What better way to end the week than to start the evening with flaming cocktails and 24 carat gold vodka shots? If we were the same people who sailed the Turkish coast in1992 (see blog week 11) we may very well still be trying the over 20 different types of vodka on the shelf and grooving to the jazz band playing in the corner. However, given our remarkable sense of maturity, we managed to limit the shots and find a table furthest away from the brass section so we could actually have an audible conversation. What has become of us?
So we went to Russia! Within our geographical confines (see rules week 1) we decided to visit Torba on Little Stanley Street. Torba is the brainchild of Anastasiya Sukhinina, a professional jazz singer who arrived here 2 years ago and now calls Brisbane home. Most of the 67,055 people of Russian descent in Australia live in Sydney and Melbourne, with some 10,000 settling in Brisbane. The successive waves of Russian immigration over the past 124 years were all for the same reasons: war and changes in socio-economic and political structures. It is estimated that roughly 170 Russians move to Australia every year and they positively contribute both professionally and culturally to the colourful Australian fabric.
The interior of Torba Restaurant and Bar is opulently designed with crystal chandeliers, copper wallpaper, gilded mirrors and plush velvet sofas. Purple and gold dominate the colour palette: purple representing royalty and spiritual fulfilment, and gold symbolising prosperity, wisdom and luxury. With an impressive neon lit bar running along the back wall, the all female, young, blonde Russian waiting staff and the jazz band, the mood is far more nightclub than restaurant. Very modern Muscovite.
An ipad was placed on the corner of the our table which automatically scrolled through a pictorial representation of the menu. Prijatnovo appetite! It's all there: caviar and sourdough bread, Borscht, Blini's, Pelmeni's, Ukrainian Pirogi's with pickles (and a beer), Moldavian Lamb Pilaf with pomegranate molasses, Golubci, Goulash, Georgian Shashlik, and Belarussian Quail with buckwheat. We all enjoyed our meals, and even had room for dessert: Russian Cream Cake and Sour Cherry Roulette. A truly Russian affair.
There were seven of us last night: the usual 6 plus Heather, a visitor from London, who arrived fully prepared with two facts in hand (see rules week 1). There is so much to cover when discussing Russia. Being a nation famous for drink, food, friendship, music, literature and art, the topics varied from Faberge Eggs, The Bolshoi Ballet and Tolstoy to astronauts, war, law, extreme climate, The Two-Headed Eagle and left-handed polar bears. Free facts were flowing, and fun facts dominated the conversation ....like the Bubble Baba Challenge (an annual sex doll boat race on the Vouska River), to homeless dogs using the metro system to get around Moscow (and knowing when to get off because they recognise the station announcements).
Russia is a vast country, with its border longer than the distance from London to New York...and that is where we are heading next. The US of A! With the festive season upon us, and social commitments ramping up, we shall continue week 21 in January. Until then - Nostrovia!
Flaming cocktail
and 24 carat gold Vodka
Blini's
Pilaf
Shashlik
Quail with Buckwheat
Sour Cherry Roulette
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