A lifestyle expat travel blog about culture, history, Brexit, the Royal Family, travels around the world, Europe, and being British in Berlin!
So last week, I started writing about our adventures in Lithuania and what an excellent beginning we had.
As much as I love the “other” Eastern Europe, I had never been to that part of the region before.
Oops! Did I say Eastern Europe.
Oh dear!
Friends tell me that saying the forbidden word “East” is likened to putting a noose around your own neck and pulling it.
Tightly.
Ah well!
Being that Vilnius, and therefore, Lithuania is in an unknown part of the world, it stands to reason that it’s food and drink culture would be similar so.
I love writing about food although I’m not that much of an eater, I talk far too much to actually eat anything and as for drinking, I’m such a light-weight, it’s a British disgrace!
However.
I do like to try things out and taste things for myself.
Here’s some food posts of the past.
GERMANY:
THE CZECH REPUBLIC:
HOLLAND:
FRANCE:
THAILAND:
POLAND:
BRITAIN:
So now that you know how exciting I find food posts, here comes the food table of Lithuania!
As you know, we were in a B&B so we had a home-made breakfast on a daily basis of pancakes with home-made blueberry, strawberry, and apple jam with cream, yogurt and slices of fruit, And you could have as much as tea and coffee as you wanted.
Cost – Nothing at all. It came with the bed!
We were told that in Lithuania, and in pretty much all the Baltic States, a plate of “beer food” is pretty standard when ordering or waiting for your meal to arrive. In Europe, not ordering an alcoholic drink is considered quite weird and let me tell you, when I lived in Prague in the 90’s, beer was cheaper than water!
You heard me.
Beer was cheaper than water!
They’ve changed that now and made it.
Drum roll please……..
The same price!!!
Remember how I told you that we had lunch at the Independent Republic of Užupis – a bohemian community of artists – located on “the other side of the river.” Well, they have a really nice and enormously cheap restaurant called Užupio kavinė.
Yes please!
So the beer food above was a plate of fried bread with cheese and mayonnaise sauce.
The bread was pretty oily but honestly, it really did the job of wetting one’s appetite as it was quite crunchy too, and the mayo was kind of sweet! I think we even ordered a second plate!
Cost – €2.00.
We also had soup.
Oooooh! You know how much I like soup. This was home-made garlic soup with a dollop of cream in the middle of it, and sprinkled with dill!
Cost – €1.30
Just look at those traditional zeppelini’s with a meat filling.
A zeppelini is a type of dumpling and a traditional Lithuanian dish. This particular zeppelini came with a small bowl of bacon pieces and sour cream. How juicy and succulent they must be!
I’m not a fan of dumplings as they tend to be made out of potato…! Anyway, we found this dish in a really nice place that quite a lot of people had said not to go to because, and I quote, “It’s full of tourists!” I’m afraid that these dishes were so attractive that I quite forgot the restaurant name, but if I find it, I’ll let you know!
Hardly anybody tends to see the irony of places “full” of tourists and the fact that we tend to add to that number. Even worse, when visitors are lucky enough to find the more “authentic” places, they’re upset when the service staff either cannot, or refuse to speak English.
I mean, why should they?
Do you really expect a plastic table, plastic chair, food place in the middle of say, China, that is “authentic” to speak English, German or Russian?
Let’s be honest. Do you?
Back to the food.
Those dumplings according to “The Tall Young Gentleman” were divine.
And the cost at such a “tourist” place – €3.95!
I’m so sorry about the lighting but I just had to show you this platter of traditional assorted Lithuanian snacks served with home-made Lithuanian bread. It was a huge platter of Lithuanian aromatic cheeses surrounding a pot of strong local honey, slices of cured meats, slices of pear, oranges, and lemons, bite-sized vegetables, pickled onions, Feltsalad, and chives, scattered over with local cranberry seeds. It was really delicious and made for two people. I would have loved to link the restaurant but somehow, the food was so alluring that I can’t find the buisness card of the restaurant. If I do, I’ll let you know later!
Cost – €11.00.
