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SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT POLAND AND POLISH SOCIETY


Seanus  15 | 19666
29 Jun 2010   #91
They came from Peru, I think. I was just saying that they are as much Celtic as they are Polish, i.e not. We are just fans :)
nott  3 | 592
30 Jun 2010   #92
Celts just won't give up, eh? :)

Potatoes are every bit as much Scottish as they are Polish. Even more so Irish. It's not Polish and that's my point. It's Peruvian if anything.

*sigh* If you look at it this way, Poles are not Polish but Ethiopian, or something.

Yes, they do stick to their own things

Viennese, Bielorussian, Lithuanian, Italian, Russian, to quote one Seanus, all ours... hold on, we've never owned Italy! You're wrong!

Even in the UK they look for Polish places.

EVEN in the UK? That's the point, Seanus. England is a culinary desert, nothing to be found here. And you have to eat.

Cafe? What is English food, nott?

Rubbish, basically. Chicken tikka masala, fish and chips, all-day-breakfast. Tea with milk. Half-baked bread you can't spread butter on. Shepherds pie. Beef steak, OMG, the peak of English inventiveness, three kinds of it... Cakes, disaster. Simple thing, scrambled eggs, and they can't make it edible. I remember one English Best Chef on TV: 'and don't forget to pour milk in time, so that...' Grotesque.

I was a waiter for a couple of months, in a hotel. There were two restaurant lounges, one to feed people, and one for the English. They paid £200-300 per night, and every morning came down for breakfast: baked beans, two rashes of burnt bacon, one small 'sausage', hash browns, grilled tomato, two toasts, jam, scrambled eggs English style. Day in day out, for two weeks. Beans, 'sausage', hash browns, toasts, jam, tomato, eggs. There was a choice of toasts, I admit: white or brown bread, well burned or just warm, or medium.

Good biscuits, though. Beer... I am not a typical Pole, I love ales. Brits don't, Brits prefer Ozzie p1ss, and second class lagers like Stella. Processed meat is not bad, only ridiculously expensive. Stilton is Ok, even if overdone. Some local cheeses are fine, even if half matured. Cornish pasties, yes, but then you'll say it's just pierogi, so I have no choice but to like it. If you know about baked pierogi, that is :)

What is English food? English food is sport. You remember Pepper contra Tomato? Two famous chefs get a celebrity each, and 20 minutes to make a three course meal, while chatting entertainingly. And then the public votes, who won. Does anything strike you as odd in this? Like, something missing, as regards food? Like eating, to be more precise? Like, to put it blunt, allowing the voters to possibly have a sniff, or, God forbid, a lick?

English have no idea, what food is. And what for.

Good food? What, drenched in oil (pierogi) and full of fat and salt? ;) ;)

Well, you can put pierogi in oil, of course... You sure you live in Gliwice, not Greenpoint? :)

Just don't say a word about fat and salt. Just try słonina z beczki, with bread. Bread, I mean. Or sadło... Jesus Christ, when did I have a slice of sadło... Suet. I bet you feed it to dogs.

Schabowy and mielony are basically Viennese schnitzel.

Well... here I have to admit you are quite right, basically. With one small reservation, that they are three distinctly different kinds of meal. The thing is, you have to have something like three active taste buds to discern the differences...

:)

Zrazy are Belarussian, Lithuanian and Italian.

Zrazy zawijane po warszawsku? There are two different dishes called zrazy, as far as I know. In Gliwice... well, it's not Silesia. There's something called 'rolady', similar to zrazy zawijane, but different stuffing. Good thing, mind.

Bitki is Russian.

Could be. They are good, and simple. I never said Poles stick to their food. You know bliny ze śmietaną? Delicious. Only you need soured milk to make them...

The wędliny is truly super here :)

Flaki is known here. Good old tripe :)

Scotland truly excels in fish and soups, as does Poland. I'm impressed with the options but many fish are international.

All true, as I trust you about Scottish food, never seen. Except Scotch Broth by Heinz, good stuff, actually. But I bet Scotland doesn't have such a variety of herring meals. Never had to improvise on poor choice of fish. If you call herring fish at all, we don't.

