To Russia with Love

I have been asked to contribute my take on "local/secret gems" on quirky finds in Singapore for a foreign magazine ... I chose Salad at Haji Lane since this where we are selling our wares as well ...

Before you get too excited ... its just a short + simple contribution ... nothing fancy ... if it gets approved by the editors ... my take will be out in the December'06 issue ... promise to update in due course ...

And since i promised Stacey that we will check out Haji Lane together ... here are some pictures of Salad ...

Since we were around the Arab Street vicinity, decided to have a go at Russian food @ Nadezhda Russian Restaurant

Since we didn't know what to order, we settled for the recommended items per the food review instead ...

Borsch Soup – i call it this a Russian Minestrone Soup (sans beans) ... looked a tad disappointing ... but it turned out to be very tasty ... although another review says otherwise ...

Minskaya Kotleta – roasted chicken leg stuffed with mushrooms + Russian salad on the side ... very tender meat ... this dish it has a certain smell to it though ... best to eat it with the mustard provided ...

Blinchiki Apple with Ice-Cream – pancake stuffed with fresh apple served with honey + whipped cream + ice-cream ... this was the best of the lot! very very yummy!!!

Pelmeni - akin to wontons ... there are 3 variations of pelmenis (pork/meat/mixed) to choose from ... we opted for mixed ... there are also 4 types of dressings ... i can't remember which one we chose though ... at first bite, it was quite tasteless ... however, the flavour tends to emerge with more mouthfuls ... texture of the pelmenis was average ...

aahhh ... drinks ... this is where our faces started cringing ... although we seriously wanted to order some vodka (shots) ... we thought that it would be more fun to try out some traditional Russian drinks instead ...

simply awful!!! bleah! drinks ordered were supposed to be Russian teas and somehow there was a tinge of alcohol in them ... not very palatable ... should have gone for the vodka instead!

:: Kvas; Tea Grip (L-R) ::

:: Borsh Soup; Minskaya Kotleta; Blinchiki Apple; Pelmeni (clockwise L- R) ::

Well ... it was quite an interesting experience at Nadezhda ... worth a try if you have not had a go at Russian food ... don't expect fantastic ambience + service ... just go for the food ...

Would like to try Shashlik Restaurant (run by cranky Hainanese men and apparently famous for their beef steaks) next ... any takers?