The Meat & Cheese Georgian Triumvirate of Bangkok: Khachapuri, Khinkali, & Tolma
“I’ll take cuisines that you would never see in Bangkok, Thailand for $100, Alex.” “This popular dish features unleavened bread formed into a boat shape and filled in its center with cheese, eggs, and sometimes meat.” “What is Georgian food, Alex?” “That’s correct. In last place, we have Big Body who has just correctly answered his first question of the day and now has the board.”
I can thank ‘Avra’, a popular Georgian and Greek restaurant-hybrid in Bangkok for giving me this knowledge that keeps me from getting shut out in my imaginary Jeopardy! Debut. Even in my dreams, I’m the worst contestant on the show.
But Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer have probably never stared down the top of a golden brown, cheese-stuffed khachapuri pillow of everything that is right in the world or irreparably burned their mouths on khinkali broth after failing to bite the top off and delicately sucking the scalding hot broth out, so I’m giving this W to myself.
Enough is enough, it’s time to dig into why you need a cheese boat in your life and why you needed it yesterday.
Stumbling Upon a Georgian (& Greek) Gem of Gastronomic Generosity
Website, Address, & Details: https://www.avrabkk.com/menu
I stumbled upon Avra on one of my walks back to Sukhumvit 11 from The Hive Thong Lor, a fantastic coworking space located in arguably Bangkok’s hippest district. I caught sight of the iconic blue and white lettering, an ode to the Aegean Sea and sky and Greek struggle for independence. As someone with a mother sporting an extremely Greek last name, this intrigued me and I mosied over to the outdoor patio and examined the menu. Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos had decided my fate for the evening.
However, upon inspecting the menu and learning that it was a Greek-Georgian cuisine-hybrid, I knew my ancestral comestibles were not the play for the night. I recommend checking out Avra’s menu to map out your eating marathon accordingly.
To be honest, I am not particularly sure if Georgian and Greek food goes together or if this hybrid-style restaurant is popular elsewhere in the world, but it does seem to work – especially since both take their bread very seriously. I did catch some insider info that one of the owners is actually half Greek and half Georgian, so that could just be the name of the game and there’s no need to overthink it.
I actually ended up dining at Avra four times during my month-long stint in Bangkok. As a creature of habit, I really did not depart from the staples: khachapuri, khinkali, vareniki, and tolma (cabbage rolls). As someone with a body shape that has at many points in my life resembled all of these foods, I feel adequately licensed to write about this.
Also, I also rocked a shaved head and even stockier frame at the time, so I looked very much at home while tearing through my khachapuri like a raccoon through the trash.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’ve read my post and review of Dacha – a legendary Eastern European restaurant I frequent in Hong Kong, then you know that khachapuri has me weak in the knees. Cheesy, gooey, meat-stuffed (for some) golden brown footballs that Tom Brady would be reluctant to relinquish (even with a 300-pound linebacker barreling at him).
Avra-cadabra: Summoning All the Meats & Cheeses in Bangkok
No Georgian or Greek meal is complete without…German beer? Am I right? It was hot, I had just come from the gym, and I needed something to quench my thirst. Plus, a wheat German beer just hits right and elicits nostalgia – mainly the time I drank 12 Hefeweizens on the flight over to Munich and missed Oktoberfest because I was in a pit of darkness for 3 days.
I’ve devoured my fair share of Eastern European fare in this lifetime and had actually looked into spending a year in Tbilisi thanks to their year-long visa-free entry for most countries, so all dishes were well-researched and there was a strategic game-plan with each visit – get as much meat, cheese, and bread in my body as possible in a single sitting.
As someone who grew up eating a lot of Central and Eastern European-inspired meals, Avra was literally the best version of all of those.
The Khinkali: The Unwritten Rules of Eating Georgian Soup Dumplings
I hope it’s not offensive to call these the “Georgian xiao long bao.” But they are soup dumplings that require you to delicately bite the top off and slurp the scalding hot soup out. Otherwise, biting into them could yield a hospital trip (well…maybe not that but everything might taste like rubber for the next few weeks). There are several notable differences though between khinkali and xiao long bao.
For starters, khinkali dumplings are about two and a half times the size of xiao long bao, something I’d attribute to the thicker dough used. You also are meant to leave the overly doughy top of the khinkali uneaten, as it is seen more as a “handle” for this satchel of meat and broth and an abacus bead for keeping track of how many you’ve eaten. They are also boiled, rather than steamed, which I believe yields its more robust shape and sturdy texture.
It’s also considered childish to eat khinkali with a fork as this ultimately phunks (thanks Fergie) with the structural integrity of the dumpling. Khinkali should be eaten with your hands – the way God intended.
Avra offers several fillings for their khinkali (beef, lamb, cheese, salmon, and potato) and also allows you to order them a la carte, which is a great way to try various flavors without committing to a large batch. They also offer mini khinkali for those who pop them like Flinstones vitamins.
I opted for the lamb and beef. These elegant pouches of perfectly pleated dough each yielded an explosion of flavorful broth and tender, well-seasoned meat. The lamb, slightly earthy and bursting with a rich, hearty essence. The beef, finely minced and slightly more tender, closer to that of its lighter Asiatic cousin, the xiao long bao. While eating both, I pictured myself riding a majestic steed through a snowstorm with a newly skinned bear hide draped across my back.
