Amsterdam Curated: City and Food

Located in East Amsterdam, Javastraat is a bustling street that is home to various immigrant communities. The diversity of the restaurants and shops here is truly magnificent, with cuisines ranging from Yemeni to Turkish, Indian to Surinamese. (Be sure to check out the video below for a one-minute video of MasMais Taqueria) We were recommended by our Turkish colleagues to try out Ocakbaşı Çinar, a real authentic Turkish charcoal kebab restaurant. They specialize in kebab by bringing "Ocakbasi", which means grill restaurant with an open fire pit in the middle, to the Dutch capital. Intrigued, we decided to visit this place. During our visit, we were a group of six people from all over Europe and Asia. We began our dinner with a bottle of Rakı, a high alcohol volume liquor made of twice-distilled grapes. The drink changes into milky white color when water is added. Before the kebabs, we ordered mezzes and appetizers, including Humus, Haydari, Ezme, Padlican, and Icli Kofte. We ...