Apart from luxury feasts fit for a Czar during Easter and the traditional home offerings of zakussi, the core cuisine of Russia is generally considered to be simple and peasant style. Hangzhou’s family-owned and run Teremok restaurant certainly encroaches into the latter; however what there is on offer, is certainly tasty and there are a couple of regional specialties to be had too. With genuine Russian staff in the kitchen and the restaurant, you just know you’re going to get authentic.
Starting off we ordered some slices of salted fish (herring and salmon), which was not dissimilar to pickled Lâkerda. It can be a little too salty for some palates, but I found it to be more than acceptable when washed down with a nice glass of czardonnay (vodka).
A number of ‘home-style’ dishes arrived in fairly quick succession. A mixed platter of cold Hors d'œuvre, including some zesty pickled vegetables and more salted fish; a traditional layered beet (beetroot) salad with eggs, potato, herring & mayonnaise, and finally the ubiquitous borscht soup. All were very tasty and the borscht laced with sour cream was a winner.
Our next round saw us diving into a pile of golubtsi, which on this occasion was ground meat (minced) and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves and then poached in stock. Really not bad at all, in fact it was very palatable, which is more than can be said of the meat dumplings that arrived. It wasn’t that they weren’t inedible; it’s just that they were just very, very bland. Perhaps they simply forgot to season the meat first. I guess we all make mistakes from time to time.
Unintentionally we kept the best until last, as we tried the dish known as Pork for a Czar. Tenderised and flattened entrecotes’ of pork were wrapped in only what can be described as a cheese omelette. However it was much more than that. The ‘omelette’ was soft, creamy and full of little goodies that just seemed to work very well as a whole and just melted in the mouth. I suppose you don’t go around naming dishes after royalty willy-nilly.
The bill for three diners, including a bottle of Nemiroff Lex vodka (200RMB), came to a surprisingly low 476RMB, which is great value for your money if ever I said those words. Certainly enough of a reason to entice you back for more. Enjoy!
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