Restaurant Alert! Dutch cuisine in Amsterdam

Restaurant Moeders
251 Rosengracht
Amsterdam, Netherlands
 
I found Moeders ("mothers" in Dutch) on Chowhound's user forum and it did not disappoint. It had terrific food and a great atmosphere. You can see from the picture below that the interior of the restaurant is just bursting with character. The story is that on the day the restaurant opened, the owners asked all diners to contribute a set of china, stemware and silverware to the restaurant. As a result they have an arsenal of very mis-matched table settings. The geek side of me kept wondering how many permutations of unique table settings there could be.

For dinner, J and I ordered the Dutch rice dish, which is a 2-person sampling of their most traditional Dutch dishes. This meal included two types of beef stews, stamppot (mashed potatoes with various stuff in it), and an impressive spread of accompaniments including poached pears, pickled cabbage, mashed potatoes and apple sauce. Ironically, we did not see a single grain of rice. J really enjoyed the stews, but for me the most surprising bite was the apple sauce. I never had a full appreciation for apple sauce. So, when it came I thought  "What the heck? Are they trying to fill the table with random cheap ingredients?" Let me tell you.. apple sauce tastes BEST when it's sandwiched between two bites of really heavy meat stews! It's so refreshing!

I'll end with a couple of pictures.

1. Interior of the restaurant
2. My place setting
3. J's place setting
4. Our dinner

Fast food in Amsterdam

J was interested in this fast food place called Feebo. Apparently, it's the Dutch equivalent of McDonalds except for one major difference - food items can be obtained through vending machines! We tried it and were impressed. Not only was the food really tasty, they were also still very hot! Hamburgers were available, but most items were variations of deep fried meats. Imagine chicken tenders, but on steroids. We also tried another fast food joint (Smuller's) with the same vending machine concept near the train station - equally good.

One great thing about this experience is that we got rid of A LOT of small change! Machines do not discriminate. They do not spit on you when you attempt to use your small change. Well.. I take that back.. even they rejected the 0,02 EUR coin. Why, oh, why do you make cash denominations that no one will accept?? 

Anyhow....

Watch as J buys fast food from a vending machine for the first time.

Day 35 to 38: A 3-day weekend in Amsterdam

N121 Bus. J's got one over Rick Steves (RS). Our flight from Paris to Amsterdam was scheduled to depart CDG at 8:00 AM. At first, we thought we'd just take the Metro (subway) and transfer to the RER (train) which goes directly to CDG. However, J found a night bus (not mentioned by RS) which runs from Gare Montparnasse (5-minute walk from our apartment) directly to CDG! The N121 operates between midnight at 5 AM,  so we hopped on the 4:57 AM bus. For some reason, the driver didn't want to collect bus fare from us so we ended up with a free ride to the airport!

Paris to Amsterdam. The flight time was less than 1 hour long! It's like flying from Boston to NYC. Given the distance, I'm surprised that I had such a hard time finding a cost-effective and time-efficient way of getting to Amsterdam. Someone should consider starting a Boston-NYC Chinatown bus equivalent for Paris-Amsterdam.

Schipol Airport. Probably the most beautiful, cheery and comfortable airport I've ever flown in/out of. There was so much shopping that it felt like an upscale mall. Lounge sofas and cafe furniture were available everywhere for travelers to enjoy.

The city. City center is very picturesque. Christmas lights were everywhere. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Bikes, bikes EVERYWHERE! I didn't ride one because it was wet and cold, but that didn't stop everyone else. From an idealistic point of view, I think it's awesome that everyone bikes, but from a practical point of view, I thought the bikes were really annoying. Bicyclists ride wherever they please - in the bike lanes, on the streets with cars or on the sidewalks with pedestrians. Parked bikes sometimes took over the entire width of an already narrow sidewalk  and blocked the pedestrian's path. I likened the bikers to snowboarders. They think they own the streets and go where ever they please with no consideration for others.

