As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
Yes, it’s that time again. We’re off on another, all too short trip.
Guessing this one is easy.
From the amazing art.
To the great architecture…..
Land views are lovely.
We’ve stuck to mostly local, traditional dishes and the food has been surprisingly good and hearty.
Every meal seemed to be better.
People here have been amazingly nice. Though the crowds can be maddening.
Anyway, I don’t want to hog up your time.
We hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
While planning our visit to Kanazawa I cam across an interesting restaurant named Iwashigumi. I first saw photos on Tabelog and was quite intrigued. So I had a friend make reservations for us. We took a nice long stroll down to the Katamachi district, a popular shopping and nightlife area. Iwashigumi is discreetly located fairly close to the main street.
The style is rustic, old school izakaya. I believe you can purchase a red lantern for the wall if you want.
As the name indicates; this place is all about iwashi……sardines. Yep, a restaurant specializing in sardines, everything from iwashi honesenbei to iwashi croquette. The Missus loves sardines (remember Tito 2 in Matoshinos), so She quickly agreed.
The set-up is like a sushi bar, with a few tables to the side. There's a certain charm to this place…..
When you order sake, they bring you a selection of ochoko (sake cups), some of which are rather interesting.
The Missus had sake and I started with some "nama-beeru"….
So, based on some of my previous posts on this trip, you can kind of figure that I just couldn't get enough of honsenbei, fried fish bone ("crackers"). The Missus was totally over it, but humored me ("for one last time").
Crunchy-savory goodness!
First up was the Iwashi-sashimi. You'd think this would be on the "oily" side, but this was very clean tasting.
There was a slight chew; the flavor and texture was reminiscent of Aji (Spanish Mackeral).
The Iwashi Tataki was another refreshing dish.
Nice crunchy vegetables to add contrast to the toothsome fish. Funny, we really didn't need the ginger for both of these dishes.
When we placed our order, we made sure to first request the grilled sardine which takes about 20-30 minutes.
Good salt and crisp skin. This was quite rich and oily, a bit too strong in flavor for the Missus. I did need the oroshi and lemon, to help cut the richness.
The Missus had no such problem with the Iwashi no Mentaiko.
This was our favorite dish of the night. The rich, grilled sardine, met straight up with the briny and spicy cod roe. Salty, but in a good way, this one made our night.
At this point, I needed to help the Missus with Her sake, so I choose the goofiest cup I could find.
Of course one needs rice to complete a meal; so we ordered the Iwashi Oshizushi, which filled us up.
We really enjoyed our meal. The service was friendly and efficient. One of the young ladies spoke pretty good English as well. Along with Kuroyuri, Morimori Sushi, and our breakfasts, Iwashigumi made our trip to Kanazawa a delicious one.
Iwashigumi
1-7-13 Katamachi
Kanazawa, Japan
Side note: While looking for the address, I noticed that Iwashigumi is on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list. Good for them!
We'd done quite a bit on this day, so we caught the bus back to Kanazawa Station and our hotel. I had some time to relax, catch up on emails, and work on a post.
For some reason, I found the taxi queue, and the patterns for determining which cab was up next mesmerizing……
You could say the same about Kanazawa……
After a nice respite at Oyama Shrine we headed out, past the city office and art museum, finally coming to the quiet entrance of Kenrokuen Garden.
Declared to be one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan", we just had to visit. Kenrokuen was once the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was built by the Maeda Clan who ruled the area from 1583 to 1871. In 1871 the garden was opened to the public.
This is Hisagoike Pond.
It was pretty mellow; with tourists having a fun time.
Except for the few knuckleheads who walked over partitions and around the ponds and climbed onto structures like Yagao-tei Teahouse which dates back to the 18th century.
Next to Kasumigaike Pond stands the iconic Karasaki Pine.
According to the story the 13th Lord Nariyasu planted the seed from which this tree grew.
There's a nice plum grove. Plum trees start blossoming before cherry blossoms.
Do you know how to tell the difference between plum blossoms and cherry blossoms? Cherry blossoms have a "split" at the end of each petal, while plum blossoms do not.
We had a nice stroll to the other end of the park.
