2 Ukrainian “evacuees” and their family opened the blinchiki (Ukrainian pancake) food truck Faina, in Shiga prefecture, in May 2022.
As of June 12, 2022, there are 1296 Ukrainian “evacuees” in Japan (Immigration Services Agency of Japan). “Evacuees” means those who have evacuated and are not refugees (Japan granted only 74 individuals refugee status in 2021).
Sidebar: Evacuee/evacuees in Japanese sounds/looks “hinanmin/避難民” (evacuation/hinan/避難, people/min/民). Refugee/refugees sounds/looks “nanmin/難民” (trouble,difficulty/nan/難 people/min/民).
The press conference to announce that Shiga prefecture welcomes 2 Ukrainian evacuees.
51-year-old Irina Yavorska and her 81-year-old mother from Kharkiv were accepted as Ukrainian evacuees in Shiga prefecture in March 2022. They settled down with their family member Kateryna Yavorska, Irina’s daughter living in Shiga with her Japanese husband.
They all tried to figure out a way to contribute to Japanese society as a sign of appreciation of acceptance. They mulled. Then the blinchiki (Ukrainian mini pancakes) food truck was born (“Faina” is considered a female name and means “shining”).
The blinchiki food truck, Faina.
A blinchiki (mlyntsi / nalysnyky / blini / baby blini) is a thin Ukrainian pancake with a savory or sweet filling rolled up like a britto or an eggroll, which somehow resembles the Japanese popular street food “crepe.” Blinchikis are supposedly considered quintessential homemade snacks in Ukraine and are as popular and ubiquitously consumed as pancakes in the US.
Faina’s menu.
Faina had 3 items on its menu: Faina Shake (¥200/$1.50), Blinchiki Cheese (¥350/$2.70), and Blinchiki Chicken (¥350/$2.70). I ordered all of them in awkward Japanese pronouncing blinchiki/ブリンチキ. At the food truck was (presumably) Kateryna, the family member of the two evacuees, who handled my clumsy order in flawless Japanese.
Got a ticket for my order. The Ukrainian words above the numbers read “from Ukraine with love” (according to Google Translate).
There, I got “blinchiki” right, thanks to Kateryna’s flawless Japanese. She redeemed me from the sin of ignorance: not acknowledging mlyntsi, nalysnyky, blini, blinchiki and the other Slavic eats and mercilessly imposing a nominal status called “pancake.” I swear to God that I understand how it feels (shout-out to all the Asian noodle dishes I adore: ramen, udon, soba, pho, and on and on).
FYI: The name “blinchiki” has the same energy as Dunkin’s “Munchkins” in English (I assume).
2 blinchikis and Faina Shake.
Faina Shake was a strawberry (or rose jam, or both) flavored milk with a few ice cubes, which might differ from an ordinary milkshake. I very much appreciated the ice cubes on a hot day.
Blinchiki Cheese and Blinchiki Chicken.
Each blinchiki was equally pleasantly flabby.
Blinchiki Chicken.
Blinchiki Chicken looked like a mini burrito. Its texture was silky and squishy like silicon (I’ve never eaten silicon). Biting the layers as a unified whole was oddly satisfying, and their flavor was convincingly pancake-y or Japanese crepey.
The savory chicken filling with a slight onion flavor was thinly shredded and not overwhelming in quality and quantity. It was flavorful and meaty, which was better than a random chicken dumpling at a random restaurant outside Asia.
Blinchiki Cheese contained raisins and flaky dessert cheese and tasted slightly sweet overall.
My view while waiting for my food.
Faina’s blinchiki items were all fine. They were home-cooked meals par excellence, to die for, at a home party. I appreciated Faina’s time and effort.
But in the business competition of ¥350/$2.70-for-one-item, I couldn’t help but compare to the mighty Teriyaki McBurger at Japan’s McDonald’s (I know it’s not fair) or a ¥300/$2 exquisite pirozhki (Russian empanada) at Kyoto’s Russian/Ukrainian restaurant Kiev.
A perfect home-cooked meal or comfort food is not necessarily and often gastronomically adventurous: fantastic, by its nature (I assume). For that reason, I would comfortably like to repeat eating Faina’s finests unless Teriyaki McBurger of McDonald’s gets in my way.
Faina | 1 Sawacho, Hikone, Shiga 〒522-0075, Japan *The location of Faina might not stay the same.
Faina Shake: ¥200 / $1.50 / £1.30 / €1.40
Blinchiki Chicken: ¥350 / $2.70 / £2.20 / €2.50
Blinchiki Cheese: ¥350 / $2.70 / £2.20 / €2.50
Website | More details
Faina | 1 Sawacho, Hikone, Shiga 〒522-0075, Japan *The location of Faina might not stay the same.