Coffeeshop. Whenever I walked past a coffeeshop the smell reminded me of the bus stop in front of my high school. Although the cake itself was disappointing, we later found out that the establishment we chose at random from the hundreds of shops in the city (The Other Side Coffeeshop) just happened to be the only gay/lesbian bar recommended on Lonely Planet! What luck! At least we have an interesting story to tell now. =)

Attractions. On our first day, we visited Anne Frank's House. I didn't know the Secret Annex was such a prominent part of the house. It makes me wonder how it wasn't discovered sooner. The weather cleared up on the second day so we hopped on a boat for a 75-minute canal cruise in the morning. It was a good way to see the city, but I felt the city was prettier on foot. We spent the afternoon at The Heineken Experience. Do you know that Heineken is still a family-owned business and they strive to lower their environmental impact? They even prototyped a bottle that can be stacked like Legos to be used to build houses! On our last day, we finally hit the Van Gogh (pronounced Gock) Museum. It's hard for me to appreciate art by itself, but I've found that I enjoy hearing about the artist's life while viewing their work.

Food. We sampled random bits of foods here and there. There was the Dutch meal, which I will talk about later, the Cantonese meal, the street-side potato frites (fries) with mayo, the Dutch sweet and savory pancake, the vending machine fast food, which I will also talk about later, the roasted nuts and trail mix from the open-air market and the Big Mac. All was good, but my favorite food was the Spinach Soup from a bakery (Bakken Met Passie) we stumbled across in the De Pijp area. As you will see from the picture below, the soup was not visually appealing at all, but it was the best Spinach Soup I've ever had.

 The Shower. Yes, I am writing a whole paragraph on the shower. Never have we appreciated a shower as much as we did in Amsterdam. In Barcelona, our shower stall was so small that if we put our hands on our hips our elbows would touch the wall. We toughed it out and found comfort in the belief that it couldn't get any worse. We were wrong. Our shower in Paris is located in the kitchen. The side is so high that I have to climb onto the side and jump in. Elbow room is an improvement on Barcelona, but now, I can't stand up straight while showering because the ceiling is sloped (we live in the top most floor of the building so the ceiling is the roof). When we first arrived, the drain was so clogged that we had to shower using trickling water. In Amsterdam, we loved the hotel shower so much that we managed to each take 3 showers in a 24 hour period!

1. Charles de Gaulle International Airport
2. Schipol International Airport
3. On our way to Amsterdam city center by train
4. A canal by daylight
5. A canal by moonlight
6. A canal by red light (Red Light District)
7. A canal from canal-level
8. Magere Brug - Amsterdam's most famous bridge
9. A typical row of houses in the city center
10. A row of parked bikes
11. Christmas decorations on the streets
12. The front door of Anne Frank's House
13. The boat we took for the canal cruise
14. Me and J at The Heineken Experience
15. Our first of two Heineken tastings that came with the admission ticket
16. The stackable Heineken bottles that can be used to build houses
17. J enjoying some potato fries with mayo
18. The best Spinach Soup ever!
19. Finally, someone thought to combine my two favorite tic-tac flavors - lime & orange! It cost me over 2 EUR, but I got my large-sized lime and orange tic-tacs in one convenient container!


Home-cooking on the road

Cooking on the road is not as easy as it is in your own kitchen. There's limited cooking utensils and you don't have all your usual spices, sauces and other ingredients at your fingertips. I've managed to crank out a few decent meals. I kind of surprised myself with what I can do with just 1 pot, 1 steak knife, a wooden spoon, salt, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegarette, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.

 

1. Baguette with two types of cheeses - gouda and a random unpasteurized cow cheese. It was really important that I knew the word for "cow" and "goat" in both French and Spanish because I only eat cow cheese. I didn't know cheeses made from a blend of cow and goat milk were so popular.

2. Chicken curry on rice. Rice, chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions are universal ingredients that can be found anywhere. I found S&B Golden Curry in Asian markets in both Paris and Barcelona. Drop in a few blocks of the curry and you get a delicious Asian meal. We've had this 4 times so far.

3. Baguette with sliced chorizo, cheese and pears with a dipping sauce of balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil. This has been the easiest meal to make because it required no cooking!

4. Pan-fried fish (dorado), small clams sauteed in ginger, garlic and leftover white wine, and a random vegetable sauteed in garlic. The clams and the dorado were two local, in-season foods of Barcelona that escaped me in restaurants. I got to order clams, but not the little ones, which are my favorite. As for the fish, I saw other patrons eating it as I was waiting for a seat and I knew I wanted it. However, by the time I finally sat down the waiter told me that it was already sold out. HA! They thought they could get away!

