53 scallop dishes and 166 litres of lemonade: Vladivostok celebrates its birthday with great flavour
The "On the Crest – Primorye Scallop" festival once again became the gastronomic highlight of Vladivostok City Day celebrations. Throughout the event, residents and visitors sampled 1,255 complimentary servings of fried potatoes, bibimbap dish, and "Vlad Yam" soup, along with 600 servings of Far Eastern lemonade.
The culinary master classes became the festival's main attraction. They began with fried potatoes — but not just any potatoes. The city's leading chefs prepared the familiar dish with seafood ingredients, transforming it into a true gastronomic sensation.
"It is symbolic that today we are cooking fried potatoes. If Vladivostok were a dish, I think it would be this one. Potatoes are a truly Russian product that has remained one of our country's culinary hallmarks for more than 300 years. But our fried potatoes also feature pollock, squid, scallops and fern. This creates the perfect blend where Russia meets Asia, while Vladivostok is the place where the sun rises for the whole country. The scallop is that very sun," said Vitaly Stanislavchuk, Head of the National Centre RUSSIA branch in Primorye.
For the fourth consecutive year, the festival has been an integral part of Vladivostok City Day celebrations and has firmly established itself among the region's premier gastronomic events, noted Olga Gurevich, Director of the Primorye Tourist Information Centre.
"This year we are presenting 53 street-food dishes. It is rare to find a festival where so many different recipes are created from a single main ingredient. What a delight are Far Eastern pilaf, scallop ice cream and scallop pancakes, to name just a few. The Primorye Territory ranks among Russia's top five regions for the number of gastronomic festivals it hosts. Today, we can say that every restaurant wants to be part of such an event to showcase something unique and demonstrate its culinary creativity and capabilities," said Olga Gurevich.
The Asian-inspired culinary programme featured a giant bibimbap and tom yum soup, traditionally presented this year under the local name "Vlad Yam."
"Bibimbap is our most traditional Korean dish. People in Vladivostok love it, so we chose it as our culinary birthday greeting to the city. This year we prepared even more servings and set a new personal record. I wish our city continued prosperity and hope its residents keep discovering new dishes and expanding their gastronomic horizons," said Yelena Pyai, Head Chef of the Mirine restaurant.
The chefs expressed their affection for Vladivostok in the language everyone understands — the language of flavour. Visitors enthusiastically sampled new dishes and took part in the master classes. The festival attracted not only tourists but also local residents eager to discover unexpected combinations of familiar ingredients.
"We really enjoy these tasting festivals. We only joined this gastronomic movement this year, but we've already attended the wild garlic and rhododendron festival at the National Centre RUSSIA and taken part in its master classes. Today we had a walk around and were delighted to see the familiar festival stands again. These festivals introduce us to new recipes and new flavours. At home we cook in one way, but here professional chefs offer creative and unexpected ideas," said Vladivostok resident Natalia Imanova.
During the celebration, residents and visitors enjoyed 1,255 complimentary servings of fried potatoes, bibimbap and "Vlad Yam," as well as 600 servings of Far Eastern lemonade. Following the two-day festival, which began on 27 June as part of Youth Day celebrations, organisers noted the strong interest shown by both residents and visitors, as well as Vladivostok's growing reputation as the leading gastronomic capital of the Russian Far East and Siberia.
The festival's outdoor programme was organised by the Ministry of Tourism of the Primorye Territory, the Vladivostok City Administration and the Primorye Tourist Information Centre (Visit Primorye), with support from the National Centre RUSSIA branch in Primorye and the pan-Asian restaurant ZUMA.
The region's next major gastronomic celebration will take place on 12 July, marking Fisherman's Day.
Follow the National Centre RUSSIA branch in Primorye on MAX, Telegram, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.
