Moscow is a mystery for every foreigner. We traveled Moscow for a few days and explored the great unknown among the world cities.
Proud and stubborn to this day, indomitable even if all the other large western states continue to criticize. Russia is different, as is its capital Moscow. You must have seen that. Read part 1 of the story here, part 2 is here, the 3 part here, part 4 here, part 5 here, six here, the seven here, eight here and nine
Have you ever eaten a Russian tortellini filled with minced meat like in an American burgers? Pelmeni, as the Russians call their tortellini, however, are reminiscent of pale pasta made of dough, turned out a bit too big and served plain or with sour cream. It's true.
They are larger than the Italian original and have nothing at all to do with a burger apart from the filling, because the minced meat is cooked, not fried. Russians, however, love this special pale pockets and sometimes give them fillings of blueberries, raspberries or whatever else they have at the hand.
Well stocked supermarkets
Not that this is little. Even after many years of Western sanctions against the largest country in Europe, which is also the largest country in Asia, the shelves in Moscow's supermarkets are well stocked. There is everything from everywhere.
Chocolate from Switzerland, rice from China, sweets from Germany, jam from Denmark and fish from Norway, but also beer from the Netherlands, crispbread from Sweden and meat from Spain. Prices are cheap, though not for most of the locals, whose wages are quite far from those in the West.
The Russians enjoy the food all the more when it is on the table. When invited to share a meal, it is considered normal for the tabletop to bend under the weight of the food. Even in restaurants, the portions are huge - Russians prefer not to eat many courses in full rather than settle for one dish.
At the end a next round
And when they eat, as can be seen in restaurants at neighboring tables, they chew and swallow, they snack and chow, they get up and go out for a smoke, they have a vodka in between, a beer with it, another course, and another vodka. In between, they indulge in something sweet and then another little nibble. Before the next round.
Meal time in Moscow. Russia has, like many other countries, a wide range of typical dishes that are little known in most other parts of the world. Those who get involved in Russian cuisine get to know a true paradise for gourmets, which is especially interesting for people who are curious about foods that are not available anywhere else.
A second kind of dumplings belongs to it, which is more like empanadas or samosa and is called piroshki, pierogi or pirogi. These dumplings are filled with white cabbage and minced meat or vegetarian ingredients, such as mushrooms. The pierogi is often accompanied by the famous stew okroshka with caviar or a vegetarian soup called shchi, which contains brown mushrooms, sauerkraut and potatoes in addition to carrots.
A soup that looks like pasta sauce
Much better known, at least in Europe, is borsch, a vegetarian soup that looks like pasta sauce but is made not from tomatoes but from beet. This makes it look blood red, redder even than perhaps the best-known soup from Russia: Solyanka. The Russians supposedly invented the solyanka in the worst times of famine: Everything that was still in the house was simply quirled into one pod. So there is the Solyanka with meat and with fish, but also only with vegetables.
Less is more, because this leaves more room for the main course, which can reach enormous dimensions in a Russian restaurant, as Moscow has countless of them. Shashlik from the oven with a delicious sauce, minced schnitzel with a mushroom and cheese filling, and the world-famous boeuf stroganoff are Russian classics, some of which have also made it into international cuisine. Then, to finish, a buckwheat risotto with mushrooms and then very, very sweet cake....
Western coffee chain
But don't worry, no one in Moscow is forced to eat completely according to the traditions of the locals. In recent years, Western-style pubs, restaurants and cafes have sprung up all over the city. There are Italians and Greeks, Spanish specialty restaurants and American coffee chains, most of which, however, do not bear the signet of the world market leader from Seattle.
But rather its interior design ideas translated into Russian. Advantage: In the imitation Starbucks stores, there is not only an emergency breakfast, but breakfast in the Russian style, so many dishes that a normal person will never be able to manage everything.
The same, of course, goes for drinks in the evening. Anyone who thinks they can engage in a vodka duel with Russians and win must have trained hard for years beforehand. Because while they swallow funny little fish, caviar and slices of bread, the Russians devour vodka and beer at warp speed.
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