Stroopwafels and All the Rest in Amsterdam

A final cornucopia of restaurants and cafes in Amsterdam post! The one main thing I was really looking forward to in Amsterdam was stroopwafels and so there are two places featured here with them. Oh, how I miss them!

On our first morning, we headed to Lanskroon to get one of their famous giant stroopwafels for breakfast. There was a choice of flavours but I had already decided as soon as I heard…coffee-caramel! While this stroopwafel was served cold, its waffle-biscuits still had a remarkable crispness to them. Delicious.

We also split a ham and cheese croissant, which they first heated up again in their oven in the back. Can any other simple savoury croissant taste any better than this? I think not.

The bakery’s cat did well to snooze by the electric heater on that cold day.

Lanskroon
Singel 385
Amsterdam

We got our first (and only, so far) taste of Surinamese food at a branch of De Tokoman near the Rembranthuis. It was a great surprise to us how much of an overlap there was with Indonesian food and how there was even a hint of Portuguese influence (they have a spiced salt cod dish). I’m certainly not going to attempt to describe this country’s cuisine when I barely understand the history of Suriname so I’ll link to the Wikipedia entry for now!

A lunch box of fried noodles, vegetables and babi pangang (grilled pork) wasn’t too inspiring but I think we chose poorly here.

Much better (excellent, in fact) was a broodje pom – a sandwich filled with the Surinamese speciality of pom, a casserole of spiced chicken and pomtajer root. The women working there were friendly and chatty and happy to explain any aspect of Surinanese food.

De Tokoman
Waterlooplein 327
Amsterdam

The next morning, we headed to Albert Cuyp Markt and wandered down the street perusing cheeses and herring and flowers in the freezing cold. Business seemed a bit slow that morning but I think that was again down to the weather.

Albert Cuypmarkt
Albert Cuypstraat
Amsterdam

We escaped the cold with lunch at Bazar, also along the the same street as the market. Again, prior to our trip, more than one person kindly recommended having a meal at this colourful Middle Eastern eatery in a converted church.

We launched on tender veal ribs and a lahmacun with cheese and washed it all down with lots of mint tea (with both fresh mint and black tea). Good eats in a fun place with a great atmosphere.

Bazar
Albert Cuypstraat 182
Amsterdam

I opted not to have dessert at Bazar (though they did look good) and instead walked out again to the market to visit the Stroopwafel man. Yes, another stroopwafel for us – and this time they were served hot off the iron.

When we chose one with chocolate, we elicited a highly unexpected ear-to-ear grin from him and the words “An excellent choice!” I think we may have been the first ones to order chocolate that day. The hot gooey stroopwafel with its extra chocolate syrup was just gorgeous. Highly recommended.

There just wasn’t any space for herring on our trip but we did find room for a bit of another fishy special, Dutch smoked eel from Frens Haringhandel on Koningsplein. Four thick pieces were stuffed into a soft bun and to our surprise, no sauce or spread was added. It certainly didn’t need it as the smoky eel was moist enough.

Finally, we also went one night to the Pancake Bakery for a Dutch pannekoeken dinner. It was terribly touristy but the pancakes being churned out were very good. I loved how the cheese in our savoury pannekoeken was cooked in and formed a thin crispy crust.

Pancake Bakery
Prinsengracht 191
Amsterdam

And that brings my series on Amsterdam to an end. As is usual, all my photos from our trip can be found in this Flickr photoset.

Now please tell me…is there anywhere in London that sells fritessaus?