Plov at Faiza Chicago Brings Uyghur Cuisine to the Windy City

North Park's Faiza Chicago offers a taste of Uyghur culture through its signature lamb-based plov dish.

Published on Mar. 1, 2026

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Faiza Chicago, a restaurant specializing in Uyghur cuisine, has brought the traditional lamb-based plov dish to the city's North Park neighborhood. Featuring tender chunks of fatty lamb, fluffy cumin-infused rice, and sweet roasted carrots, the plov is a staple of Uyghur culture that takes three hours to prepare. Opened in 2024 by owner Alkham Mamutov, Faiza is one of the only restaurants in Chicago dedicated to showcasing the flavors of Uyghur food, which is influenced by Chinese, Uzbek, and Persian cuisines due to its location along historic Silk Road trading routes.

Why it matters

For the Uyghur diaspora, concentrated largely in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with a smaller population in the United States, food plays an important role in preserving culture, memory, and identity. Faiza Chicago is helping to introduce Uyghur cuisine to the city's growing central Asian community and beyond, offering a taste of a rich culinary tradition.

The details

The plov at Faiza Chicago features large chunks of tender, fatty lamb as the star ingredient, served atop a bed of fluffy, cumin-infused rice. The dish is slick with lamb fat and studded with sweet, roasted carrots. Traditionally served at special gatherings and celebrations in Uyghur culture, plov has countless regional variations across central Asia. Faiza's version is generous enough for two and is topped with a boiled egg, raw cucumber, and tomato slices to balance the richness of the lamb.

  • Faiza Chicago opened in 2024.

The players

Alkham Mamutov

The owner of Faiza Chicago, who opened the restaurant at the encouragement of Chicago's growing Kyrgyz and central Asian community.

Faiza Chicago

A restaurant in Chicago's North Park neighborhood that specializes in Uyghur cuisine, one of the only such establishments in the city.

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The takeaway

Faiza Chicago is introducing Chicagoans to the rich culinary traditions of Uyghur cuisine, showcasing the flavors and cultural significance of the lamb-based plov dish. As one of the only Uyghur restaurants in the city, Faiza is helping to preserve and share this unique aspect of central Asian heritage.