荷兰真的没什么美食

这一次到荷兰，寻找美食的功课我做得比以前还要多。皆因我知道，真的不是随随便便走进一家都好吃。好吃的也不会随随便便有位子坐。

我们决定，一定要吃正所谓的荷兰美食。不过，荷兰人对食物还真是没什么创意。吃了一遍De Blauw Hollander，我们就决定，好吧，荷兰食物都吃了，够了。不是餐厅难吃，餐厅煮的还可以。问题是荷兰食物本身，就是平平无创意。

那，究竟所谓的荷兰美食有什么？

荷兰人爱吃的，不外是Pancakes，到处都是吃pancakes的餐厅。如果你对pancake情有独钟，你可是来对了地方。不过，套用梁文道说的，一百种香肠还是香肠。一百种pancake还是pancake。吃一遍就够了。

荷兰人也很爱吃apple tart （Appletaart）。我们吃了两家，确实，出名的那一家更好吃，不过，对我而言，也不过是如此。

还有一个小吃，叫herring。就是腌制过的鱼，配上面包，撒上洋葱。这个我喜欢。

De Blauw Hollander 有dinner set的优惠，一个前菜／汤，一个正餐，还有一杯饮料，但价钱忘了。我们要了一个set，再加一个正餐。其实后悔极了，应该两人吃一 set好了，真的太撑，后来都没吃完。

Pea Soup （不需要介绍吧，就是pea弄成汤咯！）

热腾腾的Pea Soup配一块Ham

HotchPotch，你要是不爱土豆，千万别点。这就是一大坨的土豆泥，配上香肠或者meatballs，再淋上酱汁。土豆泥依据不同的配法有不同的口味。配香肠的是酸菜口味，配肉圆的我忘了。太多太腻！吃不完！！！

Hotchpotch with sausage

Hotchpotch with meatball

Bitterballen。这是我们最爱的荷兰美食，几乎天天吃。其实就是牛肉碎，加面粉和各种香料弄成的牛肉圆，好好吃。很好的下酒菜。

Bitterballen

看完了这个list，是不是觉得这些美食，真的没啥创意？尤其是土豆泥配香肠，我的妈呀，这种我也做得出来。难怪功课那么难做，难怪蔡澜也不介绍，难怪……

我们这一餐花了37.75欧元。如果真想吃一次荷兰美食，可以试试。不然，去吃点别的吧～意大利餐、法国餐……国际化的城市，什么美食都有。

Appletaart in Winkel 43

This is one of the cafe I've researched in year 2013 and didn't get to go.

The travellers seem to rave about the appletaart. One even mentioned that he went to Amsterdam for many times, and he visited Winkel 43 for appletaart every single trip. Hm... Sounds like a must try to me.

We went there in the morning before we made our way to Keukenhof. It was super cloudy and cold. And the cafe was already full, with only one small little table out there.

Winkel 43

The Man initially wanted to sit there, but I was really concern if my baby could stand the chilly wind. So as I saw some diners left the cafe, I quickly went in and got ourselves a table in the cafe.

We got ourselves a table just in front of the counter

The Man did a little search the night before. And diners are recommending the omelette beside the appletaart. So that's what we ordered

Appletaart with whipped cream

Omelette with tomato and cheese, alongside with toast and salad

Well, the appletaart is surely better than the ones we have had in La Place and De Raedt. It's not as sweet, not as hard and definitely smell better. But did I fly to the moon, sadly, no.

The omelette, well, it's just an omelette, what's the rave about it? No idea... And the salad that served alongside, was the weirdest salad I've ever tasted, it has lettuce, carrots and bean sprouts. Seriously, bean sprouts? Just weird.

If you're in the neighbourhood and want something light to go with coffee or tea, Winkel 43 appletaart is a good choice. But should you travel all the way for it, probably no such need.

Delicious (and a little chaotic) Lunch at Stempels Brasserie

On our second day, we went to a town nearby called Haarlem. Haarlem is a lovely town closed to Amsterdam, and it's easily accessible by train and bus. It's very much like Amsterdam, but smaller and lesser crowds.

