Sai-Gon (Płock)
Kuchnia orientalna
Tak przynajmniej głosi wielki napis w "chińskiej czcionce" nad wejściem, do tego średnich rozmiarów samotnego, bardzo przeszklonego budynku w Płocku na ul. Nowy Rynek 9. Rozumiem, że jest to takie nasze przyzwyczajenie, kuchnia orientalna = kuchnia chińska, wietnamska, tajlandzka, czy japońska, więc próżno szukać tam indyjskiej masala dosa, tybetańskiego momo, czy bengalskiego jadgish saag alu, które też niewątpliwie są potrawami krajów orientu.
Wchodzimy więc, (przeciskając się wcześniej między stojącymi przed wejściem taksówkami) do Sai-Gon-u bez żadnych roszczeń co do nazwy nastawieni na ryż lub makaron sojowy z jakimś dobrze wysmażonym mięsem. Siadamy przy małym stoliku w rogu pomieszczenia i szybko ustalamy co kto je. Jesteśmy dzisiaj w Płocku przejazdem, więc taka knajpka, gdzie zawsze dostajesz porządne porcje za dobrą cenę i to jeszcze w miarę szybko jest dla nas idealnym wyjściem. Przy kasie jednak panuje niejako chaos. Dwie dziewczyny stojące przede mną coś między sobą ustalają, a kobieta za ladą coś notuje w zeszycie nie zwracając na nie uwagi. Mam więc chwilę żeby się rozejrzeć dookoła. Byłem tu już wiele razy, kiedyś pracowałem niedaleko, więc odwiedzałem to miejsce czasem na drugie śniadanie. Nie jest to lokal w którym trzeba by coś na gwałt zmieniać. Jest czysto jak zawsze, te same stoliki, ale ciągle w dobrym stanie, jedynie zniknął z rogu "jednoręki bandyta". Pomyślałem, że to dobra zmiana, bo rodziło to wcześniej klientów, którzy przychodzili na piwko, czy dwa grając godzinami na automacie, a restauracja potrzebuje przecież ciągłej wymiany klientów, żeby zarabiać jak najwięcej pieniędzy. Jednak przekrój klientów za bardzo się nie zmienił. Ci sami ludzie, którzy głośno rozmawiają przez telefon klnąc przy tym siarczyście i śmiejąc się głośno, na piwku i kurczaku z frytkami, przed lub tuż po pracy. To jednak nigdy nie przeszkadzało mi w konsumowaniu, wraz czytaniem gazety.
Przyszła moja kolej na złożenie zamówienia. Tutaj prawie wpadłem w podstępnie/niechcący (niepotrzebne skreślić) założoną pułapkę. Chciałem zamówić krewetki z warzywami, ale zauważyłem, że cena nad kasą nie zgadza się z ceną jaką widziałem na ulotce przy stoliku. Szybko dopatrzyłem się, że chodziło mi warzywa z krewetkami i naprawiłem swój błąd oszczędzając w ten sposób około 5 zł. Po złożeniu zamówienia wróciłem do stolika i wtedy rozumieliśmy dlaczego miejsce nazywa się Sai-Gon. Wystarczyło parę zamówień od gości i parę telefonów, żeby mimo odpowiedniej ilości pracowników powstał niemały zamęt. Mimo (moim zdaniem) braku takiej potrzeby, kasa z kuchnią przez większość czasu jaki tam spędziliśmy porozumiewała się za pomocą krzyków korygując wielokrotnie te same zamówienia. Chaos był na tyle obecny, a zamieszanie na tyle naoczne, że rozmowy między klientami z grubsza ustały, jeszcze bardziej potęgując cały zgiełk. Mimo wszystko nasze jedzenie zostało podane w rozsądnym czasie i jak zwykle było smaczne a porcje sycące. Nie zauważyłem też, żeby któremukolwiek z innych gości zostało zaserwowane coś źle, lub ze zwłoką. Generalnie, poza stylem prowadzenia, nie można nic zarzucić. Jedna rzecz (choć może to czepialstwo) trochę mnie mierzi. Przy zamawianiu "noodli" na ulotce reklamowej możemy doczytać iż sos do zestawu dostajemy gratis. Jak dla mnie to żadna łaska tylko normalna część składowa dania, a sam zabieg przywodzi mi na myśl sytuację z Indii gdy po zamówieniu Irish Coffe okazało się, że za śmietankę muszę dopłacić jeszcze ponad 1/3 wartości kawy (już nie wspominając że Jamesona też nie było w środku, ale nie można było go dokupić, to byłą Irish Coffe bez Irish). Takie zabiegi są dla mnie po prostu graniem nie do końca fair.
