What’s Eaten where: Tirana: the European capital with the cheapest rents

If you took your Tirana salary and tried to survive in Cyprus, you’d have huge problems! In Limassol, you’d probably be able to afford a small corner of someone’s basement; in Nicosia you might get half a garden shed. And even then, you couldn’t afford to eat!

At €269 per month (over €600 less than in Cyprus), the minimum wage in Albania’s capital is the lowest in Europe. If you make anything over €400, your salary is above the average. Quite how residents survive is a mystery. Until, that is, you discover that this city is one of the cheapest places in the world…

Costtoflive.com suggests a one-bedroom apartment in Tirana will set you back roughly €200 per month. A meal for two at a relatively inexpensive restaurant costs less than 10 euros.

But don’t consider leaving Limassol just yet! This may be Albania’s economic, financial, political and trade centre, but the city’s roughly 1 million residents don’t have it easy…

Tirana consistently rates as the worst quality of life of any city in Europe. It also has the highest pollution on the continent, the lowest purchasing power, and is in the bottom 10 for health care. Yes, given that Albania borders the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, many of the locals speak Greek. But that just means the food won’t be much of a surprise…

You’ll instantly recognise dolma as the local equivalent of koupepia: grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice; cabbage leaves if there are no vines around. Stuffed veggies (especially bell peppers) are another gastronomic similarity, as are byrek, filo pastries  usually packed with spinach.

In fergese (a traditional Tiranian dish of peppers, aubergine, potato, lamb and feta cheese in a tomato-based sauce) you’ll recognise moussaka. Petulla, fried dough balls laced with honey, are the local version of loukoumades. And Albanian kadaif (shredded phyllo dough with chopped walnuts and vanilla sugar) equates – even in name – to our kataifi.

Honestly, if you’re looking for an unusual culinary experience in Tirana, you’re probably better off sampling the drink. Along with boza (an age-old concoction of fermented corn, barley, millet, or wheat that is still widely enjoyed to this day, although apparently an acquired taste), you’ll find dhallë (sort of like kefir, but thicker and saltier). And, of course, the local raki.

Particularly popular in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and parts of the Middle East, this isn’t your regular ouzo. An anise-flavoured liqueur, Tiranian raki is known to be among the strongest in the world – often over 90 per cent proof.