In my plan, we were supposed to take a train from Amsterdam Centraal. It only takes 15 minutes to arrive in Haarlem. However, The Man decided to trust the lady in train station and we boarded a bus (next time trust your wife cause she did homework!).

"She said it's only half an hour." he said, and here we go. After 45 minutes on the bus, we passed by Haarlem College but the bus seems to drive further away from city centre of Haarlem. (Hail the modern offline map!)

I approached a young lady, possibly a student as she boarded the bus at Haarlem College to ask her if the bus goes to city centre. She told us to get off the stop and took another bus. So we did, and we finally made it to Haarlem city centre.

It was really cold and windy. It's gloomy and cloudy on that day. Baby started to cry when we're walking towards Grote Kerk (Great church). We thought he must be cold so we started to take turns to carry him. And frantically looking for a warm place to sit down.

As time passed, the cry got louder and louder. It's getting unusual, because my baby seldom cries. He's one of those angel baby. Then, we got into Stempels, situated just next to Grote Kerk.

It's warm and cozy inside. It seems like a really nice place for a nice lunch. It's packed with diners, mostly senior citizens, I think it's because it's weekdays, younger people are at work. Baby was quiet for a while when we entered Stempels. The waiter got us a seat and we started to order.

Inside Stempels

Then, baby shouted again. We felt so bad because the nice ambience of the restaurant was totally ruined. He kept crying so loud so while I was ordering and settling down our stuffs, The Man carried him to somewhere else to soothe him.

That was when he realized baby poo-ed!! He went to the man's toilet and couldn't find any nappy changing station. (It's a discrimination, why can't man change the baby's diapers?)

I got ready with his diaper bag, and went down to the ladies and found a nice nappy changing station in there! I was almost on tears to find such a station. Nappy changing station are hard to come by during our trip, to find one is great; To get a nice one, it's PERFECT!

As he finally calmed down, the waitress reheat the tomato soup for us. And we could finally have our simple lunch. We weren't hungry because we had late breakfast, so we only ordered tomato soup with meatballs, and Platter Stempels. And a local beer, Jopen, and a cup of hot chocolate.

Jopen, local beer

Hot chocolate, with a piece of dark chocolate

Tomato soup with meatballs

Platter Stempels (Salmon, salami, cheese, salads, olive, cheese sticks, bitter ballen and bread)

The food was really good, I love cheese sticks and bitte ballen especially. And it costs us Euro28.80 for two. Besides, the waiters and waitresses were really nice and friendly. They're really kind to baby too.

And the best of all, it's the nice nappy changing station!

Definitely recommended if you ever visit Haarlem :)

Feed the Mommy——15 Minutes Creamy Bacon and Mushrooms Pasta

Staying at home and taking care of a baby doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself from good food. In fact, I really need food to make me happier! Happy mommy happy baby!

Pasta is one of the easier option for meal when I'm having the meal alone because you don't have to think of what dishes to go along. Besides, it's really quick.

Since baby recovered from his flu, he has become too happy to fall asleep. He got all excited, smiling and laughing when I lie down beside him to pat him. That makes the process more difficult than ever.

When he was finally asleep at 2.45pm, my stomach was already complaining!!! I need food inside real quick! I've only a few ingredients in the fridge so I decided to make a pasta.

Creamy bacon and mushrooms pasta (taken with iPhone)

Ingredients (for one):

1. Two strips of bacon
2. Two cloves of garlic
3. Three brown button mushrooms
4. Pasta of your choice
5. Cooking cream 
6. Chicken stock
7. White wine (optional)

Method:

1. Boil water and cook pasta in a pot.
2. While #1 is ongoing, cut mushrooms and mince garlic.
3. Heat the pan, before the pan got heated up, use a kitchen grade scissors to cut bacon into small pieces directly onto the pan.
4. Pan fry the bacon till it's golden brown, put in garlic and mushrooms, fry until the mushrooms are nicely brown and no more moistures are coming out from them.
5. Add white wine and reduce it (if you decided to add white wine)
6. Add chicken stock and cooking cream (I've finished my homemade chicken stock, so I added the cubes instead), salt and pepper to taste. If you like creamier and cheesier pasta, you can shred some Parmesan cheese into the mixture. Simmer the mixture till it's creamy and thick.
7. By now the pasta should be cooked. Drain the water and put them into the pan. 
8. Stir everything together.
9. Serve. Take a photo. 
10. Serve.

