Wurst and Schnitzelhaus
Where? Wurst and Schnitzelhaus (Centrum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Map
When? Monday June 5, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? German Schnitzel and Sausages
The weather has taken a turn for the worse, so I've decided to make worse into wurst. It's horribly cold so I didn't want to venture too far from my accommodation, so this German restaurant sounded like the perfect place to eat.
Mains
Hollandaiseschnitzel and bratwurst with sauerkraut
A massive plate with my schnitzel and bratwurst combo comes out. Wow! There is a lot of food. The sausage is delicious, meaty with a hint of smokiness from the grill. The schnitzel is breaded perfectly and is really tasty even by itself. The hollandaise sauce doesn't taste like the usual hollandaise I'm used to, it tastes more cheesy than eggy. Even the salad is great; however, the sauerkraut seems to be lacking in flavour. I haven't had a lot of sauerkraut before but my memory of it is that it's very much like pickle, so it should be a bit sour and sweet. This tastes very mild, and I would have appreciated something stronger to complement the pork.
I'm struggling to finish. There's quite a lot of meat on the plate, and sausage is naturally filling. I decide to skip the sauerkraut and finish everything else.
Since I'm in a German restaurant, I'm really tempted to have Schwartzwalderkirschtorte, or better known in English as a Black Forest cake. I tried waiting a bit to see if my stomach would feel better but nope, it's not going to happen. I'll have to go to Germany itself to get some!
Posted by Jeremy at 11:42am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Stoop and Stoop Eetcafe
Where? Stoop and Stoop Eetcafe (Centrum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Map
When? Sunday June 4, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Dutch Pub
Though it's my second night in Amsterdam, this is my first proper dinner since I was too tired to get any food last night. I have steak cravings again. The area around where I'm staying is full of ethnic restaurants - Argentinian, Uruguayan, Greek, Mexican, Italian, Belgian and more. I've gone to a casual Dutch pub for my beef steak.
Side Dish
Ah the classic Dutch fries with mayonnaise. On point - crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Just the way I like it.
Mains
Dutch beef steak with home made pepper sauce
My first thought is that there is more salad than steak. The steak is cooked perfectly and the pepper sauce is good though, I wouldn't mind a bit more oomph to it. The salad needs more dressing. It certainly doesn't have the finesse that the French have shown with their meals, but I'm at a pub, and it's not bad for a pub meal.
Still hungry. I'll need dessert. The Dutch apple pie is apparently well rated...
Dessert
Dutch apple pie with ice cream and cinnamon sauce
It's cold. I'm a bit surprised actually. Every apple pie I've had is usually warm to give it that "straight out of the oven" feel. Maybe there's something about Dutch ovens. It's good though, but the best thing on the plate is actually the fruit: the red berries, which I have no clue as to what they're called, the strawberry, and the cape gooseberry (I had to Google for this one, my search term was "fruit that looks like a small yellow tomato")
Posted by Jeremy at 11:39am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Time Out Market
Where? Time Out Market (Lisbon, Portugal) Map
When? Friday June 2, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Food Hall
My friends have all gone their separate ways and I'm by myself again, so I can take the opportunity to resume blogging about food. The Time Out Market is a massive food hall by the waterfront of Lisbon that houses some excellent stalls owned by well-known chefs. I was here yesterday with the group as well, so I'll talk about specific dishes from different stalls, instead of a whole meal experience.
Monte Mar
Oysters
The dude brings out a bag of oysters from the fridge and shucks them in front of me. I'm so impressed, and incredibly excited. I wanted scampi as well but unfortunately that's out of stock. The oysters are simple but so fresh and tasty, and at €2 each, a bargain.
Henrique Sá Pessoa
24 Hour Confit Suckling Pig and Croquette
Holy moly. An extremely generous portion of succulent pork that melts in your mouth. What perfect texture. The pumpkin purée on the side helps mellow the richness of the protein; I would have liked a greater incorporation of the mandarin into that mix. The skin isn't super crispy and that's probably the only thing I can fault about this. I have some leftover mustard from the croquettes and slathering that on the pork makes this taste divine.
The croquette is perfectly crunchy on the outside and cheesy, meaty inside. It's hard to tell what ingredients were used in this, but it tastes delicious.
