I think another reason as to why the street-food cuisine in Lithuania is a little lackluster might also be rooted in our culture/upbringing. Now I'm sure many of my compatriots when they were children being raised were told something along the lines of "you don't get up from the table until you finish your food". Indeed the emphasis on eating "properly" i.e sitting at the table, no hunching, using the cutlery as it should be etc. is quite prevalent when children are being raised here. With that in mind, the concept of street-food appears a little unorthodox, which could also explain why there are way more options of such food in our holiday destinations such as seaside resorts, due to the fact that people there are on their time off, relaxing, hence it's fine to be a little more lax about it. 😄
However, such traditional upbringing was also prevalent in Taiwan/Hong Kong/Confucian thinking, at least before the 90s - yet there are street food. I think it's more about how busy the work life is, and how small the apartment - ie, time to stay away from home and on-the-go. And also concern about sanitization and pricing to support business - street food stall usually require less budget.
yes, i was going to say; i think it’s partially a cultural thing. another side to this could be the frugality of lithuanians, which has been changing in the past 30+ years but still feels like an inherent cultural trait. lots of people will plan their outings around meals eaten at home or pack their lunches, hence eliminating the need for something on the go.
i would say that kababines is closest street food we have. we joked with some friends that it would be nice having Lithuanian street food like saltibarciai in a cup or cepelinas in a cup you go and eat /drink at the same time
Great video exploring this topic. I'm with Aivaras...looks like the weather keeps this subculture from blooming. But also, the culture of sitting and eating properly, as others have mentioned here. Years ago, I worked at a very nice French restaurant and the maitre d' was a Belgian fellow....despite waiters being accustomed to being on their feet for hours and hours, this fellow would not abide any of us standing and eating. He felt it was bad for our health. He'd demand that we sit. Anyway, thanks for covering this topic. Oh, and I enjoyed the footage from the ceburekai film. It's a true Lithuanian gem!
There are quite a few bakery shops selling meat buns or donuts and such. You could come in and buy something to eat while going about your business. But those are still inside. Proper street food just doesn't work in these latitudes.
In 1980-1990 street food in Lithuania was more popular - at least in Vilnius you can buy pastries on every second corner. But later eating in cafe became more popular and former street food shrink to Senukai shops. It could be that construction workers are the biggest stable consumers group for this type of food And what about ice cream? It’s not produced on the street but quite many people do eat it while walking 🙂
I thought about ice cream since that is definitely something people buy and consume on the street- but it feels like such a common thing around the world and not unique to Lithuania that I felt it wasn’t worth mentioning.
There used to be ‘Open Kitchen’ in Kaunas and Vilnius prior to pandemic. And now I’m Vilnius is Bernardinu Kiemas (apologies if wrong spelling). Both were similar to the street food scene in London before I moved to LT. In fact, I prefer it here 🙂
There is definitely street food in Lithuania. I include all stalls: Kebabines Coffee stalls which also sell food (like burgers and hotdogs) Gas stations (biggest vendors of subs and hotdogs) And then you got all the coffee shops which often sell pastries of all sorts Places like Caffeine and other small local shops.
All you mentioned is not a type of streetfood. Streetfood is a type food cooked and eaten right on the street in front of everybody. It like an event. Just because you eat a hot dog from a gas station while walking does not make it a street food. Its unfrozen pre-cooked product. The only real street food with mass eating on streets Lithuania has is during fairs and celebrations.
LIDL is the king of street food. It is very popular to go into a LIDL in your neighbourhood or one that you're passing by to grab pastries for a quick meal. The LIDL in GO9 might as well be called pastry factory.
Ceburekai or other street food can be found also in big Bazaars happens once a week. For us best known is Rietavo turgus who happens every Sunday and there is more that type markets in Lithuania on other week days probably but we mostly go there and mostly if not always is someone with cart selling hot ceburekai or kibinius during cold seasons and warm season come mostly can find someone selling ice cream, cold drinks and maybe also same ones too and maybe more
There had been hot pastries with minced meat, mashed potatoes, cabbage, etc. inside, quark doughnuts (quark balls) with tea on the streets. Lithuanians used to buy and eat them mostly on the cold days of the colder seasons. Icecream used to be the summer street food. Well, pastries still are kinda street food, although we buy them in bakeries, not from food tracks nowadays. And yes, kibinai, čeburekai, beliašai, kebabai.
Kibinai and cheburekai both are originated in Crimea, national food of Caraites and Qirimli. But kebabs are is the most popular, I think. You could mention that it is too cold to eat outside most of the time so we snack at gas stations. Circle K and Viada are so good and popular that they once launched Statoil (now Circle K) gas station without gas, just for quick meals.
