Such beautiful canals but such a grimy red light district. The ability to purchase cannabis at your will but the city functions so successfully.
This is a place where bucks and hens parties come to write themselves off in various different ways and then attempt to navigate the bicycle choked streets. Or better yet, get on a bike without a helmet because who wears helmets?
You want a cup of coffee you say? How about a place labelled "coffeshop"? Well you could, but you'd get more than you bargained for.
A brown café then? Nope, that would get you a beer, obviously.
Best to just stick with a plain old café, or maybe McDonalds is a safer better.
I think the people deserve a special mention here too (because my blog is where they come to for gratification of course). The amount of sh*t they must put up with on a daily basis and to not tar you with the same brush as the previous stupid English speaking person they served, is commendable.
The Munchies
The beauty of a big city like Amsterdam is the range and quality of food that it offers. Whatever you have a hankering for is a quick Google and generally just a few minutes walk away. Burittos, burgers, Indian, Nepalese, Australian icecream (yes, apparently that's a thing), kebabs, shawarmas, durum, all within spitting distance. So naturally, we made the most of that accessibility.
Semi-Traditional Pancakes at Pancakes! Amsterdam
We waited 40 minutes in the cold for these and for two out of the three of us it was worth the wait. Nix had the camembert, witlof, ham and raspberry, Matt the special of yesterday which was leek, tomato, pine nuts and creme fraiche, and me, the American style with bacon and maple syrup. Only Nix's were a flop.
Eating our way through the Albert Cuypmarkt
The advantage of staying with someone through airbnb is that you generally end up away from the city centre and closer to things like the Albert Cuypmarkt, which was literally around the corner from us.
We started off with the Dutch classic, poffertjes. Pretty much little mini pancakes.
Then we went for a roll filled with raw herring (a Dutch staple), a big slab of pickle and onion.
Matt and I had rolls loaded with chicken marinated in a sort of Middle Eastern spice rub dominated by cinnamon and cloves.
Then it was deep fried mussels and cod.
And we finished off with a stroopwafel, which is a hot, crispy waffle filled with a thin layer of super-glue like caramel. Beautiful.
Croquettes
...from a vending machine!
Rice table at Puri
The Netherlands still has a noticeable Indonesian influence, which is a hangover from the time when the Dutch occupied the country. And so Indonesian restaurants, and more specifically rice tables, are a dime a dozen in Amsterdam, but that doesn't mean they're not any good.
We bursted through the door, out of the cold and rain, and before we knew it had a bowl of warming chickeny, noodley soup in front of us. The soup was followed up by seven small dishes using chicken and beef with two big bowls of rice. Given how hungry and cold we were, they well and truly hit the spot.
Dessert was lychees and icecream. Nice.
Chocolátl
You would think that three weeks in Belgium would've offered us the most impressive chocolate shop we'd ever seen but nope, we found it in Amsterdam. We walked away with salted caramel and pop rock bars, and some bacon nougat. All great late night treats.
"Frites"
The Belgians "do" frites. The Dutch should not. These are apparently Amsterdam's best. They're cooked in vegetable oil and come with a big blob of oorlog sauce (peanut sauce, mayo and onion). They're just not frites. They're average chips, at best.
