Taldy-Kurgan: Fresh Eurasian Cusine, Adelaide Central Market

Taldy-Kurgan is a small cafe located in the Central Market, specialising in Eurasian food. Eurasia is the name for the subcontinent that consists part of Asia and part of Europe. Typically, in Asia, the SinKiang province of China and part of Russia belongs to the Eurasia area whereas in Europe, it includes part of Poland and countries from the Soviet Union (ie, Russia). Now, let’s move onto the name of the cafe, Taldy Kurgan. It’s the administrative city of Almaty Province, Kazakhstan. The province was once a part of the Qing Empire, then was belonged to the Soviet Union and is now a part of Kazakhstan. So, by just looking at the name of the cafe, we can expect to see some typical Eurasian cuisines from Russia and China. The decor of this small cafe was very Eur-asian tooooooo.

I once read a review on the type of cuisines people can find in Adelaide and it claimed that we don’t have Russian restaurant. Surely, it is very rare to see Russian food in Adelaide. I was recommended to this cafe by a Polish colleague, who migrated here 20 years ago. Since there’s only 1-2 Polish restaurant in the whole city, she loved the food at Taldy-Kurgan a lot. The cafe serves mainly Russian fried pies and Chinese dishes as well as Russian salads, Chinese breads and home-made coffee and tea. Look at the menu! How many of them are Chinese and how many are Russian?

The cafe is famous for its fried pies, both Russian and Chinese. There are a large variety of them priced around $3.50. We didn’t have any today cos weren’t in the mood of having anything fried for lunch, but according to people who had them before, these pies are fresh and very delicious. I’ll have a try next time and will let you know.

Here it comes our lunch dishes. My wife had the Egg Omelet with extras ($9.50). There were TWO prices for the omelet. The basic ones are $7.50 with bacon only whereas the extras include dill, fennel, spinach, mushrooms, etc. I didn’t see the price differences until my wife realised they charged $2 more. I asked the owner and she went “You guys pointed at the picture when ordering and the picture was for Omelet with extras!” Oh well, I just want to figure out where the money has gone. Now, at least I know now. Anyway, fortunately we ordered the extras, otherwise the omelet on its own was pretty ordinary. However, with the “extra” differences, this dish can be a good brekkie, but is probably not proper as lunch dishes. What actually surprised me were the side dishes. The pickled carrots were crisp, sweet and sour. The white one is Russian style potato salad, which tasted cool, smooth and fabulous on the palate. The red one has beetroot with potato. I’d say the addition of beetroot was really talented and this brought the salad to a different level.

 

The cabbage roll ($8.50) was much better than the Omelet. Minced beef was wrapped in Cabbage and cooked in this rich tomato sauce. It’s like cooking pasta in tomato sauce hah!? When cutting the roll apart, the sweetness and freshness of cabbage leaves combined very well with the moist and tender beef mince. The sauce also added some tomato richness, creating a flavourful dish for lunch.

The overall experience was nice, especially with the cabbage roll. Although the little incident happened to the price differences, the owner explained the price politely and friendly and I indeed didn’t see the price differences, so I can’t be picky on this. The food is not super super fancy, but if you are looking for something different, go and enjoy some Eurasian food next time you are in the market.

 

Food: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Value: N/A – Street eatery, good priced with large serve. Value not rated.
Ambiance: N/A – You know the ambiance of Central Market, don’t you? 😀

Total: 6.5/10

 

Taldy Kurgan

S3，Adelaide Central Market
Adelaide, SA 5000

P  0430 212 033