Shaiolin – Chinese café
Sunday I was persuaded to go to the Orthodox Church. I was told told it was St. Nicholas’ Day, the patron saint of Children who has been immortalized as Santa Clause. It’s not on the list of Saint’s days I have and I thought his Saint’s Day was in December, (6th December – although the Orthodox work on the old Julian Calendar, so it’s celebrated here on the 19th), so I made a few sarcastic comments about Christmas coming early this year. However, I decided to tag along after all.
Orthodox services aren’t quite the same as they are back in the West. Services in the Methodist Church which I went to started at 11:00 and finished at 12:00, regular as clockwork. You walked in, sat down in a pew, rose to sing hymns, sat or kneeled to pray and sat for the readings and the sermon.
Here, people can wander in … and out … at any time. They stand in the hall whilst the priests chant the service, accompanied by a choir. It’s not entirely passive as far as the congregation are concerned … there is plenty of genuflecting and at some points they also join in the chanting. Actually, I thought that the singing was quite good, even if I didn’t really understand everything that was going on.
Anyway, having lit our candles and laying some flowers before the icon of Saint Nicholas, we made our way out of the compound. As we walked back home, I suggested that we stop for lunch in the little Chinese café on Jibek Jolu: Shaiolin.
Actually, to be honest, we often call in to this café on the way back from church … it’s nearby, it’s en-route both to both the hotel and my office, it has a quiet and friendly atmosphere … and the food is very good.
Back in the UK we have lots of Chinese restaurants. Most of them seem to offer Cantonese cuisine, although I personally preferred Szechuen, (Sichuan), which tends to be more spicy. I remember when the first Chinese restaurant opened in Malvern, back in the 1960′s. My grandfather said he wanted to go and try it, and treated us to a meal there. We were all a bit surprised as we didn’t think that it was “his sort of thing”, but he obviously enjoyed it because he went back several time. Remember, this was at a time when people usually ate at home and rarely went out for a meal. Certainly, it was one of the first times I ever went to a restaurant.
After that, of course, I had the caught the bug. The food was different from the usual fare that Mum served up at home and seemed a little exotic … well, I suppose it was. A few years later and “Chinese Take Away’s” popped up all over the town … and not just in Malvern; most towns can boast at least one Chinese Restaurant and no-one bats an eyelid if someone suggests having “a Chinese”.
Now, China is just over the border from us here in Kyrgyzstan. You might expect, therefore, that there would be lots of Chinese restaurants, but it can be difficult to find one outside the main cities, (Bishkek and Osh). Here in Bishkek, however, there is a sizeable Chinese community and there are some very good Chinese Restaurants.
Shaiolin, however, is one of my favourites … and I am not alone, the place is frequented by whole variety of foreigners, locals and Chinese alike. Actually, to give you an idea of the universal appeal that it enjoys, let me tell you that I have been surprised on a number of occasions by some of the people who have suggested that go there for a meal … people for whom, like my grandfather all those years ago, it Chinese cuisine doesn’t seem to be “their sort of thing”.
In the winter there is one dining hall, but in summer they have a covered patio where it’s possible to sit outside, in the shade and feel the fresh air. Because it is in a closed yard, there is no chance to watch the people walking by, but it is not on a street where people promenade, so that’s not a big problem.
The menu is quite extensive and varied. Dishes with Beef, Chicken, Mutton, Pork, Fish, and Tofu are all on offer. There is something for almost everyone. I remember when I first came to Bishkek and someone told me that one of the restaurants had a new Chinese chef and suggested that we go and try it, I agreed thinking back to the many enjoyable Chinese meals I had eaten back home. When I got there and looked at the menu, however, I was shocked. I recognised only one dish – Sweet and Sour Pork, and so I ordered it. When it arrived, I looked at it and asked the waiter “What is it?” ”What you ordered,” he replied, to which I countered, “and what was that?” It looked nothing like the ‘Sweet and Sour Pork’ that is usually served up back in the UK. I was sure that he had made a mistake. But, even if he thought that I was a ‘right idiot’ who couldn’t remember his order, he calmly assured me that it was indeed ‘Sweet and Sour Pork’. So, I demurred and set about to eat it … and I was very pleased. It was tasty … even if it didn’t look like the dish that I was expecting.
Although I tend to play “safe” and order a “sweet and sour” dish, (pork, beef, chicken or fish), especially if there are only two or three of us, I have been known to venture further afield in my choice from the menu. To be honest, however, I enjoy it more when there are a crowd of us, especially if the others are not used to Chinese cuisine, so that we can order a wide selection of dishes and then share them between us – getting the chance to savour a wide variety of tastes. This gives me the chance to experiment with new dishes.
In fact, I have taken several people to Shaiolin who are not used to eating Chinese and they usually look askance when I order ‘sweet and sour’ … they think that meat should be savoury, not sweet. (Sweet tastes should be reserved for dessert). However, once they’ve tried it, and once they have got over their initial reaction, they tend to like it … and they order it again next time that we decide to “go Chinese.”
The portions are a good size, and not too expensive, although for some locals it might be a little “out of their budget”.
Usually, there isn’t any loud music to distract and interfere with conversation, although there is a television in the main dining hall.
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Bishkek