We went on a free walking tour organised by Vilnius With Locals, and even though It was snowing and freezing cold, we stayed on right until the end! We were very much rewarded as our tour guide introduced us to a local place for lunch, where we had our very first original, authentic Lithuanian food. The place was called Būsi trečias and what a place it was.
We were all so excited to try out food from the region and so “The Tall Young Gentleman” ordered pigs ear.
And he so wished he hadn’t!
It came in a frying pan and was served with potato pancake and a sort of bacon and spring onion white sauce.
I don’t need to tell you much as you can already see how chewy it looks. It tasted chewy too but “The Tall Young Gentleman” was a true gentleman and tried his best to man up and eat it!
Cost – €5.50.
The Music Producer being German decided to go for a dish called “The Bremen Town Musicians.” It was a pile of pork, beef and chicken, layered by potato pancakes, some white sauce, and a side salad accompanied by a tomato and an olive!
Cost – €7.50.
I admit that my meal does look yucky but it tasted delicious! It was a serving of baked potatoes stuffed with herring, mushrooms, onions, mayonnaise and sour cream, sprinkled with dill.
Cost – €1.74. Yep! you heard me.
€1.74!
In the previous wonderful “tourist” place I mentioned to you earlier, I had a plate of Lithuanian crispy pork steak that was served with a curly swirl of yummy mashed potatoes, red cabbage, coleslaw, cucumber, and covered with mushroom sauce. It was delicious and so utterly filling I was only able to “manage” a cocktail or two in the evening LOL!
Cost – €5.35.
We weren’t able to manage having dessert but the local drinks more than made up for our “third” course!
For those of you who prefer not to drink the usual and quite boring “soft” drink, you could go for a local drink filled with honey or kvass which is a fermented beverage usually made out of black or rye bread!
Be careful though as I constantly had to check that “non-alcoholic” drinks actually contained no alcohol.
Europe is quite liberal over that type of thing as beer is not considered alcohol in the real sense of things and moreover, our son looks much older than he actually is. I mean, the last time we went to Italy, we went to a fancy pâtisserie and he was served a slice of lemon cake. Filled with rum!
I was so angry, and they really couldn’t see why.
Our son was 10 years old at the time!
Don’t say that I didn’t warn you!
Cost – €1.75.
I don’t drink dark beers but my husband does and the dark god is pretty awesome in this part of the world. He said!
There was always a large variety of different Lithuanian beer.
Cost – €2.00.
I do of course drink lagers, champagne and very good vodka. I’m so sorry about the quality of the picture. Again, I have put it in because the way it was served was really interesting.
We were fairly stuffed after champagne and wine and to round the evening up, the waiter suggested a shot of Lithuanian liquor served in blocks of ice!
That’s right. Ice.
And you had to be quick about it too as the ice tended to melt as soon as it had some contact with warmth.
It wasn’t a problem LOL!
Cost – €3.50.
Well, that’s it. I told you Vilnius in Lithuania was cheap. So what are you waiting for?
This article is part-sponsored by Lux Express and Vilnius Home Bed and Breakfast.
We received a part-complimentary-part-discounted stay on our B&B but all opinions and the lovely Lithuanian vodka and shots that I totally consumed, are my very own!
I have so much to share with you.
Stay tuned!
Next week, I’ll be writing about the old town of Riga in Latvia. Get reeeeeeeeady!
After that, there will be a food post about Latvia too and our experience in Tallinn in Estonia with the help of the Tallinn Card, what the view was like on the ferry crossing from Estonia to Finland with TALLINK SLJA LINE and what we thought about Helsinki in Finland!
International Games Week Berlin 2015 is a leading cross-industry communication and networking platform for games businesss, development and culture, and will be taking place between April 21-26, 2015.
I’ll be going to TBEX Europe (Travel Bloggers Exchange) an International Networking Conference, for the first time! It’ll be taking place in Costa Brava, Catalunya, Spain from 30.04.15 – 02.05.15.
Strictly Stand Up English Comedy Night will be taking place at the Quatsch Comedy Club on 29.04.15.
