Czech Cuisine

I believe that food is a window to culture, and so I always make it a point to try the cuisine of the country I'm visiting. Czech cuisine is influenced by its surrounding countries such as Austria and Hungary, especially with the presence of sauerkraut in some of its dishes, or traditional Czech dishes such as Schnitzel, which originated in Austria. Czech food is very meat and gravy-heavy.

If you're in Prague and you want a taste of traditional Czech cuisine, head to Havelska Koruna, a self-service cafeteria in the Old Town. Its daily menu consists of 25 dishes to choose from. It's cheap, tasty and fuss-free. Don't expect polite servers or restaurant-style treatment. The dish in the photo below was pork collar in gravy with rice.

These are fruit dumplings slathered in cream cheese. I wanted to try one of each flavour and didn't expect them to turn out so big and dense. The dough that encases the fruit filling is a lot like a Chinese bun in texture. Three were too much for me and I couldn't finish them.

On another day, I headed to a restaurant called U Bulinu and had rabbit on a bed of spinach surrounded by potato dumplings. Again, a Czech dish with Austrian influences, especially with the spinach and potato dumplings. It was delicious. Those who've never had rabbit before and are wondering what it tastes like... well, rabbit tastes like duck.

Can't leave Prague without one of these fried mozzarella sandwiches from the sandwich kiosks along the streets. Incredibly cheap and really hits the spot.