Amsterdam Curated: City and Food

When it comes to Asian food, Amsterdam doesn't offer as much variety as its neighboring cities like London or Paris. For example, Korean options are very limited, and Japanese cuisine is more skewed towards ramen and sushi. For Chinese food, we are now seeing Northeastern restaurants and hot pot places starting to pop up, but there is still a lack of diversity. In terms of Southeast Asian cuisine, while Delft has some Lao and Cambodian options, Amsterdam mainly has Indian, Indonesian, and Thai restaurants, with a very limited number of Vietnamese and Malaysian establishments. One good thing about Amsterdam is that, due to the city's exponential growth, new establishments keep opening. I sometimes google terms like "Sri Lankan Amsterdam" or "Lao Amsterdam" to see if there are any new restaurants. One day, I randomly typed "Burmese Amsterdam," and to my surprise, a Burmese restaurant had just opened its doors for the first time in Amsterdam. I had be...

For the past couple of years, alongside Korean cuisine, one of the hottest culinary trends in the world must be Peruvian cuisine. Thanks to its diverse spectrum ranging from Nikkei to Chifa, Peru and its capital Lima, led by Central , the country's unique cuisine have garnered a lot of attention from all over the world. You can even find traces of it in Amsterdam.   Yokomo, a Peruvian-Japanese restaurant specializing in Nikkei cuisine, is located in a charming corner of Maastraat, Amsterdam. To be honest, I've never been to Peru, and my only experience with Peruvian cuisine so far has been at Chifa in Los Angeles, which is Chinese-Peruvian cuisine, so my excitement increased quite a bit. Even before visiting, some of my coworkers went there and also gave positive reviews. PATATAS BRAVAS €6.50 We had six people for dinner and ordered quite a lot of food that day. Please find the YouTube video below for the full dinner that night. We started our meal with patatas bravas, which ...

"When people discuss brunch spots in Amsterdam, Dignita consistently appears on their lists. Despite its expansion to multiple locations, it remains one of the city's most popular brunch destinations. One day, my Dutch friend invited me to visit one of its branches at the Hoftuin garden so I could experience the renowned Dignita. We had made a booking in advance, but upon arrival, we discovered that the place was quite packed, with people even queuing without reservations. Nonetheless, they managed to secure our spot and kindly ushered us to their backyard garden. To be honest, as soon as I set foot in the Hoftuin garden, I understood why this place has gained fame. The vibe and atmosphere, surrounded by lush greenery under the sunshine, imbued the place with charm even before sampling any food or beverages. We kicked off our brunch by ordering Mimosas. The refreshing champagne cocktail, with its almost yellowish-orange hue, celebrated the arrival of Spring. The menu was conve...

Just like the China Sichuan Restaurant I posted last time, I found Troef Amsterdam on the same list - Time Out's "The 21 Best Restaurants in Amsterdam 2024" list. After my experience with China Sichuan restaurant, I honestly had some doubt. However, the description of this place was quite fancy, and since it was not far from my area, I decided to go. Troef Amsterdam brought together big names from Amsterdam's culinary scene, including renowned restaurants like 212 and Ron Blaauw, as well as the expertise of chefs such as Raymond Plat (formerly of 212) and Niels Leijssenaar (from the kitchens of Ron Blaauw), along with Willem Alberts and Roderick Kunst from Escobar. Nestled in Amsterdam-Oost, Restaurant Troef swiftly rose to prominence as one of the most sought-after hotspots in this vibrant part of the city. We initially decided to order a combination of one starter + entree, and one starter + main, as the portions looked decent, but the wait s...

  Last year, after the Michelin Guide announced its star ratings for 2023, a friend of mine visited Coulisse and raved about it. Intrigued by their recommendation and with a free day in my schedule, I decided to pay the restaurant a visit myself. The visit took place last October, and I regretfully forgot to share it earlier, so this post is a bit belated. For a more detailed look at the courses served at Coulisse, you can check out their direct explanation on the YouTube video above. Coulisse embraces the concept of 'Easy Fine Dining,' making their lunch menu surprisingly approachable for a Michelin-starred restaurant, priced at 80 euros. When I dined there, the lunch menu still retained its reasonable price tag of 65 euros, offering seven distinct courses. Additionally, I had the option to add an extra course for just 18.5 euros. Since I was planning to visit Alba for white truffles, I decided to forgo adding truffle to my dish at Coulisse. Instead, I opted for Turbot from t...