Caribbean delight

 

 

 

 

 

From February to July this year I stayed in Curacao, one of the Dutch Caribbean islands, to do an internship there. When we were done working or visiting the beach, a lot of times me and my girlfriend would go out to check the local cuisine. And we weren’t disappointed.. One of the typical local meals is Kabritu Stoba, goat stew, as you can see above. For a real local experience you should go to Marsha Bieu, an old food market in the city of Willemstad, where young, old, rich and poor come together to enjoy their food. When you are there, also make sure to try out the Steak di Wea!

Besides the local food, of course you also have a lot of possibilities to get some international food. Saint Tropez, a loungy restaurant with pool, has a sushi night every monday and they deliver great quality.

Another place for great local food is Landhuis Dokterstuin, based in one of the typical countryhouses on the island. Here I also had Kabritu Stoba, together with a great salad.

These super-shaslicks can be found at Equus. They are hung up at a rack at your table together with a piece of bread to take the meat of. Yum! 

In June there is a Restaurant Week on Curacao, meaning almost every restaurant serves a special three-course dinner for an affordable price. We went to El Gaucho, a restaurant on a hilltop with an amazing view over the island. This Argentinian steak restaurant served a very delicious combination of their best meat and fish.

This last picture might not be the most pretty, but it is not doing any right to the quality of the restaurant. It was taken at L’Aldea, which is the best all you can eat restaurant I have ever been to. The waiters are walking around with big pieces of different types of meat and they cut some slices of at your table. The quality of the meat is just amazing. Plus they have a great salad bar too!

Quick summer salad

When the weather is as great as it has been the last few days in the Netherlands, my appetite changes. The barbecue has already been lit a couple of times and salads have been eaten too. This homemade salad was made as a quick side dish and consisted of all kinds of lettuce, corn, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocado and a pesto dressing. A nice, quick summer salad.

Panini Diavolo at Assaggio Amsterdam

As I was making my way to office this morning, I wanted to buy a sandwich on my way. However, there was a line at almost every place I entered and I wanted to make haste. Luckily I knew a place near the office and since I had never been there before, I found this a great opportunity to try some of their food.

The place is called Assaggio and it is located right in the centre of Amsterdam. Having had a quick look at their elaborate panini menu, I decided to go with their panini diavolo: a fresh ciabatta topped with spicy salami sausage (I don’t know what kind), parmesan cheese and rucola. The bread tasted really fresh as it was still crispy and not tough to chew. The spicy salami sausage was excellent, it was way more spicy than what is often called “spicy” in the Netherlands, and the parmesan was evenly great. The only downside was that they did not have rucola anymore (which was strange since I ordered my bun in the morning), so I got lettuce instead. And well, rucola just tastes better on a bun like this. But… since this tasted really good overall, I will definitely give them a second chance.

Mi Rebus and Pisang Goreng for breakfast

Bread or cereals for breakfast? No thank you! A bowl with warm noodle soup, vegetables and and an egg? Yes please! And some pancakes made from fried bananas? Oh yes please!

Those banana pancakes were especially good. Normally, pisang goreng (banana coated in batter and then deep fried) is eaten as a snack and for example sold by vendors. So when we were offered to eat a special variation of pisang goreng as breakfast, we had to try it out. What can I say? We had no regrets at all.

Creamy Bacon and Extravaganzza Pizza

What do you do when you are hungry and a bit too lazy to cook a meal? Buy some pizzas! Looking at the menu of Domino’s Pizza, these two were picked: the Creamy Bacon (above) and the Extravaganzza (below).

The Creamy Bacon is topped with crème fraîche, mozzarella, bacon, ham, mushrooms, red onion and oregano. The Extravaganzza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, red onion, peppers, pepperoni, ham, ground beef, mushrooms, olives and extra mozzarella. And how did the pizzas taste? Just like any other Domino’s pizza actually. Don’t expect culinary wonders, but I can say it tastes just fine. Set your mind on delivery pizza-mode and you are good to go.

Mungil Pangandaran

Walking outside in the warm nights of Indonesia is always fantastic. Especially when you are searching for a place to eat. So, stumbling outside of the boulevard of Pangandaran, there it was. A restaurant called Mungil, just beside the sea. I saw the sign of the restaurant and then I knew it: this is where I wanted to eat. Not because it said that they had cool beer, not because the sign said that they had juices, not even because they said that they had Indonesian seafood (that was one of the main reasons though), but because it said that they had “kind of…” all sorts of things! And especially the “kind of seafood”. What in the world is “kind of seafood”?!

