Definitely Ate Our Way Through Amsterdam #SorryNotSorry

This is a long one, so settle in friends.

Dan and I love to eat. There’s no denying that. I don’t think we classify as foodies, but we sure do enjoy food, and we typically plan our travel around where we are going to eat and what local delicacies we’re going to try.

Our first stop in Amsterdam was to FoodHallen. If anyone has been to Lisbon, it’s similar to the Time Out Market, but a bit more on the smaller side. What the market lacked in size, it made up for in flavor. We wanted to try everything, but eventually settled on splitting a Hanoi Chicken Banh Mi from vietview and got Dim Sum from Dim Sum Thing. Neither disappointed!

That night, we ate dinner at Wilde Zwijnen (Wild Boar) where we chose to be adventurous and order off of the chef’s surprise menu. We had no idea what would appear at our table throughout the four-course meal. There was one item I told Dan before our trip to Amsterdam that I just didn’t think I could stomach and that was herring. I was nervous we might get a herring dish during this “surprise” menu, but I told myself I had to go in with an open mind! The bottle of red wine we ordered helped me get to this “open mind” mentality. 😂

The first dish to come to our table: raw sea bass (phew not herring), 2nd dish: cod with HERRING CAVIAR & mussels in a cod broth. 😖 I honestly wasn’t sure if I could eat this dish. The thought of herring AND herring caviar completely threw me through a loop.

Happy to report that I ended up LOVING the dish (minus the mussels! and felt v. accomplished & proud for eating the damn herring 🤣), 3rd dish: veal with brussel sprouts, potatoes & mushrooms and for the final dish: berry tart with lychee tea ice-cream.

I think our time at Wilde Zwijnen was one of my favorite moments of the trip. We sat at a table in the front window (I explain below my love for tables in front windows) and felt super cozy taking in the rustic, inviting atmosphere I envisioned the vibe to be in Amsterdam. It was also exciting to not know what we’d be putting in our mouths until the waiters came out to explain the dish.

Keep in mind that the menu is always changing, so what you see pictured here may be completely different from what you may get if you go! If you want to experience this place, I recommend making reservations ahead of time.

Another one of my favorite stops was to Brouwerij’t IJ, a brewery located at a windmill! So cool! Once inside, the vibe was awesome! A loud and boisterous place filled with friendly faces.

I should probably mention that I don’t drink beer. It’s not because I don’t want to, believe me, I’ve tried countless amounts of beer, I just don’t like the taste. 🤷🏻‍♀️ BUT, Brouwerij’t IJ also serves wine (holla at ya girl!👍🏻) for only 2 euros! Dan and I posted up at the bar and merrily drank our beer and wine, and snacked on sausage and cheese we purchased from a little stand inside the brewery. I could have stayed there all night, but we had to leave to head to the DMB concert which was about a 20 minute tram/subway ride away.

For our last dinner in Amsterdam we took part in a traditional rice table, an elaborate Indonesian meal adapted by the Dutch that includes several small plates filled with various spicy, sticky, sweet Indonesian cuisine which is then paired with rice. I didn’t realize until we were planning our trip that Amsterdam has a strong Indonesian influence as Indonesia was once a Dutch colony! Any way, there are a bunch of places you can experience a traditional rice table dinner; we decided on Tujuh Maret.

It’s a super small space, but cozy and feels as though it’s run by your sweet grandmother and exuberant uncles. There was some confusion at first when we got there as they had given our table away to another couple, but they quickly improvised and squeezed us into a space in the front window. I love sitting at tables like this. It reminds me of when I was a little girl in NYC walking around with my family and admiring the couples sitting in the window eating their dinner; I thought nothing could be more romantic.

We dove right in to an appetizer (spring rolls) and then settled on ordering 15 sides, you can order more sides if you’d like, but since it was only the two of us, we thought 15 would be perfect. The food was divine and being able to see into the kitchen, you could literally see that the chefs cooked the food with such pride. Highly recommend this place if you’re visiting Amsterdam!

We of course also had our fair share of stroopwafels, the best being from a stand at an open market called Original Stroopwafels. Stroopwafels are made from two thin wafers with a caramel syrup filling. If you ask me, stroopwafels are appropriate any time of the day. 🙃 We also had a lovely brunch from The Breakfast Club (there are several throughout the city) and indulged in Dutch Pancakes at Pancakes, also several locations throughout the city.

Phew, that was a long one! Told ya we like food. 😋

-Steph, xx