Eat Like Ushi

After exploring the lovely complex of Holy Trinity St. Sergius, it was only a short walk down the street to my food preference. It was a little difficult to find, in the end discovering I had to enter some gates into a big courtyard then figure out which corner of it had the restaurant.

In the end it looked like a church dining hall, with religious paintings and wooden furniture filling it seemingly for mass worshipers.

I wasn't overly hungry so settled for a small salmon and vegetable salad and a lovely warm bowl of borsch.

Just off the main road of Suzdal facing an open courtyard area lies Losos i kofe - translated into salmon and coffee. The menu is completely in Russian, and as could be expected there was minimal English spoken (not that I would have it any other way). Luckily my saturation with the Russian alphabet allowed me to identify the necessary item on the menu. Reading the most recent TA reviews suggests an English menu has since become available and the tourists have thus started coming.

On my afternoon there was only myself a couple of other Russians. Naturally due to the cafe name I ordered grilled salmon which was nice and served with some pretty basic vegetables.

The interior is very cutely decorated with an basic homely elegance.

Suliko was on my list as a well-known Georgian cafe that specialised in khinkali - Georgian meat-filled dumplings with a blend of herbs and spices.

I walked toward Gorky Park in search of a particular food place. It was supposed to be near the intersection of Krimsky Val and Leninsky Ave but sadly after 30mins of walking up and down I couldn't find it (nor can I remember the name of it). Luckily I had a backup in mind (honestly I was going to eat there anyway) in Pelman Cafe within Gorky Park itself.

Pelman Cafe served handmade dumplings. In the end I didn't know what I was ordering, and a older Russian lady who spoke English ended up suggesting a standard savoury and an after sweet option. They were quite nice and eating outside made the experience more pleasurable.

Gorky Park has a large decorative entrance, water fountain displays and lots of paths to walk. On a beautiful sunny day, it was an excellent change from the industrial and hectic streets of inner Moscow. There are also a few stands that sell some kind of icecream (the young female serving had no patience to tell me anything about it - ie. generally rude as hell).

After a very busy morning marvelling at the incredible Kremlin, I went in search of this cafe known to serve Belarusian cuisine. The setting and decor seems quite traditional with some decorations similar to those in Moscow's famed train stations. Considering the close proximity to the tourist sites, I was surprised there weren't more in here. It's nice having some time and space to yourself and only overhearing local languages.

- Salata Belavezhskaja Pushcha (slices of boiled tongue, fresh cucumber, hazelnuts, corn, egg)
- Torby Paleshuka (pork fillet stuffed mushrooms, onion and cheese, with marinated cabbage)

The first stop along the route of the Golden Ring is Vladimir for the very impressive Assumption Cathedral. For reasons unknown to me, it was actually closed but the outside veneer stunning nonetheless.

Walking away from here toward the bus stop to continue onwards, I had one food stop listed and that was Traktir. If my memory serves me correctly, there were two places identically named across the road from each other. After going into one, my lack of Russian skills meant they wouldn't seat nor serve me. A tour guide nearby spoke French and she was useless and refused to help me too. In the end I went across the road to the other one where I was seated and served by a really excellent young man. Even though my food took a while to come, he explained (as best he could), apologised and was well deserving of the tip I gave him.

- Vladimir entree (chicken fillet on skewers with a sauce made of sour cream, mayonnaise, white wine and saffron with fresh cucumber, tomatoes, onions)
- Salad At The Golden Gates (lettuce, fried salmon, caviar, cherry tomatoes, black olives, bell pepper, fresh cucumber, onion)

The food was ok but the service was great. I'm not sure what other choices there are in town but this seems a decent option.

The best views of the sunset, Red Square and the impressive walls of the Kremlin are seen from the rooftop O2 Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton.

In my best holiday bum gear, I was allowed up the stairs to join the tourists and rich locals enjoying the views amongst cocktails, bar snacks and a ferrari that happened to be stationed up there (no idea how it got there...)

The atmosphere was enhanced by two young drunken trashy Russian girls who were loud and gave me an alluring finger to join them. I smiled and politely declined. Soon after they were joined by 3 men who I'm sure would only be so happy to pay for all of their indulgences throughout the evening.

Melbourne's first 24 hour ramen place is certainly a welcome addition to the overnight dining scene. Even at 1130pm on a Thursday night there was a 15min wait for a seat. How remarkable.

The menu is small and actually impressively stuck onto the walls (for those of us who can read). The ramen bowls come with two slices of decent (but quite fatty) chashu which are also grilled on one side (haven't seen that before). There is also half a boiled egg and some token vegetables. The ramen itself is probably slightly overcooked so it loses the slightly stiff chewy texture. The standard ramen soup has mild tonkotsu flavour but could be a little thicker. The karakuchi version adds a stiff presence of chilli. The difference between the two bowls in the photos is the 2nd bowl was the karakuchi and was ordered with an extra serve of noodles (and probably extra broth). It's quite a big difference in satiety for $2.

I didn't find any shichimi, grindable sesame seeds nor crushable garlic on the table to add, which I usually prefer.

I think the ramen down the road at Hakata Gensuke is more preferred, but options are more limited and will be adequate satisfying for the late or overnight craving.

Mee's is probably one of the busiest sushi places I've ever seen. Each weekday lunchtime, the queue extends well past the next few shops. It's quite incredible considering it is sushi (albeit the only sushi in the area probably).

They also serve some meals such as the prawn tempura udon. The prawn tempura is good, but unfortunately served in the soup where the crisp exterior is quickly lost. The noodles themselves and the dashi soup are nice and warming. It's very good for lunch on a cold day.

The main staff are Korean, not Japanese, and explains why they also serve bibimbap. It's quite an unauthentic version and only served with a tiny amount of gochujang sauce, so will avoid it next time.

I've heard from several (Malaysian) people over the past 1-2 years that Coconut House has the best laksa in Melbourne. I must admit I do like the Laksa King version which is quite coconutty also.

I ordered the Hawker Curry Laksa complete with a full chicken drumstick and a fried egg (which is a little odd I suppose). The ingredients are ok without being special. The soup is rich and coconutty, chicken stock base and really quite spicy. Overall it was good - but I did have to listen to my parents complain the whole time that the serving size had reduced by 30-40% over the past 5 months. Who knows.

The hot fresh soy milk probably has a touch too much sugar added but tastes real.

Next time I would order the Hawker Curry Laksa again or House Laksa Special or try the har mee (Prawn Noodles).