Ukrainian TikToker enjoys East Coast hospitality, iconic sights and donairs

Content creator Andrian Makhnachov travels to Halifax to experience East Coast hospitality.

A content creator from Ukraine, who has earned a large social media audience tasting iconic Canadian food, has made his way to the East Coast.

Andrian Makhnachov has been living in Saskatchewan for about three years and wants to explore as much of Canada as possible.

“When I moved from Ukraine to a new country … I moved because of the war, and I wasn’t prepared for it. It was so different … the food, the culture, the people. That’s how I started filming everything and talking with the audience and that’s how it all started,” he said.

He first caught CTV News Atlantic’s attention in July when he documented himself trying a McCain Deep and Delicious Cake.

Since then, he’s been planning a trip to the East Coast to explore the Halifax area.

“I’ve been Googling a lot, and I was suspecting that, walking around, there was going to be a lot of fishermen everywhere. I even brought my waterproof pants in case someone would need help,” Makhnachov told Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett, while sporting a yellow rain jacket and sou’wester.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t met a lot of fishermen yet.”

When Makhnachov shared he was going to be heading to Nova Scotia for a visit, he says he received messages from friendly East Coasters offering to show him around.

“I posted my first video, and a lot of people from Halifax followed me and I got like so many emails, ‘You can visit my family, you can stay with me. You don’t need to stay in hotel,’” he said.

“I was reading my DMs and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, I will take you to find the lobster and crabs.’”

While in Halifax, Makhnachov tried local delicacies like the city’s official food – the donair.

“There were so many messages, you must try donair, you must try donair,” he said.

“I liked it. At first, when I was filming it, I made a little bite, then I took another bite. Usually, when I film, I’m trying to talk, but then I was just looking at the camera and I realized that I ate all of it. I forgot to talk.”

Makhnachov also had his first lobster roll.

“For some reason, I feel sad after eating lobster because now I’m seeing lobster with my eyes, but yeah, it was delicious,” he said.

Makhnachov visited some iconic Halifax attractions, including Peggy’s Cove, Public Gardens, and the Canadian Museum of Immigration.

“You see everything (at the museum) and it just feels like something you went through and it was very emotional,” he said.

“There was a lot of successful people there, their stories, and I thought I want to do something big so one day there will be a poster of me in this museum.”

The people of Nova Scotia have lived up to their hospitable reputation, according to Makhnachov.

“They’re so nice. I was thinking a lot about it and, when I just arrive at the airport, I asked, where is the bus stop? And the person who I asked, he was like, ‘Don’t worry, I will take you here.’ He just grabbed my hand, and he took me to the bus stop. I feel like everyone has some story and they are so kind to share it,” he said.

“Thank you so much for welcoming to me, for helping me, offering the feedback for recommendation. I’m really excited to be here and, yeah, I cannot wait to come back.”

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