Bulgaria - Day 1 (Sofia)

Bulgaria is not particularly known as a foodie city, nor as a tourist destination. I had some Bulgarian foods when I visited Chicago and I loved them. Since then, I have always wanted to visit Bulgaria. The uniqueness of Bulgarian cuisine was the use of dairy ingredients, specifically yogurt.

I arrived at Sofia late last night. I have heard that Bulgarians are not known as the friendliest people. Although I was ready for some sort of grumpy people, I was still surprised by the very unfriendly staff at the currency exchange and taxi dispatcher. I was hoping that this would be the worst point of the trip....

The morning started with a breakfast tour. I was expecting to stop by at several places to try different breakfast items. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a city walking guide tour with just one stop for breakfast. The name of the tour is misleading..

Nonetheless, we stopped for banitsa, which is a savory pastry with layers of eggs and cheese between filo dough. The guide told me that Bulgaria's specialty is pastry. As he told me, I saw quite a few pastry shops. This banitsa is freshly prepared and very filling. It's about the size of a quarter of a medium size pizza.

The guide also brought two drinks. The first one is airan, which is a drink made with yogurt and a hint of salt. Not sweet at all. Very well known drink in Turkey.

This drink is called boza. It is fermented wheat drink, which contain small amount (less than 1%) of alcohol. It's salty, sweet and sour, which confuses my taste buds. Very much an acquired taste.... It tasted a little soy saucy, though.

Dinner is at the restaurant recommended by the guide. Even the guide found it difficult to say the name of the restaurant, Hadjidraganov's Izbi. It's just off the main shopping street, Vitosha Boulevard. Although this street is considered the most touristy area, the guide mentioned the food is great.

There are several appetizers that I wanted to try while I'm in Bulgaria. Luckily, I found a platter including most of them. The center is Shopska, which is "THE" salad in Bulgaria. Just tomato, cucumber and cheese. Three dips include Kyopulu (eggplant) and Snezhanka (yogurt & cucumber). Kyopulu is Bulgarian version of babaganoush without tahini. Snezhanka is pretty much like tzatziki. The only difference is the yogurt is much thicker than that of tzatziki.

The bread that came with the appetizer platter is a whole loaf... Very fluffy. Wish it had a bit more salt, though.

This is not a great picture. Pork platter for two, Kyufte on right (seasoned ground meat shaped around the stick) and Kebapche on left (pork kebab). Pork is the most consumed meat in Bulgaria. The platter came with sausages. The seasoning is on the light side. I had to sprinkle additional salt or "rainbow" salt on the table, which is a mixture of different spices and salt. I tasted cumin for sure. Later I found this is called Sharena sol. 

 Yogurt made from Buffalo milk, topped with walnut and drizzle of honey. Very thick.

Creme brulee. Compared to French creme brulee, it seems thickened by some sort of starch


I rarely saw smiling faces, even between locals. I never heard anyone laughing throughout the day. I've read in some articles that Bulgarians get grumpier as it gets colder. It was a pretty cold day. I'm going to Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, tomorrow. Usually people in a smaller city are more laid back. I hope tomorrow is a bit more uplifting.