How former soviet states are transforming the food scene in Moscow
Many of the former states that now come under the giant continent of Russia have managed to retain their heritage through their food
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Georgian food is pretty trendy at the moment, with the dishes of Uzbekistan and Ukraine not far behind, but where in Moscow to try it?
With modern day Russia made up of many former Soviet states, it’s no surprise that Moscow is home to some great eating from the likes of Uzbekistan, Georgia and Ukraine.
So, eschewing the usual blinis, beetroot and Borodinsky bread of Russian cuisine, we set out to find some of the best.
Hearty, flavourful Georgian food is hugely popular, marrying as it does influences from Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus, thanks to merchants and travellers following the Silk Road.
In boho restaurant MyKazbek (mykazbek.ru), just by the Moskva river and named after Georgia’s third highest mountain, uber-restaurateur Andrei Dellos (the man behind two of the city’s most legendary restaurants, award-winning Cafe Pushkin, built in 1999 to look like a 19th-century salon, and lavish, opera-style Turandot) has skilfully recreated a cosy Georgian interior, all wooden floors, mirrors and photos on the exposed brick walls and gorgeous, green-painted floor-to-ceiling fretwork shutters.
Family and communal eating is central to the Georgian food culture, so it’s appropriate that a mother-and-son team are manning the stoves, with Mamiya Jojua from Tbilisi in charge, and his mum Nana as sous-chef.
Service is friendly and food is exemplary, focusing on the Georgian staples of walnuts, pomegranates, lamb, spices, spinach, cheese, breads… whether it’s a simple warm chicken salad with almond baje – a lovely, thick almond sauce with hint of chilli coating the meat and scattered with almonds – or Georgia’s national dish, khachapuri a type of cheesy pizza made with tart suluguni cheese and baked in a wood-fired oven which was devoured in an obscenely short time.
Other standout dishes were trout sprinkled with flour and Svan salt and simply fried on a frying pan, served with typically Georgian pomegranate sauce and a shashlik kebab with meaty-fleshed sturgeon.
Make sure you finish your meal with the wonderful creamy yet light matsoni: Georgian yoghurt with finely chopped walnuts and honey.
Uzbekistan food leans much more to the usual Middle Eastern style and one of the best, according to local food writers, is Novikov-owned Uzbekistan (uzbek-rest.ru) in the centre of the city, a dining choice of President Putin and former president Yeltsin as well as, incongruously, boxer Mike Tyson.
It certainly packs a punch: as you walk in, the scent of chargrilled lamb, cinnamon and shisha greets you.
Not for the faint-hearted, the room is decked out like something from 101 Arabian nights: all gilded mirrors, carvings, white filigree plaster walls with pink uplighting and a painted ceiling, cushion-strewn banquettes and rugs on the floor.
It feels a bit Moscow-meets-Vegas but if you want the full-on experience of central Asian dining it definitely delivers, even down to the belly dancing and cheesy live band.
Service, as in many Moscow restaurants is a little patchy and slow, but do persevere: of the starters, which include horse meat sausage and smoked sturgeon, salad Tashkent was a good choice: strips of veal with sweet radish and crispy fried onions.
And be sure to order the superb plov, Uzbekistan’s signature dish, a fragrant, fluffy mass of rice, carrots, onions and tender cubes of mutton (a perennial favourite from a country with a big sheep-farming tradition), impregnated with saffron, cinnamon and cardamom.
Another popular dish is manti; unlike the Turkish pasta ravioli of the same name, these are steamed dumplings filled with lamb or chicken and flavoured with cumin; try to order an accompaniment.
Soups – sturgeon, chicken, pea, quail, lamb and vegetables – breads, kebabs (black lamb tongue is definitely unusual) and samsa (the Uzbek version of a samosa) are other menu highlights. If you have room for dessert, our pick is a platter of sweets from Dastarkhan, including baklava and cranberry pie.
Next door to Kazbek, renowned Ukrainian restaurant Shinok (shinok.ru) takes farm-to-fork philosophy to the ultimate with a kitchen garden and farmyard with cows, peacocks, rabbits, pheasants and goats.
It may sound gimmicky but in fact this is a great destination for trying out dishes such as lard in various forms; smoked, minced, with honey, or salted, it has an addictive rich smoothness.
Those new to Ukrainian food should try a plate of meat gastronomy (roll of suckling pig, beef tongue, cold baked pork), vorschmack (Atlantic herring, green apple, egg and wholegrain bread), pies and traditional Olivier salad: baked chicken, boiled beef tongue, potatoes, eggs, carrots, pickled and fresh cucumbers, peas and mayo.
The Soviet years of meagre rations are represented in the Russian love of pickling and preserving: marinated plums, pickled or cured cucumbers, salted or pickled mushrooms and watermelon.
Dumplings are another good choice here: the ones with cherry and sour cream are excellent, as is dumpling with sauerkraut and sour cream.
For something altogether homelier, visit popular chain Korchma Taras Bulba (tarasbulba.ru) for a glimpse into a Ukrainian grandmother’s home, all folksy, homespun interiors (even the staff wear traditional dress) with a shot of vodka on offer as you wait for your table, followed by a flight of vodka with snacks: berry, horseradish, honey, pepper and currant.
It may seem like a tourist trap but in fact the food is good, cheap and authentic: best choices are borscht (beetroot soup) with pampushky (garlic doughnuts) dumplings, pancakes and, of course, chicken kiev, with all the food produced on their own farm in the Ryazan region of Ukraine.
Wash your food down with kvass (a fermented wheat drink) and make like Vladimir Putin by downing another shot of vodka “for the road” as you leave.
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