I mean, I live in Estonia and go to Lithuania sometimes. I'd say you can buy Kibinas as street food, kinda, in Lithuania. In places like Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, Palanga, it's possible to find it on sale from kiosks and carts. Here in Estonia I have to get it from Maxima or Lidl 🤣
street food was very common in lithuania in 70's 80's 90's and 00's, so many cold and warm/hot choices in all main pedestrian streets, big stations, transport hubs, district centers and so on; some street food was purely invented/created/adjusted/been in Lithuania for a very long time even before independence (1918) and you can see small portions of it still in fairs/special events on the streets, mostly with national/folk music festivals/fairs; the main reason why street food culture died is wide spread of shopping malls/shopping centers in central area of the city/town and in district centers which killed majority street food vendors/families who did it for very long time and for many generations.
@@manometras I think it's just parallel development. People want some dough stuffed with meat/fillings for ease of eating on-the-go, so they did. Chef then realize having fillings falling out is bad, so they sealed it - and fold-into-half-moon-then-seal is one of the simplest way to make stuffed dumplings/pie. Then the only remaining question is steam, boil, baked, or fried, and that depends on what is common and convienient, factoring into the common method and ability the final product stay in shape. In fact from my PoV, it looks closer to Cornish Pastries, a british food.
@@jygeb , Karaimai (Karaites) were Türkic people. They were brought to Lithuania from Crimea. They had invented and used to make kibinai (kibinlar) we could use as a street food in Lithuania, because they were a nomadic culture, they were nomads and used to eat sitting on the ground for ages before they settled in Crimea and later on - in Lithuania.
I would like to know; (as a student) - What should we do when renting a room? - What stages are waiting for us? - How to avoid scammers ? Thanks in advance❤
Very interesting! I do agree that street food scene is next to non existant in Lithuania. And I think the assumed price or weather have little to do with it. It has something to do with the mentality and of not having habit of eating on streets. If you were in Latin America or Asia you would understand what I mean. There the whole life is on street including cooking and eating. The entire cities constantly eat on streets. Mexico, Colombia, India, Vietnam, Panama... people literally come out from the house everytime they want to have a food. And they eat in parks, on streets, on sidewalks, smell, smoke, food leftovers are everywhere and all these does not look very sanitary. So I am kind of happy Lithuania does not have street food culture. My humle opinion: kebab is not really a street food. It is most of the times take away food. And it is usually inside kiosk where you have little to non interaction with serever. Street food is when you have an open-air place where they cook food in front of you and you interact with the cook. Its usually not packed and consumed right there. Street food is an event, not a pick up. Kebab is usually wrapped and no one eats it right on the spot in front of kebab kiosk🙂 well the same with "kibinas" and "chebureki" - it is usually pre-made frozen and unfrozen food. Yes you can buy it from a guy on a beach but its not really a street food phenomena, not live coocking, not an event. Its like buying an ice cream but no one calls it a street food. However during city celebrations or Fairs we do have real street food events: Kaziuko Muge, Juros Svente in Klaipeda, Stintos svente in Palanga, also they cook Army Soup and give it to you once a year in Klaipeda but I forgot on which occasion🙂
Personally as a lithuanian unless the food is really simple and there is no way to make mess with it (like pastries, as said kibinai) I only then consider buying it from something like street stall. If it's more complex food even like kebab, burger, hot dog or especially something that involves fork and there is street vendor with place to sit down and street vendor without place to sit down I am certain 80% of cases I will always choose a vendor where you can sit down even if it costs a bit more
There is no street food in LT in fact. All street food is imported like čeburekai, kibinai, kebabai... Real LT street food does not exist. I do not know any of fast food which is really Lithuanian. Our culture is against it because it is unhealthy and you should eat near the table but not while walking.
I think another reason as to why the street-food cuisine in Lithuania is a little lackluster might also be rooted in our culture/upbringing.
Now I'm sure many of my compatriots when they were children being raised were told something along the lines of "you don't get up from the table until you finish your food". Indeed the emphasis on eating "properly" i.e sitting at the table, no hunching, using the cutlery as it should be etc. is quite prevalent when children are being raised here. With that in mind, the concept of street-food appears a little unorthodox, which could also explain why there are way more options of such food in our holiday destinations such as seaside resorts, due to the fact that people there are on their time off, relaxing, hence it's fine to be a little more lax about it. 😄
However, such traditional upbringing was also prevalent in Taiwan/Hong Kong/Confucian thinking, at least before the 90s - yet there are street food.
I think it's more about how busy the work life is, and how small the apartment - ie, time to stay away from home and on-the-go. And also concern about sanitization and pricing to support business - street food stall usually require less budget.
yes, i was going to say; i think it’s partially a cultural thing. another side to this could be the frugality of lithuanians, which has been changing in the past 30+ years but still feels like an inherent cultural trait. lots of people will plan their outings around meals eaten at home or pack their lunches, hence eliminating the need for something on the go.
