Alright Mister Foodie it is time for dinner.
When in Kiev there is one dish you have to get for sure that being Chicken Kiev (котлета
по-київськи).
Oh yeah.
So we've ordered this and we've ordered a whole bunch of other different things and
we're just waiting for it to come.
And it is always that exciting moment because I'm hungry and I can't wait to try it.
But in the meantime.
In the meantime look at what they brought us.
Ooh.
I forgot about that.
First up vodka.
Yeah.
So.
So this is our first drink of the night.
And we have red wine coming from the back.
So this is vodka to kick things off.
Oh wow.
You just downed that in one shot.
Alright.
Wow.
That is how it is going to go.
Yeah, that has got an infusion of some sort.
It is kind of like a lemon-y taste.
Ooh.
But it is very strong as you can imagine.
Yeah, that'll kick-start the evening.
Alright, tell us.
Yes, so the complimentary appetizer is basically brown bread and it comes with pork fat (salo
- сало) and pickle.
Alright.
Pork fat and pickle.
I think it is a one-biter.
Mmmm.
Pork fat.
Yum.
That is good pork fat.
Haha.
It tastes a bit like just like processed meat.
It is really good.
Mmmm.
It is really nice bread.
Spongy.
It is delicious.
Gotta like free food right?
Oh, there is more coming.
Alright, so I too am kick-starting the evening with some Ukrainian vodka (Horilka - горілка).
The first I've had in the country and we've been here how long?
I know.
I can't believe we haven't had any before.
Oh, strong isn't it?
I'm just doing a little sip that is all I can handle.
But aside from vodka (Horilka - горілка) they also brought us free bread.
Yeah, complimentary bread.
Even though we said no thank you.
Um, but what is even cooler.
Yeah.
So I thought this was butter but no this is a salty cheese and then I thought this was
butter but no apparently it is pork fat (salo - сало) with like garlic and some chives
so oh la lah.
Yeah.
Oh la lah indeed.
I'm going to start with the cheese.
Spread a bit on there.
And then we'll move on to pork fat (salo - сало) and see what that it is like.
You know there is lots of pork fat going on in the menu tonight isn't there?
We are ensuring we get our quota of pork fat in.
Mmmm.
That is garlic-y.
Is it?
It is a garlicky cheese spread.
Is it good?
That is quite nice yeah.
Wow.
Haha.
It goes well with the vodka (Horilka - горілка).
Haha.
But now for the other one.
Let's try pork fat.
I don't think I've ever spread pork fat (salo - сало) on a piece of bread before.
But our waitress was telling us this is super Ukrainian so yeah.
We're going to do it.
Pork fat.
Here we go.
It is almost like butter.
Is it?
But like thicker than butter.
Thicker than butter.
Yeah.
It really coats your mouth.
That is fascinating.
It is not bad.
That is cool.
We're trying some new things here.
First time.
Yeah.
So now that we've had some vodka we're moving on to the wine.
The wine has arrived.
The wine.
And the cool thing about this wine is that it is a Ukrainian wine.
It is a dry red and I'm really excited to try this because I did get to try an Odessa
dry red at a wine bar the other night.
It was really good so I don't have a lot of experience with Ukrainian wine.
I've tried a lot more like Georgian and Moldovan nearby.
Also, I tried Romanian too but not a lot of Ukrainian so this should be good.
It has a nice smell.
It smells a bit like cherries.
Ooh.
Look at you getting fancy with your wine descriptions over there.
Mmmm.
That is nice.
It is not too strong or overpowering.
No?
It has got more like a more like a subtle flavor.
It reminds me a little bit of a Merlot.
Oh, it is quite good.
Alright, and aside from wine what else has arrived?
It just keeps showing up.
So I think this is the pickled herring (маринована оселедець).
Yeah.
So I ordered some pickled herring for us.
Yeah.
It comes with boiled potatoes.
Yeah.
And also some um pickled onions.
So there you go.
I will try that.
Lots of pickled goodness.
Ooh.
This looks good.
Yeah, we figured we haven't tried a whole lot of cold Ukrainian appetizers.
That is so nice.
Oh my gosh.
The fish is delicious.
Yeah?
So flavorful.
Yeah.
I love it.
I think this may end up being my favorite dish the whole evening.
Really?
At least for me.
Well, I'm going to dig in.
This is setting a very high standard to begin with.
Alright, I'm going to grab a little bit of everything.
So let's grab half a potato.
Yep.
Half a piece of fish, some onion and get these flavors all mixing together.
Flavor explosion.
Mmm.
Isn't that good?
Mmmm.
I love that.
I absolutely love that.
Nice salty herring (маринована оселедець).
Wow.
Yeah.
That is a really smooth fish.
It is.
For something that is pickled it is surprisingly juicy too.
Oh, more food.
More food.
Potatoes pancake with sour cream.
Yes, this is very good.
Okay, thank you.
So what do you think of the wine?
It is good.
Isn't it good?
I like it.
I'm really starting to get into dry wines.
Yeah, dry reds especially.
Anyways, we have another dish.
We can hardly keep up with all of the food.
It just keeps showing up at our table.
But I ordered some potato pancakes (Deruny - Деруни).
Yeah.
Fried potato pancakes (Deruny - Деруни).
We're going to add a little bit of sour cream there.
Ooh.
