6.2.2019

SpaceTime: Chinese Restaurant Tang, Turku, 13:30 lunch
Atmosphere: Dim light, empty, Chinese lanterns with red strings over tables, no music, quiet Chinese conversation from the kitchen
Food: Chinese food buffet
Price: 9.30€

Thoughts: While wandering along the downtown streets, I came upon this place and decided to enter. A kebab joint of sorts had once stood in its place, if my memory serves me correctly.

The small buffet table offered a very typical selection of salad and Chinese food: white rice, seasoned noodles, chicken and beef in sauce with vegetables, deep-fried chicken balls, sweet and sour sauce...

The food was edible, the salad was fresh, the whole clone restaurant idea rattled around in my brain like a coin inside a washer.

For those looking to eat a Chinese-style buffet, not the worst of choices, just very very predictable, in addition to not having an amazingly large selection of foods.

29.1.2019

SpaceTime: Baan Thai, Turku, 12pm lunch
Atmosphere: Cosy, dark wood, dim light, bright jazzy guitar music playing on speaker, not busy
Food: Rice, chicken, veggies, soup (lunch offer)
Price: 7.50€

Thoughts: Baan Thai offers a relatively cheap lunch from a daily rotating menu. The restaurant has been around for a while. The slogan taped to the window reads: "Golden places, smiling faces", the meaning of which eludes me. Inside, a small dim dining room of dark wood for maybe 20 customers. Spot-lit Buddha statues on recessed shelves.

The lunch offer today was very plain and flavorless. Chicken bits in a clear, lightly salted broth, with broccoli and kale. Big bowl of white rice. The food was not bad, but it was very bland and mild, and I ended up adding soy sauce and chili oil to it. The appetizer soup was slightly more flavored, but nothing to write home about. 

The lunch is one of the cheapest I've found so far. It's not awful quality, despite the lack of flavor in today's serving: edible, but not delicious. Also, the portion size for the price is excellent. I'd consider going back if I was trying to save money and still gain my fill. However, if I was looking to derive pleasure from eating, I would go elsewhere. 

23.1.2019

SpaceTime: Vänäk Persian restaurant, Puutori, Turku, 12:40 lunch
Atmosphere: Empty, big windows out to a street with mostly cars going by, comfy chairs, gas heater center of dining space, oriental sounding dance music from a stereo
Food: Mäksun Kebab (minced meat kebab, grilled chicken, rice, seared tomato)
Price: 9.90€

Thoughts: I'm not sure what the "Persian" kitchen is supposed to be like, but if this is a typical representation, it's definitely not my favorite one.

Upon entering the establishment, I was greeted with the two members of staff and an empty dining space. Looking through the lunch-offers, I chose the kebab with chicken option. I sat down, after which the staff kindly cranked up the stereo with oriental pop-music and informed me that salad and coffee is included in the lunch.

I helped myself to something from the thin salad offerings. Nothing special here. After a while, the food arrived. The plate, which you can see down below, did not especially caress my eyes. I dug in. The kebab tasted like mined meat, plenty of onion and light salt, very mild, very non-impressive. The chicken bits were very dry and tasted lemon-y. The rice and the colored rice stripes tasted like rice, with an aftertaste of burnt herbs. The seared tomato was a seared tomato. There was also a tiny pack of margarine on the plate, which I smeared on the kebab and the chicken in the hopes of gaining some kind of sauce.

The food was certainly in the edible category, but it was uninspired and bland to my taste, with a poor presentation, and thus not a pleasure on the senses. Unless I chose the wrong dish to eat somehow, I cannot recommend this place for anyone except an exotic music fan.

8.1.2019

SpaceTime: Le Bistrot Francais, Kauppahalli, Turku, 1pm lunch
Atmosphere: Not too busy, stylish, street-ish, sociable
Food: Chicken with crayfish sauce, veggie flan
Price: 11:50€

Thoughts: The small 8-seat kitchen in Kauppahalli offers a few daily choices for those after french cuisine. The chairs are set high on the counter and the chef works right in your view, which some may enjoy, but I prefer something less intense personally. 

The food was alright, with a few comparatively mild complementing tastes. The chicken was cooked well, the potato pure was ordinary, the sauce yummy and the veggie flan tasted like seasoned veggies in a fancy form factor. The side piece of bread was very dry.

So, the price range was about the same as some other places in the same food court, and there was nothing wrong with the food. It didn't blow me away, but it was certainly tasty. 

Being used to paying for the meal first and then leaving right after eating, I almost faded without paying. Luckily the waitress caught me in time to correct my mistake. Oops!