Employee picks: top eats around the office

Developer Agata moved to Poznán during the Covid-19 lockdown but has managed to scope out some of the city’s best restaurants.

“For many months, restaurants in Poland have been closed and you can only take food to go. One of the most noteworthy restaurants is Wypas (which translates to "grazing" but colloquially, can be used to describe something great or amazing). They create 100% vegan and super tasty dishes from various cuisines around the world including Polish, Korean, and Japanese. My favorite is definitely the Arabic set. The portions are large and you can easily share. The other dish in the photo is a vegan version of the traditional Polish pork chop and in my opinion, it’s much better than the meat version. I highly recommend Wypas because it’s wypasiony (very cool)!”

— Agata, Frontend Development

“There's something uniquely satisfying about an old-fashioned iced cappuccino from Tim Hortons. When I'm on my lunch break, I often pop down to the Timmies nearby, pick up an iced cap, and go for a walk in my local Toronto neighborhood. Canadians are accustomed to cold weather most of the year, but an iced cap is always welcome, even if it's freezing outside!”

— Osman, Content Strategy

“If you love xiao long bao as much as I do, Crystal Jade provides some of the best ones. They not only have some of the nicest, thin-skinned, soup-filled xiao long bao, but also a lot of other excellent Chinese food options. I really love the 口水雞 (“saliva chicken”) too, their fried rice is nice, and in some branches, they provide my favorite: poached beef in Szechuan spicy soup.”

— Bjoern, Software Development

“We work very close to the famous Borough Market. We’ll normally go there for lunch and drinks. Some of my favorite spots are Khanom Krok for authentic Thai street food, Padre for Mexican street food, Hobbs Roast for slow-cooked meat baguettes, and Bao Borough for bao buns and Taiwanese street food. We also like heading to Wright Brothers Oyster and Porter House and The Globe Tavern for after-work drinks.”

— Paula, Affiliate Marketing

“We have great grocery stores here on the island with great salad and hot bars. A staple of every hot bar is a Caribbean favorite, jerk chicken! I often get a salad and spice it up with a spicy piece of jerk. They also have pre-marinated jerk, fresh chicken that’s great for barbecuing at home.”

— Eric, Design

“I recommend Chirashi Kong, which serves super fresh Japanese sashimi and rice bowls. I love this particular dish because the rice is really flavorful, packed with umami from the tobiko and furikake with a hint of truffle oil. The sides of seaweed and jellyfish are really good, too!”

— Shella, Product Marketing

Frontend developer Caterina has a dedicated pizza day (because, why not?) on Saturday and has been ordering in since lockdown started. Some must-have meals are pizza with accompaniments like focaccia, hummus, and prawns in cocktail sauce. She completes her meal with a helping of scialatelli pasta with lemon, rocket, and Stracchino cheese.

“Having a meal like this every Saturday brings us together without the distraction of TVs, phones, and anything else. It’s time shared with our loved ones,” says Caterina.

— Caterina, Frontend Development

“Fishbowl offers Japanese-inspired salads and bowls with a wide variety of ingredients available to choose from. It’s a healthy fast-food chain in Sydney and Melbourne. I really like Fishbowl as it’s always super fresh, very filling, and your order is made right in front of you.”

— Andrea, Talent Acquisition

“Near where I live, there’s a great izakaya (casual Japanese bar/restaurant) which only seats about eight people but serves fantastic food made by the chef/owner. Some of my favorites include fresh sashimi, locally caught grilled salmon, fish fry, and lean pork tonkatsu. You need to get there early in the day to avoid queuing.”

— David, Product Management