Alexandre Silva
Seared Tuna with roasted sweet potatoes, pickles and kimchi
Oooh. It's good. The tuna is seared beautifully and is still pink on the inside. It's meaty and satisfying. It almost tastes like it's been fried in pork lard, it's very tasty. The baked sweet potato is excellent, but the large grains of salt on the salad are a bit overpowering.
Cozinha Da Felicidade
Sirloin "Bitoque à Portuguesa" with fried egg, cured Iberian ham and sweet potato chips
This looks like a breakfast meal, especially because of the ham and eggs. The sirloin is cooked perfectly - medium rare, naturally. I like the ham and the egg on top of the steak and take a bite - excellent. There's a lot of oil on the plate though, and they're soaking into the chips and making them soggy. This is a dish that needs to be eaten fast!
Manteigaria
Pasteis de Nata
If the Chinese have the dan tat, the egg tart that you can find in many yum cha restaurants, then the Portuguese have pasteis de nata. The pastry here is crispier, more like puff pastry instead of the flakey Chinese one, and the filling is smoother and tastes more like a creme brûlée. Commonly served with icing sugar or cinnamon, the Portuguese egg tart is a treat and I can't get enough of them.
A bell rings. Like a Pavlov's dog, people descend upon the store immediately - a fresh batch of tarts has arrived!
Posted by Jeremy at 11:33am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Parrilla Alhambra
Where? Parrilla Alhambra (Centro, Madrid, Spain) Map
When? Thursday May 25, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Spanish
It's been another hot day in Madrid. I took a hiatus from food blogging yesterday because I was having a bit of a sad, being all alone in Spain, but it's my last night in the capital city so I have to eat something good to remember it by. I'm here slightly before rush hour and this place is already buzzing with activity and noise.
Sangria and Tapas
I've got a sangria and some free chorizo while I wait for my food. Why are the Spanish so good with sangria? I could do this all the time. The waiter sees me rudely picking at the sausage with my fingers and turns my attention to the toothpicks by the pepper and salt. Oops. What do they call a faux pas in Spanish?
Entree
Garlic prawns
Both my entree and mains arrive at the same time. The prawns are sizzling in boiling garlic oil and it's delicious when I dip the bread in to soak it up. The prawns are a bit too salty by themselves but with the bread it's perfect.
Mains
Iberian pork
I try some of the pork before it goes cold. I have to admit, it does not look appetising, even bordering on tacky. However, it's somewhat tasty and smokey, but perhaps a bit dry. A nice sauce or some salad with oil would have made this excellent. I've got some leftover oil from the prawns...yep, much better. Some bits are a bit burnt and and I'm not a fan of the rock salt on the pork. It's okay, nothing exceptional. I probably won't eat all the fries.
It dawns on me that there is an identical restaurant next door at number 9 (this one is at number 7) also called Alhambra. One of the Google reviews I read mentioned this. Poop. I was not supposed to go to this one. The menus look the same though. Oh well, the deed is done and I'm full of pork, prawn and most importantly, sangria. I'll never know the difference.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:06am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
La Plateria
Where? La Plateria (Centro, Madrid, Spain) Map
When? Tuesday May 23, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Tapas
A short walk from the massive El Retiro park, this place has a large outdoor area perfect for people watching. I've spent too much time outdoors today, and the sun is ludicrously strong, so I'm sitting in the cooler indoors and I've got an Iberian platter to myself.
To be honest, I went to this other cafe earlier but after I ordered my sangria, I realised they didn't do dinner service. Given that sangria in most places is only €3, I am doing double sangria today. Let's see how badly this turns out.
Mains
Iberian ham and assorted cheese platter
I have in front of me a veritable feast of cured meat, cheese, olives and bread. It's very reminiscent of my Italian food journeys, but the cured meat includes, of course, that peppery Spanish chorizo and that strong, salty Iberico ham. It's very good, brought together by the cheese as well as the olive oil in the bread.
It's a basic meal but it's done the job and I'm quite happy. I probably won't have dessert on the account of the sangria, but I'm quite full anyway. Also not sloshed. I'm feeling good.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:59am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::