Lonely Planet Guide recommends Ukraine

The Lonely Planet Guide, not unfamiliar to millions of travelers and would-be tourists has put Ukraine as joint 3rd in there list of nations they recommend visiting.

I am of course pleased to boast that my adoptive city of Odessa gets special mention.  Well is would.  It is a very nice city to live in by and large as it is just far enough away from Kyiv to be free from too much interference.  In fact I can be in Romania, Moldova or Turkey in the same amount of time it takes to get to Kyiv.

A note though to all those who would take notice of the Lonely Planet Guide, the best time to visit Odessa is between May and October when the weather is warm and the streets become a far more obvious cosmopolitan extension of the underlaying  vibe that runs through Odessa.

As the saying goes here, Ukraine is Ukraine, but Odessa is Odessa!

Rokka Restaurant Odessa – Seriously good!

Well dear readers, it has been a long time since I have been enthused by a gastronomic discovery in Odessa, at least to the point where I wanted to write about it and share it with you all.

However, just down the road from the British Council at the crossroads of Admiralsky and 5 Station Bolshoi Fantan you will find a large glass facaded building.  Here you will find a true gem in the culinary landscape of Odessa. Restaurant Rokka.

Entrance to Rokka

Yes I know for you tourists it means leaving the familiarity of Deribasovskaya and taking a 10 minute taxi ride out of the city, but it is certainly worth the trip.

Rokka can very easily have been lifted directly from the more trendy restaurant areas of London and beamed into Odessa.  It is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing with a modern Japanese decorated feel but with a menu that far surpasses the sushi orientated expectations when you walk in.  The sushi there is, however, great and prepared directly in the full view of the customer.

English menu-18.04.11

Unlike many restaurants in Odessa, there was no music.  It was possible to have a conversation without raising your voice.   Surprisingly at 4.30 in the afternoon it was half full of young Ukrainians and in the evening, the owner, Alexander Bergart states he can fill the restaurant 3 times over such is the demand.  Once you try the food, it is easy to understand why.

Inside Rokka

The steaks at Rokka are better than any steak I have had in Ukraine in all the years I have been here.  There is truly no effort or chewing required.  They simply melt in the mouth.

My personal favourite – The Rokka Steak, which to my undisciplined palette retained the memories of a honey and garlic marinade to perfection, was sublime.  Quite simply I could not fault it.

Where so very many Odessa restaurants fail is desserts.  I am not a big fan of desserts and have a taste for the savoury rather than the sweet, therefore the usual disappointments regarding desserts in Odessa do not overly bother me.

However, if you are like me in this regard, go to Rokka and try the chocolate fantan – You will be converted on the spot.

It arrives as a chocolate pyramid of thin sponge surrounded by a green tea souse and a small amount of mint ice cream.  Those readers who actually know me will understand than anything to do with green tea is automatically my first choice and thus why I decided to even bother with a dessert.  Intrigue!

Upon breaking the seal on the sponge pyramid copious amounts of hot quality chocolate ebbed forward like a lava flow meeting a green tea sauce similar to a volcano meeting the sea.  My skills with the English language will never do justice to this particular dessert.  I can only recommend it so you can experience this sensation yourself.

Whilst I am not converted from my savoury palette, I am a true fan of the chocolate fantan, even if it makes me more rotund than I already am in the coming years.

Sorry, the chocolate fantan didn't last long enough to be photogrpahed - You will have to make do with another interior shot!

Those lucky people at the British Council having such a wonderful, if waist expanding, restaurant within 400 meters of the building.  It’s almost enough to make me want to work for a UK NGO…..or more specifically that particular branch of a UK NGO!

The service is also faultless.  There when you want it, invisible when you don’t.

If you are ever in Odessa, get a taxi and head to Rokka, 5 Bolshoi Fantana, when you are bored of the usual tourist restaurants in the centre.  You will not be disappointed by anything you will experience…..unless you cannot get a table…..so here is the telephone number if you want to book – (048) 7070070!

If Alex is there, he speaks good English and will regale you with tales of his 30 years in the restaurant trade around the world…..and if you are a Brit, he loves the London restaurant scene and is a frequent visitor.

In summary, it is hard to find a better all round restaurant experience in Odessa, but very easy to find a worse one……and it has more than its fair share of very very pretty clientele!

Useful map of Odessa

Here’s a useful link to find just about anything a tourist needs in Odessa.

http://www.citymap.odessa.ua/map/?lang=1

Zoom in, zoom out, tick boxes and watch all the hotels, or post offices……whatever you pick…….appear.

(Yes, I know, nice place to live).

