Train Fare

In 1901 the intrepid American traveler Burton Holmes crossed Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway, then still under construction. His travel notes reveal that although the dining car was “a stuffy little affair” and the meals “badly served,” they were “surprisingly well-cooked and appetizing; good bread, excellent veal, and hearty soups, sometimes frappés, with a clinking cake of ice floating on their chill depths, sometimes seething hot, with a hunk of steaming beef rising from them like a volcanic island.”

Hyperbole aside, it is clear that Holmes was able to eat well as he traversed the steppe. But things were different in 1983 when my husband and I traveled on the Trans- Siberian from Moscow to Beijing. Our Muscovite friends had warned us that food would be scarce on the train, so they gave us a special farewell gift: a beautifully plaited basket covered with an embroidered linen cloth. Inside were roast chicken, cabbage-stuffed pirozhki, hardboiled eggs, and homemade apple pie. We feasted on this bounty for a couple of days before venturing forth to the dining car. There we were presented with a menu of the day’s fare, though hardly any of the items were available. We soon found out why. At the next station, we exited the train to stretch our legs and caught sight of the cooks in their white uniforms, passing boxes of food to men who were giving them wads of rubles in return. No wonder there was so little food on the train! 

Luckily, our friends had arranged for a rendezvous at the Krasnoyarsk station. In those days, Krasnoyarsk was closed to foreigners because of the military installations nearby, so we were not allowed to go beyond the platform. As we stood trying to figure out who our contact might be, a buxom blonde in a tight black dress and stiletto heels – a Russian Marilyn Monroe – materialized from out of nowhere and nearly smothered us in the embrace of her ample bosom. She handed us a basket, kissed us profusely on both cheeks, and disappeared. Back in the train we opened the basket and swooned with delight. Inside were pelmeni, those famous Siberian dumplings, still hot and swimming in a rich chicken broth. We also discovered garlicky pickled cucumbers and a bottle of Kedrovka, a local vodka infused with cedar nuts. 

Today, dining on the any of the three Trans-Siberian branches is much more predictable. The Russian leg of the journey boasts ample, if standard, fare: fried eggs and ham for breakfast, borshch and kotlety (meat patties) with potatoes and peas for lunch. Chocolate, beer, Russian champagne, and vodka are always for sale, and attendants will bring hot water on demand from the big urns at the end of each car. If you take the Trans-Mongolian branch through the Gobi desert, a Mongolian dining car is attached to the train, where you are likely to feast on mutton and rice. And while the wheel gauges are changed at the border with China, travelers are ushered into a Chinese dining car, where tasty stir-fries are offered with seasonal vegetables. 

A hundred years ago, Burton Holmes appeased his stomach by dining at the station restaurants, where he found “meals as cheap as they are satisfying.” These days, a better bet is simply to explore the foods sold right on the platform, by vendors who make a few rubles by selling their produce. Travelers can take advantage of hot pirozhki and bliny. In the summer, paper cones overflow with fresh blueberries, raspberries, and wild strawberries. Pickled wild mushrooms foraged from the woods are a real treat and make perfect train-car zakuski when paired with black bread and vodka. All kinds of Western products are available, too, but why eat potato chips when you can have ponchiki (doughnuts)?

Despite the upheavals of the past decade, the Trans Siberian Railway has not lost its romance. And in these days of accelerated travel, it is luxurious to spend a week contemplating the great Russian steppe as you race east toward the rising sun. 

Quick Pelmeni 

(Siberian Dumplings)

Here is a streamlined way to make pelmeni at home, using store-bought wonton wrappers. Make a big batch and freeze them, uncooked. Then you can just pop the frozen dumplings into boiling water and your meal will be ready in minutes.

8 to 10 dozen wonton wrappers

Filling

1⁄2 pound ground beef and pork, mixed

1 medium onion

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

12 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the filling, grind the beef, pork, onion, salt and pepper finely in a food processor.

Spread a heaping teaspoon of the filling on each wonton wrapper. Bring one edge of the round over to meet the other and seal the edges tightly to form a half-moon. Then take the two pointed edges and bring them together in the center of the half-moon, along its straight edge, pinching them tightly. Lift these edges slightly to form a round ball. 

Bring a large kettle of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop in the pelmeni and boil them gently for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Cook in several batches, making sure not to crowd the dumplings in the kettle.

Drain the pelmeni and immediately pour the melted butter over them. Serve Siberian style with mustard and vinegar, or Russian style with sour cream and dill.

Makes 8 to 10 dozen.