Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Amsterdam - To Eat 03Jul2014 (Pannekoenhuis Pancake, Cafe T Gasthuys, Pantry, Cafe De Klos)

Amsterdam - To Stay
Amsterdam - To Do
Amsterdam - To Eat 

Amsterdam - To Eat
03July2014
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Cafe T Gasthuys
03July2014 
Last checked, ranked 587/2093 on trip advisory

Click here of ABBA location of Cafe T Gastuys, Grimburgwal 7 1012GA Amsterdam 0206248230
Located directly across the road from Pannenkoekenhuis Pancake Place, this backup location for a lunch in didn't fail to deliver. Cheap and good!
Ordered: 
03July2014
Homemade 100% Beef Hamburger

Cheese burger with Cheese, onion, pickles, tomato, whiskey sauce and pancetta
€6.75 with bread


*A super sized, hefty burger. Beautifully ground, unadulterated beef patty, with fresh toppings as advertised. It's got that great home-made feel and excellent flavor to it. Not overly greasy or heart clogging at all. Super value purchase at that price!*

Club Sandwich with chicken fillet

Pancetta, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaisd
€6.50


*A very simple order hardly worth the cost. You're definitely better off ordering the burger.*
Thomas Toh,"Too dry".

Tosti's

"Italiano": Dutch cheese, salami, tomato and Italian herbs
€3.25


*It must be, by far the most value for money, cheap eat found. A simple, humble toast,
elevated to great heights with a marinara like sauce that compliments it beautifully. Comparing a random road hotdog, compared to this toasty, this wins hands down by way of river side atmosphere and flavor.*

Traditional Dutch Apple Pie

€3.50

*An amazing warm Apple Pie. Baked apples weren't too tart and balanced well with the sugar, cinnamon and raisins. The cool, fresh whip really brought the whole dish together. A dollop of ice-cream would have made it heaven.*

Dine alfresco, along the river side as you watch tourist pass by on their canal cruises. This alternate joint to
Pannenkoekenhuis Pancake Place, really is the cheapest, and a value for money joint.

Located conveniently at the end of walking street and midway before the main train station, this place is the ideal pit-stop location for a lunch or break from sight seeing. The burger, toasties and desserts are Cheap and Great!

Pantry 
For a taste of traditional Dutch Food!
450m from AMS Marriott Hotel

 

Click here for ABBA location of Pantry located Leideskruisstraat 21 1017 RE Amsterdam 0031-20-6200922
For a taste of traditional Dutch food, take a short walk to the Pantry. A small, cozy space with outdoor dining options. Due to dietary restrictions of no beef on this trip, below is a selection of very traditional dutch dishes (including the deserts).
ABBADetails:
Free Wifi Available.

Ordered:
03July2014

Typical Dutch Ham (400gm) , served warm
with a honey mustard sauce fries and salad.
€17.85

*A Solid piece of, fall of bone Dutch ham. The meat was succulent and the real star was
their unique honey mustard sauce. Herby, and more honey than mustard, which paired pleasantly with the meat. The star may have been the meat, but the show stopper, was that incredible, velvety sauce.*

Smoked Eel on toast €9.60


*A little salty but a great, delectable taste of smooth, oily eel. Thumbs up all around and I personally have been buying back the eel whenever possible. A hit both here and back home, microwaved or grilled.Worried about all that natural oils? Think of it as having
salmon belly, with all that rich, natural omega threes coating everything.*
Like to bring Smoked Eel back home? 


 
Traditional Pea Soup

*Looks like it tastes. A chicken stock perhaps with pureed green peas. Nothing spectacular. Thick and almost porridge like in texture. A decent soup.*

Borenkool (Mashed potatoes mixed with Kale) €12.50

*Although the presentation is something to be desired. Delicious bacon bits, generously sprinkled over this kale and mash mixture. The sausage was meaty and top quality. None of that over processed stuff. None the less, its definitely a hit with the girls, and MJ gives two thumbs up of approval! *

Zuurkoolstamppot (Mashed potatoes mixed with sauerkraut) €12.25


*Another classic dutch dish. Same concept as the Kale and Mash mix, but the sour nature of sauerkraut wasn't a great draw. In fact there was left overs at the end of the meal. Go for the Kale and Mash mixture instead.*