As we headed put the exit and down the hill we saw this beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in bloom. Or was it?
Yep, cherry blossoms…..
The Missus wanted to visit the Higashi Chaya District, so we headed down the hill.
Along the way we saw a shop doing bustling business. Turns out this was the Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center.
There was, of course, gold leaf products everywhere. I ended up buying some food quality gold leaf. We also sampled a bunch of local delicacies and ended up purchasing dried and preserved fish which was mighty delici-yoso!
I was tempted to buy a couple of bottles of "Lame Spray" for some rather "lame" folks I know……they would never figure out that is should be pronounced "lamé". But they really weren't worth the price tag.
Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center
2-20 Kenrokumachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
We had an uneventful walk to the Asanogawa River.
And crossed over the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, arriving at Higashi Chaya, a district full of historic buildings, faux geishas, gold leaf ice cream shops….
It was quite touristy; but in the low-keyed, mellow, Japanese way. And we ended up visiting quite a few shops.
We had a fun time……and it was the little things that seemed to catch our eye…..
We were starting to get hungry. Not sure where to eat, we decided to walk back to Omi-cho market. There was a Kaiten-zushi shop in the market that always seemed to have a line. I'm not big on conveyor belt sushi here in the states. It's usually of very low quality; but heck, if all these Japanese were lining for it…..
We had a wait of about 30 minutes, not bad….though we were fairly hungry.
You can get your sushi two different ways; by grabbing it off the conveyor (of course)…..
Or ordering from the handy-dandy iPad….with English translations as well!
You get tea from the spigot in front of you; the ginger and wasabi are in discreet containers on the table.
The first thing to arrive was the Aji (Spanish Mackeral). I had expected to be a bit underwhelmed. But I was so wrong. The fish was firm, moist, with a hint of oily-sweetness. The ginger helped cut through any richness and the scallions added a nice bit of sweet-pungency.
We picked the "slime meets slime", the lovely "neba neba" Natto and Okra Gunkan sushi off the belt.
This was quite delicious; the rice was so perfect.
The Hamachi was passable if a bit on the dry side. Good fat content though.
We ordered two different version of Negi-toro.
Both were excellent. The quality for the price was amazing. This is what I truly expect to get in a fishmarket.
We got a three piece combo with Hokkaido Uni, O-Toro, and Ama-ebi.
Based on what we had the day before, I expected the shrimp to be fantastic, and it was. But that uni was so briney, with a buttery texture, and that o-toro…..doesn't it look like beef?
We had a o-toro, which was fine….but not nearly as rich and buttery as the o-toro.
More "neba neba" goodness. Squid and Natto. This was so delicious.
Great textural contrast……
We finished things off with Crab and Crab Butter (Kani Miso). Man, this was so wonderfully savory, briney tones, great richness, the crab was tender and sweet.
At this point we'd had enough. You press a button and they calculate your check based on the plates.
The petite Japanese woman sitting next to us ate as much as the both of us and had a tokkuri of sake to boot!
And you knew she was Japanese….she just left her purse by itself, stood up and went to the restroom, which is outside the restaurant. Yes….this is Japan.
When our bill arrived, I looked at it and blurted out "holy crap"! This Missus was startled and thought something was wrong. And no, nothing was wrong, things were so right. You see, the entire meal came to 3300¥, about $31/US. With toro, real crab, amaebi, uni, real wasabi!!! And in Japan, there's no tipping as well.
Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho)
88 Aokusamachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Like I always say; in Japan you can eat for 5 dollars or 500 dollars; it's up to you, and most of it is darn good!
Thanks for reading!
I knew we needed some exercise after our zillion calorie meal at Au Pied de Cochon. So I had planned on hoofing it up to Jean Talon Market but it was drizzling so we decided to catch the metro instead. When we arrived the place was pretty much deserted.
It was pretty quiet and we weren't going to be doing any self-catering during our last evening in Montreal, so we just kind of wandered around.
Nothing caught our fancy, so we decided to head on back to Mount Royal area.
Jean-Talon Market
7070 Henri Julien Ave.
Montreal, QC H2S 3S3, Canada
It was a pretty good walk.