Everything in 15 minutes :)

My tummy is finally happy.

Pancakes! Amsterdam

Unlike our first visit to Amsterdam, this time we spent one whole week staying in Amsterdam. And, we swear we will find good food to eat, unlike the first time.

The first visit to Amsterdam, we didn't get to eat anything that is worth mentioning, seriously! Well, except for De Laaisie Kruimel. It's not that I didn't do homework on the food, I did, but at the end due to time constraint and route diversion, we didn't really go to any. And some very popular restaurants can only take you in with reservations! I didn't expect that!!!

So, I did recycle my list of food to try. Perks of revisiting.

One of the thing that we didn't really try the last trip was pancakes. On the first day of arrival, we went to Pancakes! Amsterdam.

Pancakes! Amsterdam

Like most of the shops in Amsterdam, it's small and narrow little place. It's too small to house all the tourists that come for its fame, so we queued for quite a while before we got a seat. Baby stroller has no place in the restaurant, so we have to leave it out. Perks of using an old and non-branded stroller, we left it out without any concern.

Before we started our journey to Amsterdam, I made promise to myself I'll be drinking coffee and beer everyday! (not a difficult promise to keep!) I've finally wean off from breastfeeding, food limits are finally lifted! Hooray!!

Stroopwafel, served with coffee

For the first meal in Amsterdam, I ordered coffee. And stroopwafel was served along side. After a week of coffee, I have had countless of stroopwafels, almost all the cafes and restaurants serve this alongside with coffee. It's pretty good but just a little too sweet for me.

We ordered a dutch deluxe pancake (with paprika, mushroom, bacon and cheese) and a poffertjes (with powdered sugar and butter) to share. Poffertjes are just mini pancakes, more like dessert pancakes that are usually served with sweet stuffs like apples, ice cream, chocolates etc.

Dutch Deluxe Pancake

Poffertjes

The meal cost us Euro19.70 for two drinks, a pancake and a poffertjes. Not too bad.

Verdict, well it's nice, but won't send me up to the sky. Pancakes are just pancakes. Been there, done that.

Feed the Mommy——Easiest Lunch——Open Faced Sandwich

Baby has been sick for a few days. It has been sleepless days and sleepless nights for both of us, super tiring.

For the first few days, The Man wasn't around during the day because it's weekdays and he has to work. I barely can get a 5 minute shower, and totally no proper meal. I had Oreos for lunch. It was terrible. But at least I have Oreos at home :P

Over the weekend, we took turns to care for him, and he's feeling better now, but still under the weather.

To me, cooking is all about momentum. Once I stopped for a while, it's really hard to gear up again to cook. I guess most of everything we do, is all about momentum.

Being lazy today, staying at home doesn't mean I don't get Monday blues. I decided to just make an open faced sandwich, simple and quick. I didn't even have to turn on the stove. Just oven.

Bacon asparagus and asparagus cheese sandwich

Bake the bacon in oven for 5 minutes at 180deg Celsius. Remove them from oven. Lay the bread, asparagus on top, bacon and cheese on top of them. This is so that the oil from bacon will flavour the asparagus and bread, you do not need any extra seasoning. Put them into the oven again for 10-12minutes.

Tadaa~

It's so easy, I could still pat baby to sleep while my lunch is cooking.

Had an apple after the meal. And a cup of coffee.

I think I have enough energy to go through the day now :)

(Loads of posts to catch up, especially those from the trip, just too busy!)

One Bedroom Apartment in Westerpark

Finding an accommodation didn't seem so difficult before baby came along, as long as they're reasonably convenient, reasonably hygiene and reasonably priced, I'm up for that. And I usually move from a place to another, never have I stayed put in one apartment for entire week.

But baby changes everything. (*music* *point at the baby and blame him*) :P

We were in Amsterdam from 21st April to 28th April. King's Day falls on 27th April, and it's a public holiday in Netherlands. Accommodation was a little bit tight for the weekend, which made finding a perfect accommodation a little bit more harder.

