Tag: netherlands

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Not so fast food…

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.

I had been at the conference for the day and after a late finish I headed back to my hotel. I had been to the Italian restaurant, Pavarotti, before for pasta. I decided I would order a pizza to go. As it was late, I was thinking this would be quicker and then I would take it back to my hotel room. I ordered a mushroom pizza and sat down to wait…

And I waited…

Then, I waited some more…

It was over fifty minutes before my pizza was ready. They did throw in some free ice cream, but fifty minutes….

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Andalusian Beef

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 wasn’t that impressed with the menu, but there weren’t many places to eat around the hotel. I went with the Andalusian Beef. This was described as slow cooked beef in a carrot and white bean stew. Served with oven baked potatoes and beef chorizo. Topped with our signature black olive crumble and parsley.

Andalusian Beef

The dish arrived and let’s just say I was not impressed. The stew was quite bland, and there wasn’t very much beef in there. The oven baked potatoes were cooked, but I wouldn’t have said they were cooked in the oven. The “signature black olive crumble” was not very good, it was driven black olive and some stale bread pieces. Not sure I would be boasting about that.

I ate it, but I was quite disappointed.

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Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms

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 ordered some Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms, where were described as crunchy lightly fried oyster mushrooms tossed in Korean-style BBQ sauce, chives, and a wasabi crumble.

Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms

I really liked the look of the dish, which was nicely presented. The mushrooms had a nice crispy coating and there was just the right amount of sauce and crumb.

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Japanese-Style Crispy Chicken

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 ordered some Japanese-Style Crispy Chicken, which was described as karaage inspired juicy chicken bites, served with lemon and Kewpie mayonnaise dusted with Japanese 7-spice.

This was beautifully presented dish and looked great. The chicken was cooked well, with a nice crispy coating. The spice level was perfect. I really enjoyed these.

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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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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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Fries of Mine

I wasn’t really that hungry walking around the streets of Amsterdam but I was a little peckish. 

A few places caught my eye, but the prices were, well not eye watering, but not in my budget. 

I noticed that Ter Marsch & Co was quite popular, so looked at the menu, they did burgers. I wasn’t in the mood for a burger, but the signature fries looked interesting. You could also see into the serving area and I liked how they were making the signature fries.

I decided to go for the Fries of Mine, which had been winner of best fries 2020 (in the Netherlands). This was fries with truffle mayo, grated parmesan cheese, cheese-nut crumble, diced pork sausage, and fried parsley.

Despite the queue, it moved quite quickly and it wasn’t too long before I was ready to place my order. I ordered my fries at the counter and then took a seat. When my fries were ready, my number was called and I collected my fries.

They looked fantastic.

I was provided with a little wooden chip fork, personally I would have liked a bigger fork. The twice cooked chips were hot, with a crisp outside and fluffy inside. The topping was generous, but not overpowering. You could tell it was just the right amount as by the time I finished the box of fries, there was a small amount of topping left in the box. I never felt as though I was just eating plain fries.

This was a lovely place to eat fries, it was rather cosy, but that just added to the charm of the place. The service was welcoming, friendly and efficient.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have, but I really glad I went here and I enjoyed my signature fries.