I’m a street food addict, and I love to find new street food options- but I am also a Canadian, so when the inestimable Chris St. Cavish reported on a pirogi shop opening in Shanghai, I was stoked. Pirogi! Cheese filled dumpling joy!

Of course, when I went to Ponchiki on its opening day I discovered two very important things:

1. Russian pirogi are not what we get back in Canada. Those are Polish pirogi; the Russian name for what we call pirogi back home is ‘Vareniki'.
2. Russian pirogi are really damn good. I had never considered the joy of a small loaf filled with mashed potato and bacon, but it does hit the spot.

The pirogis are 4RMB, and they also have Russian doughnuts for 3RMB and drinks for 5-6RMB. At 10 kuai for a pirogi and a decent coffee, Ponchiki makes a good breakfast stop for the non-youtiao eaters like myself.

Because a Russian doughnut and pirogi shop in downtown Shanghai struck me as somewhat anomalous, I chased down JD- one of the partners – to answer my questions. Here’s what he had to say:

Why pirogi and Russian doughnuts in Shanghai?

Well, to be honest, it was originally just going to be Russian donuts. They are quite successful in Moscow evidently. My partner was able to convince the chef from a popular shop there to leave and come here. I had the experience of managing small shops like this, not donuts of course, but figured I'd give it my best shot. During our tasting/testing phase, we went to my partner’s house to try the donuts and a few different toppings. While there, my girlfriend and I tried a few different flavors of pirogi. They were just there for casual snacking. But we knew right away this would be something that we just couldn't afford not to offer.

What exactly is a Russian doughnut- are there any distinguishing features?

Russian donuts, or at least our recipe, are meant to be served warm and fresh. They are worlds apart from the traditional cake donuts that are put into a special mold and baked in the oven, then served cold. Grab one of our donuts and top it with a bit of sugar powder or if you're really brave, drizzle one of the yummy sweet sauces on top and take a bite...soft, yet chewy. Not full of nothing but air like donuts from other places...I won't name any names.

What's the plan to take over the highly competitive street eats market?

Our plan is to create high quality, super clean, super tasty pastries and drinks at local street food prices and with the same amount of convenience too. We are actually catering more to the locals with a variety of flavors and low pricing while attracting foreigners with our clean environment and convenience. We want to spread wide and fast. We are trying to keep everything, except our recipes, simple.

What the hell does Ponchiki mean, anyway?

Ponchiki means...straight up: donuts. In Russian, 1 donut = ponchik, 2 donuts or more = ponchiki. Sorry if it wasn't what was expected, but the sound of it certainly fit our image. Our Chinese name is 棒极圈 Bangjiquan.

How have the Chinese been taking to it?

The Chinese have been doing OK with it. I think it will be just a matter of time before they start adding it to their daily routine. The foreigners usually buy larger quantities at one time, but the majority of our customers are still Chinese.

Any plans for a delivery service, and if so, will it include beer?

We will have a delivery service beginning sometime next week. As of now it doesn't include beer, although I'm a big fan.

Can you add vareniki to the menu (the dumpling-y things that are called pierogi in Canada)?

All I can say is, we are more interested than you could ever know in hearing our customer's suggestions. Can't promise that we will add it to the menu, but if enough people ask for something, we will certainly investigate the idea.

Anything else coming?

We will be having our REAL Grand Opening this coming Monday and will offer all our new flavors of pirogi (about 12) plus 7 different types of drinks coming in several flavors each including my favorite, fresh made ice cold lemon tea.

I just wanted to wrap things up by saying that we will be adding new flavors every couple of months as promotions. If it works, then we'll keep it, if not, then it disappears forever. I can't stress enough how much we appreciate it when a customer comes to us and tells us how much they love our food or drinks and especially when they take the time to tell us what we can do to improve things. If we get it wrong, we want to make it right.

There you have it, the Ponchiki plan for total city domination. If you have any great ideas for pirogi flavors, and you aren’t afraid of them being rejected by the cold, heartless masses of Shanghai, stick them in the comments here and I’ll pass them on to JD and the Ponchiki crew. Make your mark on the Shanghai pirogi scene.