Sunday 6 February 2011

The Authentic Taste of Orient, Janki

We went into Janki (pron. Yankee) yesterday (Saturday) for a trip to the cinema (The King's speech) and some shopping. I discovered that TGI Fridays by the entrance to the cinema has changed to become Restaurant Asia, The Authentic Taste of Orient.



It opened on Thursday and they are doing an introductory promotion for 19 zloty. This covers an eat as much as you like buffet meal, which is unmissable value. If you are going to Janki, passing through or just want to go, now is the time to try Chinese Chinese food. I don't know how long the promotion lasts, so don't wait too long.



We were thinking of taking Misia for sushi, pretty much her favourite at the moment and, since it was there displayed on the poster, in we went.



There is a wide range of foods available, including a couple of sushi items, various meats, vegetables, noodles, etc. I only sampled a few items, but it all seemed very good. I must particularly extol the quality of the shrimps in batter, where the batter was fresh, crispy and with that melt in the mouth quality that used to be the hallmark of the batter in a good London fish and chip shop. (I'm sure they came out of the freezer last time I ate in China Town in London.)



The restaurant has been opened by four Chinese men, who were very much present, worrying about how everything was going and giving particular attention to what looked like a couple of Chinese matriarchs (wives?). I asked if I could take photographs, but the owners quickly moved away from me as soon as giving permission, so I didn't get any pictures of the owners themselves. There were some other Chinese customers and waiters, but I didn't want to get too personal, so no pictures of them either. (For those who don't know, Janki is the main shopping centre for Warsaw's large and growing Chinese community.)



It still has the pub-style bar from the TFI days, although it never had a pub atmosphere the times I called in there. (The coffee isn't Poland's best, either.) TFI Janki is intriguingly still advertised for booking on Polish restaurant sites (exclusive 15% discount). It was part of a Russian owned franchise group's - I knew the Polish manager and wonder what is happening to his job. However, I was surprised to find that some of the old staff are still working there - two barmen, at least, recognisable because they look like twins, although actually brothers. For those of you who knew the place, the Roma seem to have gone - the buffet has replaced the area where they used to sit - and there was less noise and disturbance around the bar area than on previous visits. I know some customers found this off-putting.


Restaurant Asia doesn't seem to have its own website and it hasn't appeared on the various booking sites yet. In searching the internet however, I was reminded that Asia (pron. Asha) is also a girl's name. Asia, Janki's photoblog is password protected, but with true loyalty to a good cause and withdrawal symptoms for not putting any links into the post, I felt obliged to point you to some other photoblogs showing Janki's attractions, like that of Izabella (lOOk in tO my eyes):


and, since there was no balancing male site worth including, Sylwia Szadkowska The tattoo looks vaguely familiar in this picture, but I'm not sure where I might have met her.

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