There are some pretty interesting buildings in the area, like this one.
I couldn't figure out what it was, so when we returned I looked up the address and it's named Musée des pompiers de Montréal. It's the firefighters museum; which is only open on Sundays from 130pm to 4pm.
It was still a bit early for our lunch destination, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee and relax. We found this very modern-hipsterish looking shop named Dispatch Coffee.
I got some espresso and they served it up right….with sparkling water.
Dispatch Coffee
4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada
By this time our early lunch destination was ready for business.
I'd heard countless times that you "need" to go to Schwartz's when in Montreal. It's an iconic purveyor of Montreal smoked meat….don't be calling it pastrami in MTL. While similar in in terms of being seasoned, cured, and smoked, classic pastrami is made with beef navel, the front or "ventral" part of the beef plate. Montreal smoked meat like corned beef is made with the brisket. You can read more about the differences at a load of sites; some of them humorously opinionated. I was here to eat.
One quick thing about Schwartz's. You'll see the opening hours listed as 8am; you can get stuff next door to go at that time. But if you want "hot meat", you'll have to wait until 1030.
We got in right at 1030 and sat at the counter. The young man who served us was great; friendly, helpful, in that truly Canadian way.
The place filled up pretty quickly.
The young man pointed out that the "classic" Schwartz's combo was a Smoked Meat Medium Fat, Fries, Dill Pickle, and a Cherry Soda……we got fifty percent of that, the dill pickled, crisp, nicely balanced in flavor and the Smoked Meat Sandwich Medium Fat (9.75 CAD – about $7.40/US !!!). We watched with anxious anticipation as the meat for our sandwich was hand cut.
Man, this was good!
It's not very often that a place delivers on all the hype and expectations. Schwatrz's did this and more. From the surprisingly tender and moist texture, to the balanced seasoning, not too salty, but with more "umph" than most pastrami sandwiches I've had, the wonderful savory tones really shone. The bread was soft, but stood up well to the pastrami with the flavor of caraway, that malty-nutty-spiciness, bringing things together. The mustard added just enough acidic-pungency to cut any richness.
The Missus is still talking about this sandwich.
There was a line forming outside the deli as we left. I can see why…..
Schwartz’s Deli
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1X9, Canada
A while not everyone would agree, I'd say Schwartz's really delivered. We left, satisfied and not stuffed, just perfectly happy.
There was really only one place the Missus wanted to visit in Amsterdam; the Van Gogh Museum. So on our last day in the city we headed off from the Jordaan, past Leidseplein, making it the museum a bit before opening. So, we had a chance to wander around and take things in. Like the "I Amsterdam" sign……a wonderful example of city "branding".
The skating rink reminded us that it was indeed winter.
The Von Gogh Museum was quite a fascinating visit. It was very visitor friendly; though no photos. Unlike what it seemed everyone else; we obeyed the rules.
The displays went through Van Gogh's life; his influences, and struggles.
My main takeaway from the museum was, that if not for the efforts of his brother Theo….who died of syphilis two years after Van Gogh at the age of 34, and mainly his sister-in-law; Johanna, Von Gogh might not have been the revered artist he is today. You can read more about that in this wonderful excerpt from Smithsonian. We wouldn't have such fascination with the "mad genius" who (might not have) cut his own ear off, whose inner demons eventually had him commit suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died at the age of 37.
Whooo…boy…..
From here we decided to head off to Albert Cuyp Market. It was a nice walk, we passed places like the Royal Concertgebouw ("Concert Hall").
Albert Cuyp Market was established in 1905 and is the largest street market in the Netherlands with 260 or 300 stands depending on what you read.
So; you can imagine it's all here; from flowers, produce, and seafood……
To Vietnamese Springrolls, pickled herring, and various knick-knacks…..need a watch, anyone?
And of course, those Stroopwafels……
Our intent was to grab something to eat there; but for some reason, nothing really called to us and we weren't very hungry.
So, we decided to head on back. The sun had appeared, chasing some of the damp gloom away.
The Westerkerk Church really stood out, its bell tower stretching to the sky.