Add the kinda antisemitic "only jews wear hats when eating" I heard that a lot growing up in lithuania
i would say that kababines is closest street food we have. we joked with some friends that it would be nice having Lithuanian street food like saltibarciai in a cup or cepelinas in a cup you go and eat /drink at the same time
best street food you can find in Lithuania is in Klaipeda during Juros svente (sea festival)
Great video exploring this topic. I'm with Aivaras...looks like the weather keeps this subculture from blooming. But also, the culture of sitting and eating properly, as others have mentioned here. Years ago, I worked at a very nice French restaurant and the maitre d' was a Belgian fellow....despite waiters being accustomed to being on their feet for hours and hours, this fellow would not abide any of us standing and eating. He felt it was bad for our health. He'd demand that we sit. Anyway, thanks for covering this topic. Oh, and I enjoyed the footage from the ceburekai film. It's a true Lithuanian gem!
There are quite a few bakery shops selling meat buns or donuts and such. You could come in and buy something to eat while going about your business.
But those are still inside.
Proper street food just doesn't work in these latitudes.
In 1980-1990 street food in Lithuania was more popular - at least in Vilnius you can buy pastries on every second corner. But later eating in cafe became more popular and former street food shrink to Senukai shops. It could be that construction workers are the biggest stable consumers group for this type of food
And what about ice cream? It’s not produced on the street but quite many people do eat it while walking 🙂
I thought about ice cream since that is definitely something people buy and consume on the street- but it feels like such a common thing around the world and not unique to Lithuania that I felt it wasn’t worth mentioning.
There used to be ‘Open Kitchen’ in Kaunas and Vilnius prior to pandemic. And now I’m Vilnius is Bernardinu Kiemas (apologies if wrong spelling). Both were similar to the street food scene in London before I moved to LT. In fact, I prefer it here 🙂
There is definitely street food in Lithuania.
I include all stalls:
Kebabines
Coffee stalls which also sell food (like burgers and hotdogs)
Gas stations (biggest vendors of subs and hotdogs)
And then you got all the coffee shops which often sell pastries of all sorts
Places like Caffeine and other small local shops.
All you mentioned is not a type of streetfood. Streetfood is a type food cooked and eaten right on the street in front of everybody. It like an event. Just because you eat a hot dog from a gas station while walking does not make it a street food. Its unfrozen pre-cooked product. The only real street food with mass eating on streets Lithuania has is during fairs and celebrations.
@@markust7709 well sure we don't have the new York style hotdog stands and stuff, our cafes and stalls with broader menus cover that.
LIDL is the king of street food. It is very popular to go into a LIDL in your neighbourhood or one that you're passing by to grab pastries for a quick meal. The LIDL in GO9 might as well be called pastry factory.
When we go to the Sunday market at Rietavo we have Kareiviška košė from a trailer and beliašai from vendors
1:58 A Kebab vendor in my hometown Anykščiai- my favourite😊
Nice job recognizing it! 🥳
@@LithuaniaExplained Well, it IS in my hometown, so I wouldn't NOT recognize it XD
@@lieutenantbigz938 oh right- of course 🤦🏻♂️ and I forgot how small Anykščai is anyways 😅
@@LithuaniaExplained Yeah, it's got like 8000 people tops XD
Ceburekai or other street food can be found also in big Bazaars happens once a week. For us best known is Rietavo turgus who happens every Sunday and there is more that type markets in Lithuania on other week days probably but we mostly go there and mostly if not always is someone with cart selling hot ceburekai or kibinius during cold seasons and warm season come mostly can find someone selling ice cream, cold drinks and maybe also same ones too and maybe more
I would say pastries would be it.
There had been hot pastries with minced meat, mashed potatoes, cabbage, etc. inside, quark doughnuts (quark balls) with tea on the streets. Lithuanians used to buy and eat them mostly on the cold days of the colder seasons. Icecream used to be the summer street food.
Well, pastries still are kinda street food, although we buy them in bakeries, not from food tracks nowadays.
And yes, kibinai, čeburekai, beliašai, kebabai.
Kibinai and cheburekai both are originated in Crimea, national food of Caraites and Qirimli. But kebabs are is the most popular, I think. You could mention that it is too cold to eat outside most of the time so we snack at gas stations. Circle K and Viada are so good and popular that they once launched Statoil (now Circle K) gas station without gas, just for quick meals.
I mean, I live in Estonia and go to Lithuania sometimes.
I'd say you can buy Kibinas as street food, kinda, in Lithuania.
In places like Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, Palanga, it's possible to find it on sale from kiosks and carts.
