First milk in Tallinn the food was good well priced veggie protein content low
Context
Country: Estonia
Language(s): Estonian and, in Tallinn, a lot of Russian
Length of stay(s): 4 days July 2011
Main issues
Understanding of concept: Not good, and I was told there is no Estonian word for ‘vegan’
Availability: In Tallinn good, to very good. I think because of the combination of Nordic influences, tourist business and Russian influenced (hhmm is that fair?) milk based food stuffs
Quality: Very good
Value for money: Very good
Traditional vegetarian cuisine: None really except milk (Piim in Estonian) based food stuffs such as kefir – keefir in Estonian and cheese
Ease of asking for vegetarian options: “Forget geee abou itee” or however Hugh Grant says it in Micky Blue Eyes.
Availability of protein supplements: I found whey powder and protein bars in 2 shops in Tallinn (Stockmann’s department store and a modern pharmacy)
Useful information
If you’re in Tallinn you must visit Von Khradli Aed for excellent vegetarian and vegan food at very reasonable prices
Useful phrases
Reproduced from the International Vegetarian Union website
- Ma olen taimetoitlane – I am a vegetarian
- Ma ei söö liha – I do not eat meat
- Ma ei söö kala ega kana – I do not eat fish or chicken either
- Ma ei söö piimatooteid – I do not eat milk products
- Ma ei söö muna – I do not eat egg
- Ma armastan loomi, ma ei söö neid – I love animals, I do not eat them.
Von Krahli Aed postcard with address details and how to say I’m vegetarian in Estonian
Vegetarian menu in Estonian
Overall score
6 out of 10, but if you’re outside Tallinn (or the other major cities) I suspect it could be more like 3 or 4 out of 10
Report notes
We stayed at the Radisson Tallinn, which if you didn’t know is part of an American chain, so I had a very good breakfast with plenty of veggie options each morning. This can make a huge difference to me personally as it means I can make better food choices throughout the day and not be driven by lack-of-protein-hunger. I was going to try to defend this ‘non-local hotel stay’ by pointing to the Radisson’s Scandinavian heritage but SAS sold their share of the hotels off, so I can’t 🙁
Picture Gallery
Von Krahli Aed’s Beet cutlets a vegan choice
Mariliis with my dessert
Doug’s Vegetarian score card assumptions
1) I (and you?) would rather eat something local and traditional than international and from a chain (e.g., McDonald’s or Starbucks)
2) Lacto-ovo is preferred (note, I’m a vegetarian that likes to ensure I have at least 40g of protein a day)
3) I don’t eat fish or seafood (so my score card ignores ‘fish’ options)
4) I’m not a huge ‘foodie’ I start by looking at the nutritional value of food
5) This is all my personal opinion / experience – ‘your mileage may vary‘ as my US friends might say
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