Moldova

[Muffin210]

Houseberg and I are finally starting to plan our trip to Romania, and we're thinking about visiting Moldova while we're "in the area." I haven't heard too much about the food and restaurants of Moldova, though -- it's mainly the alcoholic beverages that get written about.

Does anyone have any experience with or recommendations about the food or restaurants or particular regional wines that we should try? Are there any Moldovian regional specialities? We'd probably fly into Chisinau (Kishinev) from Bucharest.

Thanks in advance for any info anyone might have!

[Jon Tseng]

Dunno about Moldova, but Moldavia just across the way is famous for the botrytised desert wines from Cotnari.

In the nineteenth century it rivalled Tokaji and Sauternes as one of the world's most sought-after wines. Unfortunately half a century of communism meant things have gone a bit downhill. It would still an interesting wine to try, virtually unobtainable in the west.

regards

Jonathan

[zaelic]

I travel to the Romanian part of Moldavia often. The food used to be better - now so many Romanians have gone to find work in Italy that 80% of the restaurants are Italian cuisine - not that I complain. Real Romanian home style food is almost unavailable in restaurants there these days. Hotel food is as icky as ever. Iasi has a pretty good Hong-Kong style Chinese restaurant near the train station, which was a real surprise. Suceava... well, let's just say that at Suceava I, my Japanese girlfriend, and a french friend actually CHOSE to eat at McDonalds.

There is a woman in Sucevitsa (a Bukovina monestary vilage), however, who does rent out rooms on an agrotourism basis, and she is one of the absolute (and I do not use the term loosely) best cooks in Europe. I compare her home cooking to what I ate in one of Italy's best restaurants in terms of memorable meals. Frshly slaughtered lamb, veal and eggs from her farm, fresh yogurt daily. I asked her secret and she responded "I have never, in my life, eaten in a resturant." As for Mrs. Derevlean on the road to Voivodeasa village just east outside of Sucevitsa...

I was raised with jewish Moldavian food - mamaliga, psha, and garlic muzhdej, but I doubt that you will find much local cuisine in the Republic of Moldova's restaurants beyond mamaliga dishes. Remember that it is the poorest country in Europe, and haute cuisine is not on everybody''s mind. Being able to afford meat is. There isn't enough of a middle class to trigger a cuisine movement, and the few Yuppies who can afford to eat out tend to eat pizza made by somebody who worked in a pizzeria in Milan for two years and can therefore charge a bit more. Try to get invited into somebody's home if you want local food. Learn some Romanian - it is a ridiculously easy language and nobody cares if you can barely speak it. And ***watch your baggage!*** - urban Moldova is famous for disappearing luggage.