and saffron together and put it in the scallop shell. Then put in the cooked scallop. When plating the dish, first put down the scallop shell with the Sicilian orange sauce next to it, along with the pea pod side dish. Place the pike perch fillet on top. Pour on the lemongrass sauce and set the mashed potatoes on top, and then the salmon and radish. Place the mixed salad next to the scallop and dress it with balsamic cream. Lobster tail with mashed potatoes and a saffron mayonnaise recipe serves 1 person; preparation time ~ 20 minutes; cooking time ~ 30 minutes Ingredients: 200 g. lobster tail, 30 g. butter, 2 g. sambal oelek paste, 2 potatoes, 50 ml. milk, 50 g. mayonnaise, 2-3 cellophane noodles, spinach, saffron, vegetable oil, salt, pepper. Directions: To prepare the lobster, make a long cut down the whole lobster. Pull the 2 pieces of shell away from each other and pull out the meat, but let it still lay on the shell. The meat should still be connected to the shell at the very end of the tail. While only holding onto the lobster meat, dip the shell into boiling water for 20 seconds so that it turns red. Next mix the butter and the sambal oelek paste together. Rub this butter on the lobster and bake it in a salamander grill for 7 minutes. To make the side dish, boil the potatoes. Next dry them off and put them in a bowl. Add in milk and butter and mash. Take the cellophane noodles and drop them into a pan of hot oil so that they curl up into a funny shape. Then saute the spinach in the oil with salt and pepper. Mix the mayonnaise and saffron together. To serve, decorate the plate with the saffron mayonnaise. Put the mashed potatoes in the centre of the dish. Use a culinary ring mold to give them a definite shape. Place the sauteed spinach top. Then spread some more of the sambal oelek butter on the lobster and set the lobster on the mashed potatoes as well. Garnish the dish with the fried cellophane noodles. Chocolate mousse recipe serves 8 persons; preparation time and cooking time ~ 2 hours Ingredients:Ingredients for the chocolate ice: 50 ml. water, 100 g. cocoa powder, 50 g. sugar, 50 ml. heavy cream. Ingredients for the chocolate mousse: 100 g. dark chocolate, 200 ml. heavy cream, 100 g. crushed waffle cones, 100 g. white chocolate, 50 g. cocoa butter, powdered sugar, strawberries, strawberry sauce, fresh mint. Directions: To make the chocolate ice, combine the water, cocoa powder, sugar and cream in a pan and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Then pour the mixture into serving-sized dishes and put them in the refrigerator for an hour to cool. In order to make the chocolate mousse, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler. In a separate pan, bring half of the cream (100 ml.) to a boil and then add in the melted chocolate while stirring continuously. Then allow the mixture to cool off a bit. Beat the rest of the cream and add it into the chocolate mixture and stir. To make the waffle cone pillow, use the double boiler to melt the white chocolate. Put in the cocoa butter as well before you start melting the chocolate. Add the crushed cones into the melted mixture and stir. Then put the mixture into a baking pan being careful to cover the whole bottom of the pan with the mixture. Put the pan in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes. Use a pastry bag to put the chocolate mousse in a dish. Only fill the dish half way. Once you’ve filled it half way, put the chocolate ice in the middle of the dish and then fill it up the rest of the way with the remaining mousse. Put the dish back in the fridge to cool. Put the waffle cone pillow on a plate and sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Place the chilled mousse on top and garnish with sliced strawberries, strawberry sauce and fresh mint.