You'll often find open kitchens in Alma-Ata restaurants (either behind glass or completely open). If you're lucky, you'll get to watch how they prepare your order (:

The food, by the way, is tasty and often cheap. A bill for three people (a couple of salads, three main dishes, lemonade) comes out to around 1000 rubles.

But you need to be careful about choosing the right place. You can end up at a terrible spot with an expensive bill and tasteless food. Plus you won't even feel full. Overall, there's a rule that the more emphasis on local cuisine with Eastern interior design, the worse the cooking tends to be.