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2016-04-20
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Ivan the Kozak is a legend in Central. For as long as I've lived in Hong Kong, I remember walking by this place, only dipping in with friends for a drink and hanging at the infamous ice bar for a shot of vodka. But have I ever eaten here? Has anyone ever truely eaten in here?I posed this question to boyfriend and even he had never eaten there nor know anyone that has. So, we decided tonight was the time to try something new. To get away from the usual and familiar and try a totally different cu
I posed this question to boyfriend and even he had never eaten there nor know anyone that has. So, we decided tonight was the time to try something new. To get away from the usual and familiar and try a totally different cuisine. And that was Russian.
I'm not truely familiar with Russian food. Though where I grew up, there was a huge population of Ukranians. Most of my classmates were Ukranians and the closest town to my home city was a town where their town symbol was a giant Ukranian Easter egg. So, I guess the closest I ever had to Russian food was Ukranian based.
The entire restaurant was decorated in every typical kitschy Russian decor you could think of. Right down the the plates. They even had a few fake tree trunks. I felt like I had walked into one of the pubs in the Shire and one of the hobbits were going to come sauntering in.
Menu is in English, Russian and Chinese. It's also very extensive. There are pages upon pages of words with absolutey not photos so you are kind of lost if you don't know what you are looking at. Thank goodness Google is my best friend for when I asked for suggestions from the staff, we were nonchalently told "just order whatever ... I can't give you a suggestion." But we were also told that everything was good and not to worry as it's palatable to the Hong Kong customer. Which means, it's not authentic Russian but then I'm not actually Russian nor had real Russian food so I guess it's ok.Didn't I start this with saying we were here to try something new? So, boyfriend and I just randomly ordered items and hoped for the best.
Karacho ($55). We chose a soup to share and decided against the common borsch. We chose something called a karacho as we had no idea what it was. In English it said Georgian spicy pork soup. And that is exactly that. A pork soup with a lot of potatoes. It wasn't really spicy at all. It was rich and flavorful. A very hearty soup and something that would be great on a cold winter night.
Karacho
$55
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Braised Ox Tongue With Cheese ($78). This was presented in a little pot with a bread lid on it. The waitress flipped off the bread lid and put on a separate plate so we could tear it apart to dip into the cheese sauce. The ox tongue was cut into thick chunks and was so tender, it literally melted away. The cheese sauce was not that stringy type but more like a watery sauce. It wasn't thick but it had a nice gentle cheese flavor. The bread was delicious. A soft sweet taste and was really good. I wish there was more bread! Possibly my favorite dish of the night.
braised ox tongue with cheese
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Baltijos ($69). Beer is what boyfriend ordered as he had never tried a Lithuanian beer. It's 500 mL and the waiter gave me a glass thinking we'd share as he said it was a big bottle. To boyfriend, it actually wasn't such a big bottle. But anyways ... I didn't like the beer. It was too bitter. But then I generally don't like beer. Boyfriend felt it was ok and tasted like that Winter Special Suntory that is found at 759 Store.
Uzvar ($58). I ordered something that I couldn't pronounce. This drink is made to order so I got this at the very end of my meal because it took them that long to make. I started to think they forgot to make it and was about to give up when it arrived. It was described as a Ukranian fruit drink and had a mixed fruit taste of apricots, apples and prunes. It was strange and I liked it though it wasn't cold enough. It was still kind of warm. I think it would have tasted better if it was cold.
A very interesting evening with some very odd service that I can't really say is friendly but it wasn't rude. Just very nonchalent and you are really left alone. Though if you want something, they do come over. I requested to check out the ice room before leaving and the staff let us in and even took our photo in the same exact pose as all the other people. In a truely cheesey touristy style. But it was fun and it made us laugh any ways at how silly we looked and definitely a photo to keep. The food was pretty good even though we ordered blindly. Prices not very expensive. So, would probably return again with a group of friends as it's quiet and a good place for a group dinner.
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