Poffertjes (Mini pancakes served with butter and powdered sugar)
€5

*A doughy, minipancake with icing sugar coated over. Nothing to scream about.*

Vlapflip (Vanilla custard with yoghurt and fruit syrup)
€4

 *A traditional dessert that Dutch have been taking since their childhoods days.It wasn't a hit amongst the crew, but to really describe in words, texturally and taste wise, it was probably closest to scott's emulsions.* 
Total €74.80  Fed 6

For a real taste of traditional dutch food and flavors, take a short walk to this quaint diner, for a must order of Pork, smoked eel, and Kale and Mash.

l'Opera Grand Cafe
Click here for ABBA location of Grand Café l'Opera, Rembrandtplein 29, 1017 CT Amsterdam, Netherlands
We had picked this location, based solely on number of patrons at that time. Although at a prime spot which was a great place to people watch in the open field, it failed epicly to deliver on food and flavor. On the contrary, perhaps we had ordered wrongly, as tripadvisor reviewed this place quite highly and had even won an excellence award. Perhaps for dinner? However, just the lunch and Tapas menu weren't very encouraging of greater things. You be the judge.
Ordered:
04July2014
Tapas for 4
Total €17.50

*An absolute con-job. Most of the items seem thrown together from a frozen food pack, with the Parma ham being more fat than anything else. Even the Chorizo was overtly oily and the olives and feta were left to be desired. A huge disappointment.

Veal Croquettes €6.50
Cheese Croquettes €6.50
Shrimp Croquettes €9.50

*Tastes like it looks. Unimpressive, starchy and a mess.*

Great location with many many other dining alternative located around the square. A great halfway point between shopping and sight seeing. There were other highly revered restaurants in the same area, but weren't open till late in the night.
Although food was a flop, the company was excellent. Having bumped into David and his family a neighbor from back home, along the streets of Amsterdam. A small world after all.

Cafe De Klos

Click here for ABBA location of Cafe De Klos located at Kerkstraat 41-43 1017 GB Amsterdam, Netherlands
A small space with mostly bar side/front dining available, a difficult setup for large groups, especially for dinner. Reminiscent of an English pub, this rustic, confined space is filled with the scents of cooking meats from the open charcoal grill top.
*Be warned that in the past, crew have reported that when they ordered to share, staff gave dirty looks and less than desirable dining experience. However to be fair, large group bookings need to be taken seriously with all parties turning up as with their small establishment, turn over of business is incredibly important and having only half a table turn up with only half ordering is detrimental to their business.*

Ordered:
18Oct23

Mixed Grill. Includes 4 giant ribs and feed 2Boys and 2 Girls well enough.


*Escargo always a pleaser with the bread.
The French Onion was amazing and to die for. Highly recommended. Nice thick base, with a cheesy and beautiful bread crust.*

*Avoid the chicken fillet. Its really on the salty side.*
Fed 4 at €20.20/pax
Smoked and slow cooked giant ribs are still on point even after all these years.

Ordered:
05Jul2014

Mixed Grill
Spare Ribs and Smoked Spare Ribs

€21.25



*Huge portions. 6-8 bones each of the smoked and standard dry rub ribs. Definately, more than sufficient for two to share a meal where staff on hand were very friendly and helpful to accommodate.
Smoked ribs: A little more salty but with a deeper, obviously smokey flavor. It helps break the monotony of a single flavored rib, and I was going from Dry rub to smokey and back and forth all the way through the meal.
Pork Ribs: Amazing stuff. Super hot, with it having been fresh of the grill. Decadent, juicy, full flavored and excellent with the ranch and blue cheese dressing served along side. My personal vote would be the pork ribs here at Cafe De Klos over Castell's.
Click here for ABBA review of Castell's Ribs and pls try the unsung Salmon served at Castell's. A pleasant surprise perhaps even better than the ribs served there.
*

Ordered:
31Jul2013

Lamb Shoulder €27
*A massive amount of dry rubbed meat, slow roasted and served on the bone. Lamb pulls of the bone with absolute ease, with the best parts lingering around the joints and tendons. A very light-spiced blend, which can be enjoyed by all ages. The meat though flavorful was a little dry and needed the assistance of, what I assumed was a blue cheese sauce to compliment the lamb. Definitely too much for one to finish. A struggle to finish towards the end, hinting towards being a chore.*

Sirloin Steak €22.50
*A good steak, with nothing really to scream about.*

Special mention of their beer from tap: Served super cold and crisp, the way beer should be. Service did lack in that waiters didn't seem too interested in taking our beer or food orders and felt somewhat aloof. Little air circulation indoors and as mentioned a very small confined space. 

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