dutchgrub, Author at dutchgrub

Zus en Zus Reopening Soon

Zus en Zus, a friendly neighborhood restaurant with a fairly priced three course menu, seems to be reopening soon!

I last went in February and was sad to find out that Zus en Zus had to close for renovations. Apparently the entire building needed an extreme make-over with new foundations and all. It’s not unusual for Amsterdam with its century old houses, but I was concerned to lose a good food destination anyway. I was reassured then that Zus en Zus would reopen in June

I cycled by a few times during the summer and never saw any signs of a reopening. When I thought my suspicions were confirmed, I finally saw signs of progress. I cycled by two more times and first the shutters were lifted and then tables and chairs had reappeared inside. It’s great that Zus en Zus will be back soon!

Zus en Zus Amsterdam - Restaurant Front with Signs of Reopening

Oriental 128 for Restaurant Week

With all Michelin star restaurants booked days ahead of the regular start of reservations, we decided to try out Oriental 128 for restaurant week. Oriental 128, a self-proclaimed culinary Chinese, is one of a number of interesting new restaurants on Amstelveenseweg.

Dinner was great and we found Oriental 128 one of few places that execute restaurant week well. They served a standard menu at reduced price and put a lot of effort into winning new customers.

The decor is upscale and a pleasant blend of modern western and harmonious Asian. You immediately notice that Oriental is ambitious when it comes to appearance and service. The dining room is meticulously clean and organized and the staff is dressed in formal suits and dresses.

Oriental 128 Amsterdam - dining room Oriental 128 Amsterdam - amuse

We were quite impressed by the service, which was attentive in a subtle way and very friendly with a welcome dose of personality. For example, the waiter noticed that the bottle of white wine was not cold enough and exchanged it for a nicely chilled one with a friendly smile.

Oriental 128 call its menu Chinese, although I would probably give it more of Pan-Asian or even slightly fusion. There is a lot of fish, including lobster and seafood platters as well as duck specialties such as Peking duck. Then there are several variations of standard sweet and sour or five-spice meat and rice dishes, but also a more western roast chicken, spring rolls and several vegetarian tofu dishes.

They highly advertise their menus – a simpler 3 course sample menu as well as a more ambitious 4 course menu with Alaska king crab and peking duck. For restaurant week, Oriental 128 served the sample menu at a reduced rate. We thought that this worked very well as we got to know the restaurant by sampling smaller portions of three main dishes rather than the usual starter, main and dessert.

Oriental 128 Amsterdam - shrimps Oriental 128 Amsterdam - beef

All dishes were excellent! We started with battered shrimps with bell peppers and onions. The shrimps had good flavor and everything was cooked just right. We then had perch grilled on its skin and also nicely prepared. The final dish was a combination of beef and Peking duck with rice and mie.

All in all it was a great dinner. The dishes were standard but well executed and the service friendly and attentive. We will definitely be back outside of restaurant week.

No Restaurant Week at De Witte Uyl

Apparently I am not the only one who thinks the restaurant week formula in Amsterdam is flawed. While there is undoubtedly a huge buzz around restaurant week, the actual experience of trying to make a reservation and the poor value for money at many restaurants that participate is less than desirable.

Not surprisingly, I see more and more restaurants that invent their own formula, trying to benefit from the buzz while offering a much better experience and value. Restaurant de Odessa is offering a special price menu all summer long. And De Witte Uyl, one of dutchgrub’s top Amsterdam restaurants, is offering a free Kir made from crème de fruits the owners brought back from a recent vacation in Bourgogne. I hope it will lure some of the few Amsterdammers not participating in restaurant week to enjoy the excellent menu at De Witte Uyl.

Oyster Party Amsterdam

Slowfood Netherlands is organizing an oyster party on September 13 in cooperation with Slowfood New York.

400 years ago Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan and founded New York, then known as New Amsterdam. The local Indians received him well with oysters.

To celebrate the anniversary the Slowfood organizations of the Netherlands and New York are throwing a big oyster party. The event will take place on September 13 in restaurant Kompaszaal on Loods (dock) 6 at KNSM-Laan 311.

From 4pm to 6pm there will by oyster tasting and presentations by two oyster experts. The party will follow with oysters, movies and live jazz music.

Food Specials at Grachtenfestival Amsterdam

A summer full of food festivals is slowly winding down. We had pure food festivals like the Holland Food festival and Taste. And many of the cultural festivals like the Amsterdam Roots Festival and De Parade put much focus on food.

The annual Amsterdam Grachtenfestival that presents classical music from floating stages on the canals is next in line. From August 15 until 21 there will be several food specials spicing up the classcial music.

The Amstel Bar & Brasserie of classy Amstel Hotel serves a €49,50 festival special where you can enjoy dinner on their terrace by the Amstel while listening to the Waakvlamconcert. The special will be served August 17 to 21. And on Thursday August 20 both Restaurant Fifteen and FOAM will serve Grachtenfestival specials.

For more information see page 22 of the Grachtenfestival brochure.

Impressions from De Parade 2009

Last weekend we went to De Parade to see Spinvis and have a good time with a group of friends. De Parade in Amsterdam will run for about another week until 16 August.

De Parade is great fun on a nice weekend day or sunny school night. It’s best to go with a group of friends and play it by ear. Find a large table somewhere on the food court, grab some drinks and make plans. Some people will want to see shows, others will want to eat, some come and others go.

food at parade - rides food at parade - apples for kids food at parade - food court

Since this is a food blog, I must warn you. The food court is big and there is a good selection of food from all over the world – pizza, sushi, tapas, you name it. But don’t expect any good food – it’s really all about the fun and gezelligheid as the Dutch like to say. But not about good food.

The teriyaki was bland, the tapas pre made and the wood oven pizza dry and with very little sauce. We had a good time anyway and never even made it to supposed Parade foodie destination restaurant De Aalmoes.

food at parade - wood oven pizza food at parade - de aalmoes

As for shows, we were keen on seeing Spinvis’ show Kamermuziek and managed to get tickets without any problems. Spinvis is a well-known Dutch indie musician. His music is low-fi and played, sung and produced entirely by himself in his attic. His lyrics conceal deeper meaning behind simple, superficial situations and will make you think about life.

spinvis at parade - pre-show promo spinvis at parade - kamermuziek show

His show Kamermuziek was great. He took us on a journey, decomposing his songs into tracks and letting us peak into the attic where he makes music. He played some sounds into a loop machine and added the major instruments on large video screens showing himself. Singing and playing the guitar he managed to make it all come together into his trademark melancholic pop songs.

koselleck ratzke Although I found it slightly expensive, I would recommend a trip to De Parade. The entrance fee is € 7 and we paid € 7,50 for the 45 minute Spinvis show. Add to that plenty of food and drinks at festival prices (e.g. € 2,20 for a very small beer).

The program changes throughout the week and Spinvis unfortunately won’t return. Another interesting act on the program is Sven Ratzke with the Konrad Koselleck Big Band. In “Wir haben Sexappeal”, German-Dutch entertainer Sven Ratzke will bring his Berlin style chansons to De Parade, supported by a 16 strong big band.