Restaurant Anna, Amsterdam

It was about time to start posting again. On this beautiful afternoon we went for lunch at the new  Restaurant Anna located in one of the oldest quarters in Amsterdam, the infamous Red Light District. The sun was shining, our bellies were rumbling and looking forward to some good food. Anna here we come........

View of the Oude Kerk, one of the oldest churches in Amsterdam.

The bar and open kitchen area at the entrance of the restaurant.

The cool decor.

The little savoury delights with our aperitif.

Amuse of a grapefruit gel and a parmezan cheese foam. Am not very sure though because I lost the menu.

A starter with Iberico ham, parmezan cheese crackers and dry cured deer.

Confit de saumon with apple marsh mallow and a suspicious powder.

On our way to have a sigarette break in the cellar.

Smoking area, underneath the restaurant. 

Next were our entrees, starting with a very flavoursome fish soup with stuffed baby squid, scallops and mussels.

Next the panfried halibut with a Hollandaise (?) sauce.

In a city where many restaurants suffer from the
'form over substance' virus, Restaurant Anna is a very pleasant exception. From the cool decor, the professional and friendly staff right down to the flavoursome dishes and clean cooking, it all made sense. The entrance is located on the Warmoesstraat and the restaurant stretches all the way to the Oude Kerksplein, right in the middle of the Red Light District. A diverse clientele enjoys the relaxed atmosphere and the good food. Restaurant Anna deserves to have a bright future.

Restaurant Anna, Warmoesstraat 111,  www.restaurantanna.nl

One night in Shanghai....

Our Shanghai friend invited us to a posh kind of food hall somewhere in Shanghai centre. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

The selection was ridiculous, hundreds of dishes ranging from delicate amuses to a whole shark on your plate!! All the seafood was still swimming around in their tanks waiting to end up on a diner's plate. 

Some of our dishes were deep fried salted small fish in a spicy sauce.

Razor clams with scallions and ginger.

Mantis shrimps with a mount of garlic and chillies.

Steamed rock cod in soy sauce.

Van Vlaanderen II

Back in Amsterdam it was back to my favourite neighbourhood restaurant, Van Vlaanderen for my second lunch since the new owner took over. And once again the sun was shining, a beautiful Bourgogne Chardonnay made us happy but the food was the real show stopper. Since we weren't very hungry we decided to have a main only.

Our amuse was a small asparagus soup with truffel, a potato cracker and a fried quail's egg. Lovely little glass of goodness.

My friend ordered slow cooked halibut with Dutch cockels, artichokes, baby vegetables and a foam of Parmesan cheese. A beautiful dish bursting with flavour and every item on the plate was cooked to perfection. Especially the (very much underrated) cockels were a juicy delight. 

I was served lobster with Pata Negra and avocado cream in cucumber and some truffle mayonaise. The fiery red lobster was beautifully moist and the salty Pata Negra made it taste even sweeter. Great dish, great execution. This chef knows how to enchant with his dishes.

For a 2-course lunch you pay the moderate amount of € 27. I seriously can't think of one reason not to pay a visit to Van Vlaanderen to enjoy their great dishes, even if I tried real hard.

www.restaurant-vanvlaanderen.nl

Shopping in Paris II

The food department of Le Bon Marché in the 7th arrondissement is foodie's heaven! Go there for the most amazing charcuterie, breads, macarons, exclusive herbs, extremely expensive caviar, foie gras or just your champagne and fresh truffle. A serious shopping spree at Le Bon Marché will set you back a month's rent for an medium sized apartment in Amsterdam but hey it's all about the experience. When I did my Le Cordon Bleu course in Paris, I lived just around the corner on the Rue du Cherche Midi, the street of the famous Poilâne bakery. So when in Paris I very often wander around in 'my' old neighbourhood. On that same Rue du Cherche Midi we had lunch at La Marlotte, a typical Parisian brasserie.

M had a refreshing  'gazpacho' of artichokes and a goat's cheese cream. It was a silky smooth soup and perfect dish on a hot and humid Parisian afternoon.

My starter was Pressé de jarret de porc, a type of rich ham hock terrine, with a beetroot salad. The terrine was full of tender pork meat, including pork skin and a lot of parsley. Great combination of the rich pork meat and the crunchy, earthy beetroot.

Next for M was a panfried filet of cod with asparagus and a cream of peppers. This was a very forgettable and especially uninspired dish. Overcooked  cod, bland asparagus and a pepper stain? Je ne me souviens pas....

But my main dish made me happy, Aile de raie à la Grenobloise. Ray wing with a wonderfully light lemon sauce with the best capers I ever had, croutons and loads of parsley. The meaty flesh of the ray was beyond amazing and the whole dish came alive with that tarty sauce. 

 

Our wine was a light and fruity Côtes de Ventoux rosé 2008.

Our charming waiter  in front of La Marlotte.

La Marlotte, 55 Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris

www.lamarlotte.com

Shopping in Paris I

Just came back from a short shopping spree in Paris with friend M. We stayed in Hotel Vieux Marais in of course Le Marais, formerly the Jewish area of Paris. There are still a lot of Jewish shops, restaurants etc around but the designer shops and hip restaurants and bars have definitely taken over the neighbourhood. Le Marais, also known as the gay area of Paris, because most of the shops and restaurants are gay owned or at least gay friendly, or should I say hetero-friendly! After all that shopping we needed some good food and refreshing wines to cool down. Temperatures were ridiculous, around 35 degrees and the humidity went through the roof!