We meandered through the "Nine Little Streets" and did some light gift shopping and headed back to the Jordaan.
We searched for a couple of places on my "list"but for some reason we couldn't find them. So we just decided to stop at this quiet, sort of funky corner café.
It's one of the those places where you can get anything from coffee to beer to desserts (one woman was having a gigantic "slice" of apple pie). The prices were reasonable, though it really took a while for our food.
Anyway, it took a while but I finally got my Smoked Salmon Sandwich a bargain at 6,5 € (About $7.50/US).
The bread was decent; loved the addition of the boiled egg, the smoked salmon was also fairly good, lightly smoky, not too salty, with no off flavors. Loved the pickles and the tomatoes were ripe? Red onions and capers are the perfect foil for smoked salmon.
The Missus had a Cheese Sandwich which She also enjoyed.
After all that rather rich food over the previous few days this was a nice respite in a sort of diner-ish kind of way. The customers were also quite interesting and diverse.
Café De Blauwe Pan
Westerstraat 200
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hourse
Sun – Thurs 10am – 1am
Fri – Sat 10am – 2am
We had thoughts of heading to the Anne Frank Museum, but were too tired. We decided to bucket that for our next trip to Amsterdam.
It was nap time.
Thanks for reading!
It was an overcast as we headed out after our morning coffee. We had two full days in Amsterdam and since we had leftovers from our previous night's meal we didn't need to stop anywhere. We decided to take on a good chunk of the city during the morning.
One has to keep alert when walking the streets in this lovely city and not get sucked in by the lovely canals or the lovely houses that line them, all crowned with distinctive Dutch gables. You see, Amsterdam claims to be the most bicycle friendly capital city in the world, there are over a million bikes in the city. Most glide along quietly, so you should be aware. It's also easy to get distracted by various interesting sights as well.
Some of which are quite humorous……
We walked along the canals, making our was back along the path we took the previous night. It looked quite different during the day.
We made our way back to Amsterdam Centraal Station. The Missus wanted to take the walk outlines in Rick Steves pocket guide to Amsterdam. So we headed down Damrak. It's a bustling and busy street. Lots of tourist shops and other places.
One of the things I wanted to try in Amsterdam was Gouda cheese. We've never particularly enjoyed Gouda in the states, so we wanted to try some here. One of the first shops we came across is this location of the Amsterdam Cheese Company.
There weren't any customers in the store when we arrived….it was rather early in the morning. The young lady working here was amazing! She was quite knowledgeable, had us taste Gouda aged for different periods of time, and was just a joy. So, of course we ended up buying some Gouda. We would enjoy it in Paris.
After a brief stop for some coffee, we arrived at Dam Square. In the 13th century, a dam was built across the Amstel River to link together settlements on both sides of the river and create a village named…..you guessed it "Amstel-dam".
There's quite a bit to see here including the National Monument(above). This World War II monument is an obelisk like structure which has sculptures representing the suffering of war – there are two weeping dogs, representing suffering and loyalty. All topped with a sculpture of a woman with a child in her arms and doves flying around her representing victory, peace, and new life.
Across the way is the Royal Palace, which was once the Town Hall. The structure became the "Royal Palace" when Napolean installed his brother as King.
There's a shopping street which parallels the main avenue named Kalverstraat…..it's truly pedestrian…..folks need to walk their bicycles on this street.
Ducking down a side gate we came across what might be our favorite stop of the day; the Begijnhof. This wonderful Hofje ("Courtyard") dates back to the 14th century when it was built as living quarters for the pious Begijntjes a Catholic sisterhood, who lived a semi-monastic life dedicated to God, even though they took no vows like Nuns.
This beautiful and quiet courtyard is rung by lovely homes that still houses older single women, though the last Beguine died in 1971.
Off to the left we saw a simple black door. This is the entrance to Begjinhof Chapel. Often called the "Clandestine Church" this was built in 1680 by combining two residences. When Catholicism was banned in the 16th century all the churches had to be given up….which is what was done with the brick church across the way. Catholics had to worship in the privacy of their own homes. Eventually, the Protestant city council approved the building of this church….as long as the building did not look like a church.