Jednak ostatecznie mogę polecić tą knajpkę każdemu kto lubi czasem zjeść coś na mieście, chce wydać między 10 a 15 zł i nie lubi McDonald's-a czy innych takich wynalazków. Zostanie obsłużony szybko, dostanie cały talerz jedzenia, a jak będzie miał szczęście, to nawet zje w względnej ciszy.
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and the translation done by our friend Collin! Thank you a lot.
Sai-Gon Restaurant – Service commensurate with price
SAI-GON (PŁOCK)
ORIENTAL CUISINE
Or so at least boldly announces the sign written in large, psuedo-Chinese lettering above the entrance, which leads into the medium-sized, highly-glazed building which stands in isolation on Nowy Rynek in Płock. I have accustomed myself to taking such broad descriptions with a pinch of salt, knowing full well that oriental cuisine = Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai or even Japanese cuisine. It is therefore pointless to expect to find in these establishments such personal favourites as Indian masala dosa, Tibetan momo, or Bengalese jadgish saag alu, even though these are, without a shadow of a doubt, meals of oriental origin.
Therefore we enter Sai-Gon, after having previously squeezed between the taxis standing in front of the entrance, without any preconceptions about the names that will have been allocated to rice or soy-pasta with some kind of over-fried meat. We sit at a small table in the corner of the restaurant and quickly decide upon what to have. Today we have stopped off in Płock, therefore such places which always offer reasonably-priced, generous portions in a short time are a natural option. However, at the serving counter a not-insignificant amount of chaos reigns. The two girls standing in front of me are deciding amongst themselves what to order, while the woman taking the order is absent-mindedly scrawling on the order pad. At least this gave me a chance to look around.
I had been here many times before, when I was working nearby, so I occasionally came here for lunch. This is not the sort of place that requires sudden changes. It is as clean as ever, the same tables, but still in good condition. The one-armed bandit that once stood in the corner of the room has done a disappearing act. I though that this is a change for the good. Previously clients would come in for a beer or two and spent a couple of hours mindlessly feeding coins into the machine. In order to maximise profit restaurants rely on a quick turnover of clients. However, the cross-section of society that makes up the client has hardly changed. These same people, usually on their way to or from work (if you can truly believe they are capable of holding down jobs) , talk loudly on the phone, littering their sentences with expletives and laughing loudly while wolfing down their fried chicken and chips washed down with beer. However such distractions never disturbed my eating or reading the paper.
My turn came to place my order. This is where I nearly fell headlong into a trap, no doubt set for unwary folks such as myself. I was going to order prawns with vegetables, but I noticed that the price displayed on the price list didn’t match the price that I’d seen on the leaflet placed on the table. I quickly realised that what I really wanted was vegetables with prawns, and correcting my little mistake saved me the princely sum of 5 zł. After returning to my table it was then that we both realised why the place was named Sai-Gon. Despite having an appropriate number of staff, a mere few orders from customers in person and by telephone was enough to create a sizeable amount of chaos. In my opinion there seemed to be an excessive amount of communication between the person taking the order and the kitchen staff; with them shouting the same order back and forth several times.
Chaos on a grand scale with confusion so evident that even conversations between clients are summarily interrupted, adding further to the din. Anyway, our meals were delivered in a reasonable length of time; as tasty as ever and plenty large enough to sate our appetites. I didn’t notice either any of the other eaters were served incorrectly or with an undue delay. Generally, despite way the place is run, it’s difficult to find fault. Other thing irked me a little (or maybe I’m just being picky). When ordering “noodles” on the flyer you will note that sauce will be included free with the meal. For me this is an integral part of the meal and this reminded me of a situation in India, where only after ordering an Irish Coffee I found out that the addition of cream would bump up the price by a third of the price of the coffee alone (also bear in mind that this beverage was served sans Jamesons, because it wasn’t possible to purchase such an upgrade, this was a completely “Irishless” Irish Coffee). I regard such practices firmly outside what can be deemed to be fair play.
