Christmas-New Year break creates perfect mental space to explore new hobbies, meet with the ones you haven’t seen for ages (if it happens to be at places you’ve never visited yet, that’s value added) or just indulge in eating. While doing the latter I returned to some restaurants, and I indulged…in tasting.

Las little bistro in Warsaw-Bielany district will host you for a quick coffee and mini desserts they create themselves or for a wide variety of breakfast and lunch meal options. That day we needed breakfast. Traditionalists will get their scrambled eggs with a salad and brioche on the side or a rye bread with avocado and poached eggs. Those who need a twist on their breakfast can choose from their seasonal options of ciabattas (such as the one with prawns and avocado I went for or the one with mushrooms). Matcha latte on almond milk nicely completed the whole set we ordered.

As for desserts you can go for delicious pastries and croissants the nearby DEJ bakery tempts with or you can try crazy mixtures Las experiments with in their sweet mono portions such as the one with edible pine inside. ‘Las’ means ‘forest’ in Polish so no wonder their menu hides fruits of the forest such as pine or mushrooms, right? Their interior also brings you back to nature, somewhere in Bielany district.

After traditional Polish Christmasy cuisine that is quite meaty and veggie-free (except for the Christmas Eve which serves various fish, mayo-soaked salad of cooked veggies and lots of stewed cabbage) I craved for something more ‘exotic’ to my Polish palate and my mind set on Thai cuisine. I returned to Ahaan in Warsaw- Saska Kepa district and my palate was satisfied again, I mean when I could process the thought after the hot dishes burned it first, as the Thai cuisine should.

The restaurant is also hot in a different sense - it’s so crowded that you better call first to ensure a table is available. I love the variety their menu offers to respond to all types of your taste buds as they divide meals in four different categories you can choose from: spicy, salty, sour, sweet. And I like the sharing concept they want you to experience as you can order as many little plates as you wish to share this splash of tastes Thai cuisine brings to your table.

I indulged in their ribs sweet curry with noodles, their papaya salad and the salad with white turmeric and white raddish, their minced duck with cashews and greens and their mango beer that reminded me of a peculiar mix of a beer with a mango lassi with its texture and taste. Ahaan also doesn’t forget about the little ones who can taste tempura cod or grilled chicken with a tinily spicy cucumber and rice. Ahaan also brings you to the crowded colorful noisy streets of Thai congested neighborhoods with cultural trivia and pop art on the walls and the interiors that make you think as if you were eating at the back of a Thai grocery store or on a street overfilled with street food stalls.