5. Dumplings in chicken soup. Chicken, ginger, salt and water are such plain ingredients, yet together, they make the only kind of chicken soup I eat. The frozen dumplings were just OK.

6. Ground sausage meat with pasta sauce on top of spaghetti, field of greens dressed with balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil, and a glass of red wine. The supermarket (Monoprix) near our apartment in Paris has a nice selection of 3/8 bottles of French wine for under 3 Euros! Since J doesn't drink wine it's great for me to sample a couple while I'm here!

7. Pork chops marinated in garlic, soy sauce and leftover white wine with a side of spinach sauteed in garlic. HIMYM Seasons II and III has been keeping us entertained during dinner time.

8. Rice with peppers and beef sauteed in sha-cha sauce, and stir-fried tomatoes with eggs. I was excited to find Niu Tou Pai Sha-Cha Jiang at the Asian market in Paris's Chinatown.

9. Beef steak served with garlic chips, bread, and field of greens salad with tomatoes dressed with balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil. OMG, the tomatoes are beautiful and so cheap!

Strategic Eating in Paris

Paris is going to hurt. We've been in town less than 48 hours, have eaten 3.5 meals and we're already wondering how we'll be able to survive this city on a budget while still being able to sample the amazing food we know this city has to offer. After some discussion, J and I decided that we'll go out for dinner 1-2 meals per week while alternating lunch between cheap meals (< 10 Euros total; sandwiches, crepes to-go, fast food or eating in) and pricier meals at brasseries, bistros and cafes. Since we'll be here a whole month I think this plan will still give us plenty of opportunities to sample the local cuisine.

What I should have known, but only recently realized, is that Paris is very much like NYC in that it's a melting pot of people all over the world. Good food doesn't just mean French food. I've already heard that Vietnamese and Mediterranean food is really good here. However, I still must wonder if I should spend my precious meals on eating non-French foods. Can't I get good Vietnamese at Pho Pasteur when I visit Boston for Christmas? Shouldn't I eat Argentinean food when I'm in Buenos Aires or Italian food when I'm in Rome? I am soooo lucky that this is the biggest dilemma in my life right now.... =)

Non-Spanish foods in Barcelona

One of the benefits of staying in a city for a longer period of time is that we don't feel the pressure to eat the best local cuisine everyday. Imagine if you were visiting Seattle for a week and ate Salty's, Daniel's, Purple, Coastal Kitchen, Portage Cafe and The Herbfarm on 6 consecutive days (*cough* Jon & Jane *cough*). Here's a recap of the non-Spanish dining establishments we've visited in Barcelona.

McDonalds. The golden arches are universal. Fast, tasty and cheap. McDonalds didn't even cross my mind until I came across a 2-for-1 Big Mac coupon in the Bus Touristic Coupon Book. After that, I had to have one even though I distinctly remembered not particularly liking Big Macs because of the 1000 island dressing. Now I know - I LOVE the Big Macs in Spain! The 1000 island dressing is replaced with a tastier, less creamy orange/pink sauce and the meat is saltier. They offer regular fries, but you can also opt for "patatas deluxe" which are more like potato wedges. I didn't even mind the taste of the Coca-Cola fountain drink. And, although I did not take advantage, you can get beer instead of soda with your value meal. =)

Burger King. The obsession with Burger King  started when J picked up a coupon off the ground on the busy street of La Rambla. 2 whoppers and a drink for 5,99 Euros. I actually walked by it first and was tempted to pick it up, but I figured J, being the germ-a-phob that he is, would just yell at me for picking up something that dirty. When we finally made it to a Burger King we ended up not using the coupon because it was only valid at the La Rambla store. Instead, we got their special promotion to share as a snack since it would only 12 PM, still 2 hours away from peak lunchtime - 1 double BBQ cheeseburger with small fries and drink for 2,99 Euros. The burger and fries tasted pretty much as they would in the US, but let me tell you... the Coca-Cola was SOOOO BAD that it didn't even taste like Coca-Cola anymore. I don't care what kind of sugar or alternate formula they used. The taste was altered so much that it should be classified as another type of beverage.

