Best meal of the trip——Cafe in de Buurt

The last few days of our trip were mostly spent around Leidseplein and Museumplein of Amsterdam. The day before King's Day, we decided to visit Rijksmuseum. As it's supposed to be a relatively relaxing day for us, we decided to wait for baby to wake up before we make a move. Therefore, by the time we went out, it's already lunch hour.

Our plan was to have lunch in Castel, which was recommended by The Man's friend, for very good pork rib. But we only found out it was only open for dinner. It was cold and windy, we need a place as soon as possible, and we spotted this very cozy looking, comes with free WIFI, Cafe in de Buurt.

Cafe in de Buurt

Inside the cozy cafe

As it turned out, that was one of the best meal we had in Amsterdam for this trip.

The kitchen was run by two young men. And there's another guy at the bar to serve the customers. Everything is made from scratch, I especially like the fact that they made their fries from real potatoes! I love it.

The guy at the bar is really friendly. It's really too bad they weren't open on King's Day, else, who knows we might end up having our meal here on King's Day too! Hehe...

I ordered a Philly Steak Sandwich, while The Man ordered a Chicken Satay (As the dutch conquered Indonesia, Indonesian influenced food is everywhere, and satay being the most common ones)

Philly steak sandwich

Chicken Satay (such a huge satay, it looks more like a chicken chop!)

And, the food I love most was cheese sticks! I really really really love it! It's so good I actually didn't bother to take a proper photo of it, I just want to eat them before they all ended up in The Man's stomach! Hahaha!!!

Yummy!!!!

On top of all these, I ordered a cup of latte and The Man had a glass of beer. The lunch cost us Euro 34.60.

After visiting Rijksmuseum, we tried our luck at Castel. However, the restaurant looked more like a bar than a restaurant, it's really narrow and small and very very dark. It didn't feel very family friendly. Besides, the waiter didn't bother to entertain us at all!

And that's how we ended up in Cafe in de Buurt again!!! For dinner we ordered onion soup, risotto cheese balls, pork ribs, cheese sticks (because I love them too much!) and two beers. I didn't take photo because before we started the dinner, little baby decided to poo and both of us were too busy figuring out how to change him in the very small toilet. At the end we took a chair into the toilet and managed to change.

We were too tired to take pictures, we just stomach everything.

For the dinner, we paid Euro 43.

Recommended! Good food and friendly service :)

We were lucky to get table for both meals, they seem to be pretty crowded at times, especially as it gets later. So you can also consider to make reservation with them.

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 :)

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.

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

Happy 12th Anniversay at Pizzeria Mozza

8.5th of April is our 12th anniversary!

Why 8.5th? Because one of us said it's 8th, another said 9th, so 8.5th it is.

It's been a while we didn't eat out for celebration. We decided to go Marina Bay Sands. Initially we wanted to go Au Chocolat but I only found out that it has moved out from MBS when I wanted to make a call for reservation.

Then, we decided to try Pizzeria Mozza. If you watched The Master Chef, the bold guy who looks more intimidating than Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich is one of the owner of this restaurant.

Here's what we ordered.

antipasti

This.is.simply.AMAZING! We really really love this. I didn't take down the name of the dish, I thought I will be able to find out from the menu online but I was wrong! It wasn't in the menu online. So I will try my best to tell you what's in it instead. There are avocado, sungold tomato, prosciutto. That's the best I can do. It's superb! This dish cost us $17. I will want to order again!

bruschette

This is fett'unta, it's garlic bread. It's fragrant but a little too salty. But it's just way too big so it really took us some time to finish it. Lots of chewing, so tiring. This cost us $7.

Pizza (of course!)

Again, my bad I thought I can find the name from the online menu. No, it was a huge mistake. Again, I'll try my best to recall what's in it, there are bacon (obviously), asparagus, green peas, green onions, on cream sauce based instead of conventional tomato based. This is real good too! We just love it. This dish cost $30.

Usually you'll feel a little guilty of eating a big meal. But not for this. There's lots of fibers in this big meal, I actually feel healthy :)

The restaurant was packed even at 3pm, so make your reservation before you go. I'd really love to go again, I miss my antipasti already!

(By the way, the photos were taken with my new X30, I'm satisfied with the quality. The restaurant was very dark, I've used ISO1600.)