After ordering some drinks, soon the food was served. Sate (skewered meat), perkedel (flat round patties made of potatoes, vegetables and meat) and a dish with prawns all served with nasi (white rice) topped with bawang goreng (fried shallots). Although the prawn dish was quite salty, I cannot say it didn’t taste nice. With the nice food, good company and the sound of the sea in the background, it definitely was a successful night.

Barcelona Highlights

After having studied in Barcelona for six months in 2012, I went back this summer to freshen up my memories and enjoy the city again. I loved being back in the nice weather, around the nice people and enjoy the fantastic food!

On one of the first nights I went to Cinco Jotas, which is located in the arena at the Plaza d’Espanya. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting the city’s best food here, but this teriyaki salmon was so good I had to come back later during the holiday. This meal was just perfect with a perfect piece of salmon and the best asian sauce I have ever tasted. The second time it was as great as the first time, so I can definitely recommend going there!

I love the beach of Barcelona because it is so close connected to the city. Besides that, it is located close to Bo de B, the best sandwich store of Barcelona. Here you buy a big piece of bread, filled with any type of meat, fish and/or vegetables you want. Most of the time the sandwich can’t even handle everything in it. Plus, it’ll cost you only 3,50 euro which is an amazing price.

During our stay the neighbourhood of Gracia was celebrating its own festival, a good reason to go (and eat) there. We went to a local place and ordered the hamburguesas. They were not served on a piece of bread, but as you can see on top of a salad. The burger and the salad were great, just as the patatas bravas!

Again in Gracia, this is a picture from my favourite restaurant in Barcelona: Samsara. It serves tapas, not typical Spanish, but as a mix with influences from all around the world. So what you get are small portions with food from Africa to Asia. And they serve the best patatas bravas in the city, made of sweet potatoes and a sweet pesto sauce. This is definitely a must-go if you are in Barcelona!

After living in Barcelona for six months it was nice to discover some new places and restaurants in the city. One of them was Ra, located in Raval. It is a beautiful place, hidden from the streets, perfect for eating or just having a drink. We ordered a mix of all kinds tapas. I can’t even remember what everything is, but I do recall the great vibe of Ra which makes it a place I would really recommend.

Famous in Barcelona, Kiosko is the cities’ best hamburger place. They serve all kinds of burgers and let you choose the type of bread or extra ingredients. You can also buy some delicious potatoes to accompany your burger. Looking at this picture makes me hungry again for a big, fat burger at Kiosko!

Want to have simple dinner or lunch? Go to the Pasta Bar in Gotico. Here you can design your own pasta, like the spinach tagliattelle with chicken you see on the picture.

Most of time we had a bocadillo with ham or chorizo for breakfast, but this time we wanted something else. So we went to Maremagnum and had a fantastic crepe! You can pick your own ingredients out of a long list, both sweet and savory. I had one with vanilla ice and coconut, which was a great combination. Ofcourse this place is also opened for lunch and dinner.

Great food, great people, great city. Oh man, I just love Barcelona.

Homemade paella

When I am eating at my girlfriends parents’ place I know I will not leave hungry. Some time ago they made this delicious paella. With a bright afternoon sun shining on our heads, it was just like I was back in Spain. It was made with original Spanish fideua, filled with vegetables and all kinds of seafood.

Frekedel Djagung from Toko Joyce

Sometimes in between lectures, I need to have a quick snack. And when you are in Amsterdam, you have loads of choices for a quick bite. The other day I went to Toko Joyce, a toko (shop) in the centre of Amsterdam. Their frekedel djagung is described on their menu as a “spicy, vegetarian corn fritter”. After ordering it, they put it in the microwave to heat it up. After it is burning hot, you can take it with you to sit outside near a canal or sit in the toko. I cannot recall if the fritter itself was spicy, because I took every bite with the delicious sambal manis (sweet sambal) with it!

Spaghetti at McDonalds in Jakarta

Why oh why would anybody ever eat spaghetti in a McDonalds, let alone in Indonesia where good food is waiting for you at every corner? Well, because I am always curious with food. And since it was really cheap, what could go wrong? To be honest though, I wouldn’t recommend this spaghetti to anybody. At least not if you are expecting something that does not taste like prefabricated spaghetti with a tiny bit of sauce on top. But if that is what you expect, and if you don’t have more than fifty euro cents to spend, this is your thing. Otherwise, don’t take the spaghetti and just stick with the French fries. Or if you are in Indonesia, get some sate kambing.