Moldova's queen-of-the-kitchen chicken soup: a thin sour broth with homemade egg noodles, lovage and a finishing splash of fermented bran liquid or lemon juice.
Zeamă (also spelled zama) developed from Bessarabia's rural pantry of fermented grains and barnyard chickens. The sourness comes from fermented wheat-bran liquid called borș, sour grape juice or, in modern kitchens, lemon. The herb lovage gives zeamă its unmistakable celery-anise lift. Moldovan wedding custom names the day after the ceremony La Bors or La Zama, when a huge pot of zeamă is served before all other courses to revive the guests; the soup is reputed across Moldova to be the country's most reliable hangover cure.
3 editor picks for Zeamă in Chișinău, ranked by editorial score. All Chișinău signature dishes · Zeamă across every city.
La Taifas ★ 4.4
centru · Strada București 67, Chișinău, Moldova
La Taifas in Chișinău is the old village house with porch on Strada București, serving rustic Moldovan cooking and live folk music in a clay-pottery room.
Sălcioara ★ 4.3
botanica · Strada Decebal 99/6, Chișinău, Moldova
Sălcioara in downtown Chișinău is the traditional Moldovan dining room with carved-wood interiors, evening live music and a kitchen built on village recipes.
La Plăcinte (Hâncești 58) ★ 4.1
botanica · Șoseaua Hâncești 58, Chișinău, Moldova
La Plăcinte on Șoseaua Hâncești 58 is the Botanica-side branch of Moldova's plăcinte chain, with the largest dine-in room and a kids' play area attached.