I love the sour cream in the Ukraine.
Yeah.
It is just such a nice addition to like the dumplings, to the pancakes like this.
Mmmhmmm.
Just to anything it on to be honest.
Yeah.
It is very good.
You know what?
I've also been enjoying just ordering a whole bunch of little appetizers instead of big
mains.
Yeah.
So that we can sample a bit of everything.
Just keep adding more food.
Mmmm.
Is that good?
Hot, oh wow.
Haha.
It is a lot hotter than you thought.
Mmmmm.
That is really nice.
It is kind of like a grated potatoes that kind of shaped into a pancake and then fried.
So it is like nice and golden a little bit crispy but still like soft and oily in the
middle.
So yeah, yum.
That sounds like my kind of pancake.
Mmmhmm.
And a glass of wine to wash it down.
What else do you need.
So the main has arrived.
This is what you came here for.
The star of the meal.
Yeah.
Chicken Kiev (котлета по-київськи).
And guys it just looks like art.
Like look at this.
It makes it look like you know it looks like it comes on a stick but it is actually chicken
breast.
Look.
If I take that off.
It looks like a chicken leg and a drumstick.
It is just decoration.
So try it.
This is basically breaded chicken and inside sometimes it can be stuffed.
Every restaurant has a different way of preparing it.
Oh my gosh.
Look at that.
Ooh, stuffed with some goodness.
It looks buttery.
Yeah, it usually has like butter inside and you know what?
The easiest way for me to find out what is in it is to actually just try it.
I'll actually just eat it.
Stuff it in your mouth.
Oh, it is juicy.
I don't think you can see the juice that is coming out.
Oh my.
That looks so good.
Ooh.
Alright, let's try that.
Mmmm.
What do you think?
Oh my gosh that is so so good.
Yeah.
So delicious.
And you're right it does have like a buttery kind of texture and sauce in the middle and
then the outside.
The outside is really like delicious.
That is the breaded part of the chicken.
Yeah.
It reminds me a little bit like of Milanesa that we tried chicken milanesa.
Yeah, like chicken milanesa.
It also reminds me oddly enough of something my Mom used to make.
It was like kind of like shake and bake with pork chops or with chicken.
So it has got a really nice coating on the outside and then the chicken itself is really
tender and flavorful.
And quite juicy too I must say so it is awesome.
Like it is superb chicken.
Alrighty, here we go.
Trying my first Chicken Kiev (котлета по-киевски) in Kyiv (Киев).
Haha.
First Chicken Kiev (котлета по-київськи) in Kiev (Київ).
Wait, is this my first?
Yes, it is.
I haven't ordered this before.
No.
Oh my gosh it is so buttery and juicy.
I know.
Oh my goodness.
It is just seeping out.
The meat is just breaking apart and flying everywhere.
Mmmmm.
Oh man.
Isn't that good?
Super juicy in there.
Yeah.
Wow.
Isn't that nice.
Mmmhmm.
And we ordered this with a side of fried potatoes.
Yep.
And onions.
Yep.
And we've also got some onions, zucchini.
I think it has got mushrooms on the bottom maybe is that right?
I think that is the caramelized onions is it?
Or mushrooms oh my gosh.
That was like one of the extra things they added.
Wow.
We've got a lot going on there.
Man.
This is filling.
Mmmmm.
Tasty?
Chicken Kiev (котлета по-киевски) is good.
Yeah.
I have to say.
Chicken Kiev (котлета по-київськи) in Kiev (Київ).
Hahaha.
OMG.
Dessert has arrived.
We arrived.
We ordered Varenyky (Вареники) which are these little dumplings and we got two
kinds.
So I know we ordered the cherry kind and the other one is kind of a surprise.
So let's see.
I'm just going to cut it open.
Yeah, this is technically dessert.
Tada.
Oh wow.
Oh, and to go along with it we have a sour cream with a little bit of jam.
Yep.
So let's just add a bit.
Put on a dollop.
A little dollop.
Mmmm.
Isn't that good?
Mmmm.
You've got some cherries.
Yeah.
It is good.
But now I'm curious about the other one.
Try the other one.
Oh, this might be cheese.
Okay.
I have to try it on its own.
Maybe salty cottage cheese?
Maybe sweet?
Sweet cheese.
It would have been a little weird to have salty cheese for dessert ones.
That is true.
That is a nice combination.
Yeah, I was going to say that would be a perfect combination.
Mmmhmm.
Yum.
Nice way to finish off the meal I would say.
Well, well.
Well, it is time for price point.
That was 560 in the local currency what is just under $22 US dollars at the moment.
Really good value.
$11 per person.
We feasted.
It was really good.
We were piggy to be honest.
We really ate a lot.
It was a lot of food, it was a lot of wine, it was a lot of dessert.
Appetizers, mains.
Yeah.
A lot of free vodka.
Yeah.
Just lots of bread.
A lot of free bread.
Just a lot of everything.
A lot of free pork fat (salo - сало).
Anyways, that was just an awesome Ukrainian meal (українські страви).
We've been really enjoying Ukrainian food (українська кухня) here in
Kiev (Київ) and actually we are leaving tomorrow so it is a little bit sad.
So this is our officially our last dinner here in Kyiv (Киев) so saying goodbye.
Love you.
Exactly.
Ciao.