Food: Kyiv Part 2

After we settled into the apartment and realized how limited the supplies were and after our visit to the Billa, I knew I needed to find another option for a shopping center.  We needed to find a few more pans so that I could cook and I knew that we were going to need to find options for actual meat.  After a bit of research, I found the MegaMarket, which was about 2-miles from the apartment.

The MegaMarket is almost like a Sam’s Club from back in the US. It’s a very large, warehouse type store.  It’s two levels. On the first level is a grocery store with a huge bakery, meat and deli counter, cheese counter, fruit & veggies, extensive alcohol selection.  On the second level is all home good; pots, pans, towels, sheets, toys, etc.

While in Kyiv, I made followed my US schedule, where on Sunday’s I would make my menu and then Nolan, and I would go to the store on Sunday nights. I purchased all our meat from the MegaMarket, most of our veggies, and then stopped back into the Billa though the week for small items like milk, eggs, creamer, etc.  I was also able to find a good selection of spices and seasonings at the MegaMarket, so we were able to keep up our Taco Tuesdays in Kyiv.

Here’s my research data on the MegaMarket:

  • 13 apple varieties. The fruits and veggies were always well stocked and lasted through the week. I could pick up raspberries, and they would last a few days.  The vegetables always looked great too. We had a ton of carrots in Kyiv. Carrots seemed to be the go-to snack for Nolan.
  • No pre-packaged bread. Everything was pretty baked and sliced. I didn’t get bread from the MegaMarket. I always went to the Billa for our bread.
  • 21 milk varieties. The milk selection was pretty good at the MegaMarket. There were even organic options. I did, however, find it interesting that not all the dairy items were kept cold. None of the cream was in the refrigerators. All the cream was just on a shelf.  I couldn’t bring myself to risk it, so I always bought my coffee creamer from the Billa rather than the MegaMarket. Also, the MegaMarket offered a very large selection of Kefir. Kefir is a sour-tasting drink make from cow’s milk fermented with certain bacteria. I couldn’t bring myself to try it.
  • 15 aisles, but this is very deceiving because there were 2-levels and the store was broken up in sections. For example, the alcohol area was a very large open area with lots of bins for the wine.  The bakery was also a really large open area with bins and shelves for all the freshly baked bread.

Other comments about the food and the MegaMarket:

  • In general, I would say the food was very inexpensive.  I mean, really everything was reasonable in Kyiv, but I was always a little surprised with how cheap our Sunday trips to MegMarket were.  I think on average they were maybe $75 for a week of food.  We made a couple other small stops to the Billa to get bread or cream, but I would say we spend maybe $100 per week on food at the grocery store.
  • Yogurt was everywhere. I honestly have never seen so much yogurt.  Yogurt of every varieties, size, flavor. Yogurt for days!
  • In the frozen food area, there were bins of frozen fruits, veggies, and fish. It was a self-service section.  It was actually really interesting. All the vegetables and fruits looked really good, though we never tried it. I thought it was a cool concept. You scoped what you wanted into a bag, weighted it, and got a sticker like you would in the fresh produce area.
  • I believe this is the source of my food poisoning. There was a fresh olive section at the deli, and they all looked amazing, and they were terrific, though, I’m also pretty sure they were the cause of my 48-hours of death.
    When we went to the MegaMarket, we almost always used an Uber. It was easy to walk to the MegaMarket, but because we went on Sunday’s as a weekly stock-up, walking back wasn’t an option.
  • From what I could tell, the MegaMarket was by far one of the largest grocery stores in Kyiv. We did find most everything we wanted, but I would say the selection was still pretty limited and not many of the traditional US junk food items.
    For cooking purposes, I did end up buying a saucepan and a few Tupperware containers. Else, I rocked it out with 1-large pot and 2 saucepans in Kyiv.

Here are a few pictures from the MegaMarket:

^This is a look down the aisles, so you can see it’s very Sam Club like.

^Just some of the wine from the Wine Room.

^This is the self-scooped frozen food.

^THE olives.

4 Responses

  1. What an adventure and thank you for the post card with the website reference to follow your adventures. Be safe and I’ll look forward to future postings and NO, I won’t be following on Facebook! 🙂

    1. Glad the post card arrived safely! It’s been a great trip. Hard to believe we are about to pack it up in Kyiv and move on to our next city.

  2. If not the olives then cross contamination from those handles sitting in the foods. Or maybe the salami?

    1. Welcome Sue! Who knows, but I haven’t had olives since! Thanks for reading and following us!

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