Chinatown Bistro — Restaurant in Białystok

REVISED:

Tried this place 4 or five times since. Every time it changed a notch, from bad to worse... Not worth the time AND the money. ANY fast food joint beats the place! And believe me... I am not a fast food lover by ANY means.

We visited this restaurant just one time so far, so we will update this review "as we go":

It is located out of the beaten path, but very close to the center, in a new "mixes use" building with VERY limited parking. The restaurant itself is guarded by the heaviest door we ever encountered in any restaurant we visited so far, and there are many. We actually thought it was closed, and we have not been the only customers which had that problem. During our visit we observed 3 groups of visitors unsuccessfully trying to open the door. I helped two of them, by pushing it from inside... Service is quick and knowledgeable. Unfortunately for us, Chinese and/or Thai beer on the menu was not available that day, same with dishes which included tofu and/or wontons. And that was a problem for us. Well...we settled on "spring rolls" and Heineken. Beer was cold and so were the rolls. Furthermore, the filling of the rolls was not what we expected. It was rather pasty and dense, not bad in taste, but rather similar in appearance and texture to the ones one buys in frozen food isle. Calamari tasted fresh and good. Dipping sauce, which seems to be a generic mixture served with everything I observed on other tables, had nothing to do with the calamari, nor could it (in my opinion) be paired with any other fried seafood. Not sure actually...it was a dipping mixture, which I never encountered in any NATIVE Chinese restaurants, or any other Chinese restaurant somewhere else before . But I will definitely try to get use to it, for the sake of good calamari! Chicken dish was fresh and tasty and the rice was fluffy and done right. I gave this place four stars and I hope it will be...

We visited a restaurant as a group of four. We ordered four main courses and three starters. A young waitress brought out the starters, followed shortly by three of the main courses. She then stated that the starters were meant for one person only, and that the three main courses were for the others.

When I asked what had happened to the fourth main course, she explained that it would be brought out once the starters had been finished. I pointed out that starters are typically meant to be served to everyone at the table before the main courses, and that all four of us had ordered a main dish, which should be served at the same time.

Shortly after, she returned with an older waitress, who was unfortunately very unpleasant in her manner. With a condescending tone, she informed us that the younger waitress was still learning. I fully understand that everyone has to start somewhere and that learning is a process — but I would expect that basic service principles, such as serving starters first and bringing out all main courses together, should be fairly self-evident in a restaurant setting.

What was more upsetting than the mix-up itself was the attitude of the older waitress. She had really bad attitude. She remained visibly annoyed throughout the rest of our visit, repeatedly casting hostile or disapproving glances in our direction. Her demeanor made us feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. And for that reason we will not be returning to this place anymore. The owner should really talk to staff about the way they treat their customers. Food was ok but Pad Thai should be served...

Totalna pomyłka. Do zamówionych dań otrzymaliśmy surówkę z białej kapusty, serio? To nie jest kuchnia polska i coś takiego nie powinno mieć miejsce. Zarówno zupa jak i danie główne miało być bardzo ostre a w pierwszym lepszym kebabie poziom ostrości jest o niebo lepszy. Nie musiałem nawet popijać. W karcie dań jest ponad 100 pozycji, więc oczywiste jest, że kucharz nie może wszystkich robić dobrze i że będą one świeże.. Zupa miała konsytencje mdla, że na sam widok odechciewalo się jeść. Zapach smak obrzydliwy, że 2 krotne mycie zębów nic nie dało. Krewetki znajdujące się w zupie nie były obrane i musiałem robić to ręcznie, odkładając skorupki na serwetkę. Zupy nie dokończyłem bo była po prostu ochydna..Druga zupa miała pół miski liści, wiec aby zjeść ja musiałem wszystkie je wyjąć. Także miała być ostra.. Danie główne z wołowiny nie świeże, mięso gumowe nie dało się go normalnie przeżuć. Zaserwowany ryż nie kleił się i nie można go było jeść pałeczkami. Warzywa w daniu zimne co świadczą o tym, że były robione wcześniej i wrzucone na patelnie do mięsa zdecydowanie później. Wszystko bardzo tłuste i stawało w gardle. Danie także miało być ostre 3 na 4 papryczki w ich menu a wyszło jak cała reszta na szybko i bylejak. Irytująca muzyka. Dziwne kelnerki, które podczas posiłku 6 krotnie przychodziły i zabierały po jednym talerzu.. Oba dania podane w tym samym czasie, więc naturalnie drugie danie trzeba było jeść zimne. Brak zostawienia choćby jednej karty dań, więc nie miałem okazji spróbować deseru. Do dania dołączona jedna drobna serwetka, więc ciężko było sobie poradzić. Wystrój pseudo restauracji zrobiony po taniości i widać, że właściciel nie był nigdy w Chinach bo wystrój nijak się ma do tamtejszego klimatu. Posiłków także widocznie nie próbował bo wstyd by mu było coś takiego podawać....