After searching high and low in Airbnb and also amsterdamapartments.com, I shortlisted a few and start contacting them. After a quite a fair bit of communication, we ended up in this lovely apartment in Westerpark, own by a nice lady named Steff.

There were a few firsts for me,

• First trip with baby
• First reservation on Airbnb
• First visit to Westerpark area which is not a well known attractions but I've really learned to love it. (Will cover that in another post)

I've set a lot of criteria in my search, 

1. Washing machine: Simply because travelling with baby means occasional dirty laundry is unavoidable. Besides, having a washing machine means we can pack lesser clothes.
2. Kitchen: Simply because I need to boil water and foresee we will make simple meals a day or two when baby needs to sleep and rest
3. Heater: Weather can be pretty unpredictable, the last thing you want is to fall sick during the trip. It's important to keep baby warm at night
4. Ground floor: Amsterdam buildings were mostly old buildings with very steep and narrow staircase. I wouldn't want to haul the heavy luggages, stroller and the baby up and down everyday.
5. Dryer (optional): Not the most important item but it'll really help me to reduce my luggage weight even more :)
6. Bath tub (optional): It's just easier for me to bathe baby

Unfortunately, I didn't get item 4 and 5 fulfilled, but I'm satisfied still.

Living room

Living and dining area (I have no place to hide the stroller)

The Kitchen

Bathroom with the washing machine inside

The bedroom (No safe place to put my baby except the bed while we're busy taking pictures)

This was a 40m2 apartment, pretty small but it's more than enough for a holiday trip. The bedroom was really small so we have our luggages lying in the living room. There's no TV in the apartment but it's not important to us at all, we didn't spend much time at home.

I almost ended up in another apartment which was situated at a more convenient neighbourhood, but it didn't have Wifi access. But according to The Man, Wifi is the most important thing and asked if I could find another one. Hmph! Found one I have, but a lot more work was done.

We were really satisfied with this apartment. Before I went I thought it's not very convenient. But turned up, bus 21 travels frequently between Amsterdam Centraal to Westerpark. Besides, tram 10 travels between east and west of Amsterdam which brought us to Museumplein and Leidensplein almost everyday during our stay.

The neighbourhood was quiet and peaceful. It's walking distance to the beautiful Westerpark, and great food and bakery and groceries stores are nearby too! I have nothing to complain about, really.

If you're interested, this is the link on Airbnb.

From Farm to Plate at De Kas

During the one week trip, we decided to splurge in one meal. I was deciding between Jamie Oliver and De Kas, and I chose De Kas. Simply because we have Jamie's Italian in Singapore and we've been there a few times. Sorry Jamie, maybe next time.

I like the idea of Restaurant De Kas. They have their own garden and farm, they grow their own herbs and vegetables. And like many Michelin starred restaurants, they do not have a fixed menu. They cook based on what they harvest. Interesting.

De Kas is a beautiful glass house, the restaurant itself is picture worthy.

Beautiful glass house

From another view

Inside the glass house where we dined

The restaurant is really pretty. But as it's a huge glass house, it's really warm to dine in there. The moment we stepped into the restaurant, the server did offer to help us with the coat. Initially, I thought it's just a gesture of a higher end restaurant. But when we were inside, I understood it's actually necessary.

As I mentioned, there's no fixed menu. You'll just have to chose whether you want a 2-course lunch, a three little dish or a main course. As we wanna try more variety, we ordered a 2-course lunch and a three little dish to share. And each of us have a glass of white wine.

White wines and the complimentary appetiser to start (sourdough bread, mushrooms and olives)

The white wine was great, but I have totally no recollection of what wine was that, sorry.

Fennel soup with goat cheese

Each of us have a bowl of soup as appetizer. The soup of the day was fennel soup topped with goat cheese. Bad news for the man but I really love it :)

Lamb with white asparagus

Beetroot and radishes

My other 2 little dish were served first. As a natural carnivore, I dived into the lamb almost immediately. It was just okay, nothing fantastic. Then, I tried the beetroot. I'm never a fan of beetroot, in fact I was very skeptical with this dish. However, it turned out GREAT. In fact it's my favourite dish of the lunch. And then, the magical thing happened. After I ate the beetroot, the lamb tasted delicious! Whoa, how can that be? I don't understand, but it's true, The Man felt the same too!

