Author: jamesclay

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CitizenM Margherita Pizza

CitizenM Margarita Pizza

I am never really a fan of hotel pizza, either it’s a ready made base, or a ready made pizza. However there are exceptions. The Drayton Court Hotel for example has a proper pizza oven and use proper fresh pizza bases. 

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I did wonder about out the pizza, but once I saw what they looked like (as another guest had ordered pizza) I decided to have one for my dinner. You would think that if I was in the Netherlands that really I should be eating Dutch food. However there wasn’t anything typically Dutch on the menu.

I ordered the margherita pizza, this was a hand-stretched pizza topped with tomato sauce and rich buffalo mozzarella, with fresh basil. 

It wasn’t long before it arrived, and I have to say I was quite impressed. The base looked good, and I liked the addition of the fresh mozzarella and basil.

It was a really nice pizza and I enjoyed it. The base was nice and doughy, with an element of crispness. The tomato sauce was tasty and there was enough cheese on the pizza as well. They do a range of pizza, so there were other choices as well.

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Screaming Beans Flat White

Amsterdam

I was visiting the Netherlands attending a conference in Delft, I had some time before my flight home to explore part of Amsterdam. After walking around a bit, I decided to stop for a coffee.

I quite liked the look of Screaming Beans, even if the name was a little unnerving. I ordered a flat white and took a seat.

Flat white coffee on a table in a cafe

This was hand crafted coffee which looked great and was delicious. Though small and cosy, it was a welcoming environment and a pleasant place to spend some time drinking coffee.

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Ravioli al Tartufo

Delft

You would think that if I was in the Netherlands that really I should be eating Dutch food. The challenge I sometimes have when I am travelling abroad for work, is finding places to eat, but also finding places to eat that are within budget. Not that I sometimes mind paying more for excellent food, sometimes I do mind.

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. This time I was attending a conference in Delft and attending meetings in Utrecht as well. 

Upon my arrival in Delft, I did have a chance to explore the city and looking around there were some nice looking places for dinner, but they all seemed out of budget. In the end I went to an Italian restaurant, Pavarotti, which is situated in what was the old railway station. It certainly doesn’t look like a station from the inside any more.

They had an extensive menu, but I decided I would have the ravioli al tartufo. This was filled pasta with wild mushrooms, cream sauce, truffle tapenade, mushrooms and arugula (rocket).

The pasta was well cooked and still had a bite. The sauce was nice and you could taste the truffle. The sauce did contain mushrooms, think I would I like to have had some wild mushrooms in there. Not sure how much the arugula added to the dish, but it was nice to have some greenery in the dish. I enjoyed the pasta.

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Halloumi Bowl

Halloumi Bowl

I was in Bristol working and popped out at  for lunch to the Temple Quay street food market. Lots of choice as usual, in the end though I decided I would try something new and different, something that I wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice.

I went to the Hummusapiens van and ordered a halloumi bowl. This was honey glazed halloumi in a bowl with quinoa and hummus. It came with salad and all the trimmings. I did like the look of their flat bread they were using for their wraps, but you couldn’t order a plain one, though they do do artisan pitta bread. However, that is not the same thing.

The halloumi was delicious, and all the stuff in the bowl really made the dish. I absolutely loved it. The pickled vegetables added bite and sharpness. I enjoyed the quinoa and the hummus was excellent.

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Fish Curry

Birmingham

I was staying over in Birmingham with colleagues for an away day and a staff conference. We had decided to go out for dinner and one of my colleagues had recommended the Hen & Chickens, one of many desi pubs in Birmingham. Essentially this is a pub which sells curry. There was quite a lot of choice, but I went with the fish curry and a naan bread.

This was a decent portion of curry and it was really delicious. The fish was cooked perfectly, sometimes with a fish curry the fish can be overcooked, so it falls apart as you try and eat it, this fish was nice and firm. The sauce could have been over-spiced, but I felt it was just right, you can taste the spices, and I think the best way to describe it was that there was heat in the spice mix used, but it wasn’t overly spicy either. The naan bread was nice and fresh and went well with the curry.

I did like the look of the menu, and would have liked to try out all the starters and the mixed grills sounded interesting. I didn’t get a chance to talk a photograph go my dish. Hopefully I can make a return visit in the future.

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Coffee at Kaldi (again)

Amsterdam Canal

I was visiting the Netherlands attending a conference in Delft, I had some time before my flight home to explore part of Amsterdam.  After walking around a bit I remembered that the last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2023 where I was in Amsterdam for a conference. Back then I had some time to explore the city as well and had a delightful coffee at Kaldi.

I decided I would try and find Kaldi again, though the obvious solution would be to be to use Google Maps, what I actually did was use Apple Photos find the picture of the coffee I had taken which had the geo-location data. I did then need to check Google Maps to see where I was and in my head work out a route.

I actually found it more easily than I thought I would.

Kaldi

I went in and ordered a flat white, and took a seat. It certainly is a popular place, more for coffee to go, than sit in. It wasn’t long before my coffee was ready, it looked great.

coffee on a table with a window in the background

The coffee was delicious and I really enjoyed sitting in Kaldi, drinking coffee, and watching the world go by through the window.

So, I guess, the next time I am in Amsterdam, I think I will try and find Kaldi again.

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Calamari and Fries from King Fin

calamari

I was working in Bristol and popped out to the Finzel Reach street food market for some lunch. One of my favourites, King Fin was there, so I went for one of my regular dishes, the calamari and fries.

King Fin is a consistently excellent street food stall, a true highlight of the Temple Quay and Finzel Reach markets. Their unwavering commitment to freshness and quality is what keeps me coming back—they’re easily one of my favourite stalls.

The food here is prepared to order, so you know it’s fresh. The calamari is a standout—the squid is incredibly tender, while the batter is perfectly light and crisp. It’s a truly delicious dish. The fries are twice-cooked and seasoned with rosemary, served with a tasty sauce. A small portion of coleslaw accompanies the meal.

I find myself drawn back to this dish again and again. While I always promise to try new things, it’s no surprise when I return to one of my favourites.

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Probably not

I was in Bristol and had been for a walk at lunchtime. Nothing had really taken my fancy when I looked at the street food market. I walked around and ended up at Pret. I was thinking about a salad, when I noticed they had their limited edition lobster roll in the cabinet. I thought I might give it a try. 

This was wild-caught Atlantic lobster, dressed in lemon mayo and chilli salt, finished with crispy cos lettuce, cucumber and a sprinkling of chives.

It was in a French bread style roll. I should say that though I enjoyed the roll, I was a little disappointed that this was not a fully filled roll, the lobster had been put on the edge of the roll, so it looked like it was full. Not too surprised, as lobster is an expensive luxury and not like ham or cheese. Various press reports say there is 50g in there, so at least we know that, so we can pretend to be not disappointed.

It was one of the more expensive sandwiches I have bought, here in Bristol it was £8.95. It was nice, but not sure it was that nice. Would I get it again? Probably not.

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Lamb Flat Bread

I did some pan fried lamb on flatbread with salads and homemade pickles. I used a cubed neck of lamb which I cooked in a pan and then added some red onion. I added to a flat bread, some hummus, chilli jam, cucumber, tomato, and some homemade pickled red onion.

Very nice and tasty.