Yeah, I am baiting. I love purely Polish cuisine

Good. Now, what would that be, Seanus? :)

Well, possibly duck in plum sauce... ryba po grecku... ryba po żydowsku... ciasto francuskie... ruskie pierogi... Quite lot, come to think of it. Carp no, carp was brought by the Benedictines.

Sugar! Beetroot sugar, Poles invented beetroot sugar! SEE?

Some time ago I was served pizza made by pure blood Italians, in an Italian restaurant owned and managed by a pure blood Italian, and I was kinda special guest. I ate almost all of it (12 inch pizza, but thin), reasons being:

1. I was kinda special guest, so it would be impolite to just nib at it and have a smoke.
2. I was hungry like a stray dog.
3. Ketchup was within easy reach.
4. The knife was serrated.

Don't tell me about adventures.
Ironside  50 | 12560
30 Jun 2010   #93
DEAR FRIENDS

Dear friends Su and Moo
I have read your troublesome observation or confabulation and I would like to inform you that after careful consideration I come to the conclusion that I don't care about it at all.

regards
I-S
RonWest  3 | 120
30 Jun 2010   #94
The only place with just a very few exceptions I met with great customer service was in the US. But there I always get the unpleasant feeling that they only do so out of fear that the company will get sued in some form.

Sheeeeesh..........GIVE ME BREAK!!! Fear of being sued?????
Seanus  15 | 19666
30 Jun 2010   #95
We don't give up so easily, no :) Not as easy as Pudzianowski did anyway ;) ;)

Ethiopian? Funny you mention that...... ;)

Eh, communism ;) ;) Oh, you wanted to say that Cyrankiewicz and many other Poles liked communism?? Oh, ok then :) Have it your way, amigo :) It's the truth after all :)

England has MANY international brands so don't be afraid of the supermarkets ;) ;)

See, it's a matter of preference. Pies and pastries are legendary! I'd take Shepherd's Pie over stuffed cabbage rolls (gołąbki) anyday of the week. Beef steak is more international. Scrambled eggs are every bit as good in Scotland. We both have good dairy!

The Polish breakfast is hardly more diverse. The way I see it, it's bread and cheese or bread with scrambled eggs, maybe a sausage thrown in for good measure. The English also make better use of cereals.

Ales are tasty :) :) Stella is pretty decent and I've tried countless numbers of beers. Being expensive means you don't buy too much of it which is a good thing. The English prefer more flavoursome food, not bland options generally.

There is some overlap but a Cornish pastry is quite distinct.

Do you want Jamie Oliver's or Gordon Ramsay's phone number? ;) The English will let the Poles catch up in the grubasy stakes :)

Greenpoint??? Gliwice, yes :) I avoid such options at all costs. I try to avoid the mountaineer's restaurant as they serve lard (smalec) as a starter. I'm stuffed before my food even arrives :( :(

There is a Polish feel to those dishes I must admit.

Rolady, beef rolls :) :) VERY common here. Po żydowsku is the Jewish way but done in Poland ;) ;) Zrazy are decent but rolady are far more popular here with 'modro' which is red cabbage.

Ale kręcisz ;) ;) Nah, the Poles like to borrow from other national cuisines which is fine as many do that.

Herring is not that popular in Scotland. In Holland, yes. No, we prefer fresh white fish like haddock and ling. Lemon sole is great too :) We also like fish cakes and fresh sea fish. We have all sorts which are better than panga and mintaj ;) ;) The island culture helps :)

As for soups, check out Baxters :)

Duck is not Polish ;) ;) Bombay duck is Indian and probably the best in the world. Carp is truly awful. I am a fan of 'fish' and not fatty pieces of crap.

Eh, the Germans invented beetroot sugar. Marggraf and Achard were Poles? I doubt it! It spread to France and Jews took it over to Poland later.

OK, no adventure stories ;0 ;) Ketchup, is that Polish too? ;0 ;) ;)
Amathyst  19 | 2700
30 Jun 2010   #96
Do you want Jamie Oliver's or Gordon Ramsay's phone number? ;) The English will let the Poles catch up in the grubasy stakes :)

To name but two..but what about Keith Floyd?

