Oops…between the excitement of getting ready to start my new job as an ESL teacher, trying to figure out how to fill out a program services plan, and enjoying tea and cookies with friends, I completely forgot to post yesterday! Sorry!
The last two weeks, I have posted two dishes that were good, but just ridiculous portion sizes. This week, I will be posting a meal that was actually really bad!
I’m not a very picky eater, so it is not too often that I encounter meals I don’t like when I travel, but two years ago, I ate a dish that I will always remember as being one of the worst ever! I was traveling with a group of teachers on the Trans-Siberian Railroad (we took a four-night journey from Moscow to Irkutsk), and one evening, we decided to give the dining car a try. I think everyone was slightly disappointed in their meals (over-priced and a bit bland), but I definitely ordered the worst one!
It was called Russian Beef, and it sounded really good on the menu: crispy beef, layered on top of cheesy potatoes! Unfortunately, by crispy beef, they meant “grill scrapings” and by cheesy potatoes, they meant “potatoes that have somehow simultaneously been overcooked and undercooked at the same time.” Huge disappointment! I forced myself to eat the potatoes, but was otherwise left hungry. Fortunately, it is possible to buy really good food for very little money at most of the train stations, so that’s what I did as soon as possible!
It may not look so bad here, but appearances can be deceiving!
Just couldn’t convince myself to eat those over-cooked fragments of beef!
Lesson learned: If you ever go on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, avoid the dining car. You can easily bring your own food on the train, and hot water is available for making instant noodles and such. You can usually also find some really good food being sold on the platforms of the train stations for only a few rubles. A much better deal than the dining car! Maybe I’ll post some platform food next week!
Have you ever had a really disappointing food experience when you travel?
Tracy Travels & Teaches 
Looks like the did a good job on teaching “plating” but skimmed over the cooking part. Or, they’re old Soviet chefs who still hate the American “dogs”.
You might be right. I don’t think we saw the chefs at all, but the dining car on that train was just a really strange place. The one from Mongolia to China had a much more lively atmosphere and much better food!