Pierogi at Zapicek
In all the confusion about getting to Old Town of Warsaw to get to the apartment, I totally forgot that it was already lunch time. It was almost two in the afternoon when I head out of the apartment. I needed to charge my phone since it was almost dead from the constant use of GPS. Fortunately, it charges quite fast. I needed to get my bearings right first. The nearby square is probably the best landmark I have in old town. For sure there would be eating places here. I walked about and some of them looked expensive. I eventually walked just outside the old town where there are still a few restaurants around. I then settled on one named Zapicek.
Hot Cup of Żurek at Zapicek
I knew next to nothing about Polish food and I had to do a bit of search to know what to try. What I like about this country was that their food was significantly different enough that I want to try a lot of stuff. Zapicek, like a lot of restaurants here in the Old Town of Warsaw, specializes in Polish food. In particular, they specialize in dumplings which they call pierogi. Now, the dumplings I know and love are the Chinese style dumplings. They are indeed similar to Chinese dumplings but I think that was where the similarity ends. The pierogi can be filled with various fillings including fruit and cheese. There is a variety of fillings to choose from but I just thought it was strange to have fruit dumplings for lunch. I went for the meat dumplings, about a dozen different kinds.
Warm Hibiscus Drink at Zapicek
You can have the dumplings either fried or just plain boiled. I naturally went for the fried one. Unfortunately for me, it was a bit unrealistic for me to expect a Chinese taste to these pierogi. It was rather plain for me, I don’t say they taste bad, that is just how it is supposed to be. The variety is a welcome change considering I have to eat a dozen of them. I don’t want to eat too much since it would be dinner time in a few hours. I also had some soup since it was chilly outside. I got a traditional polish sour rye soup called żurek. Don’t ask me how the ż is pronounced. The soup was wonderfully sour and it really helps warm you up, perfect in this cold and rainy afternoon.
Finally, I had a hibiscus drink with lemon. I had the option of having the alcoholic version but I didn’t want to drink so early. The drink was also nice, it was almost like having ice lemon tea, except it was red. The restaurant was nice and cozy, it was obviously designed for tourists but it works. The staff were all in traditional Polish costumes and it looked nice. I would later find out that Zapicek here in the Old town was something like a Starbucks where there seemed to be one in every corner. I don’t know if the locals like this place. It is supposedly done by grandma, but I was happy enough with the food.
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