Possibly the most niche cuisine in Seattle: Eastern European

📍 Hye Life Cafe & Bar A Eastern European cuisine restaurant recommended by my colleague, a Russian girl. It serves dishes from Russia, Georgia, and other regions. Seattleites may be familiar with Russian bakeries, but she said this might be the only true Eastern European cuisine restaurant. She was very proud to recommend it to us. 😊 The taste of the food might be a bit subjective; personally, I find it delicious, but it might not be to everyone’s liking. However, trying something new once in a while is always a good idea. 😋 Appetizers 🥗 Eggplant Roll - I absolutely loved it, though it’s a bit evil, haha. Cool eggplant wrapped around cheese, nuts, and dressed with vinaigrette. It’s mysteriously delicious. I saw a colleague take a bite and quietly put it down, though. 😅 Soup 🍲 Borsch - beet soup, a precursor to our own Luo Song soup, sweet and sour, very refreshing. Adding a bit of cream makes it even more fragrant. Solyanka - Russian sour and spicy soup, made with sausage and olives. It’s sour, but I don’t like olives, so I found it just okay. 😒 Main Course 🥘 We ordered a huge BBQ platter that excited us all as soon as it arrived. It looked incredibly abundant. A full plate of lamb chops, pork chops, pork, and chicken legs, accompanied by grilled bread, fried potatoes, grilled bell peppers, grilled tomatoes, and some very fragrant and refreshing side dishes. The lamb was a bit dry, not as good as home-grilled, but overall, I loved this plate of meat, especially the grilled pork. The spices in the platter were a bit special and might not suit everyone’s taste, haha. 🍖 Beverages 🥤 I ordered a cappuccino in a cute cup, and the taste was pretty good. They have a good selection of coffee; next time I want to try Affogato! ☕ In the end, including tax and tip, the average cost per person was $46. It’s not cheap, but I don’t think it’s a rip-off either. The portions were huge and substantial; we couldn’t finish and took the rest home. It was still delicious cold! 😋 I would bring friends here again, and there are still many dishes I want to try. I’m looking forward to it. Lastly, next to this restaurant, there’s also a Eastern European Bakery and a Eastern European supermarket. The colleague took us for a stroll; there were all sorts of interesting snacks, ice cream, cheese, canned fish, bread, and the famous Russian red sausage. I bought a jar of honey soaked with nuts and fruit, which looks very evil, but I can’t wait to taste it, haha. 😄 #SeattleFood #SeattleFoodHunting #SeattleLife #HiddenGems #EasternEuropeanCuisine