Rubbish, basically. Chicken tikka masala, fish and chips, all-day-breakfast. Tea with milk. Half-baked bread you can't spread butter on. Shepherds pie. Beef steak, OMG, the peak of English inventiveness, three kinds of it... Cakes, disaster. Simple thing, scrambled eggs, and they can't make it edible. I remember one English Best Chef on TV: 'and don't forget to pour milk in time, so that...' Grotesque.

Been to Poland and the best food I got was in an Italian restaurant! By the way you missed:

Toad in the Hole
Scouse - with dumplings
Cornbeef Hash
Cottage Pie
Pasties
Beef Wellington
Kedgery
Sunday Lunch

I love ales. Brits don't, Brits prefer Ozzie p1ss, and second class lagers like Stella.

Thats why we have 1,000s of micro breweries and have real ale festivals..yep we hate ale!

English have no idea, what food is. And what for.

Thats why we have some of the best chefs in the world..again, of course you are right, I dare not say a Pole could be wrong..of course you have Polish chefs at top restaurants all over the world dont you? ROFL!

Most Poles have never tried anything other than Polish food before they stepped out of Poland, at least Brits have wider tastes! As for our breakfast, its better than some hard peice of bread and slice dry curley of ham!
George8600  10 | 630
30 Jun 2010   #97
Gordon Ramsay's phone number?

That guy is the man! ^_^

gordonramsayswearsatyou.com
OP Sun and Moon  2 | 28
30 Jun 2010   #98
now have few more fresh obserations in last two days.
visited a bank in centrum. name of bank mellenium. row of customer waiting. the two skinny funny looking girl employees having kekbab pause. took 20 minutes. few customers left the bank with anger. is this the standard poles want to have to match with w. europeans.

in whole discussion only one balanced minded came to light and to me he is mr grunewald. might be atmosphere of norway has polished him. Torq and others have same racist and hatred mentality and have only lame excueses of labeling me indian, third worlder etc but do not see own stature in mirror. in india it is said, " aaina dikhaya to bura man gai" it simply means that when truth was revealed they got angry.

some is objecting as I have been denied a white woman. many whites tried to trap me. but the saltish taste which a woman of subcontinent has, none othr woman has in any corner of the world. so why i should leave a better taste and go after funny looking things. it is india which some times gets a share for miss world also. has ever any polish lady even dared to enter such contest.

see the innocent beauty of filmstar kaif. whole world is crazy for the lady from india. see shlipa sethi. india is full of attrctive and good looking stuff and not like poland have nothing but pose as having every thing.

standard of polish items is also so low that some times we do not remain sure if the item will work for the first time. people do ot adhere to thier promise. my car broke down. took to a workshop. mechanic agreed to repair it for 280.00 PLN. when went to collect the car bill was 680.00 PLN. when asked why it is so the simple reply was it is poland and here every thing is possible. what a country! my only comment was at that moment. could contribute some more bitter experiences if poles like torq are ready to digest them
Wroclaw  44 | 5359
30 Jun 2010   #99
but what about Keith Floyd?

unfortunately he has gone to the great bar in the sky

as everyone is chatting about food.

Polish food like any other is a mix of influences. Some dishes are very similar to english/uk dishes, just with a different name or description.

Poles haven't a clue when it comes to fish. if you doubt me... count your local fishmongers.

on the whole i agree with seanus.
Seanus  15 | 19666
30 Jun 2010   #100
Well, I don't think Keith Floyd would answer as he died last September ;) ;) RIP, he was always entertaining the masses by putting wine into everything very liberally.

Amathyst is really spot on here, nott. I don't know where you get this adventurous thing from. OK, us Brits may not be up there with the Americans due to them having more options but Poles lag behind when it comes to experimentation.

