Food Shopping

Food shopping in Moscow was a nightmare for a foreigner like me... Due to my limited Russian, I never ventured out of town to shop in the local markets. Though occasionally I did enjoy shopping for fresh fruits in an outdoor market near our apt. during the summer. Otherwise, I spent most of the time visiting supermarkets in town and often found the experience extremely frustrating and tedious.

Problem 1: Stock. Stocking system is (I'm using present tense because I don't believe much has changed since I left!) almost non-existent in many Moscow supermarkets (esp. Seventh Continent). When a product is sold out, they would simply replace it with something different and random. Hence, to find what you need is a matter of luck sometimes and this includes fresh milk! Not only herbs and vegetables are randomly stocked, household goods are treated the same way too. They once replaced boxes of tissue with napkins and didn't restock until all the napkins were sold out (which took over 2 months)!

Problem 2: Prices. After spending years living in London, I never thought shopping there was reasonable until I moved to Moscow. A bottle of not-so-decent Italian wine would cost over $20. Tomatoes in the winter: about $10 for 5/6 (prices would drop in the summer). Lettuce (winter prices): $20! Raspberry/ strawberry (winter prices): be prepared to pay up to $70/80 per box! From what I observed, the most reasonable food items: whole chickens, sour cream and onions (in no particular order).

Problem 3: Quality and freshness. Don't expect anything fresh in the winter, since everything has to be imported from abroad or other parts of Russia! Best to live on a protein-based diet if you are on a budget because meat is reasonable and available all the time! The worst buy for me (and my friends) was pre-packed smoked salmon/ cured salmon. Almost 9/10 times the salmon was so salty that it was inedible! They also tricked us by placing the decent slices on top but scraps underneath. Simply horrible!

Problem 4: Exotic spices and ingredients. Although a small selection of dried Asian spices and ingredients can be found in most supermarkets, fresh lemongrass and coriander are still hard to come by. Cooking Thai and Indian food proved to be quite a challenge in Moscow!

I know that most Muscovites and experts would drive to Mega malls to do their regular food and household shopping, but since I didn't have a car (nor chauffeur!), it wasn't really an option for me. Besides, I didn't want to be stuck in traffic for 3 hours just to do some food shopping! After visiting most supermarkets and specialist stores across town, here is my verdict:

My favourite supermarket: Stockmann. This Finnish chain was the most reasonable (Moscow standard) and well-stocked supermarket in town! Sadly, the flagship store closed down due to some dispute with the landlord!

The most over-rated and over-priced: Globus Gourmet. A place to see and be seen, with ultra tall, skinny blondes strolling around in their fur coats buying ready-made potato salad (surprisingly, full of mayonnaise...). If money was no object, then this place would be heaven!



The grandest: Yeliseyevsky. Though more like a tourist attraction than a supermarket, prices are surprisingly reasonable despite its appearance and location.

Best for foreign ingredients: Japro and Indian Spices. Japro specialises in Japanese products, including household goods. However, I couldn't find mirin there, a key condiment in Japanese cuisine and the Russian staff there didn't seem to know much about Japanese cuisine either! I found Indian spices a bit odd, it's more like a small Asian grocery store that sells everything, including Chinese and Thai products!

I heard that Dorogomilovsky market is the best market in Moscow (esp. for caviar), but I never had the chance to go there before I left. Oh well, I am just glad that I don't have to pay $6 for fresh basil anymore!

Sushi, sushi and more sushi

For someone who enjoys cooking and dining out, living in Moscow turned out to be quite a challenge! Importing exotic ingredients and spices became my habit! Dining out was never cheap and food shopping became a nuisance. Despite the fact that Moscow has become a 'hip' destination in the past few years with new restaurants springing up allover town, I still think their culinary scene is years behind most major cities. I know I am being harsh because decades of communism has probably changed people's eating habits and tastes (though this theory does not seem to apply to China). I don't want to generalise but I honestly don't think the Russians are that passionate about food. Perhaps it is to do with their history, culture, geographic location, climate and political issues, but seeing a sushi menu inside an upmarket Indian restaurant was just too shocking for me!

I still haven't figured out why Muscovites love sushi so much? Is it simply a fad or do they really enjoy eating raw fish that are not so fresh? Being landlocked, all seafood has to be imported, so fresh fish is scarce and a luxury in Moscow. But shockingly, almost all restaurants in town (including Chinese, Indian, Russian, European, Georgian, American sports bars and even German beer hall) would serve sushi! From my observation, salmon with cream cheese roll seems to be quite a popular choice. I had sushi a few times in Moscow and it made me realised that Yo! Sushi is actually not that bad!! I don't want to sound like a snob, but what is the point of eating raw fish if it is not fresh? Besides the fish, soggy seaweed and cold, hard rice are not acceptable either! Japanese restaurants with inconsistent standards are all over town, but nothing can be worse than seeing a list of sushi on the back of an Indian restaurant menu! I just wish there is a law to stop people from serving sushi outside of a Japanese restaurant!!!!!

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