At our hotel Vieux Marais, the owner's 12-year old dog is snoring away like an old cowboy on her Louis Quatorze arm chair.

In the morning we went around the corner to Chez Camille for breakfast. This is our favorite breakfast place in Paris because they have great omelettes and the staff is always friendly and attentive. Which is not so common as one thinks in this part of the world.

                                   

                                              

Freshly squeezed orange juice and double espresso's Chez Camille.

My very tasty omelette au jambon. Why do I always have to think of Julia Childs every time I see or eat an omelette?!

Friend M can't wait to start her Parisian shopping spree. Here she is posing impatiently just before take off!

Chez Camille, Rue des Francs Bourgeois 24, +33 1 42 72 20 50

After having scored an Issey Miyaki outfit and some sexy footwear for M, we were craving for a meaty lunch. We just sat down at a little table at the first restaurant we came across. It turned out to be Equinox Restaurant and we were in for some seriously meaty dishes.

  

We shared a starter of poached salmon with that dreadful pesto sauce. The salmon was over salted but with it actually tasted good after we squeezed our lemon quarters all over it.

                                          

Then came my Tartare de Boeuf, and although very meaty it lacked flavour and a certain consistency. It was in fact a raw meat ball instead of this onctious and intensely flavoured meat dish called Tartare de Boeuf. And unfortunately the egg yolk didn't add much pleasure to the whole dish either. 

M ordered the grilled fillet de boeuf with a red wine sauce and seasonal vegetables. And although the beef looked seriously burned, it tasted good and the cuisson was perfect. 

At least we were served by the friendly waiter, instead of the annoying one so it was fine. The Beaujolais wine we had was good enough and the bill sympatique. Would I go again? Yes of course, the location is perfect and if you are lucky enough to get a table on their little terrace, you can enjoy the beautiful people parading on the Rue des Rosiers while having your hopefully delicious meal.

Equinox, Rue des Rosiers 33, +33 1 42 78 62 44

A quick dinner at Bridges, Amsterdam

                                                    About ten years ago this former City Hall and iconic Amsterdam building, which is located in one of the oldest parts of the city's historic centre and bordering the infamous Red Light District, was transformed into hotel The Grand. The world famous Roux brothers were hired to set up the brasserie. Their dishes were, as you would expect from a French brasserie, quite rich and old school-ish . A couple of months ago The Grand finished the latest renovations and fortunately the brasserie has gone and made way to a new, may we say more 'hip', loungy restaurant. Although the lounge-concept has been around for as many as ten or fifteen years, it's still a major  improvement.

The food of Bridges restaurant can best be described as modernized brasserie food. After our amuse of Dutch herring (above) we were served a tartare of Yellowfin tuna with pont neuf potatoes. When there are only two or three components on your plate, you want them to be perfect and well they were not. The pont neuf potatoes were a bit soggy and the tartare very chunky, which made this main course a bit of a chewy situation. Hard to digest, especially since this dish will set you back € 26. Our wine to go with our main course was a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Forgot the name of the wine farm but it was a smooth, dry and flavorsome wine. The desserts fortunately made up for former mistakes. The chocolate fondant was cooked to perfection and the (melted) champagne sorbet had a subtle taste. Loved the little chocolate tree! The raspberry dessert, with white chocolate ice cream and meringue had a nice crunch and was a nice and refreshing end to this dinner. All in all we felt that they might need some more time to get into their groove. The service was good though and the friendly waiters took good care of us. We applaud The Grand's glamourous makeover and though the food wasn't quite there yet, we certainly will be back because every one deserves a second chance.

Bridges Restaurant at The Grand,
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197, Amsterdam.
www.bridgesrestaurant.nl

Van Vlaanderen, Amsterdam

We went for lunch at restaurant Van Vlaanderen, located near the iconic Heineken beer brewery. This restaurant used to have one Michelin star but lost it a couple of years ago due to inconsistent quality of the food and service. I haven't been here for years, although I loved their food. Let's just say that the service wasn't always up to par, especially when one of the owners was managing the front of the house. So I was happy to hear that Van Vlaanderen changed owners. The newbies opened their doors just 4 days ago. The terrace at the back, overlooking the Lijnbaansgracht, has been enlarged and fits 4 tables now. We decided for the lunch menu and our wine was a New Zealand Pinot Noir from Marlborough, which was bursting of flavor and a perfect companion for our dishes. The sun was shining, the food was great, the service impeccable and the bill very reasonable. And the best thing is that Van Vlaanderen is only a stiff 4 minute walk from our house. We'll be back for more....Our amuse was a steamed egg, garnished with fresh truffle, foam of Parmesan cheese en crispy potato crumble. The flavors came together wonderfully and the potato crumble was a nice and unexpected touch.


The starter was wilde sea bass with pata negra, tomato coulis, zucchini and truffle vinaigrette. The combination of the pata negra and the bass was good, though it would have been even better if the ham would have been crisped up a tad. The presentation of this dish was pure and sophisticated.

Our main was entrecote of Irish beef, tender pork belly, shii take mushrooms, caramelized onions and a red wine sauce. This was a good dish and especially the pork belly was succulent and packed with flavour.


Restaurant Van Vlaanderen, Weteringschans 175, 020-6228292.