Eddie Izzard will be back in Germany and will be front-lining a killer international night of comedy at the Admirals Palast on 08.05.15.
The Berlin Music Video Awards will be taking place from May 27.05.15 – 30.05.15. Anybody can apply!
The Berlin Fashion Film Festival will be taking place on 05.06.15.
I’ll be there. Will you?
As usual, you can also follow me via daily tweets and pictures on Twitter & FB!
If you’re not in Berlin in April, you’re going to miss the delight of Spring!
April is going to be bright and warm.
Watch this space!
Have you ever had a potato pancake? Would you eat a pig’s ear?
If you like this post or if you have any questions send me a tweet, talk to me on Facebook, find me on Linkedin, make a comment below, or send me an Email: victoria@thebritishberliner.com
Please Share it! Tweet it! Or like it!
Some of these foods look interesting and delicious, especially the one you had with the swirly potato, and the dumplings. I would probably like the pigs ear, but not when its presented like that. Little pieces mixed with something and fried, not boiled or steamed like it seems to be. On the whole, looks like you ate well..so good. Prices can’t be beat for the most part, “touristy” place or not.. 🙂
Thank you kemkem! The pork steak was quite delicious as were the potatoes. I love potatoes you see but not when they are pulped into pancakes, dumplings, or anything else. Plain potatoes are perfectly fine LOL! As for the pigs’ ear. Eat your heart out young lady!
We did eat well. I was utterly surprised at how easy it was to eat without having the feeling you were being ripped off ‘cos if €3.00 was the “tourist” price, what would the “local” price be? And moreover, at least 50% of the punters in the restaurant were actually Lithuanian. 🙂
It all looks delicious! Including the pig’s ear..would love to take a bite of it! Thanks for sharing..my mouth is watering at everything..:-))
Thank you africanagirl! Lithuanian food was delicious but not so much the pig’s ear. We wanted to try it again at another restaurant, but we couldn’t go through with it LOL!
Now, most of those dishes look great. But I have to admit I would pass on the pig’s ear…
Me too Thomas. Me too! 🙂
Oh wow Victoria, I didn’t quite appreciate how much you’ve written about food, good on you. You have a lot of culinary diversity here which is fabulous and highlights a big benefit of travel.
For me, the afternoon tea is always going to appeal, worth the trip to London alone for an authentic experience. I am also with your husband on the appreciate of real beer, not this gassy lager nonsense that you see so many drink in pubs.
Sorry to hear that “East” is upsetting some nowadays. I understand the appreciation of the past history so how should we refer to it now to reflect it geographically. The new Middle West maybe?
Thank you so much The Guy. That’s honour indeed. 🙂 Yep! That’s one of the great things about travelling, getting to experience the food culture, and haven’t I just? LOL!
I totally understand, Afternoon Tea is so just the epitome of civilisation. We can only get it at 5-star hotels in Berlin, but they do it really well. And so cheap. I went to the Ritz Carlton last year and Afternoon Tea with a very nice glass of champagne came to just €37.00 per person. Only €37.00. In fact, Berlin’s Adlon Hotel of Michael Jackson fame, was even cheaper LOL!
Yes, unfortunately, the shadow of the Cold War still lingers and as a result, the countries in that region prefer to be known as The Baltics or Nordic, but there’s still a lot of controverisal discussion about that LOL!
Right, at those prices I better get myself to Berlin sharpish!
Absolutely! It’s gone up to €42.00 now but who am I kidding. It’s a bargain! We even got a second glass on the house as it was my husbands’ birthday and Afternoon Tea was our “first course” before we went to see a one-night-only British Live National Theatre Premier. Everyone was dressed up and it was a real British theatre affair with people brandishing bottles of wine about.
We can take wine and glasses in with us you see! 🙂
Sounds a lot like Latvian food – they do like their dill in that part of the world 😉 I have never and would never eat a pig’s ear – your son is far braver than I! Looking forward to next week’s post! 🙂
Dill for ever LOL!! Linda, my son is a brave boy. I wouldn’t eat pig’s ear either. It just looks so……!
