Moldovan food is hearty, seasonal, and close to Romanian cooking, with Russian and Ukrainian influences. It is the cuisine of a farming country: heavy on grains, dairy, and vegetables, with pork appearing in almost everything.
Mămăligă is the national staple — a stiff cornmeal porridge similar to polenta, served with sour cream, brânză (a salty crumbly cheese), and often a fried egg on top. Eaten at any meal. Zeamă is a sour chicken soup with noodles and lemon juice that is as good as it sounds. Sarmale are stuffed cabbage rolls with minced pork and rice, cooked slowly in tomato sauce and sour cream.
Plăcinte are flat fried or baked pastries filled with cheese, potato, cabbage, or cherries — you will find them at every road-side stall and market, and they make excellent fast food for a few lei. Look for them fresh from the pan.
Aubergine dishes are a summer highlight: roasted, stuffed, or marinated, they show up everywhere during the harvest months. Moldovans take their produce seriously.
Wine is the obvious accompaniment to everything. Local table wine is cheap and often very good; ask at a restaurant what they have by the carafe before ordering a bottle. The white varieties — especially those made from Feteasca Albă and Rkatsteli grapes — are often more interesting than the reds.
In Chisinau, the food scene has improved considerably in recent years. A number of restaurants now do serious Moldovan cuisine with good technique, alongside Georgian, Ukrainian, and Italian options. The central market (Piața Centrală) is the place to browse cheeses, pickles, cured meats, and seasonal produce.