A handy discovery in Kaliningrad is that the Russian for fast food is in fact, fast food. (Fact Fyd.)

In case this is still a difficult concept, most of the outlets provide a wall-chart where you simply point to the desired shape of deep-fried batter. One wonders about declining literacy rates.

If you feel up to tackling a real menu, however - or you can always point to what other people are having - my favoured eaterie in Kaliningrad has become the Razgulai, just across from Ceverny Voksal on Sovietsky Prospekt.

It serves trad Russian food such as Zharkoye. As with all stews, recipes vary, but here it’s served with a pastry-bread hat and loads of garlic-laced mushrooms in sour cream.

Since I forgot to take a picture with the hat first I had to eat this twice and it wasn’t a hardship.