Cooking up weapons of war……..What do we have in Ukraine?

On a slightly lighter note……and being more certainly more spicey than anything in the “Women and Sexpat” category of this blog……have a read of this……

Associated Press GAUHATI, India (AP) — The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world’s hottest chili.

After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized “bhut jolokia,” or “ghost chili,” to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world’s spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India’s northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili’s spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

“The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization,” Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.

“This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs,” R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.

Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.

Of course not to be out done by India, I am now experimenting on behalf of Ukraine, with the results of a soggy sharama, 3 day old green borsh, gallupsie and vareniki rammed through a blender on full power!

I will let you know how it goes…….of course.

Spuds!

Ukrainian companies importing potatoes from Saudi Arabia and Egypt
Ukrainian companies will boost imports of potatoes to cover a domestic deficit, UKRINFORM has reported, citing the Delo newspaper.

The main suppliers of potatoes are Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The ships with products from these countries are already at a Ukrainian port. The Ukrainian trade and economic mission in Egypt said that potatoes supplies were a project of private companies, rather than a state program. The average cost of Egyptian potatoes is three times higher than Ukrainian. Import companies said that potatoes supplies on the Ukrainian market would grow at least by a third this season.

Well, what can I say, a country bigger than France with the best agricultural land in Europe and once the bread basket of the USSR is……..importing potatoes!

How mismanaged can a country get?

(Oh and yes, it’s true…….the spuds from Egypt are labelled as such in the local supermarkets here in Odessa.)

Euro 2012 – Kyiv, Donestk, Lviv and Kharkiv will host……..

Despite not having enough money to finance the purchase of a Chubachub Lollypop……..and the non-issuance of the last IMF loan tranche……..it seems Ukraine has convinced (or maybe bribed) UEFA into thinking it can pull off all the necessary improvements and investment prior to Euro 2012.

……..To be bloody hoped so now then eh?

(Mind you, it will be nice to see them have to spend money outside of Kyiv for a change!)

Turkuaz Restaurant/Nightclub – Odessa

Well, as the name suggests, this restaurant/nightclub has a very Turkish theme to it.

The theme does not run through the decor……..but the food.  If you like Turkish cuisine……..and I don’t dislike it, this place is Ok………..and it does the hookah!

www.turkuaz.com.ua

It is on Deribovaskaya.  During the day, you can sit outside on the pavement in a “patio” environment in the summer months……as I have done on several occasions.

The menu is not “exclusively” Turkish…..and the standard “European” can eat here without a problem……..but hey, if you go to a Turkish Restaurant, you’re going for Turkish food right!!!

The nightclub itself does not open until 2200……..and stays open until 0600…….playing predominantly “dance” music.

It does host live music on occasion, together with “show programmes”………………and strippers.

………Well, I know you have been a little disappointed by the lack of “fun pillows” in my blog lately!!

Eh?…….You can’t see?…….But I always make sure every photo claiming to be taken of a place is taken from that place……it’s called authenticity!!

There are no better pictures of “fun pillows” from this club!!

You don’t care eh……….Ok, hang on…………….

Happy now……….even though they have nothing to do with the nightclub in question?? 

It is quite a small club though, accommodating a maximum of 350 people………so therefore the average Ukrainian or Moldovan wedding packs it to capacity……..Errrrm, no I’m not joking, the last Moldovan wedding I went to, there were over 500 guests……….and no he works for me, he isn’t an Oligarch.

What?………..Sure, if you’re interested I will put a post together on traditional weddings here……..but this post is about the Turkuaz……which is an Ok place to eat!!

Most Unlike My Friend!!!

Well, I am amazed to be flicking through the English newspapers, catching up with the happenings at home to find an article on a good friend of mine here.

Why am I amazed?

Because he is a very private man who keeps a very low profile……..and it is most unlike him to have articles and photographs of himself and his family splashed all over the mainstream press!

As it happens, I’m meeting him for coffee today…….as I want to borrow his yacht for some corporate entertaining at some point this summer…….and well, corporate entertaining on his yacht, or in a leaky dingy which my meager funds can run too…….which would you chose?

Anyway, I have printed the article for him……as despite it says he speaks “good English”…..that is a bit of poetic licence on behalf of the “press”…….so several coffee’s will be had whilst translation takes place.

I have already blogged about his Hotel…..the Mozart……..so find it and have a read.  If you have a spare Euro 24 Million, then I can negotiate it’s sale with him for you too……….nah, didn’t think you’d have that kind of money……me neither!!!

Anyway, here’s the link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1169252/Rambo-ski–Hollywood-star-Sylvester-Stallones-Russian-secret.html