Comments on: On to Baciu

By: Romer!can - Dispatches from an American in Transylvania

Romer!can - Dispatches from an American in Transylvania — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:11:00 +0000

[...] had been rescued in Cluj on my way to Baciu by two of the kindest people you’ll ever meet in Romania. In their company, I’ve often [...]

By: Romer!can

Romer!can — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:34:00 +0000

Alright, for good food of the trendy sort, my recommendation is Jai Thai. It has a lively and colorful atmosphere, but isn’t snobbily plushed. Now, I had satisfying experiences at the Fremont location, but you might prefer trying their Capitol Hill venue.

For the deceptively simple, you’ll have to let me know if you ever travel on north side off I-5 because I can recommend knockout places in Lynnwood, Everett, and Stanwood (oh, yes! Stanwood! believe it). There is one place I’d feel very comfortable plugging on the eastside. Hanuman Thai in Kirkland. It’s a tiny little shop on the main drag nearish the waterfront. There are other standard fare thai places in Kirkland, but this inconspicuous mini-restaurant reigns supreme! And after that you can hit the nearby snobby clubs for a little evening fun.

Loved your Seattle stereotype. I take it you’ve eaten at the African restaurants in the U District, then? Hahaha.

By: Lumi

Lumi — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:46:12 +0000

Well, about Thaiku.. We went there for lunch. The decore was pretty, I thought, but we were seated in the dining area close to a window. We didn’t order any alcoholic beverages. All we had was phad thai and red curry something, which were very good, but not memorable. Even though we arrived there rather early, before noon, it was packed. So that’s a good sign, huh? I’ll give it another change. Maybe we’ll go there for dinner and drinks one night. The only thing is we live in Bothell and Ballard is kinda outta way. I prefer the Eastside- Kirkland, Bellevue for socializing and trendy spots. Oh, and yeah, I’m more into trendy places, and I mean trendy with all the recent negative conotation, than hippy, laid-back places. I’m not a fan of those little coffee shops that sell weird-tasting,bold flavored coffees and look like ancient kitchens with chairs so shabby and from different epochs. I feel so uncomfortable making idle chit-chat with some dread-haired chick and tells me theday’s horoscope. I’m not that type of Seattlite. I’m an East side kinda snob. :) Gee, I’m really not a snob. I hope you kinda got my point.

By: Romer!can

Romer!can — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:31:44 +0000

StereoDevil - Welcome to the show! No doubt, you have a point about some crossover between stereotypical Romanian diaspora and other central/eastern European youth. Doesn’t it remind you of something from New York street like 25 years ago? It does to me.

Did you enjoy Bucuresti? The jury is still out for me, but I had a lot of fun the last time. Romania rocks. It’s a great place to visit and an interesting place to live.

By: StereoDevil

StereoDevil — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:15:10 +0000

Actually your stereotypes are not limited to Romania. Lithuania has the tracksuit thing going. Mostly in Kanuas and its always accented with a gold necklace and the haircut is the same. Also all the kids listen ot Rap music but have no idea what the words are saying. Pretty funny.

Bucharest for me was pretty varied, I actually think everyone was pretty laid back. I felt very comfortable there. Romania is a really fabulous place to visit and I might end up there soon. If so I will be just fine and dandy with that. :)

By: Romer!can

Romer!can — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:24:05 +0000

Lumi - Perhaps it might have been easier to find theoretically, but I seem to have left out the key detail that I had no idea the name of my destination was Baciu, despite having been there several times before. Furthermore, I’d never paid attention to “how to get there” during past trips because I’d gone as car passenger… usually at night… while gabbing away.

So, it started out as a blind guess of saying, “I’ve been to that place before, whatever it’s called. I can find it again.”

But it is a suburban village. There’s really no other way to describe it. It’s a itty bitty town, with plenty of crops going, dusty broken roads, no entertainment, a select few magazines, virtually no street traffic, and all the petty gossip of people who know everything about each other.

The only difference is that a higher percentage take a bus to work in a factory, whereas some other villages have more sticking around for farming.

What didn’t you care for about Thaiku? The atmosphere is buzzing, the decor is rather attractive, the ‘opium bar’ up the stairs makes some great drinks like the oolongtini, appetizers like mieng kahm are amazingly outstanding, and the food is great. The only thing I didn’t care for was the minimalist service… but that should be familiar to a European.

I haven’t been to Orrapin, but I do have other Thai recommendations in other neighborhoods/areas. One more hipster place and then the rest are downhome, family-run joints which betray you with a lack of atmosphere… but reward the palate of those not superficial.

By: Lumi

Lumi — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:55:58 +0000

Glad you made it Ok. Baciu, that’s not a village n easy to get to. It starts with an adventure in the not-so-pitoresque industrial area of Cluj. What were you doing there? Your friends must be far more interesting than mine.
Went to Thaiku. Good but not impressive. Similar to Orrapin Thai cuisine on top of Queen Anne hill. I know, I know I’m spoiled. :)