Moscow and restaurants

where did i spent most of my money and times here and on what???? this is by far the easiest question to be answered... just look at me, and u guys can tell... i'm a so-called chef wannabe, and i love eating.... so where else shud i go rite???

As u all should know, Moscow is a great city for dining out, with restaurants to suit every pocket from the humble Hussar to the mighty Tsar! The budget-conscious people, me as well as a student will be canny enough when in a restaurant to ask for the "business lunch" menu - which turns out to be the best value set meal.. Overall the food here is of good quality, though the service does not always come with a smile. If you tip, there's no guarantee the smile will come either! But sumtimes it's such a pride to leave well at least 50 roubles as a tip...

i am a big fan of Japanese food and Moscow is actually the paradise for Japanese cuisine fans... What seemed like a fad has refused to go away and has morphed into more of a fetish as Moscow obsession with sushi continues to grow each year. And, in many cases, even restaurants that specialize in other cuisines throw a token sushi menu into the mix. But being a picky one, i always want the best sushi in town, i'd rather throw my penny into valuable great fresh Sushi than just having a so-so one.... and among those of Japanese Fine Dining Restaurants that i'd went to:

1/Planeta Sushi.... been here quite few times, and the highest we'd paid for two person was 1600 roubles ( about RM 235)- This is A large chain of Japanese eateries run by the same people behind T.G.I. Friday's, the American Bar and Grill and the Il Patio. The restaurants are very affordable and therefore the quality isn't as great as what you might find at Yapona Mama or Yakitoria.

2/Ichiban Boshi..... been here quite often before with our dearest fren who currently stay in swiss, and most of the times he paid for us... we paid only once, and that was the time when we just went there to have dessert after badminton....

3/Ginno Taki.... celebrated JOyce birthday here last month, the food is nice but the service is quite slow, and the surroundings is just bad, dark and no ventilation, too hot.... are they trying to save the electricity or what, i totally had no idea....

4/Yapona Mama.... my most favourite place to enjoy sushi, and at the same time to eat the marvellous Kuew Teow just like those in malaysia. This is by far the most impressive Japanese restaurant i ever visited. They serve great quality Japanese cuisine, The interior is modern but still Japanese.

the one that still on my list is Yakitoria.... Actually Ginno Taki and Yakitoriya, both are Japanese food chains that are very similar in design and menu, yet Yakitoriya was the pioneer in this field and has more outlets. They are run by the same company.

in the second place, i always choose American and European cuisine... anything western will do me perfectly great... and these are the places that we both hang out for the past few yrs...

1/ IL Patio ---been here once or twice, but we prefer TGI Fridays more...

2/ TGI Fridays ( the most visited one.... cuz i like the fish and chips, Prawn Caeser Salad and Friday Summer Garden Salad).... ngehehe... plus the yummy desserts as well...

3/ Starlite Diners..... my menu wajib here are Crab Cake serve wt fresh Salad.

4/ Papa John's..they specialize in Pizza....u guys shud know that Pizza is one of my top favourite dish... so, to visit Papa JOhn's is a must for me...

5/American Bar and Grill.... i can't remember what did i order here... but the place is very uncomfortable, only the antic unique wooden table attracts me the most..

6/ Hard Rock Cafe.... their Grilled Salmon is just occay, i mean for the price u pay here, u can get the better one if u go to other places.... but then, to layan the DJ's and the song, what a perfect dinner rite...

there are few more restaurants specialize in western cuisine but i just cudn't recall their names.....

we managed to visit Chinese Restaurant too....
1/ Druzhba Chinese Restaurant (near Metro Novoslavodskaya)

2/ Chinese Garden (inside the Crown Hotel, located in the same building as WTC)

as well as Indian Restaurants too....

1/Tandoor (at mayakovskaya metro, inside the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall)

2/ Taste of Asia (very near to my hostel)

and Korean Restaurants too....

and the Laosian and Thai's Restaurants too... but i simply forgot the name...

plus the Pakistani also...
Gandhara.....a very unique restaurant which does not strictly serve Pakistani cuisine but, instead, meals created from a mixture of eastern and western influences. But to look at the bill, u merely die because of heart attack.... huhu

might as well go to Caucasian, Georgian, Uzbekistani and those kind of food rite??? yup, we went there too...

1/ Mama Zoya--- boasts a multistory boat-restaurant moored along the Moscow River across from Gorky Park. The location is less intimate but more accessible and successful. The food is just as homey even if the service is not quite so familial. And here u can enjoy watching people on the flying ship and roller coaster at the Gorky Park thru the window...

2/ Syesh Besh--- once, and that's it... not my taste...

3/ Kish-mish --- oso only once, really not my type...

But then Russian cuisine is perfectly occay for me....

1/ Mu-Mu Cafe. --- self-service eatery offers a huge choice of Russian-style food at low prices. A good chance to try Russian specialities on a regular basis without breaking your budget.

2/ Kroshka-Kartoshkaspecialized in potatoes. They bake a potatoe, then lance it and stuff it with cheese, salads, fish - whatever you choose. This is very tasty and substantial. One such potatoe is enough for a hungry person.

3/ Teremok---- they make the best blinis in town.... ( blini = crepe = pancake ) but blini is thinner, and nicer cuz there'r various of choice for the stuffing... from just honey, mashed apple, jams, up to cheese, caviar, raw salmon and anything u ever wish,,,

owh ya.... i'd been to La Cantina also, located by Tverskaya Street... food is nice, and the portion is super duper large.... this is a Mexican Restaurant...

and yesterday, we decided to go to John Bull Pub to have dinner there.... what else i shud order rite??? Fish And Chips!!! they actually make the best fish and chips but yesterdya one was quite a disappointment.... after all, we ordered oredi, and it costed a fortune , so we just sat quietly tried to finish the meal...

while we were enjoying our meal, Han asked me to list down the amount of money that we had spent entirely on eating out at the fine dining restaurants here...
i can barely recalled them all.... but here are some
TGI Fridays
1/ 650 roubles x 3 (visits) = 1950 roubles

2/ 975 roubles

Il Patio
1050 roubles

John Bull Pub
900 roubles

and the rest i just cudn't remember.... let's just forget rite, or otherwise we'll start regretting on how much we'd spent just on eating out... huhu...