Magda sent me a warm welcome message: “Good morning in Warsaw. I hope your first night was good as Polish people believe that the quality of your first night in a new place determines the entire stay.”

I knew then that a foodie outing in Warsaw with Magda would be an exciting one.

Magda is an official translator and food blogger who with her husband Adam, an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Warsaw, manage a food blog. Crust & Dust was awarded Kulinarny Blog Roku 2012, the Food Blog of 2012 in Poland.

In an evening to discover Polish Cuisine, Magda had to improvise since I neither eat pork nor drink vodka, exactly the types of food and drink that the Polish consume most.

We first went to Christian’s Bakerhouse located on the edge of Trzech Krzyzy Square in downtown Warsaw.

It is owned by Krystian Zalejski, who Magda said used to be the chef of the British Ambassador in Warsaw. Krystian, a well-known chef, prefers to host guests with simple food and the best ingredients. Although it says a bakerhouse, the place is also a restaurant with wooden furniture and menu on the blackboard.

The menu selection opened my eyes on the variety of food in a Polish eatery, and clearly not only limited to bread and sausages.

Christian’s Bakerhouse served us zupa na zakwasie z majerankiem (sourdough soup with marjoram). While enjoying the warm, salty and sour soup, Magda told me how the bread was made with starter and that for the Polish, bread is sacred. When one drops bread to the ground, she is supposed to kiss it and gives the bread to animals rather than throwing it to the garbage bin.

Our next destination was Dawne Smaki a traditional Polish restaurant at the city center.

It is a chick restaurant with thick flowery curtains and background music from the bygone era.

Magda whispered: “some Polish do not like to eat in restaurants that serve traditional food. Because if you want to eat Polish food, just cook it at home.”

The chefs at Dawne Smaki, however, inspired by traditional recipes and with their passion for cooking, recreated authentic, old Polish cuisines.

In this enchanting place with impeccable service, under soft candlelight, we tried:

śledź w oleju lnianym z cebulką, ogórkiem kiszonym i ziemniakiem w śmietanie (herring in rapeseed oil with chopped onion, fermented cucumber and a potato with sour cream).

placki ziemniaczane z sosem z grzybów leśnych (potato pancakes with wild mushroom sauce).

ruskie pierogi z cebulowym consommé i serem kozim (Russian style dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, sauté onion, and cottage cheese in onion consommé and goat cheese).

After the soup at Christian’s Bakerhouse, the scrumptious food at Dawne Smaki convinced me that Warsaw will soon become a culinary destination for food lovers.

The food scene in Warsaw, Magda explained, often follows trends. “Imagine, for a while the most popular food in Warsaw was sushi, now we are into hamburgers.”

“There is even a restaurant that serves insects,” Magda continued. Apparently the Co To To Je Restaurant, has duck with crickets and raspberries sauce with buckwheat on its menu, and insects in chocolate for desert.

Besides eateries serving food fads, Warsaw is into organic food, fine dining and slow food movement.

Atelier Amaro, the first Michelin Star restaurant in Warsaw owned by chef Wojciech Modest Amaro is also certified by slow food organization. Amaro, who was trained by Chef Ferran Adria at elBulli and Rene Redzepi at Noma, wrote a best selling book The Polish Cuisine of the 21 st Century where he rediscovered the Polish cuisines by combining classic and traditional dishes using the latest techniques and scientific methods.

Just when I was about to call it a night, Magda took me to the final destination of our foodie outing, it’s the Pijalnia Czekolady Wedel not far from Warsaw’s landmark The Place of Science and Culture.

E. Wedel considered a symbol of chocolate and refined taste in Poland, has been in business for more than 160 years.

In this chocolate heaven, aside from the chocolate drinks, there are a large variety of desserts and handmade pralines, produced with passion under the guidance of Maestro Chocolates, Janusz Profus.

Magda decided to have the best for us two cups of czekolada Jedyna (Jedyna drinking chocolate). The texture of this famous rich dessert is in between hot chocolate drink and chocolate moose.

“I want to show you not only our food but also our city where romantic composer Frédéric Chopin and the first woman Nobel Prize Winner scientist Marie Curie grew up,” she said.

Dozing off due to the sweets and the remarkable taste of Polish Cuisines I tried to focus my attention to Magda who enthusiastically explained about the history of Warsaw through a picture book for children: Jestem Miasto Warszawa – I am the City of Warsaw.

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Text: Amanda Katili

Images: Badahos /Shutterstock, Atelier Amaro, Omar Niode Foundation