Yamadori. This was our adventure into Japanese food in Barcelona. If you look for top-rated restaurants for Barcelona on Tripadivsor you will see that about 30% of the restaurants on Page 1 is Japanese, including the #1 most recommended restaurant. Surprised? We were. Does that mean Barcelona has some pretty darn good Japanese restaurants? Well, we had to find out. So I went online and picked out Yamadori, supposedly one of the oldest Japanese restaurant in Barcelona with a mostly Japanese clientele. While we were waiting to be shown our seats we overheard the sushi chef speaking fluent Japanese to two people, who we later found out were Japanese tourists. Good sign. The menu came and it had "nato" (or Japanese fermented soybeans). Another good sign. The green tea came and it tasted rich and roasty. We had high hopes at this point. Then the food came. Not as good. The elements of J's Katsudon were there, but the flavor was a little bland. The kimchi in my yaki-udon was just weird. However, I will admit it was the first time I had yaki-udon. Overall, it was an OK experience. The two Japanese tourists sitting next to us seemed to enjoy their meal. Perhaps we just ordered the wrong things.

Shanghai 1930. My parents would be proud. This was our adventure into authentic Chinese food in Barcelona. I'll stress it again - authentic, as in not the sweet and sour chicken variety. Again, I based this decision on internet reviews. We didn't make a point to search it out, but I did remember the relative location of the restaurant in case we were in the vicinity. I'll say one thing - it was a strange experience. Let me recap. We walk in and ask for a seat for two in Mandarin. The host leaves us a stack of menus, two of which are only in Chinese! BINGO! A lady comes to pour us a small cup of very tasty tea, which we later found out was limited to only one cup. You don't get to keep the pot and they don't refill it for you. J is tempted by the Chinese-only dim sum menu and orders turnip cake and rice noodle. The waiter kind of hesitates, but writes down our orders without question. We next ask him for a recommendation and he recommends "sui(2) zhu(3) niu(2)" which means "water cook beef." I don't like beef much and isn't this a Shanghai restaurant? (The beef dish screams Schezuanese) So, we tried to order "mei(2) cai(4) kou (4) rou(4)" which means "preserved vegetables with really fatty pork." He does this little chuckle and tells us not to order pork and just order the beef. I've never had a waiter who openly told me not to order something, so I appreciate his honesty. 3 minutes later the same waiter comes back and tells us they don't have turnip cake so we order fish cake on his recommendation. The fish cake comes - very tasty, but not so Chinese. In fact, the protein of fish paste shaped into a cake is very Chinese but the seasoning is very Spanish (olive oil, garlic, parsley and salt). Next, the beef comes. Now we're talking. It's a soup of oil and spice with napa vegetables and baking soda tenderized beef. It was very tasty and pretty authentic in my opinion. The rice noodle comes and it's literally a roll of rice noodle pan-fried on both sides, a far cry from the shrimps wrapped with rice noodle drenched in a soy-based marinade served in all dim sum restaurants in the US. Overall, it was a good experience. If we had skipped the dim sum and just stuck to main dishes only, it would've been a more authentic meal. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to my parents if they visit Barcelona one day, but I'd definitely tell them to stick to the Chinese-only menu or speak to the waiter in Mandarin to get a recommendation. I'd also tell them to stay away from the price-tempting menu del dia which offered ravioli with tomato sauce as a first course. No joke.

Restaurant Alert! Tapas in Barcelona

Cerveceria Catalana
Mallorca, 236
Barcelona, Spain

Dining at Cerveceria Catalana has been the most enjoyable food experience for me in the two weeks I've been in Barcelona. In any city we travel to I will be on the prowl for a restaurant that serves great local food in a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere for a reasonable price. Cerveceria Catalana is that restaurant for Barcelona.

When we got there around 8:15 PM, the place was PACKED with no less than 20 or so people waiting for a table. All of them were chatting happily at the entrance, on the sidewalk or around the corner with glasses of wine in hand. We didn't want to wait 30 minutes for an indoor seat so we snagged an open table outside underneath a cafe umbrella and a heat lamp. 

Their "tapas" are more like small plates of appetizers consisting of several bites for two people. Non-seafood tapas cost 3 to 7 Euros, while seafood tapas cost around 7 to 15 Euros. What other restaurants sell by the toothpick (a slice of baguette bread with a salad, seafood or meat topping) is 2-3 euros here. We got both a Spanish and an English menu, but their "Tapas of the Day" is exclusively in Spanish. After a 15-minute consultation with our phrase book, we ordered the following dishes.

