Vila Vechi, Str Mihai Eminescu, Chisina (Moldava)

Salted Sturgeon with lemon and olive oil

Fresh vegetables

Rabbit Vila Vechi

Mystery meat served on potatoes

Chisinau is the capital of Moldova and as such an interesting place to dine. Being the poorest country in Europe, the amount of Bentleys and AMG tuned Mercedes, which roam the streets is surprising. We tried to get a table at La Taifa and a steakhouse but they were all full on a Friday night. We landed at Vila Vechi, the interior look like a cross between a high school gym and a dining room at a nursing room. Judging from the equipment it probably is very popular for marriages and other functions. Looking at the menu, the bottle of Moldovian Cricova sparkling wine, sells for 9 CHF so we decided we needed one to help us make up our mind. The menu was absolutely huge, about 20 pages full of food. The quality of the food was horrible, even if you lower your standards the food just doesn’t deliver against any basic cooking skills. There’s no balance of flavours, the signature dish Rabbit Vile Vechi, was completely overcooked and the bread was just as bad as in the United States. The positive thing here is that Moldova is well known for its wines which is one of their biggest exports. Having no clue we took the simple approach of going for the most expensive bottle on the menu and were surprised by the wine, it was above drinkable, strongly towards good and at 34 CHF of great value. Moldova right now doesn’t need an international aid package it needs a cooking skill transfer.