Vegetarian shopping in Moscow

Moscow's only semblance of a health food store. Look for it by the entrance to Jaghannath Cafe, Kuznetsky most 11. Prices for identical products may easily be twice what they are elsewhere. But the place is styled in a proper vegetarian/New Age way, and is very easy to find.

To-fu. Cheap, fresh, and always available. If you need lots of tofu real cheap go to the Vietnamese market at the street awkwardly named "Semnadtsatyy proyezd Mar'yinoy Roshi". Look for No. 11 behind a battered metal gate.

In addition to very fresh and cheap tofu the market offers lots of fresh vegetables. Here is an example of my first (February 3, 2010) catch there:

A big bad of smelly bamboo for 90 roubles ($3US), mash bean sprouts for 40 roubles ($1.35) for a huge bag of freshest stuff, soybean paste f 70 roubles, which is half of what it costs in a supermarket in Moscow in the unlikely case it is available, parsley-like grass the name of which I don't know, sea weed for sushi, a piece of exotic two foot long green pumpkin, small peppers that I haven't seen from my Canada days and, of course, to-fu. In the center of this bliss is a bottle of orice vodka for 200 roubles. At this price it has to be smuggled. The fact that I'm supporting illegal activity is one extra source of joy for me.

Fellow vegetarians please be warned that to-fu is kept in a somewhat unappetizing surroundings.

Avocadoes are 30 roubles each ($1) at the Vietnamese market while elsewhere they generally sell for 60-70.

Getting there is not easy. The nearest subway stop is Dmitrovskaya. My guess is that walking time is about 30 min. and that the appropriate Gypsy cab offering is 100 roubles (about $3.40 as of February 2010).

Tofu and soy milk can be ordered from Vegaria. Their site is in Russian only but they speak passable English. Call them at +7 499 340 7692. Their tofu is 200 roubles (about $7) per kilogram and soya milk is 60 roubles ($2) per bottle. Delivery is another 250 roubles ($8). No delivery fee for orders over 2000 roubles ($70).

Fake sausage. A store run by the Monastery of Saint Daniel, Metro Tulskaya. Photos and details on getting there will be posted later but if you make it to Metro Tulskaya and then ask "Gde monastyr?" just about any passer by will send you in the right direction. If you fail to see the store ("magazin") ask "Gde magazin". Once there say "postnaya kolbasa" ("lent sausage"). In my view the imitation salami is best.

PS. I was not allowed to take photos of their fake sausage shelf. Here is the front of the store to help you identify it:

Weiwang Chinese Imports has a lot of Chinese/Japanese things. Their site www.weiwang.ru is in Chinese and Russian only. Getting there: M. Krasnoselskaya, ul. Verkhnaya Krasnoselskaya 2 at the premises a wallpaper factory (фабрика обоев), 10 min. walk from the metro station. TO ENTER THE FACTORY YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ID. Open 10:30 to 6:00 Mon. to Sat., tel. +7-495-9811037 / +7-495-9811038, e-mail weiwang@rol.r u They also have an outlet in St. Petersburg. See my Vegetarian stuff in St. Petersburg page. THEY HAVE NO TO-FU. THE STUFF IS JARS LABELED "TO-FU" IS THE WORSE I'VE EVER TRIED. Good cheap seaweed for sushi. Kikkoman soy sauce of Chinese origin in industrial-size bottles.

PS. The Kikkoman soy sauce labeled "Made in China" turned out to be diluted. Stick to the stuff from the Netherlands. Minimal purchase is 250 roubles. On the positive side, they have authentic-looking iron woks for around 350 roubles (just over $10).

Indian Spices. Sretenka 36/2, tel. 207-1621, open daily 9-9. Metro Sukharevskaya Ploshad. Excellent fake goulash for those craving for the taste of flesh. Raw and marinated ginger, frozen okra, lentil patties from India, good Basmati rice etc. The owners, real Indians, speak English. I'm able to offer a varied vegetarian menu at my dacha near Staritsa thanks largely this establishment.
Their other recently opened location is at Ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 5/2, M. Belyayevo or M. Yugo-Zapadnaya, tel. 956-2403, 434-6629, open daily 10-10. They also have an outlet in the basement of a shopping mall the name of which escapes me at the moment right by Metro Tushinskaya.

March 4, 2010
~~February 3, 2010~~
December 24, 2008
May 19, 2008
October 10, 2007
June 20, 2007