Also, we have soldiers in Britain. No, not the military type but the ones where you slice a slice of toast into strips and then dip them into egg yolk from a soft-boiled egg. My wife doesn't even eat breakfast and she said that some people she knows skip it too. We consider it to be the most important meal of the day in Britain.
Nomsense  - | 38
30 Jun 2010   #101
I tend to agree that Poland is not a Western country. Poland is Central Europe, not Western, not Eastern, Central. Best example - people from Western Europe perceive Poland as being Eastern and people from Eastern Europe perceive it as being Western :-) . I wonder whether a parallel mechanism can be observed in regards to Japan.
Torq
30 Jun 2010   #102
Torq and others have same racist and hatred mentality

I merely stated a simple fact that 600 million people in your country have to defecate
outside, because they don't have toilets, and you have the cheek to lecture Poles on
civilization.

could contribute some more bitter experiences if poles like torq are ready to digest them

To be honest with you, troll, I couldn't give a flying f**k about your experiences, but if
you don't like it in Poland so much, then I guess nobody is forcing you to stay here.
Go back to your beautiful, sh*t flooded India and stop bothering good Polish folks here.
shush  1 | 209
30 Jun 2010   #103
see the innocent beauty of filmstar kaif. whole world is crazy for the lady from india

Never heard of her. Is it some actress from Bollywood?

Most Poles have never tried anything other than Polish food before they stepped out of Poland

Yeah, i agree on that. People in Poland tend to eat only Polish food and when they are abroad nothing changes much.
king polkakamon  - | 542
30 Jun 2010   #104
ee the innocent beauty of filmstar kaif. whole world is crazy for the lady from india. see shlipa sethi.

I will not fuckk them.We in Balkans have standards.

a share for miss world also. has ever any polish lady even dared to enter such contest.

Of course.If I were in the commitee the winner would be every year a slavic beauty.

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eiZOctbIJD0
Amathyst  19 | 2700
30 Jun 2010   #105
see the innocent beauty of filmstar kaif. whole world is crazy for the lady from india. see shlipa sethi.

Neither are that hot, an "average" Polish girl would knock spots off both of them.
From my observations in England, most Indian women have big (huge) teeth and even bigger noses and either dress like they come from a village or like they dressed head to toe in cheap Primark..

unfortunately he has gone to the great bar in the sky

Oh well, thankfully they still keep repeating his progs, I do enjoy his "style"... :D

Also, we have soldiers in Britain. No, not the military type but the ones where you slice a slice of toast into strips and then dip them into egg yolk from a soft-boiled egg.

Yummy!

People in Poland tend to eat only Polish food and when they are abroad nothing changes much.

Such a shame, I can cook anything and when abroad like to try different things..Yes I tried a few things in Poland, the fruit pierogi was the nicest..

Regarding Katrina Kaif, her mum is British and white :D She's that Indian she had to take Hindi lessons....lol....

imdb.com/name/nm1229940/bio
shush  1 | 209
30 Jun 2010   #106
even bigger noses

I guess Indian men prefer women with big noses.

Such a shame, I can cook anything

Yeah thats true but we dont have many foreigners in Poland so i guess that's the reason. I dont know why when abroad Poles still dont really like to try new things though.
OP Sun and Moon  2 | 28
30 Jun 2010   #107
I guess Indian men prefer women with big noses

who told you that; they prefer bigger hipps and bigger rounded shaped two assets of woman.
Torq I think you are very self centred personality and live in some isolated self conveived and dreamed world. try to come out of your enclaved hole and fear the day when india will become a big power and poles will be forced to look at indians rather then big eared obama usa.

one of your country mate terri also dealt in the same tone and told me of dire consequences but suddenly vanished with all of her womanhood. where she evoparated i have no idea. same did the magdalena who enjoyed the discussion with poprorn in hand but could not contribute any thing.

in fact you poles have nothing concrete to say in your favour so you resort to same baseless allegations about india.
just see any of the bigger market. the way cashiers are clearing customers even crawling snakes will be ashamed to see it. see germany there on counter you get cleared in one minute but here you have to wait, wait, wait for ten minutes trying to digest the funny behaviour of poles. what a counry
Magdalena  3 | 1827
30 Jun 2010   #108
same did the magdalena who enjoyed the discussion with poprorn in hand but could not contribute any thing.