The interior is Spartan and quiet. One could imagine needing to worship in silence in fear of prosecution.
Across the way is the former Catholic Church that became the English Reformed Church.
This church was built in 1420 for the Beguine to worship. It was converted during the Reformation.
It is said that many of the Pilgrim Fathers fleeing persecution in England made their way here before leaving to form a separate congregation in Leiden and eventually sailing to the New World in 1620. The only stained glass window in the church depicts the Pilgrims praying before boarding the Mayflower. It was a gift from Edward William Bok to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the departure of the Pilgrims.
The bible on the altar dates back to 1763.
We really enjoyed the quiet, which gave us time to really take in both churches.
We exited Begjinhof and headed right, to an area known as Spui.
We did a bit of window shopping…..some of the displays are quite amusing. I believe this one is from a Cheese/Gourmet Shop named De Mannen van Kaas.
Eventually we wandered our way to the Flower Market.
Full of bright colors.
And then a bit further, the very popular area known as Leidseplein.
We decided to head back to the apartment, have our leftovers for lunch….then it would be nap time.
We wove our way through the shopping area known as De 9 Straatjes (Nine little streets).
We stopped by several shops, people watched, and enjoyed some of the more entertaining window displays…..like this one….notice the mannequin giving you the one finger salute?
We stopped by the Marqt on Wolvenstraat; sort of like a cross between Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and Whole Foods and picked up some drinks and more Stroopwafels for the Missus.
After a filling lunch we had a nice restful nap and got up in time for….well, dinner of course!
I'd made reservations at a popular place that I'd read about named Restaurant Daalder. It was located just a few blocks away and the food seemed an interesting pseudo Modern Dutch cuisine.
We both liked the cozy, under-stated, unpretentious, almost bistro-like interior of the restaurant.
We went full speed ahead; the "Daalder" course tasting menu with one wine pairing (we've learned our lessons) and the foie gras supplement (of course). This came out to about 100 € each, very reasonable. Especially since we'd just come from Scandinavia!
The Amuse started with jamon in a roll made of airy-light meringue. The "rolls" were slightly sweet and savory and melted in your mouth.
Along with a foamy, almost yogurt, fruit compote. The lemon foam was quite good.
The first course was a Tuna Tartare, which totally reminded me of poke.
Topped with avocado and watermelon; this would have been passable if not for the bitter-salty-tar like kombu reduction which just killed the poor fish dish.
The next dish was interesting; a poached egg enrobed in cauliflower puree. There was a dusting of coffee powder on the dish which really blended in nicely; adding a layer of pleasant savory-bitterness to the dish. The egg was poached perfectly and there were tiny pieces of crouton on the bottom of the bowl to add a nice textural contrast.
The scallops were good; crisp exterior, cooked perfectly, nice and sweet.
The turbot was cooked perfectly, but the dish was again marred by that kombu "tar".
The duck was quite good; though not as tender and gamey as what we had at Arakataka.
We both enjoyed the pistachio crust and the earthy, but slightly sweet jus really did well paired with the duck.
We were glad to have the foie gras supplement. The duck livers on toast were quite good. Caramelized onions just goes so well with duck livers.
Our favorite item of the night was the foie gras. It was seared so perfectly, slightly crisp, with a creamy interior. The tart, yet slightly sweet lychee just went so well with this little morsel.
And the Missus got Her dessert.
Service was relaxed, yet professional. We enjoyed the wine pairings.
Though I could tell the Missus had gotten Her fill of "tasting menus" for a while.
Still, a nice meal.
Restaurant Daalder
Lindengracht 90
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
We rolled on back to the apartment.
Good thing we had a bit of walking planned the next day.
Thanks for reading!
I decided to schedule one dinner on our return to Montreal. It came down to dinner at Joe Beef or Celebrity Chef and Madman Martin Picard's love letter to Montreal cuisine; Au Pied de Cochon. Since we were staying rather close to the Mont Royal area in Milton Parc, I thought Au Pied de Cochon made more sense.
The walk was a bit over a mile; about 25 minutes.
Our reservations were for 7pm. The place really has no sign, you just kinda figure you're there. And of course it was packed!
