Comments on: Iranian Beluga Caviar

By: emsy

emsy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:45:35 +0000

my tita who traveled to Istanbul once took pains to bring home beluga caviar. other relatives enjoyed it and I did find it pretty good…but I’m not really crazy over it. acquired taste talaga

By: Sicil

Sicil — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:20:06 +0000

Dear Mr. MM,

My husband and I trully enjoyed your post about your trip to the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul. Your pictures and your stories brought us back to Istanbul again(eventhough we were there couple of weeks ago)

Iran has a lot of things to offer – food, pastry, nature, you name it, they have and Caviar is one of their priced item. I have seen them being sold at Iranian Airport (both in their International and Domestic) but since I’m not a “Fish Person”, I was not interested at all.

Caviar isn’t really my thing…I only saw it once when my father in law bought a whole bunch from Shiraz, Iran. When I inquired about the price, he said he paid for $150/100g. I couldn’t believe my ears so I have to double check it with my husband who told me it is right. I guess the prices in Turkey are not that bad but if you really want to get the best, you should go to Iran.

Anyways, we would loved to read more of your adventure and your travel. Salamat po…

p.s. for INKED_CHEF: I read that you were told to inquire at ARYA and HOSEEIN. I’m not sure about HOSEEIN but in ARYA maybe you will have good chances. The owner of the restaurant is a Shirazi Iranian married to a Filipino(and so am I – his mother-inlaw and I were on the same flight going back to Shiraz from Phils last year). If you meet him or the lady owner, maybe you could ask them and I’m sure they will gladly help you. Goodluck!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:31:35 +0000

Patti, bummer. If I were buying that much, I would bring my own scale. A pretty good digital scale at Williams Sonoma is some $75 or so, and very small, well worth the $500 you guys got “shortchanged” or “underweighed”…

By: Mehrdad

Mehrdad — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:56:31 +0000

Growing up In Iran, I remember that my father used to buy fresh Iranian caviar in 250 gr cans right from the fishermen at caspiann sea shores. At the time of islamic revolution of 1979 and after that, the clergy regime announced that the strogen fish and caviar was Haram ( forbidden by religion).. and so you could buy caviar ( and lots of it ) cheap at the black market. We bought it for 5-10 US dollars for a kilogram !! I had caviar for breakfast almost everyday for more than a year ..

By: rajabf

rajabf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:26:38 +0000

Just came back from the bazaar, stall 18 to be exact, got 50 grams of beluga 00000 fresh caviar for 90 euros with a free half kilo of peeled pistachios for free. I looked for Ibrahim but he was on vacation his partner was kind enough and explained all the different types of caviar and let me taste 1o different kinds. Great store and great prices you can get beluga 00000 but a saltier version wit a different production date for half the price….and normal beluga for much less then half…

By: roger

roger — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:54:52 +0000

What a lucky guy you were! 90USD for this can only mean a good karma. I should consider to follow your shadow during your next trip! BTW: as it has been said before, that last pix is simply hypnotizing. I am in the caviar business myself and whish that one day sturgeon breeders will be capable of breeding huso huso’s too. Farmed caviar is entering into the connoisseurs radar very fast and with a high reputation. Gone are the days of exageratingly high priced eggs. If you ask me, the only caviar one should crave these days is premium farmed caviar. For more, go to zwyercaviar.com and caviarist.com (my blog about caviar). All the best now and keep up with the great posts! Roger

By: connie

connie — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:55:41 +0000

That last picture looks like caviar heaven, I would love to burst them roes in my mouth. It’s not even fair when I just had some Ikura for dinner. Yeah, the poor man’s caviar. *laughs* To think I used to fight my siblings for the fattest fried galunggong with the most eggs. Now MM, talk about settling for less. *giggles*

By: thelma

thelma — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:03:25 +0000

ON ONE OF THE CRUISES WE WENT TO, DIFFERENT KINDS OF CAVIAR WERE DISPLAYED AND SERVED ALONG WITH THE SUMPTUOUS BUFFET. IT LOOKED GOOD BUT I WAS NOT TOO CRAZY ABOUT IT….

By: pistachio

pistachio — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:30:46 +0000

Why not try asking the owners of the local Iranian restaurants, like Arya in Promenade Greenhills) or Hossein’s in Makati? They might be able to source some for you, if they frequently import ingredients from Iran (Note: I’ve never asked them though, it was just an idea that popped into my head).

By: inked_chef

inked_chef — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:47:59 +0000

MM… there are a few pleasures in life that are worth paying for. :-) I was hoping that you would have the insider scoop on where to get beluga. I guess i would have to wait until i go to hong kong and get some.