Lunch

Grand Garden, Rotterdam

Grand Garden

I started a new job three weeks ago. After a 10 week sabbatical, yes let’s call it that, working full time and having to commute for an hour each morning and again in the afternoon/evening has been quite the adjustment. The result has been not writing blog posts, passing out from exhaustion in the evenings, and going full-blown couch potato in the weekends. Cooking meals seems like a thing of the past. When you both get home at 7pm you want food instantly, so you either make something really simple or you get take out. So much take out… But we did manage to go out for lunch and dinner, I just hadn’t found the time to write about it. The lunch we had that was worth a blogpost was at Grand Garden, a dim sum restaurant in the center of Rotterdam, in the NH hotel. It has gotten rave reviews and is always filled with Chinese people, so on a lazy Sunday afternoon, we peeled ourselves off the couch, and headed over there. (more…)

The Butcherclub, Rotterdam

The Butcherclub

The Butcherclub, with a name like this it was only a matter of time before we tried it out. This restaurant is basically a steakhouse that opens only for lunch, what a wonderful idea! So we went early on a Friday afternoon, arriving at about noon. And thank goodness we did because 30 minutes later the place was packed and there were even people having lunch standing. You can make reservations, so I would suggest doing that, especially if you come with more than two people. It’s a very small restaurant, quite cozy, and all the tables are high bar-like tables with barstools. But we’re not there to look at the interior, we came for steak! (more…)

Kuminda Krioyo, Curaçao

Pops place

Kuminda krioyo, the local creole food, is always one of the first things we look for when coming to Curaçao. These meals consist of hearty and filling dishes, often featuring stews, fried fish, and local starches such as funchi, aros moro, and tutu. This time around we decided to sample the food at three different restaurants: Dokterstuin, Zus di Plaza, and Pop’s Place. (more…)

Bij Loes, Rotterdam

Bij Loes

I just returned from lunch at Bij Loes in the old historic part of Delfshaven, and I must say, it was delightful. We took the subway to Delfshaven and walked towards the restaurant, passing several antique and art shops on the right, and old boats in the water on the left. We found Bij Loes and at first thought it may be closed as it was very quiet, but turns out we were early (noon) and the place filled up around one.
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Fred, Rotterdam

bubbles and bread

DiningCity, an online restaurant guide, organizes “Dining with the Stars” – a two week special event where you can eat at Michelin star restaurants for a reasonable price. You pay €59,50 for five courses at a 1 star restaurant, and add a €15 supplement per extra star at other restaurants. I think they organize this twice a year and we usually try to go at least once during those two weeks. This time we chose Fred, where we had been last year when it had only 1 star, but it now has 2 stars, so we were curious what the difference (read: improvement) would be.  (more…)

De Falafel, Rotterdam

de falafel

Looking for a quick lunch in downtown Rotterdam? We chose De Falafel, which is situated right outside the metro station Beurs. It’s a tiny place with only 5 seats as most people get their falafel to go. The falafel here is freshly made – there is a bowl of batter and the lady behind the counter uses an ice cream scoop to portion and place the falafels in the hot oil. The result is crispy falafels with great flavor. (more…)