Kazan — summer 2012

This is my new favorite cafe in Kazan. It's on the first floor of GUM. I like it because the coffee is good, it's spotlessly clean, and the music isn't so loud that you can't hear each other.

In the early part of the day I come here to read. I've gotten more Russian reading done here in the last two weeks than in the previous two years. And what do I usually order? Usually I order an Americano and a cream sherbet «сливочный шербет».

What, you may ask, is a cream sherbet? It's got nothing to do with ice cream. It's a central Asian dessert, the base of which is caramelized sugar and milk. At first it tastes exactly like a Heath Bar. The white chunks are white chocolate, which somehow don't distract from the Heathiness of it. And then the littler brown bits are raisin slices. Actually, I think it would be better without the raisins, but it's still good enough for me to order over and over.