5 regional Russian gastronomic capitals you didn’t know about
- by Khaya South Africa
- Jun 30, 2017
- 2 min read
You can find anything from freak-shakes to the king crab shawarma, craft beer or a unicorn latte in Moscow and St. Petersburg’s restaurants. But what about the rest of the country?
These unconventional regional dishes have become trophy items for foodies - and some of them have even conquered the capitals.
1. Vladivostok
Did you know that Vladivostok has been recently ranked Russia’s best gastronomic destination by Booking.com? Here's what people come to taste in this city on the edge of the world: bay scallops, sea urchin's caviar, chocolate with seaweed, the 'bird's milk' dessert, pyanse buns, fresh, high-quality salmon roe and crabs.
2. Kaliningrad
Russia’s exclave in Western Europe is a Klondike for foodies: Dishes from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania are regularly found on Kaliningrad’s restaurant tables.
3. Petrozavodsk, Karelia
Karelian cuisine has features typical of the Russian North: Nourishing pastries, fish, venison, elk meat, game, wild fruits and mushrooms. In general, Karelian food is not fried, but rather baked or stewed in saucepans or earthenware pots with little seasoning.
4. Kazan
The best thing you can spend your vacation money on in Kazan is food. For example, the honey-coated fried dough known as chak-chak, served with tea, comes highly recommended. Once ready, it can be decorated with nuts and dried fruit. Fun fact: The biggest chak-chak ever was made for the millennium of Kazan in 2005 and it weighed 1,000 kilograms. Would you like a bite?
5. Krasnoyarsk
The northern peoples have given us two exotic dishes that can be found in Siberia's big cities: sugudai and stroganina. Today the 'urban' version of sugudai consists of pieces of raw fish - often broad whitefish, cisco, muksun, or nelma - spiced with black pepper, spring onions, butter and lemon juice, while a plate of stroganina features thin slices of frozen fish. What's so special about raw fish and a pinch of spices? Come and taste it!
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