And yes, get ready to explode in the world of Latvia. Coming up. Next week.
p.s. I can’t remember if I asked you, but are you going to Spain for TBEX?
I can hardly afford to go somewhere else in Germany right now, let alone Spain!
I hear ya. I can’t come out to play at the moment as I have a Masters deadline fast approaching but after that, we have a few pre-summer BBQ to rock to! How was The Interview by the way?
Hmm, I’m not sure. Not overly confident about it, but we’ll see! I answered everything OK I think but just not sure!
Keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂
Thanks!
🙂
Good luck with the Masters! 🙂
Thanks my dear. 🙂
OMGGGGG I love food posts. I never tried pig’s ear – chewy sounds pretty expected tho. That oily black bread with some kind of cheesy-garlicy spread is a go-to beer accouterment in Russia as well. I cant wait to read where you ate in Tallinn!
Me toooooo! I’m so glad that you like it. I didn’t want to try pigs ear either Anna! And do you really have the fried bread concotion in Russia too? That is so cool. Sort of, LOL!
I know I took business cards of most of the places but I can’t seem to find them as we went to four different places. I even took photos of the menu so that I would remember exactly what we ate but sadly, I failed to take in the name of the establishments. I managed to get two in the post though! 🙂
Wow! Kudos to the Tall Young Gentleman for doing his best to get that pig’s ear down… I bet the flavor was pretty good, but the texture must have been hard to swallow. I think I know why they tend to just be used for dog treats in our neck of the woods! 😉
Thanks guys! Such a pleasure. 🙂 Yes, I think, it actually tasted quite alright and “The Tall Young Gentleman” did say that had he not known that it was a pig’s ear, he would have quite enjoyed his meal.
I couldn’t believe how cheap the food was either. A rather pleasant surprise. 🙂
I’m absolutely in a food heaven, girl!!!! How did you like the local beer? 🙂
Thank you Agness! I like the beer very well indeed. 🙂
Pingback: Gosh! Riga in Latvia is gorgeous: 10 reasons to go there right now! | The British Berliner
I visited Tallinn a few years back. I wonder how similar Estonian food is?
Thanks guys! We went to Tallinn too but I found Estonian food of a finer quality and more akin to Russia and their Nordic neigbours LOL! I’ll be writing about Estonian food in May so keep an eye out. 🙂
Pingback: The magic drink of Latvia is Balsam and I drank it! | The British Berliner
Pingback: How I went to TBEX EUROPE, got abandoned at Barcelona Airport & what I learnt! | The British Berliner
Pingback: How I went to Tallinn in Estonia, a Medieval Old Town surrounded by Danish Castles. How utterly charming! | The British Berliner
Pingback: A simple guide to Estonian food and Russian beer! | The British Berliner
Pingback: The smart guide to travelling to Helsinki. | The British Berliner
Pingback: What no one tells you about Budapest, ‘cos the views are breathtaking and the water is magical! | The British Berliner
Pingback: I’m going to Warsaw – It’s going to be astonishing and quite wacky! | The British Berliner
Pingback: A 5 minute introduction to Warsaw. That’s in Poland didn’t you know! | The British Berliner
Pingback: How I went to 11 marvellous countries, & taught the Germans about the Queen in 2015. If I can do it, so can you! | The British Berliner
Pingback: Spanish food & how to eat it! Spanish plonk & how to drink it! | The British Berliner
Pingback: Top 9 reasons why Danish food isn’t just smørrebrød, seasonal berries & herbs, but can be awfully tasty! | The British Berliner
Pingback: How to eat cheaply in Luxembourg! | The British Berliner
Pingback: Food in Germany: 5 of the Best Ever! | The British Berliner
Pingback: I went to Romania. It didn’t wow me! | The British Berliner
Pingback: Best of Eastern Europe. And that’s official! | The British Berliner
Pingback: I went to Romania. It didn't wow me! - The British Berliner
Pingback: Best of Eastern Europe. In my opinion! - The British Berliner