I do not feed the troll. I merely watch his endearing antics.
shush  1 | 209
30 Jun 2010   #109
terri also dealt in the same tone and told me of dire consequences but suddenly vanished with all of her womanhood. where she evoparated i have no idea. same did the magdalena who enjoyed the discussion with poprorn in hand but could not contribute any thing.

They didnt disappear, they just decided the best way to deal with this kind of person as u is to ignore him.
JustysiaS  13 | 2235
30 Jun 2010   #110
lame excueses of labeling me indian

in india it is said, " aaina dikhaya to bura man gai" it simply means that when truth was revealed they got angry.

why are you getting so upset with people calling you indian when you clearly are indian? i could tell you were from a third world country by the poor English and stereotyping in your first post.

has ever any polish lady even dared to enter such contest.

um of course, the miss world competition consists of beautys from all over the world and Poland has many beautiful women who go very far in those contests. how do indian women do in such contests? shilpa shetty is a bollywood actress who was on big brother in UK and ok she is pretty but not stunning. jonanna krupa, izabella scorupco... now those are beautiful women.

they prefer bigger hipps and bigger rounded shaped two assets of woman.

is that why all indians in UK go for the obese women? cos they are very round indeed.

the day when india will become a big power

the same day pigs will fly, but i suspect the flying pigs phenomenon will be more likely as all of india's people who have an ounce of intelligence in them escape your poverty, hunger and discrimination stricken country like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

the way cashiers are clearing customers even crawling snakes will be ashamed to see it.

i don't know what stores you go to but Polish cashiers, especially those in Poland, are like the fastest cashiers in the world

IF YOU HATE IT IN POLAND SO MUCH GET BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY, THANK YOU
dtaylor5632  18 | 1998
30 Jun 2010   #111
i don't know what stores you go to but Polish cashiers, especially those in Poland, are like the fastest cashiers in the world

you say WHAT??? They are really slow, especially in the supermarket. the rest of what you said I agree with ;)
shush  1 | 209
30 Jun 2010   #112
There is one post office in central London where the cashiers are extremelly slow and guess what, they are Indians! the guys are ok though.
JustysiaS  13 | 2235
30 Jun 2010   #113
you say WHAT??? They are really slow, especially in the supermarket.

seriously, everytime i go back they are so fast i can't even blink twice and all my shopping's been put through the till. they are really fast especially in biedronka. get you lot getting used to fast service, british cashiers are lazy as hell and they turn the products around 3 times before they even find the barcode!
shush  1 | 209
30 Jun 2010   #114
british cashiers are lazy as hell

There are lots of Poles working in the UK as cashiers... you never know who they really are.
dtaylor5632  18 | 1998
30 Jun 2010   #115
british cashiers are lazy as hell

Thats cos they're generally Polish!!! :P

seriously, everytime i go back they are so fast

It must be your home town or something, there are a lot of threads on here dedicated to the very fact of ex-pats being annoyed about cashiers being slow and needing the exact change :/
Seanus  15 | 19666
30 Jun 2010   #116
Some cashiers are really quick, it depends how quickly they want you out of their sight ;) ;)

Many are slow and are NOT the fastest in the world.

Let's stay positive, hospitality here is great! My mother-in-law made me some food again and it never disappoints!
dtaylor5632  18 | 1998
30 Jun 2010   #117
hospitality here is great!

Yeah between families.
Seanus  15 | 19666
30 Jun 2010   #118
Hmm...not only. I received some super hospitality from a complete stranger and I'll never forget that. You are right in a general sense.
peter_olsztyn  6 | 1082
30 Jun 2010   #119
british cashiers are lazy as hell and they turn the products around 3 times before they even find the barcode!

They respect their work. I like this point of view :)
Seanus  15 | 19666
30 Jun 2010   #120
It's not a race, Justy. Besides, I see the same here.

Another positive about Poland? The market square here in Gliwice but more generally in Kraków and Wrocław. Upper Silesian towns tend not to have them and Gliwice's is truly beautiful, full of colour and classic architecture. The parasols are out on the rynek and it's a very comfortable atmosphere in which to drink beer. There aren't too many obnoxious sods on the go, only old folk who tend to keep themselves to themselves.


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