It is almost impossible to describe a visit to a new country or city without discussing its food and Amsterdam is no exception. The morning we arrived in Amsterdam, we had to wait for a friend to meet us, so to pass the time we settled in at a coffee shop located beside the arrival gate. It could not have been a more perfect location to enjoy a cup of coffee and people watch.

 

Their coffee is fairly strong and served either black or white (Koffie Verkeerd), but best of all each cup comes with a small cookie called a Stroopwafel . These can vary in size, but they are usually thin, waffle-looking biscuits  with a syrup filling. These tiny treats really hit the spot.

 

 

 

Once we had settled into our houseboat, we decided to wander up the street to the local pub for some lunch. One of the girls order a favorite of hers, bitterballen. These are deep fried balls with some kind of mushy meat mixture inside and served with a mustard dip. I tried one, but was not a fan. It was quite bland and the texture did not appeal to me.

 

 

The croquettes were another version of these deep fried appetizers.

The Dutch seem to really enjoy their own version of French fries. There were numerous kiosks along the streets selling only fries. Theirs are cut a little thicker and often have a spicy taste and all are served with mayonnaise. I quite enjoyed them.

Before starting our vacation, one of the girls had found something called poffertjes while researching Amsterdam online. It was the one food she was really looking forward to trying. These enticing treats were advertised everywhere and about our third day we sat down for the taste test. Now poffertjes are really just tiny, inflated pancakes. They are air filled little balls, but you can have them with a variety of toppings. I ordered mine with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries, and of course, a chilled glass of pinot grigio to accompany this decadent treat. Delicious!!!! The picture on the left shows the poffertjes on the special grill.

 

It would be impossible to talk about Dutch cuisine without mentioning their huge selection of cheese. One of my first purchases was cheese to bring home. I loved the gigantic displays with endless samples to try. It was difficult to narrow my choices. We also kept a good supply in the houseboat fridge for snacking with our wine.

    

This gorgeous Smeg fridge held all our delectable snacks, including something I had never seen before…..

It was very tasty! I mean how can you fully enjoy the cuisine of a new place unless you sample everything.

There are so many other typical Dutch delicacies, and their cuisine also includes a good number of Indonesian restaurants which reflect Dutch colonial times.

The next time you travel make sure to sample as many new foods as possible. It is all part of the experience, so don’t miss it. You can have McDonald’s any time!

 

Thanks for reading,

Penny xo ♥