If you are looking for comfort food because it is dark by three o'clock, the wind is annoyingly fierce, branches are whipping you in the face, your feet are cold 24/7 and your lips are chapped, plus every day you cycle ultra-early through the rain to your work/studies/responsibility (whether or not with six children on the front of your bike) then I know just the place you need to be.

Our flat country

I am glad I exist now. In this era and in this country. For obvious reasons (no war, there is money for things; like education, infrastructure and the snow gets cleared here) and also because never before in the history of this country has so much good food been available for such a large group of people. Maybe you are thinking right now what are you on about during the Golden Age there were show pies here and people ate saffron but that was only for the rich my friend. Not for the wretched of the earth.

Look where we are now. Things like filo pastry, turmeric, panko breadcrumbs, cassava, za'atar, pomegranate, okra and antroewa are the order of the day. The very best thing is that I also grew up in a time when those ingredients were nowhere near as self-evident (the nineties, grandma tells all) which means I appreciate them so much now. Those whippersnappers being born here nowadays often don't know any better and take it for granted.

Beyond borscht and caviar

Anyway. Some food is better represented here than other food, but it is clear that there is plenty of choice. One cuisine that you can hardly find is the Russian one. I once had a Russian downstairs neighbour who regularly brought me Olivier. Not a man, but a Russian potato salad that has since also left its mark in Brazil, Iran and Pakistan. But Russian cuisine is more than this mayonnaise salad, caviar and borscht. And what else that cuisine has to offer can be tasted at Nika in Rotterdam.

Particularly at the weekend, the owner is busy preparing all sorts of delicious treats. Sunday is a good day to go because that is when the most extensive cooking is done. Here they make chebureki (sounds like: çiğ börek right or wrong?)) made, a kind of flat mince and herb empanadas (and sometimes a bit of vodka – you gotta love the Russians) on the inside:

Hard work:

These balls are deep-fried in oil into flat cakes with a surprise on the inside. A bit like a Kinder Surprise egg, but actually edible:

Look at them swimming:

On Sunday, Nika's chebureki sell like hotcakes…

In this Volkskrant video that I made with Xander van Dijk / Homeowners see me in action in the kitchen of Nika Ru:

https://www.facebook.com/volkskrant/videos/vb.132272050127848/2112421769038972/?type=2&theater

When I was there, I fell hook, line and sinker for the salmon cakes:

Comforting and all. I took a seat at the back of the shop:

(this child knew veryyyy well where she had to be on a Sunday)

…and tasted The Salmon Cake:

I was eating by myself and caught myself making a deep and loud ‘mmmm’ sound out loud. A good sign.

And for anyone thinking oh everything is sorted there and I can't handle that: think again.

Herring under a fur coat

I also ate a super-nutritious and, above all, very tasty mushroom soup there. I thought I was going to get a weak broth with those pre-cut leek skins. Few things are as annoying as being ravenously hungry, ordering vegetable soup somewhere, and then getting water with pre-cut soup vegetables. Who wins a war with that? Tell me. At least this soup fills you up and the Russians understand that. With pieces of potato, dill, parsley, paprika, really nice mushrooms and buckwheat for a delicious bite.

And these stuffed peppers were there too:

The display case:

Including aubergine rolls, syrniki (curd cheese pancakes), stuffed cabbage leaves, and white and brown rice with meat.

I'll just highlight the selyodka pod shuboy, a.k.a. herring under a fur coat, or in short: fur coat:

A salad with beetroot, herring, potato, egg, onion, apple, mayonnaise, etc. Is often eaten at Christmas and New Year.

A holodets (aspic) – boiled meat in jelly with horseradish:

In the 1950s and 60s, people here in the Netherlands used to build entire gelatin works of art: meat pies and timbales, all encased in gelatin, but that has since gone out of fashion again, although in other parts of the world it is still the order of the day. And that is why it is making a bit of a comeback here now, at Nika…

Also spotted there; shashlik in the marinade:

Also freshly baked: piroshki with fillings such as cabbage, meat, potatoes or mushrooms, you name it they have it.

Sunflower seed halva & kefir

Alongside all these homemade delights, at Nika Ru you can also find all sorts of nice groceries including sunflower seed halva, kefir, Georgian wines and quail egg mayonnaise, about which more later.

Around 90% of Nika Ru’s customers are Russian-speaking and therefore come from Russia or other former Soviet states. They enjoy picking up their orders here or satisfying their homesickness on the terrace or at the back of the shop. Whilst I was there, a man came in to pick up three loaves of black bread – a very dark, dense rye bread with sunflower seeds. Be like this man and get your fix at Nika’s.

Extra free tip: for the holidays they really go all out with all kinds of Russian delicacies that are especially made then.

Nika