Here in Estonia I have to get it from Maxima or Lidl 🤣
street food was very common in lithuania in 70's 80's 90's and 00's, so many cold and warm/hot choices in all main pedestrian streets, big stations, transport hubs, district centers and so on; some street food was purely invented/created/adjusted/been in Lithuania for a very long time even before independence (1918) and you can see small portions of it still in fairs/special events on the streets, mostly with national/folk music festivals/fairs; the main reason why street food culture died is wide spread of shopping malls/shopping centers in central area of the city/town and in district centers which killed majority street food vendors/families who did it for very long time and for many generations.
Question: Did Kibinai inspire Empanadas? or are they their own thing? Kibinai and Empanadas look so similar in everything.
It’s an Eastern (Asian) food.
@@manometras I think it's just parallel development. People want some dough stuffed with meat/fillings for ease of eating on-the-go, so they did. Chef then realize having fillings falling out is bad, so they sealed it - and fold-into-half-moon-then-seal is one of the simplest way to make stuffed dumplings/pie. Then the only remaining question is steam, boil, baked, or fried, and that depends on what is common and convienient, factoring into the common method and ability the final product stay in shape.
In fact from my PoV, it looks closer to Cornish Pastries, a british food.
@@manometras Kibinai is a Lithuanian dish of Karaim origin
@@jygeb , Karaimai (Karaites) were Türkic people. They were brought to Lithuania from Crimea. They had invented and used to make kibinai (kibinlar) we could use as a street food in Lithuania, because they were a nomadic culture, they were nomads and used to eat sitting on the ground for ages before they settled in Crimea and later on - in Lithuania.
🇦🇷🇨🇴🇬🇹🇪🇨🇵🇭🇺🇾🇲🇾🇮🇩🇮🇷🇬🇶🇵🇪🇵🇾🇧🇴🇪🇸: Emotional Damage
I would like to know; (as a student)
- What should we do when renting a room?
- What stages are waiting for us?
- How to avoid scammers ?
Thanks in advance❤
answer is no, during fairs, yes, and cities like Palanga yes, but more offen then not, no.
But i did see some streetfood at Kaunas busstation.Not since there is a new station as i was there last time.
Very interesting! I do agree that street food scene is next to non existant in Lithuania. And I think the assumed price or weather have little to do with it. It has something to do with the mentality and of not having habit of eating on streets. If you were in Latin America or Asia you would understand what I mean. There the whole life is on street including cooking and eating. The entire cities constantly eat on streets. Mexico, Colombia, India, Vietnam, Panama... people literally come out from the house everytime they want to have a food. And they eat in parks, on streets, on sidewalks, smell, smoke, food leftovers are everywhere and all these does not look very sanitary. So I am kind of happy Lithuania does not have street food culture. My humle opinion: kebab is not really a street food. It is most of the times take away food. And it is usually inside kiosk where you have little to non interaction with serever. Street food is when you have an open-air place where they cook food in front of you and you interact with the cook. Its usually not packed and consumed right there. Street food is an event, not a pick up. Kebab is usually wrapped and no one eats it right on the spot in front of kebab kiosk🙂 well the same with "kibinas" and "chebureki" - it is usually pre-made frozen and unfrozen food. Yes you can buy it from a guy on a beach but its not really a street food phenomena, not live coocking, not an event. Its like buying an ice cream but no one calls it a street food. However during city celebrations or Fairs we do have real street food events: Kaziuko Muge, Juros Svente in Klaipeda, Stintos svente in Palanga, also they cook Army Soup and give it to you once a year in Klaipeda but I forgot on which occasion🙂
Sadly in your new website Lithuania explained, I cannot find anything about Panevėžys 😢
Yes it is a work in progress. Hopefully one day. Thanks for visiting it!
Personally as a lithuanian unless the food is really simple and there is no way to make mess with it (like pastries, as said kibinai) I only then consider buying it from something like street stall. If it's more complex food even like kebab, burger, hot dog or especially something that involves fork and there is street vendor with place to sit down and street vendor without place to sit down I am certain 80% of cases I will always choose a vendor where you can sit down even if it costs a bit more
Hygiene comes first in Lithuania we are not animals to sell unsafe food
Did you liked in Anykščiai?😂
😂 it’s pleasant- especially the path along the river. but I didn’t have a chance to try the kebabas at that stall.
Kebabai and Kibinai are the most popular as i've seen.
There is no street food in LT in fact. All street food is imported like čeburekai, kibinai, kebabai... Real LT street food does not exist. I do not know any of fast food which is really Lithuanian. Our culture is against it because it is unhealthy and you should eat near the table but not while walking.
Or We Can Do What Turkiyë
Döner Spread Throughout Via Germany
So Can Filipino Send There Street Food(s) To Lithuania?
Hello I am from India..
Aight bro
Cool
Kebabai = Street food, in Mazeikiai there's loads of small kebabines, miss those kebabs, nobody got anything like them