1. Spanish omelette (tortilla) - J's been wanting to try this for 2 weeks now and it did not disappoint

2. Deep fried anchovies - These anchovies were so large that they were filleted in half before going into the fryer. I thought Cal Pep's batter was tastier, but consider that this dish is 1/3 the price and only SLIGHTLY less tasty.

3. Potatas Bravas - fried potato chunks with mayonaise and spicy sauce. Another typical Catalan appetizer/tapas. This tapa has grown to become one of our favorites. The potatoes always comes out scalding hot - just the way I like my food.

4 Fried hot green peppers (foreground) - I saw a lot of people eating this dish at the bar so I had to try it. Surprisingly, it was not spicy at all. It had a concentrated green pepper taste.

4. Grilled cuttlefish (background) - ordered from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was J's favorite of the night. He wanted cuttlefish and I suggested grilled. It turned out to be our most expensive tapa at 8 Euros, but OH SO GOOD!

5. Grilled razor clams - another dish from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was definitely my favorite of the night. I love any kind of clams. It has motivated me to go razor clamming in WA when I get back.

We currently have a 'no repeating restaurant' rule in effect (McDonalds has been the only exception), but for this entire week I will be petitioning J to go back to this restaurant on Saturday night for our last meal in Barcelona.


Restaurant Alert! "Eat what I give you" in Barcelona

Cal Pep
Placa de les Olles, 8
Barcelona, Spain
www.calpep.com

I have been hesitant to write about any particular eating establishment in Barcelona. I haven't eaten anything bad, but I also haven't had anything that has blown me away. Honestly, I was getting a bit concerned. Am I going to the wrong places? Or, do I not like Catalonian food? Finally, I found what I was looking for in Cal Pep.

Don't let the fact that this restaurant is talked about in every guide book, city map and internet review site deter you from going. I was skeptical at first, but  believe me… it's really good. Here are some tell tale signs:

- Their business card says, "Closed: Easter Week, monday lunch, saturday night, festive days and August"
- On the day we went for lunch, the restaurant didn't open until 1:15 PM lunch and prime lunch time is around 2:30 PM. Yet, by the time the restaurant opened its doors there was a line of 20+ people consisting of both tourists and locals.  In fact, 2 parties at the end of the line did not make the cut for the 1st lunch seating.
- "More fish, or more meat?" is the only decision you have to make for your meal. They'll take care of the rest. Do not say "more meat" because it is obvious that seafood is their specialty.
- They will unapologetically ask already-eating patrons to shift over seats in order to get a clump of free seats together.

The restaurant is basically one large U-shaped bar surrounding the kitchen (Pictures 1 & 2). I counted 3 main chefs and 5 bar men/waiters. Here's what we had and accompanying pictures where applicable:

- The usual toasted bread rubbed with a super ripe tomato - a typical Catalonian appetizer
3. Clams sauteed with wine, olive oil and parsley (best dish of the meal)
4. An assortment of lightly battered, deep fried seafood, including calamari, shrimp and whole fish! We ate everything, if you know what I mean.
5. Sauteed mushrooms in olive oil and parsley- simply yet delicious. I was super excited about this one because I've been seeing this particular mushroom all over town in supermarkets and open-air markets. It's obvious that it's in season now.
- A dish of small squid and chickpeas. I don't know how it was seasoned but it was Yuuu-MMY (I got too excited and forgot to take a picture of this one)
6. Grilled fish - one of J's favorites, but I thought it was a bit overcooked and bland. At first, I was excited because I thought those potato slices were pear slices (they're also in season now - so good). After tasting it I thought it could've use some acid or something else extra.

We also had dessert, but that's not worth mentioning in detail. In the end, we left the restaurant extremely full, very happy and for me, on the verge of being slightly buzzed (It was so good, I had two beers for lunch). However, our wallets left significantly lighter - 96 Euros lighter to be exact. It turned out not to be a pre-fix meal, and we were billed for each individual dish. But, whatever… as far as I could tell everyone else there were treated the same way. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Was it over-priced? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. I can now leave Barcelona saying I ate something amazing. But for now, we must conserve - we already had Mickey D's for lunch and tonight - frozen dumplings!