While the hostess seemed a bit detached, our Servers were so very friendly in the congenial Canadian way. Even stopping to chat about "stuff", specifically "Duck in a Can", in spite of being completely slammed.
The seating is a bit tight, we were seated near the bar. And it was tight squeeze for the staff.
As you can tell by the photo above. The whole area was blocked when the tableside salad was being made. The wheel of cheese brought on a cart.
The menu was a paean to foie gras and pork, with no less than 7 foie gras dishes on the single sheet menu.
It seemed like the locals were ordering steak and beefs dishes or pasta, while visitors were going for the crazy stuff.
And since we were visitors, it just felt right to hold to that course.
The Missus was focused on the foie here; but we only had one stomach each, so we'd have to choose well. We started with the Foie Gras Poutine ($24 CAD – about $18/US)
We just loved the poutine in Quebec, the potatoes seemed to have a more pronounced flavor and were sweeter, earthier. That young lady in Viti's Liquor in Vancouver was right; when I asked her where the best poutine was in Vancouver she told me "well sir, I personally think that you need to go to Montreal!" The gravy was on the lighter side…..totally against character for this place, but not overly salty, the fries were lovely crisp outside, soft and fluffy inside. The foie gras….well, was foie gras. Not the best quality, but with a good sweet-offal-ly richness, that just made this that much better. There weren't very many cheese curd; which were fine, but nothing special. We'd actually have better poutine the next night, but this was quite indulgent.
When it came to our main; I had thoughts of doing Duck in a Can, but in the end, we decided on the restaurant's namesake, the Pied de Cochon (Pig's Trotters), but not any Pied de Cochon, but one with, well, Foie Gras of course ($54 CAD – $41/US).
If you think this looks like a hot mess, you'd be right. The foie gras was over-cooked, the gravy was nice, but there was just too much of it. The cheese potatoes was just mostly gooey-gummy cheese and too salty. The pork trotters were roasted; then deep fried; but the result was a exterior that was too hard and an interior that was on the dry side. For some reason we didn't find as much lovely gelatinous goodness as we usually enjoy. 
Perhaps we had just found the dish that was just too over-the-top for us to enjoy? The prices weren't too bad; about $100/US with beer and wine. The service was amazingly efficient and friendly for a place so busy.
Au Pied de Cochon
536 Avenue Duluth E
Montréal, QC H2L 1A9, Canada
It was good thing we were walking….I needed it after this calorie bomb dinner!
On the way back; we stopped by the local Provigo Grocery. While looking over the beer, I quickly noticed that all Unibroue beers were on sale for $3.99 CAD….that's like three bucks US! There was quite a selection of stuff we don't have here in the states. So, I bought two bottles. On this evening I had the Raftman, a smoked ale.
I really enjoy smoked beer when they are available. This being a Belgian style ale; it had that sweet-booziness, with a caramel nose, and an almost bourbon like smokiness. Being only 5.5ABV, it was really easy to drink as well.
It was a nice way to end the evening. We went to sleep early; we'd have a busy day ahead of us.
Thanks for reading!
It was already dark when we arrived in Amsterdam. Somehow we found our way to the fantastic apartment we were staying at. We enjoyed the location, walking distance to much of Amsterdam, yet in more of a residential area in the Jordaan. In other words, you wouldn't be smelling the "cash crop" while walking to the corner grocery, if you know what I mean. Our hosts were amazing; they left us beverages and water….and got the Missus hooked on Stroopwafels, even showing Her the correct way to have them with your tea/coffee. We were asked what dining plans we had for our stay. I'd made two reservations for dinner, but not for the eve of our arrival. I mentioned wanting to try Rijsttafel ("Rice Table") the product of Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia. Our host quickly got on the phone and made us reservations at his favorite spot; named Indonesian Kitchen.
It was about a 20 minute walk from the apartment. Which wasn't bad. The Missus thought it was rather cold, but after Tromsø I thought it felt downright balmy. The tiny restaurant is located on the lower level along Herengracht.
It's quite a discreet location, especially at night. We basically found it because of the menu posted along the sidewalk.
