料理の量が多いとき・・・ Food portions in Croatia

クロアチアはレストランで食事を注文すると、ものすごい量のものが運ばれてきます。オーストラリア（メルボルン）のレストラン以上の量に、最初はびっくりしました。女の子2人なら1人分を頼んでシェアしてもおなかいっぱ いになるくらい。私と旦那がピッツァリアに行くと、サラダ1人前、ピッツァのミドルサイズ1枚かラザニア1人前をシェアします。それでも残さずに食べ るので精一杯くらい。これにケーキをシェアするとお腹がはちきれそうになる。

Half lasagna of Capuciner

  以前、2人でレストランに入って、お互いに1人前頼んだら、半分でギブアップ。それを見たウェイターさんに「どうしたんだ！元気がないなぁ～。もっと食べろ！」と言われてしまった・・・。「全部食べるまで帰っちゃだめだよ」って言われたこともあるなぁ。クロアチアはモノにあふれている国だ、と身をもって知りました。

  レストランで注文するときに、料理をシェアする、と言うとラザニアもピッツァも半分ずつに分けて持ってきてくれることが多いです。親切。料理をシェアしたい場合、注文するときに

Može ..., po pola, molim. (モジェ (料理の名前、指差しながら 'to' でもOK)、ぽ　ポーラ、モーリム).

と言いましょう。意味は「半分ずつでお願いします。」。「to (ト)」はクロアチア語で「これ」という意味です。「pola (ポラ、ポーラ)」は「半分」、で「molim (モーリム)」は英語で言うpleaseにあたる言葉です。または、先にピッツァなりを頼んで、「Može po pola, molim.」でもOK。ちなみに「molim」はつけると丁寧な感じになるけれど、別に言わなくてもウェイターの人は気を悪くしたりはしないらしい。反対に「molim」をつけないほうが早くフレンドリーな感じになれるからいい、と思うクロアチア人もいるみたい。

  そうすると、上の写真みたいにきれいに半分にされたラザニアが運ばれてきます。これはザグレブの聖母被昇天大聖堂の目の前にあるCapucinerというレストランのラザニア(35Kn)。ラザニアは今のところ、ここが一番かな。


The food portions at restaurants in Croatia are huge when comparing to Japan. I think the food portions here is as much as, or could be bigger than Australia. So, when I ordered food (a plate of meat :)) at a restaurant in Zagreb for the first time, I was so shocked to see them and I barely finished one third of them...

  When my husband and I eat at a restaurant, we usually share a bowl of salad, a middle-size pizza or a lasagna. Even though, we barely finish them all... I must admit that I eat less when comparing to my female friends, and my husband also eats less than average Croatian men. Waiters here in Croatia are generally very friendly, and one time, when our waiter saw us struggling with food, he said "Hey, what's wrong? Eat, eat!". And other time, a waiter jokingly told us "you can't go home until you finish it!" :P

Pizza from Eataly Daikanyama (Tokyo)

  So, anyway, since we learnt that we can't eat a full portion of meal, we mostly share plates. Usually, when tell a waiter that we share a plate when we order, a restaurant split it on two plates, like a photo above :) When you want to share a plate, say the following words to your waiter when you order:

  Može (name of food), po pola, molim.

This means "half and half, please". You can use the word "to" instead of the name of food. "To" means "it", and be careful not to pronounce it like English "to", which I often did it until I get used to the Croatian letters. "To" should be pronounced as "to" of "toy". You can also say, "Lasagne. Može po pola, molim."

  The word "molim" means "please" in English. But, I've been told that I don't have to say "molim" when I order at a restaurant. As a Japanese, I think I prefer to be polite even to waiters, but in Croatia, people prefer to be friendly. Using the word "molim" may sound too formal, and people may think it sounds more friendly without using that word. When you are friendly to your waiters, he/she would be friendly and even share some jokes with you ;)

  By the way, I wrote "lasagne" in the sentence above, because in Croatian language, one lasagna is called lasagne, and lasagna is plural.

  The half lasagna on the first photo is from Capuciner, which is located in front of the Cathedral. One lasagna costs only 35 kn and I think they serve the best lasagna in Zagreb :)