Cod fish with grilled cauliflower

As The Man ordered 2-course meal, his main course was served last. It smelled really good! Yes, when the anosmic me can smell it, it's really good. There were small shrimp and barley underneath the fish. Great dish.

Just one little complain, the dishes are way too small, I wished they're served in bigger portion :)

After the meal, we visited the garden just beside the dining room.

The small garden

For certain season, you could actually sign up for workshop to visit the farm. We're not in the season, and we're not having enough time too, so forget it.

All of these cost us Euro66 for two. Not cheap.

I've seen some reviews on the net complaining the food was a bit bland. I think it was more bland than most food I had in Amsterdam. However, as the ingredients were pretty fresh, I actually thought it's perfectly fine.

Information:
Transport: Tram 9 to Hogeweg (De Kas is located in Frankendael Park, as you alight from the tram, you can see De Kas just right at the edge of the park
Tips: Make reservation online, it's packed with diners even on a weekday lunch
Dress code: Casual. Some diners were wearing dresses and coats. But mostly were in jeans, so no worries

Tulips at Keukenhof

Pretty red tulips in wonderful weather

I went to Netherlands twice, and both times, all I have in mind is the beautiful endless tulips in Keukenhof. Unfortunately, 2013 was a bad year for the tulips. The spring came late because winter decided it wanted to stay longer than usual. During our visit, the supposedly spring was snowing. I cursed the weather everyday then.

This year, we bought the tickets for end of April. And I also signed up for newsletter from Tulips in Holland to receive weekly news on the blooming status. On the last week before we flew, I saw lights at the end of the tunnel. I knew this time, we're going to make it.

Keukenhof is located in Lisse, Netherlands. Lisse is situated southwest of Amsterdam. It's easily accessible by bus from Schiphol and Leiden.

Kenkenhof means "kitchen" (keuken) "court" (hof). The garden is located on a herb garden of the castle of 15th century, which used to provide herbs for the castle kitchen. So I guessed that's how the name came from.

Darker red tulips

Orange tulips

Inside the pink tulip

The entrance ticket for the garden cost Euro23.50. We bought the combi ticket that include the bus from Amsterdam at Euro28.50. It's definitely cheaper to get a combi ticket. The bus takes us from Amsterdam to Schiphol with bus 197, and then transfer to bus 858 at Schiphol. The train ticket itself to Schiphol from Amsterdam is Euro5.10 per trip per person.

Endless of tulips everywhere you go

Keukenhof is lovely! The minute we stepped into the garden, I can barely stop clicking on my camera and my phone. It took me so so long, probably 20 minutes or even longer to walk away from the entrance. And then be awed by even more beautiful scenery.

The Man told me the garden smelled really nice. That's my problem, I'm anosmic. I can't smell much if the scent wasn't strong enough. Therefore, for a normal human being, visitng Keukenhof is a visual and smell sensation, for me, it's plainly visual. For the pollen allergic, please stay away from Keukenhof.

Keukenhof is really really big! We spent five hours in the garden and yet failed to complete the garden. That huge! So if you're considering to sign up for tours, please don't. I saw tours that limit visiting at three hours in the garden. Don't do that. You'll definitely regret. Transport from Amsterdam to Keukenhof is pretty easy, you do not need the tour bus.

Sakura by the canal

So pretty

More!!!

There are a lot more types of flowers in the garden other than tulips, pick your favourite

Initially I was concerned that food in Keukenhof must be much more expensive than the city. After all, it's full of tourists, it's a great opportunity to suck money from the tourists. At least that's how tourist attractions work in most part of the world. But Keukenhof was fine, it is slightly expensive but not VERY expensive. We had a hot chocolate and a carrot cake at Euro6.60 in a small glass cafe. Then we bought a herring and a small beer at Euro7, a ham sandwich at Euro5. And we enjoyed the simple lunch sitting on the grass, enjoyed the scenery.