The place was indeed packed, but tucked alongside the wall was a small two-top with a reserved sign on it. Our table. Because of the tight confines, I was very discreet with regards to taking photos. The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt anyone's meal.
Of course we went with the Rijstaffel. I was later told that the portions here were on the smaller side, but this was more than enough food for us. I was also told that the chef here used to work at Amsterdam's only Michelin starred Indonesian Restaurant.
I started with a Bintang, which predictably tasted like Heineken.
The meal started off with three appetizers. This might have been our favorite part of the meal, especially the scallops which were perfectly seared, still tender and moist inside. And the whitefish which was almost buttery.
The mango salad was refreshing. The peanuts really added that nice earthiness to the dish, cutting the sweet-acidity.
Next up was a fish soup, which was fine. I expected a bit more spiciness and sour tones.
But for some reason we found this to be rather bland.
Next up was a big bowl of rice and the first foursome of dishes arrived.
The Beef Rendang finally had the chili kick I was looking for; the lamb chops were perfectly cooked, still slightly rare in the middle, but the sweet soy just overwhelmed the dish…much too sweet. The chicken curry was quite bland. The second beef dish was pretty mild as well.
The second foursome arrived a few seconds later.
The item on the bottom left was delicious, a bitter vegetable in a wonderful dressing. The prawns were a bit over-cooked but the spicy sauce was indeed nice and spicy, and it had been seasoned quite well.
The vegetable curry that accompanied the dish was pretty bland; though the flavor of the veggies shown thru.
Service was wonderful, friendly and very pleasant. We'd end up taking most of this with us and had it for lunch the next day.
Indonesian Kitchen
Herengracht 287
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
We were glad to have been able to try out some Indonesian food during our all too short visit to Amsterdam. 
Amsterdam itself is quite amusing. We really got a kick out of the signage and some of the sometimes oddball things we saw. The Missus could not stop laughing at the blanket placed over the student depicted in the sculpture of the Dutch Teacher and Politician Theo Thijssen off Brouwersgracht. I guess they wanted to make sure the young lad didn't get cold.
Some of the shops were also quite adorable.
This one is called the Cow "Museum"….which was actually a shop.
We got back to the apartment, the Missus set to work making a cup of tea which was nicely provided and of course those Stroopwafels……
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day…….
Thanks for stopping by!
We'd had a fun day exploring Tromsø. It was so different from San Diego. Polar night is fascinating and a bit disorienting as noon seems like dusk and by 2pm it looks like had fallen. We really only had time for one dinner in Tromsø since the previous evening we'd been "Chasing the Aurora". We had decided to stay close to the apartment, just kind of chill and relax, and had made dinner reservations at the highly regarded Mathallen. Locally sourced ingredients and they had something on the menu I wanted to try….and no, it's not reindeer.
We had early reservations, which really didn't matter, since it already was so dark it felt like 9pm.
The menu was really small, with only four starters and three mains.
And like almost every other restaurant we had dinner at in Norway, they had an open kitchen.
We love the bread in Scandanavia and Mathallen was no exception. Also, I had wanted to visit Mack Brewery, founded in 1877, it is the northernmost brewery in the world. But we had run out of time, so I settled for a Mack Pilsner at Mathallen. Not very distinctive in flavor; very light and easy to drink.
The Missus started with the King Crab Soup (185 NOK – about $22/US). Yes, that's right, this bowl of soup was over twenty bucks.
Not too much crab, but the soup was nice and rich and obviously made with a very good seafood stock. Loved the texture which coated the tongue quite nicely.
We just couldn't seem to get enough pickled herring, so I ordered the Christmas Herring (155 NOK – $18.50/US).
This was delici-yoso!!! Just a couple of bites, but man, the herring melted in your mouth. It wasn't fishy in the least; very savory, and I'm thinking the Aquavit really added a nice touch of sweetness.
The Missus went with the "Catch of the Day", Cod (320 NOK – about $39/US).
She enjoyed it and said it was nicely cooked.
Since we were in Norway, I really wanted to try Lutefisk, which is made by air-drying fish, usually cod. A few weeks (yes weeks) before serving it is soaked in water for a week, then in lye (!!!) for two days. At which time it's pretty much poisonous. It is then soaked in water for another ten days to make edible.
