Issue #28/83, February 10 - 17, 2000  

Asian Just Browsin' Bangkok Emerald Buddha Fanza Five Spices Fuji It's Sushi Kakadu Ki Ka Ku Lily Wong Mao Naka Ostrov Formosa Tamerlaine Temple of Moon Tibet Himalaya Tibet Kitchen

$$$

Cheers: Finally, a Thai restaurant in Moscow with a specially flown-in chef (and ingredients). Prawn satay with peanut sauce is smokin'; chili sauce that's actually spicy; sweet and sour dishes that won't let you down; great seafood. Cozy couches and layout; very few grammatical errors on the English menu. Plekhanov Institute students hang out in the downstairs bar and drink away the schoolday.
Jeers: All the really tempting seafood items are priced in the stratosphere; dishes are hit-and-miss, especially the soups and salads; no tofu anywhere; mid-room dance floor reminiscent of a cheesy hotel ballroom.
M:Dobryninskaya
Phone: 237-3074
Address: Bolshoi Strochenovsky per. 10
Hours: 14:00-23:00 (until 1:00 on weekends)

$$$

Cheers: New Thai joint that leaves the other local options in the dust. Potent creamy curries come as spicy as you ask for. The only place we know of to get Thai beer. Allegedly serves scaled-down versions of the restaurant fare at much reduced prices at the upstairs boulevard cafe.
Jeers: Definitely on the pricey side; don't screw up by getting the basil pork--it suckie-suckie'd. Funny-shaped phad Thai.
M:Chisty Prudy
Phone: 925-9482
Address: 1 Ulitsa Sretenka (entry from Rozhdestvensky Bulvar)
Hours: 12.00 - 24.00

$$

Cheers:Was one of Moscow's finest Chinese restaurants, with can-do management style to match.
Jeers:Unfortunately, has been closed under mysterious circumstances. Look for Fanza to reopen in a new location at some point in the future.
M:Tretyakovskaya
Phone:ul. Sadovnicheskaya 54
Hours:11.00 - 24.00

$$$

Cheers:eXile alert! Word has it that the reigning Chinese restaurant now delivers! Are these guys pulling out all the stops or what?! Their $10 lunch special is one of Moscow's very best. Choose from Vegetarian or Meat, and receive soup, massive portions of egg fried rice and rich, delicious Chinese cuisine. Check out the new crisis prices at the emperor of Moscow's Chinese restaurants, brought to you by the same culinary innovators that brought you Darbar. Nearly every dish we tried was superb, portions were large, service attentive. For starters, try the honey glazed pork; for entrees, the King Prawns in Hot Garlic Sauce rule the local prawn kingdom, while any spicy chicken dish is a good alternative. Offers various szechuan tofu and veggie dishes. Bathroom features a shower. Tandoori dishes said to be superior.
Jeers: Steep 2nd floor stairwell could spell trouble for people with vertigo; hot 'n sour soup too heavy on the soya. Prices may be just out of range for some eXholes.
M:Kropotkinskaya
Phone: 203-1283
Address: Svitsav Vrazhek 3/18
Hours: 12:00-24:00

$$$

Cheers: If you want sushi, you should come to Fuji; cheaper than the competition, which isn't saying much; friendly service, manager is a babe.
Jeers: Cheesy Japanese prop design can be unnerving; you'll need a Fistful of Yen to feed yourself.
M: Pushkinskaya
Phone: 209-3240
Address: Bol. Dmitrovka 32
Hours: 16.00 - 24.00

$

Cheers: 2nd location now open at the new Ramstore. Moscow's bestest quickie sushi option just got a whole lot better with the addition of temaki and sashimi. Believe it or not, affordably scrumptious sushi! Finally, a quasi-healthy fast-food option for a quick lunch or a light supper. Kickin' tuna, plus some respectable vegetarian options like egg and black mushroom. The combination of sinus-opening wasabi and fresh seafood is also the perfect hangover cure. DeliFrance always seems to be packed with teenage girls. Fewer Michael Bass sightings during the last fortnight. More outlets to come...
Jeers: That shopping area is looking more and more like an upscale food court every day.
M: Mayakovskaya; Rizhskaya
Phone: 299-4236; ?
Address: Next to DeliFrance in the lobby of Tchaikovsky Concert Hall; Sheremetyevsky (new Ramstore supermarket)
Hours: 12.00 - 24.00

$$$

Cheers:Some great Thai choices in a kickin' Carlito's Way Tiki bar atmosphere guaranteed to impress your date. All veggie dishes were solid, including Tofu with stir-fried vegetables (36R) and vegetable soup with noodles (49R). Tasty sates, spicy shrimp, pork with ginger sauce. Excellent rambutan for dessert. Overall, better than Bangkok.
Jeers:Wallet-sucking cocktails that might attract your date's eye; sweet and sour pork was merely fried and chewy fat.
M:Leninsky Prospekt
Phone:954-3163
Address:Leninsky prospekt 28
Hours:12.00 - 6.00 (Go here for cover details)

$$$$

Cheers:High-quality, surprisingly spicy Chinese places with a maxed-out interior (including live ducks) that shows what decadence is supposed to look like. Try the massive portioned entrees like chicken in black bean sauce or the all-you-can-eat buffet (which includes desserts). Also has excellent sushi and (as yet untried) dim sum. Kids under 10 accompanied by an adult eat free!
Jeers:Too bad we hate kids. The price is the only real obstacle; buffet is $50 a head (even the 50% off during lunch hours price seems pretty steep); sushi is also pricey. Large proportion of families inside is disappointing after seeing all the Mercs lined up outside.
M:Dinamo
Phone:?
Address: Begovaya 28
Hours:12.00 - 24.00