Gotta Hurry to Catch Some Khachapuri
If you don’t order khachapuri when eating Georgian food, I don’t even know why you are there in the first place. These cheese-stuffed boats of baked perfection are artistry – they are the single exclamation point used in Hemingway’s ‘Old Man And the Sea’, deliberate and afraid of nothing.
I opted for their khachapuri fitted with a beef patty in the direct center during each of my four visits. Brimming with molten cheese and lightly brushed with butter, these golden brown behemoths touched on almost every single flavor profile that tickles me silly.
The gooey, slightly salty undertones of the cheese paired perfectly with the savory, beef patty which was nestled in an airy, slightly sweet and buttery pillow.
This is home comfort and indulgence at its finest. Cheese enthusiasts rejoice. You’re home.
You Betz Golubetz (Tolma)
When it comes to Eastern European cuisine, stuffed cabbage rolls are what legends are made of. I feel like nearly every country has its own version of a cabbage roll which makes it so universally loved and a dish you can’t go wrong ordering.
Perfectly seasoned minced beef and pork (and onions) wrapped and cradled in tender cabbage leaves, smothered in a slightly sweet and tangy tomato sauce that unleashes rich flavor into each and every crevice.
Avra’s cabbage rolls lived up to this standard of authenticity and transported me back to my days in Central Europe where they were a tri-weekly dining occurrence. So you can imagine I was in for a cold reality when I stepped out the door to see the usual suspects gearing up for a night of hedonism and lechery.
Potato Vareniki (Bonus): A Dumpling Underdog
Disclaimer – I know that vareniki are not traditionally considered a Georgian dish – however, they are delicious and more than hold their own in a line-up of Georgian staples.
The only thing I don’t like about vareniki is that I can eat about thirty of these in a sitting. And don’t get me started on pelmeni.
I am ‘Team Vareniki’. In the meat-filled dough race to the Moon, I would pit vareniki against any dumpling in the world. For me, it is the top dumpling dog. Khinkali are a fantastic treat but if you are talking about getting down to brass tacks, wanting something that is versatile (it can be salty, sweet, savory, or all the above), and eating at least a baker’s dozen in a sitting, then vareniki are my preferred dumpling variation.
Potato vareniki are a labor of love. A simple, yet extremely satisfying combination of just a handful of ingredients. These delicate pockets of dough boast a velvety mashed potato blend in the center which is subtly seasoned with the appropriate amount of salt and pepper and bathed in a generous bath of butter. The result? A melt-in-your-mouth experience that elicits feelings of sitting by your Grandpa’s fireplace up in the mountains every December.
As you’ll notice, there is no sour cream dollop sitting atop these little humble pleated pockets of joy. One of my worst qualities is that I generally don’t eat white sauces. This all stems from an incident when I was in first grade and was made fun of for eating ham and mayonnaise on pita sandwiches every day for lunch. I hid under the table and called my parents to take me home. It was exacerbated roughly 7 years later when I was at a TGI Fridays in Newington, New Hampshire, and a waitress hurriedly passing by dropped a bowl of bleu cheese sauce all over my head.
Psychologically, I wasn’t the same after that and I refrained from mayo, bleu cheese, and white sauce consumption until my later years. By then, it had been so long that just smelling it triggered uncontrollable retching. And here I am at 32 years old – unable to overcome my fear of white sauces.
My only regret is that I did not have someone to split a jug of Georgian wine with (since Georgia is the cradle and birthplace of wine). I heavily considered it but fiscally it would have been one of the poorer decisions a solo traveler could make in Bangkok (other than well…you know…).
But don’t worry, I still finished off each one of my four meals with a glass of mastika, a slightly piney and sweet Greek digestif.
Avra is Putting Georgian Food on the Map in Asia
After my near-year-long Europe stint, I’ve actively sought out quality and reasonably priced Eastern European cuisine in Asia and failed miserably (except for Dacha in Hong Kong and one or two other spots) – until I met Avra.
I’m not really sure that there is a heartier, more filling, soul-warming food on earth than Georgian cuisine (and Eastern European). If you disagree, I do welcome trial by combat and accept submissions via my contact form. Avra provided refuge for me during a time when I came down with the big C and strep throat twice and just wanted something familiar and comforting to keep me from falling apart.
Whether you’re an Eastern European cuisine neophyte or a seasoned hummus enthusiast, Avra has something for everyone. While I can’t comment on the Greek half of their menu, if it is even half as delectable as their Georgian half then you are also in for a treat.
Are you team vareniki, pelmeni, or khinkali? Let me know in the comments. Georgia is one of my next top destinations that I’m planning to go spend one month (or maybe even several months) so if you have any recommendations, I’d also love to hear from you.
Eat well everyone,
Big Body
Big Body is a voracious lov…eater, a cowardly fighter, and a self-proclaimed curry goat BBQ-eating champion (don’t forget the donkey milk) who likes Stoicism, baseball, and writing in the third person. Having worked for himself for the last 7 years, he isn’t particularly successful but he does still drink ice-cold Sapporo draft beers with the best of them and knows his way around a Dai Pai Dong or two. He is based in Hong Kong but you can still find him in Saigon, Osaka, and Vienna for extended periods.