Vapiano Rotterdam: take-out pasta
One day, I went to have dinner in Rotterdam city center and someone couldn't come, so I decided to bring him some pasta from Vapiano. I have never been to this place before, but I was recommended to try this pasta restaurant after hearing about the slightly expensive pasta I ate at Jamie's Italian. I was told that the pastas are affordable and that it has a good price-quality ratio.
After looking at the menu, while I waited in line, I decided on the pasta filetto di manzi. It is a pasta with pieces of tenderloin, vegetables, and a white wine sauce. The waiting time is quite long during lunch and dinner time, so it is nice that they have an ample amount of paper menus and sheets with the seasonal specials (changes every 2 months) available for you to look at.
In the back, I saw walls filled with paper bags, which contain different kinds of portion sized pasta. One bag is for one person and you get to see it being cooked right in front of you at the cooking stations. I wanted to get tagliatelle pasta at first, but since they didn't have any left, I choose the linguine instead. At one cooking station, there are two woks. So, if you are with two people, the waiting time is as long as for one person. After making the food, the thin wok gets replaced by a new one. During the cooking, the cook will ask you how you want your pasta to be prepared. Things such as, how spicy you want it to be or if you want cheese on top. You can also pay a bit extra to get more meat. You don't pay at the cooking stations, as they charge the amount on a plastic card and you pay at the cash registers, when you leave.
There are different waiting lines for pasta, salads, pizza, and drinks. But luckily, you can also buy chilled drinks at the pasta cooking stations, so you don't have to wait in line again for the drinks. The toilets were very clean and seeing the comfortable leather cushion bar stools and the lounge corner near the entrance of the mall, it is a nice pit stop after a long day of shopping.
I didn't try the pasta, but I heard that it tasted good, though a bit too spicy (three small bits of red chili was added). The take-out bin kept it quite warm and it is nice that it is re-usable. The free plastic cutlery set that you can get at the cash registers has a spoon, fork, and knife.
Pasta filetto di manzi €9.90
After looking at the menu, while I waited in line, I decided on the pasta filetto di manzi. It is a pasta with pieces of tenderloin, vegetables, and a white wine sauce. The waiting time is quite long during lunch and dinner time, so it is nice that they have an ample amount of paper menus and sheets with the seasonal specials (changes every 2 months) available for you to look at.
In the back, I saw walls filled with paper bags, which contain different kinds of portion sized pasta. One bag is for one person and you get to see it being cooked right in front of you at the cooking stations. I wanted to get tagliatelle pasta at first, but since they didn't have any left, I choose the linguine instead. At one cooking station, there are two woks. So, if you are with two people, the waiting time is as long as for one person. After making the food, the thin wok gets replaced by a new one. During the cooking, the cook will ask you how you want your pasta to be prepared. Things such as, how spicy you want it to be or if you want cheese on top. You can also pay a bit extra to get more meat. You don't pay at the cooking stations, as they charge the amount on a plastic card and you pay at the cash registers, when you leave.
There are different waiting lines for pasta, salads, pizza, and drinks. But luckily, you can also buy chilled drinks at the pasta cooking stations, so you don't have to wait in line again for the drinks. The toilets were very clean and seeing the comfortable leather cushion bar stools and the lounge corner near the entrance of the mall, it is a nice pit stop after a long day of shopping.
I didn't try the pasta, but I heard that it tasted good, though a bit too spicy (three small bits of red chili was added). The take-out bin kept it quite warm and it is nice that it is re-usable. The free plastic cutlery set that you can get at the cash registers has a spoon, fork, and knife.
