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Vegetarian shopping in Moscow
See also Vegetarian
cafes in Moscow / Vegetarian
Saint-Petersburg
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.ru
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.
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March 4, 2010
February 3, 2010
December 24, 2008
May 19, 2008
October 10, 2007
June 20, 2007
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