Piroshki at Adelaide Central Market - Taldy-Kurgan

Take a yeasted bun, stuff it, deep-fry it and you have a piroshki, a glorious golden street snack that originated in Russia. Piroshki can also be baked or plain, but I know I'd choose a blistering baptism in bubbling hot oil every time.

Fresh piroshki are not so easy to find in Sydney, which is why my heart skipped a beat when we  stumbled on the Taldy-Kurgan stall in the Adelaide Central Market last year.


Taldy-Kurgan

Taldy-Kurgan is a city in Kazakhstan, found at the base of the Dzungarian Alatau Mountains.  Here in Adelaide, it is a brightly coloured stall that promises Fresh Eurasian Food. This is not fancy fusion cuisine, but an electic mix of hearty fare that hails from the region that straddles Asia and Europe: borscht beetroot soup with dumplings, bigos hunters stew, and omelettes served with Russian salad.



Owner Theodore Bai making piroshki

The biggest sellers here are the piroshki, made right before your eyes on a stainless steel counter in the middle of the stall. Owner Theodore Bai works quickly and quietly, folding over pockets of dough that are lined up like a puffy yeasted army.


Piroshki production

Deep-frying the piroshki

A small frypan of hot oil transforms these balls of dough into golden parcels of fluffy satisfaction, the final products stacked neatly in the heated display cabinet.


Beef and onion piroshki $3.50

Piroshki are easily eaten with one hand - perfect snack food while roaming the markets - but we choose the sit-down option instead, our piroshki served on a retro 70s plates and delivered to our table.

[front] Spinach and ricotta piroshki $3

[rear] Zippoly anchovied bread $3

Fluffy and light, these taste like a stuffed savoury donut, without any guilty greasy residue on the tongue. We can only find a small amount of anchovy in the plaited zippoly, but there's plenty of mince in the beef and onion version. The spinach and ricotta piroshki is my favourite.


Blini crepe filled with ricotta and sultana $3.50

We savour the blini crepe last, blanketed with a snowstorm of icing sugar and wrapped around a generous filling of ricotta and plump sultanas.


Blini crepe filled with ricotta and sultana $3.50

According to Theodore, the stall was first opened by a Russian immigrant ten years ago, homesick for the snacks he remembered from his childhood. Theodore and partner Waulice Wu took over the business four years ago.

Their customers are loyal and come from afar. One man, Theodore says, travels all the way from Canberra, arriving with an empty suitcase and packing it full of piroshki to take home.

I wish I'd done the same.


Taldy-Kurgan  owners Theodore Bai and Waulice Wu

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Taldy-Kurgan

Stall 3, Adelaide Central Market

Grote Street, Adelaide, South Australia

Tel: +61 (0)404 451 648

Opening hours:

Tues 7am-4pm
Wed 9am-4pm
Thu 9am-4pm
Fri 7am-9pm
Sat 7am-4pm

Closed Sunday and Monday

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
South Australia - Adelaide Central Market
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South Australia - The Manse Restaurant, North Adelaide