Ultimately, however, I can happily recommend this restaurant to people who have occasion to eat in the city, having 10-15 zł to spend and shun the offerings of McDonald and co. The plates arrive full, quickly, and if you’re lucky you may even be able to eat in relative peace.
................................................................
and the translation done by our friend Collin! Thank you a lot.
Sai-Gon Restaurant – Service commensurate with price
SAI-GON (PŁOCK)
ORIENTAL CUISINE
Or so at least boldly announces the sign written in large, psuedo-Chinese lettering above the entrance, which leads into the medium-sized, highly-glazed building which stands in isolation on Nowy Rynek in Płock. I have accustomed myself to taking such broad descriptions with a pinch of salt, knowing full well that oriental cuisine = Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai or even Japanese cuisine. It is therefore pointless to expect to find in these establishments such personal favourites as Indian masala dosa, Tibetan momo, or Bengalese jadgish saag alu, even though these are, without a shadow of a doubt, meals of oriental origin.
Therefore we enter Sai-Gon, after having previously squeezed between the taxis standing in front of the entrance, without any preconceptions about the names that will have been allocated to rice or soy-pasta with some kind of over-fried meat. We sit at a small table in the corner of the restaurant and quickly decide upon what to have. Today we have stopped off in Płock, therefore such places which always offer reasonably-priced, generous portions in a short time are a natural option. However, at the serving counter a not-insignificant amount of chaos reigns. The two girls standing in front of me are deciding amongst themselves what to order, while the woman taking the order is absent-mindedly scrawling on the order pad. At least this gave me a chance to look around.
I had been here many times before, when I was working nearby, so I occasionally came here for lunch. This is not the sort of place that requires sudden changes. It is as clean as ever, the same tables, but still in good condition. The one-armed bandit that once stood in the corner of the room has done a disappearing act. I though that this is a change for the good. Previously clients would come in for a beer or two and spent a couple of hours mindlessly feeding coins into the machine. In order to maximise profit restaurants rely on a quick turnover of clients. However, the cross-section of society that makes up the client has hardly changed. These same people, usually on their way to or from work (if you can truly believe they are capable of holding down jobs) , talk loudly on the phone, littering their sentences with expletives and laughing loudly while wolfing down their fried chicken and chips washed down with beer. However such distractions never disturbed my eating or reading the paper.
My turn came to place my order. This is where I nearly fell headlong into a trap, no doubt set for unwary folks such as myself. I was going to order prawns with vegetables, but I noticed that the price displayed on the price list didn’t match the price that I’d seen on the leaflet placed on the table. I quickly realised that what I really wanted was vegetables with prawns, and correcting my little mistake saved me the princely sum of 5 zł. After returning to my table it was then that we both realised why the place was named Sai-Gon. Despite having an appropriate number of staff, a mere few orders from customers in person and by telephone was enough to create a sizeable amount of chaos. In my opinion there seemed to be an excessive amount of communication between the person taking the order and the kitchen staff; with them shouting the same order back and forth several times.
Chaos on a grand scale with confusion so evident that even conversations between clients are summarily interrupted, adding further to the din. Anyway, our meals were delivered in a reasonable length of time; as tasty as ever and plenty large enough to sate our appetites. I didn’t notice either any of the other eaters were served incorrectly or with an undue delay. Generally, despite way the place is run, it’s difficult to find fault. Other thing irked me a little (or maybe I’m just being picky). When ordering “noodles” on the flyer you will note that sauce will be included free with the meal. For me this is an integral part of the meal and this reminded me of a situation in India, where only after ordering an Irish Coffee I found out that the addition of cream would bump up the price by a third of the price of the coffee alone (also bear in mind that this beverage was served sans Jamesons, because it wasn’t possible to purchase such an upgrade, this was a completely “Irishless” Irish Coffee). I regard such practices firmly outside what can be deemed to be fair play.
Ultimately, however, I can happily recommend this restaurant to people who have occasion to eat in the city, having 10-15 zł to spend and shun the offerings of McDonald and co. The plates arrive full, quickly, and if you’re lucky you may even be able to eat in relative peace.
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