Having our lunch on the grass

The windmill near where we rested

All in all, I'll just say, Keukenhof is GREAT!!! If you happen to visit Amsterdam in spring, and tulips are blooming, this is a MUST go place.

Before we left the garden, the swans formed a love shape for us

Information:
Combi tickets (bus+entrance): Euro28.50 per pax
Transport: Take bus 197 from Leidensplein to Schiphol airport, transit to bus 858 from there, it takes you right in front of the garden (This is included in combi ticket)
Tips: Always buy your ticket online before you go to avoid queueing
Additional information: There are lots of tulips farm before you reach Keukenhof, if you cycle, you'll get to stop as much as you want to take pictures of endless tulips farm.

7D7N Amsterdam with the Baby

Tulips in Keukenhof

It's been a fun week, it's not easy to travel with an infant, but it wasn't that hard too, not as eventful as I thought it will be.

Bringing a baby slows everything down, we achieved only one destination everyday, take our time to stop and rest and enjoy the day.

Below is our itinerary before I go into details of everything, well maybe not everything, just things I think it's worth the mention.

Day 1:

• Arrived in Schiphol Airport at 7am
• Got our luggage, and bought train tickets to Amsterdam Centraal (Euro5.10 per pax per trip)
• Westerpark to check in to our apartment for the week
• Went groceries shopping for the first thing, bought baby diapers and water supply
• Went to Amsterdam Centraal to get ourselves OV Chipkaart for public transport in Netherlands
• Went to Prinsengraght to have lunch at Pancakes! Amsterdam (Euro19.70 for two)
• Walked along canal, stopped by Dam to buy shoes, Singel for Flower Market
• Got simple groceries, and got home for dinner

Day 2:

• Have breakfast in Piq Niq in Joordan (Approximately Euro17)
• Took bus to Haarlem 
• Had lunch in Stempels (Euro28.80 for two)
• Visited Teylers Museum (Euro12 per pax including audio guide)
• Took train to go back to Amsterdam
• Had dinner in The Pancake Bakery (Euro 28.70)

Day 3:

• Breakfast in Winkel 43 (Euro 14.70)
• Took bus to Keukenhof (Euro 28.50 per pax for combi ticket)
• Had lunch in Keukenhof (carrot cake, hot chocolate, herring, sandwich with ham and a beer)
• Went back to Amsterdam
• Had dinner in Kop Van Jut (Euro 46.20 for two)

Day 4:

• Woke up way too late, bought bread from Westerpark Bakery to have breakfast at home
• Went to De Kas for lunch (Euro 66 for two)
• Enjoy some snacks at Museumplein
• Sunbathing in front of Concertgebouw
• Had dinner in De Blauw Hollander (Euro 37.75)

Day 5:

• Woke up super early to catch at train at 7.17am to Antwerp
• Enjoyed the architecture of Antwerpen Centraal
• Visited weekly exotic market at Theatreplein
• Had lunch at Cafe 't Putke (Euro 25.50 for two)
• Visited Cathedral of Our Lady (Euro 6 per pax)
• Visited Plantin-Moretus Museum (Euro 8 per pax, Euro 2 for an audio guide)
• Had dinner at Maurice & Dietrich at Grote Markt (Euro 24.60 for two)
• Took a 7.30pm train back to Amsterdam

Day 6:

• Woke up way too late, and bought croissants from Albert Heijn Market (because Westerpark Bakery was closed) for breakfast
• Had lunch at Cafe-Restaurant in de Buurt (Euro 34.60 for two)
• Visited Rijksmuseum (Euro 17.50 per pax)
• Had dinner again at Cafe-Restaurant in de Buurt (Euro 43 for two)

Day 7:

• Had breakfast at home
• Walked to Westergasfabriek and enjoyed King's Day
• Had hotdog in the park (Euro 5)
• Had a super nice latte in Espresso Fabriek 
• Walked around the town just to immerse ourselves in the festive mood
• Bought cheese at Kaasland
• Walked back to Westerpark
• Had dinner at Bella Storia (Euro 20 for two)

Day 8:

• Woke up early, prepared ourselves and went to airport
• Said goodbye to this wonderful city