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| Croquettes |
We started our day by making a trip to Amsterdam Centraal. Reaching there like hungry bears, we made our way to the Loetje Centraal right opposite the station. Yeah, we might have even sniffed our way to the restaurant. But oh how surprised we were! Sitting by the canals right opposite the station, this was definitely a popular touristy spot. Luckily, for a table of two, we didn't have more than a 3 minute wait. It was also a find-your-own-table sorta restaurant, so the hustling New Yorker within us found our way pretty quickly. Service was slow, especially for such a busy location. We ordered the chicken satay skewers and croquettes. Although I read that the best Croquettes were found by the street vendors, I decided to start my first meal at a reputed restaurant. The croquettes did not disappoint!!!! The chicken skewers were lovely as well. All in all, I would say a lovely restaurant, amazingly located, good food, only complaint would be the service.
Once our stomachs were full, we went around the city, tried different cheeses at many of the local cheese shops, but an amazing local find that we both couldn't keep our hands off were their Stroopwafels! A stroopwafel is a waffle made from two thin laters of baked dough with a caramel syrup filling in the middle. This made up for our mid-day meal/all day snack/breakfast.. everything.
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| Chicken Schnitzel |
Dinner too ended up being right by Amsterdam Centraal (coz that was our drop-off point for the canal cruise, another MUST DO!!) and we headed to a restaurant called "Flame" which looked like a steakhouse. Husband got his share of steak and I ordered a Schnitzel which was basically a dutch version of fried and breaded chicken breast. Again, the restaurant did not disappoint and we left with happy and satisfied stomachs!
Day 2 -
Another local delicacy I had to try on our trip were their cheesy fries, locally known as "Vlaamse frites". And these weren't like any cheesy fries I have ever tried before. They mean cheese when they serve you cheesy fries. We chose some spicy mayo to add to our cheesy fries, but the options were endless. They had a huge menu of seasonings and toppings to add to your fries. Generous portions, always fresh and steaming hot. It totally made sense why we saw a line waiting for the fries before we saw the actual signboard to the store! I cannot remember the exact name of the store we had these at. But every Vlammse frites store we passed, and there were bazillions we passed, seemed to match up in appearance. But yes, please please please, forget the calories and indulge in this amazing local delicacy if you happen to visit Amsterdam. After gobbling up on this awesomeness, our stomachs were full, but our hearts weren't. We wanted to try more local foods, and ended up finishing off our day with Doner kabobs. This was another local street food that seemed to don the windows of many local vendors. There were tons and tons of halal doner kabob joints along the canals of Amsterdam. Before calling it a night on our foodventure-filled day, we indulged in some Doner kabobs. Now being from New York, we did have certain expectations from a Halal cart. But once again, this food haven city, did not disappoint. My husband and I returned back with our tummies and hearts satisfied!
Day 3 -
Day 3 began with a mission for us. It was our last day in this city and we decided to end it in style! During the day, we headed to Zaanse Schans, a historic neighborhood close to Amsterdam. Mainly known for its well-preserved windmills and houses. We visited a local cafe here and had some delicious coffee and breakfast. Breakfast was mostly baked goods from the local bakery, which was basic, but scrumptious. Apart from visiting different windmills, that are still very well functioning, we wanted to get a taste of the local rustic village.
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| Risotto Nero |
We decided to dine at a restaurant in Zaandam. Like we had previously decided, we wanted to sign off our trip with a luxurious yet local meal, and this landed us at Inntel Zaandam for our dinner. We opted for a 3 course meal each, that included appetizers such as a traditional "Huisman" mustard soup with Dutch shrimps and creme fraiche, crispy chicken in Duyvis nuts, concasse of Kumato tomato and local sambal. Our main courses included Grilled beef steak with sweet potato, fresh vegetables and béarnaise sauce and a Risotto Nero - black risotto with vongole, crayfish and poached egg. To finish off, desserts included Crème brûlée with apple, and 'Boerenjongens' ice cream and Macaron of red fruit, with raspberry sorbet and white chocolate mousse. They advertised that all their ingredients were locally grown and made with a pinch of Dutch love!
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| Creme brûlée |
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| Macaron of red fruit |
Husband's top three -
- His number one is undeniably the Stroopwafels. Yeah, he was kinda obsessed. Not to say I wasn't. But he literally ate them at any hour of the day.
- Cheesy fries. I feel kinda sad, this one dropped to #2, but I understand. These choices are really really hard. Those Vlaaamse Frites are definitely worth every
blocked artery calorie that it came with. Couldn't stop binging. Deep-fried-warm-delicious-goodness! I'm sure whoever thought of potatoes and cheese as a combination, is pure genius!
- My homeboy, being the total New Yorker that he is, fell for his Doner kabob. They were delish, greasy, and flavorful to say the least. He sure felt at home with this one.
Special mention: Husband wanted to list Top Picks instead of top three, since he thinks narrowing it down to three was not fair.. and so we compromised on giving the Dutch pancakes a special mention! Sweet and savory, both ranked the same for him. But definitely another MUST TRY when in Amsterdam.
My top three -
- My number one pick is undoubtably the Vlammse Frites. Died eating them, will be ok to die after eating them too.. a definite MUST MUST MUST try if you're ever in Amsterdam
- The second favorite for me was the Mustard soup I had on our last day there. It was so light, so fresh and sooooo good! It had that local rustic feel and yet felt so elevated in flavors. Definitely, going to look up the recipe and try to recreate this one back home
- The last one, is so hard to just pick one, but it would probably be the local pancakes. I find it hard to chose between the sweet dutch pancake that I got and the savory pancake with chicken. But just cause I have to pick one, it would have to be the dutch pancake with STROOPWAFELS! I think I'm kinda obsessed with them. (Fun fact: I could buy a box at my local trader joes!!! Not the same as the dutch ones, but works for my casual cravings) :D
Hope you enjoyed reading this post, and like I mentioned above.. the list was inexhaustible. We tried to fit in as much as we could in our schedule. Hoping this helps with your trip planning as well. Or even if you are just looking for cooking inspirations. Please let me know if you liked this post, or if you have any questions/suggestions. Until then, my loves, Live, Love, Laugh and Eat.. Oh yes, EAT!
Links we used for research -
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