$$$$

Cheers:Lunch special for 19.95 is "not bad" by local standards. Janice Bitterman gave it a single thumb-up.
Jeers: eXile alert! A government minister had his briefcase stolen while dining here (or at least that's what MK said...) Once charged the eXile's general counsel $21 for a bottle of water, making them "Really Wrong."
M: Okhotny Ryad
Phone: 956-8301
Address: Tverskaya 3/5
Hours: 12.00 - 24.00

$$$

Cheers/Jeers: See Lionel's consider-all-sides review.
M: Ulitsa 1905 goda
Phone: 255-5955/42
Address: Ulitsa 1905 goda (2nd bldg. from the embankment)
Hours: 12.00 - 2.00

$$$$

Cheers:Passable and relatively affordable Japanese noodles, misu soup, and sushi. High staff turnover rate makes for "interesting" service. The wasabi is right on.
Jeers:The soy sauce is not-they bought the cheap British-made kind; watch out for the sushi rolls-they often slip some extremely questionable fish bits in with the minced up meat; you're better off with the large hunks of sushi. "Interesting" service can become downright annoying if your party is more than four.
M: Arbatskaya
Phone: 241-0886
Address: ulitsa Arbat 31
Hours: 11.00 - 23.00

$$$

Cheers: eXile alert! With Fanza having succumbed to Starvin' Ivan's seductive charms, the Taiwanese "Ostrov" is now probably the best Chinese-type option in town. 3-course business lunch is pricier than most at $15 but worth every penny (you get a choice of 4 entrees and a beer). Superb soups and noodles; kick-ass sweet and sour pork. Even if prices are still on the high side, the portions seem to have increased in size.
Jeers:Surrounding neighborhood overflowing with dangerous construction sites and falling icicles. Pre-recorded Chinese voice that greets you as arrive and depart spooks us.
M: Pushkinskaya
Phone: 229-7216
Address: Leontyevsky Pereulok 23
Hours: 12.00-24.00

$$$$

Cheers:Not since the Golden Horde rode through these parts, creating the sort of blood-soaked orgy that would make our Death Porn section read like bedtime stories, have the Mongols dared. No more. Bills itself as the only Mongolian B.B.Q. in Moscow. You choose the meats 'n toppings; they cook it on a massive Mongol grill right before your eyes. Impresses New Russians.
Jeers:Interior remarkable for the total absence of anything remotely Mongolian. More Holiday Inn Beni Hana than Ulan Bator. Way, way overpriced for very mediocre quality; pretentious, sneery waiters who openly 'dis you if you don't spend enough money-hey, are these guys Mongols, or Frogs?! Recently, were known to savagely gauge customers on the ruble exchange rate. Asshole managers completely unattentive to your needs. Seems they'll quickly go the way of the Mongols of yore, though out of sheer stupidity. After a mediocre meal, barbarian service, and shocking tab, you'll feel like your village was just sacked by Genghis himself.
M:Kropotkinskaya
Phone:202-5649
Address: Ul. Prechistenka
Hours:12.00-23.00

$$$

Cheers:Features the best snake vodka in Moscow (we swear to god-vodka with huge pickled snakes in each jug!) Try the sweet 'n sour shrimp (oo yeah!), stuffed hermit crab, spicy cabbage salad, pork with mushrooms; cozy, romantic atmosphere makes it great for eXpat dates (and Russians too!).
Jeers:eXile alert! This place isn't as cheap as we first thought! Too small; said to be Chubais' favorite restaurant, so if you work for USAID, you might have an embarrassing run-in with your ex-boss.
M: Arbatskaya
Phone: 291-0401
Address: Bolshoi Kislovsky Per. 1/12
Hours: 12.00-24.00

$$$

Cheers:It's open again, so don't worry. Pleasant, relaxing interior; superior service featuring the Kalmyk babes and Tibetan chefs; every dish is delicious and reasonably priced compared to other Asian restaurants; try the Momo dumplings and ask for the spicy (we mean SPICY) sauce, Nomad soup, any of the pork entrees, but especially the egg-fried noodles. Make sure you order the Eggplant with spicy garlic sauce, which is still a winner. Now has a garderob AND fully-fitted toilet seats, meaning that the place is practically flawless. A great place for a date.
Jeers:Mellow-inducing atmosphere may kill your desire to follow up with an all-night debauch. Some of the meat dishes are said to have slipped.
M: Chistiye Prudy
Phone: 917-3985
Address: Pokrovka 19
Hours: 12.00-24.00

$$

Cheers: eXile alert! Biz lunch portions have just been huge-ened, making this a top choice for fattening up that office tire. Somewhere along the line this place lapped Tibet Himalaya as the best Asian food option in town. Veggie or chicken spring rolls and Sha-Baklay rock, as does the the sweet-and-sour chicken and the tasty pork Phak-Sha, that dish whose name we like to repeat all the time because it sounds like we're saying, you know, something else. Multi-course lunch special a mongo bargain at ten bucks. Pleasant atmosphere, good service, no loud music, inoffensive orange walls. Kalmyk babe waitress factor steadily rising. Full-scale Lhasa mural helps pass the time while the food cooks; if you look really closely, you can see monks undressing in the windows. MCA's favorite restaurant in Moscow.
Jeers: eXile editors eat here way too often, imperiling the reputation of the clientele. A visiting CNN crew recently called this place "the best restaurant in Moscow."
M:Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya
Phone: 923-2422, 961-3441
Address:Kamergersky Per. 5/6
Hours:12.00-23.00

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