I ordered the Lutefisk (575 NOK – $70/US). Yep, about seventy bucks US…..yikes!
The process gives the fish a jelly like texture, which was a bit odd. At least you can't complain about dry fish here, eh? Apparently, during the last set of soaking, the fish becomes so hydrated that you don't need to add any liquid to "boil" the fish! It also has a fairly strong smell; but not too bad. The flavor is fairly mild, on the briny salty side. It definitely needed the lardons and mustard sauce for flavor. Those brown shavings are Brunost, a brown "cheese" that is made from milk, cream, and whey. It has a very interesting slightly sweet and yeasty flavor. The mashed peas were very bland, the potatoes, simply done were delicious.
It was an interesting meal, the service was fine, not as friendly as at other places in Scandanavia. And heck, I'm not opposed to having lutefisk again…….
Mathallen
Grønnegata 58-60
Tromsø, Norway
Hours:
Tues – Sat 1130am – 11pm
We took the short walk back to the apartment and relaxed. I just sat at the window and watched the snow flurries come in.
Our flight from Tromsø was scheduled for 1030 am. We got up, packed and walked over to the stop for the airport bus.
It was 8am in the morning……
And it looked like midnight. We watched these guys working on the roof of a building across from the stop. Man, I sure wouldn't want to be doing that during the winter.
The airport in Tromsø is fairly small.
But SAS actually has a small lounge.
Where we were able to grab breakfast.
While staring off into the snow……
I'm not sure we'll ever be back in Tromsø, but we really enjoyed our time here. It was a great experience, but we were now looking ahead.
Next stop…..Amsterdam.
Both the Missus and I were really enjoying our stay in Kanazawa. In terms of prices, we both found that Kanazawa was very affordable. For the price of a mid-level hotel in Tokyo, we could stay at the Hotel Nikko and the price included breakfast. Over the years, I've mentioned my love of Japanese breakfast, and how it triggers great memories for me. And these days the Missus enjoys it as well.
And the Japanese breakfast option at the Hotel Nikko is no slouch either. You have choice of western or Japanese breakfast. You know what we chose, right?
It's a rather stylish – garden like surrounding.
Though the setting is rather simple as are the tables and chairs.
And, like I said, breakfast is no slouch……
You have a "breakfast set" of your choice along with buffet items.
At times I found myself wondering; "is this really breakfast"…..
I'm glad it really was……
What a way to start the day.
Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
2-15-1 Honmachi
Kanazawa 920-0853, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Of course, after such a hearty and delicious breakfast, the Missus would have me walking all day to burn off the calories. So we quickly headed out.
All paths for us during our short stay went thru Omi-cho Market. And just like the previous day we really enjoyed wandering and browsing.
The morning was a fun time because it was less busy and you could really check out the seafood and produce on sale.
It is indeed "Kanazawa's Kitchen". We even noticed a place we'd end up stopping at for lunch.
We exited at the rear of the market and skirted the walls of Kanazawa Castle. We eventually came to the back entrance of Oyama Shrine. The shrine is well known for its distinctive gate, which was once the gate to the palace of Kanazawa Castle.
Along with the mixed Japanese-Chinese influences, the gate also features Dutch style stained glass windows on the upper level. In fact, the upper two levels once were part of a lighthouse! And the lightning rod at the top is claimed to be the oldest in Japan.
This Shinto Shrine was built by Maeda Toshinaga to honor his father Maeda Toshiie who was the granted and was the first ruler of the Kaga (Kanazawa) Han. He was lauded for his skills with the Japanese spear known as the yari. And as you can see, this statue of him proudly holds that spear.
At this time of the day, the grounds of the shrine were empty, so we really had a chance to appreciate the peacefulness and tranquility.
The gardens actually predate the shrine, which was moved here in 1873.
There are several very distinct statues on the grounds of Oyama Shrine; like this one.
After a fairly hefty breakfast, it was quite relaxing to walk around the grounds of Oyama Shrine.
But the day was still young and it was time to explore a bit more.