It is really nice and easy to be of Eastern-European descent at this time of the year in Canada! Explanation is simple: Holidays!
You start with Hanukkah in December, progress through Christmas, New-Year’s Eve, and go back in January to Orthodox Christmas and New-Year’s Eve that are celebrated on Julian calendar. All in all – more than a month of good time and, what is as important, of good food and drinks.
What will become of any of these holidays without glass of good wine vodka!? But it is something we can’t help you with – your preferences are yours only in this vast field.
But what we can help you with has much more to do with traditions of Eastern European cuisine. Help Desk is located at the 555 North Road in Coquitlam. It is easy to spot despite it hides under the innocuous name “Euro Food Tri-City”. You will be amazed seeing dozen varieties of pierogis (or as it called in Ukrainian – ‘varenekies’), dumplings (or as they known in Russian ‘pelmenies’), many herring products (fillets, whole fish in brine, rollmops), sausages and cheeses from Finland, Poland and many other places, home-made “zakuski” (chasers), pancakes filled with cottage cheese, chicken meats or sturgeon caviar, ginger breads and dry breads from Latvia, Russia and Ukraine, hundreds varieties of candies and chocolate courtesy of Ded Moroz (Russian cousin of Santa Claus), anti-pastas from Serbia, Bulgaria, peppers from Hungary, cakes from Moldova and many more things that you cannot even imagine exist.
And a final advise: When in store, please do not speak to the staff there before lunch, because they will insist you try this sausage from Hungary, or this feta cheese from Macedonia, and in a few minutes you are already full, and then today’s business lunch in your schedule just goes wrong – you cannot eat anymore, instead of business matter you start to think on how many years without good food had been wasted, and then see your prospective business partner giving you that suspicious look across the table.
Bon appetite, and have a great Holiday times!
Svetlana & Grigori Khaskin
