How to survive Russia #2

Following on from my previous post addressing manners (or lack of) in Russia, it seems only fitting that the next subject be on one of my favourite things to discuss/take pictures of: food.

I don't know about you, but whenever I visit a foreign country I spend hours trawling through what the lovely people of Trip Advisor have to say about the restaurants, cafés and local cuisine. If I ever went abroad and ended up in a tourist trap restaurant eating a burger and chips, I would be angry that I didn't spend longer trawling. If you want to experience the culture of somewhere different, you need to leave your own back at the airport terminal from which you came.

One of the main things that I have been asked since returning from Russia, was about the food and its stereotypes. So, now questions will be answered and advice given for any foodies like me.

I did not make this thing of beauty, google images did.

The first stereotype that immediately comes to mind is - борщ (borsch). Although it may have originated from Ukraine, the Russians have adopted it as their own, and I have to say, it's one of my favourite Russian dishes. With or without meat, and the thick, noticeable layer of oil coating, it's the best soup in the world (side note - I'm not a huge soup fan, so this may or may not be an exaggerated claim).
Aside from the colouring that's so bright it seems artificial, it's delicious. Be sure to go to Teremok (Теремок) for their borsch - it's the Russian version of fast food and it's great.

My own work of art - the soup

Unlike the borsch, other soups that I sampled were not as aesthetically pleasing. When I sent a picture of a vegetable, potato and egg soup that my lovely host slaved over the oven for, I didn't quite get the reception I'd hoped for - "I would rather starve than eat that" and "why did you throw up in a bowl and eat it?" You'll have to believe me when I say, it tastes better than it looks...



Aside from the soup, other traditional Russian foods include; blinis, cold/tepid meat pies, strange cottage cheese/scone type balls, shashlyk, smetana and a lot (I mean a lot) of cabbage and dill.
- Blinis can be filled with anything and everything. They can be thin like our British pancakes, or thicker and smaller topped with some raspberry coulis and smetana.

- Smetana is put with everything. In soup (see borsch and less appealing soup above), with sweet pastries and blinis, or sometimes I would even eat it on its own, because it tastes like a cross between natural yoghurt and sour cream.
- Tepid meat pies. Regardless of the temperature, they're delicious. If you're in St Petersburg (not sure about Moscow), go to the chain Stolle (Штолле). It's outdated and feels like a dodgy meeting place from the Soviet times, but it's cheap and the pies are good.

Strange cottage cheese scones with trusty smetana.

- Strange cottage cheese/scone type balls. They are exactly as I describe them, because there are no other words. I don't really know what's inside them, but I do remember cottage cheese being thrown about.
- Shashlyk is originally from Georgia (Russia, you gotta stop adopting other country's staple foods) and you may have had them in other parts of Eastern Europe, but I hadn't, and I loved them. Simply chicken on a stick. I had great ones along with lots of fresh, delicious sushi in Dve Palochki (Две Палочки).

I did find, however, that Russia is somewhat lacking on the lunch front, especially compared to the numerous patisseries and small cafés that you could grab a baguette from in France, or chains such as Costa, Pret à Manger and even the trusty old Boots meal deal. There are plenty of restaurants for you to delve yourself into Russian cuisine, it just depends on whether you want to spend a hefty sum on a sit down lunch everyday. I, for one, couldn't afford to do that for 13 weeks, so I am ashamed to admit that Subway proved to be a great back up!

You can really eat some amazing food in Russia, but you can equally walk into the wrong restaurant and eat something filled with ingredients that you never knew existed, and should cease to exist. My advice? Avoid chicken and anything wrapped in pork pie jelly that resembles dog food.