I spent one week in the south Caucasus

I spent one week in the south Caucasus.

Ask me anything.

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did you go to georgia?

Kaneshna

did you have sex?

ok, so what can you tell me about market culture there. are they all scammers? do they like to haggle?
going very soon btw

Only with gf

will they get mad at me if i switch from english to russian. i know their relationship to russia isn't as fantastic as it could be lol

We only went to the Dry Bridge Flea Market in Tbilisi, but honestly it won't be so special for you as a lot of the stuff you can find in those side streets off Viru in the centre of Tallinn. I mean it's not India (ignore flag, I live in the UK), people (mostly) aren't such money grubbing swine. Yes, haggling is expected though.

Also both Georgia and Armenia have this aversion to talking about money. For example, we stayed in a guesthouse near Vardzia, which cost us around £20 a night. I wanted to give the owner some extra as he went to so much extra effort but he vehemently refused.

Speak Russian, really. English is barely understood, even in the capitals.

It's not like in the Baltic States.

zajebis! :DD

why you look so pissed

what was the grub like over there?

Example: I was staying in a hotel in Tbilisi that was advertised on booking.com, in English obviously. I asked the hotel a couple of questions, on separate occasions, in English. Both times they responded to me in Russian.

Also the restaurant service in Georgia (especially Tbilisi) is literally the worst I've EVER encountered anywhere. I mean it is absolutely abysmal, I can't even begin to fully describe. A lack of English comprehension, general ambivalence, random foreigner tier pricing, an unwarranted 15% service charge and the all-encompassing southerner laziness are all contributors to this. You order something from their encyclopedia-size menus, half of the shit they won't have, but then never bother to tell you until much later when you ask where the fuck is my beer.

Interestingly, based on observation, it seems that non-native English speaking Europeans tend to be less patient and forgiving to the Georgians' shithouse English knowledge and crap service than Anglos themselves. For all we were frustrated about it we weren't so vocal to the degree that of several Europeans we'd witnessed. Indeed, Russian language gets you a lot further than English in both countries, even in this, the year 2019.

is this him?

>He didn't get beaten my theives in law (vori v zakone)

You didn't exprience the REAL Caucasus

I wasn't really, just for the picture :^)

Georgian is truly special. Plus they use a lot of spices you won't encounter elsewhere like blue fenugreek, marigold flowers, ajika chillies, some weird basil type leaf.... so it is very unique in its flavour profile.

Armenia is a lot like Turkish, but it has its own specialties like Zhingalov Hats (really good).

>vori v zakone

ooooh I learned something new, thanks mehmet ahmidov

I went to the part of the Armenian border that's de jure Azerbaijani and de facto Armenian, does that not count? :^)

basically don't be a pussy ass westie if you want to get shit done. got it. luckily i got an apartment with a kitchen and i'm pretty bad ass at cooking so i'm gonna resort to eating in and purchasing all the stuff from the bazaar.
>some weird basil type leaf.
was it purple?
>ajika chillies
really looking forward to getting this shit. i fucking love it. the only place you can get real ajika in eesti is a market where an old armenian lady sells her home made stuff

>so i'm gonna resort to eating in and purchasing all the stuff from the bazaar.
This isn't a really good idea. Food isn't expensive in Gruzija and doing that won't allow you to sample its wonders.

>was it purple?
da
>ajika
Not going to lie, it tasted better in Georgian restaurants in London than in Georgia itself. But yeah, it goes exceptionally well with lobiani.

wow that sounds really good! i love strange/less common spices and I'm checking the wikipedia article about food from the causcaus and that looks all so tasty

>won't allow you to sample its wonders.
you mean i can get a better sampling at a supermarket than at the actual market?
>da
then i'm 99% sure it's a variety of basil. i've actually grown it. it might be 'opal basil' in english

me and a buddy of mine went to tbilisi and we fought with the waiters every meal
they are literally animals and need to be treated as such, every fucking meal was a problem in georgia, will never return there

Please come to Sochi or Gelendzhik :^)

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It is, it really really is. But not even so much the dishes, but just the freshness and REAL flavours of the ingredients.

Look I'm a vegetarian but I recommend anyone to sample these dishes:
>lobiani (so much better than Khachapuri in my opinion)
>salati nigvzit
>lobio
>ajika (it's a sauce/relish, so with other dishes)
>khinkali with mushrooms
>Satsivi (normally with chicken, but sauce is amazing)
>Churchkela (a sweet)

There's also a herb salad (basically a plate of 'erbs) that's near identical to the Iranian sabzi but it's really really good.

>you mean i can get a better sampling at a supermarket than at the actual market?
Even if you're an excellent cook, how do you know how to cook proper Georgian dishes, Tauno ?

>it might be 'opal basil' in english
Pretty sure it's that. Aitah.

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That's dutch as fuck.

But much respect, because the service is truly beyond terrible and it's insulting to be charged for that shit.

Russians on this board threatened to kill me though.

>how do you know how to cook proper Georgian dishes
how to cook any ethnic dish tl;dr: start with fresh ingredients, get your tech down and follow the recipe
of course i'm gonna go out to eat as well to sample it so i can find out what i'm missing

btw, who has the best pic rel there? armenia?

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>btw, who has the best pic rel there? armenia?
nvm, didn't read you other reply where you mentioned you're a veggie

I don't eat meat m8, but khorovats is central to Armenian cuisine so probably there. Speaking of which, I always though shashlik was Armenian but it's all about khorovats there.

>it's all about khorovats there.
that's good to know. we just generally call anything skewered and grilled on charcoal shashlik here. probably some soviet relic

Since you're obviously a foodie can you recommend some decent traditional or modern Estonian dishes ?

Because I went to places in Tallinn reportedly specialising, but I wasn't really impressed. I've got nothing against rye and beetroot but the way it was used wasn't the best.

Anything with dill (God's herb) is right up my alley though.

Same in Lithuania (Šašlykas).

>Anything with dill (God's herb) is right up my alley though.
just check out some estonian food bloggers to get an idea of what's modern. you're more likely to find veggies/vegans since they're more adept at blogging and the internet in general.
the traditional food is more like peasant food meant to sustain you on a 12 hours physical labour day at the fields/forest so it's heavy on meat and not really veggie friendly.

>you're more likely to find veggies/vegans since they're more adept at blogging and the internet in general

You mean basic bitches. I'd rather not.

You look like a tranny.

Thanks jacek