how can one come to the netherlands and resist the omnipresent stroopwafle? it would be like going to belgium and not eating chocolate…
the sweet smell coming from a tent on the alkmaar fair was enough to stop us on our tracks and grab a couple of them. these thin slices of warm waffle, stuck together with syrup are a divine dutch treat. yum!

hagelslag (blowing hail?) are dutch chocolate sprinkles – invented in 1936 by mr. de vries, in reply to a child who wrote him asking for a chocolate topping to put on his bread.
to use them, spread some butter a piece of bread and sprinkle some on top. allow me to illustrate:



the butter is optional, but it helps them stick better. more than the different flavours, i think what makes hagelslag special is the texture – it’s just nice to bite the tiny crunchy pieces of chocolate, and let them slowly melt in your mouth…

they have a special kind of sprinkles called muisjes (little mice) that are spread on round rusks when a baby is born, and offered to friends or family. they’re either pink or blue, according to the sex of the newborn. isn’t that a nice tradition? :)

after four years away, our memories of vla had raised to the likes of magical elixir. i’m happy to say it did not disappoint: it’s still as good as we remember it, perhaps even better. my favourite flavours were always the seasonal ones, and this summer vla of raspberry & peach is just amazing. someone should seriously think of exporting this.

čajna hiša is a tea house, like the name says… but there’s a lot more to it than just tea.

sure, the tea selection is endless and quite tempting. but there’s also muffins, for instance, lovely chocolate/banana muffins that look and taste like they’ve just been taken from the oven. or banana/walnuts/bran flakes/raisin yogurt cups drizzled with honey. or delicate apricot strudel. or huge cups of coffee with milk that we savour till the last drop.

you can probably tell how much we love the place. :) it’s got top marks across the board: it’s cozy, the food is delicious and served in cute looking cups/plates and the waiters are always nice – something that is getting hard to find in ljubljana these days. must be the summer season: dealing with tons of tourists is probably taking its toll on the service around here.

anyway, we highly recommend it. it’s in stari trg, 3 – right in the middle of the old town. enjoy! :)

hidden away in a small street next to rua de cedofeita, in porto, you’ll find the casa de ló. the name comes from a portuguese desert, pão de ló, which used to be sold here back in the days of the old casa margaridense. the space has since been renovated in line with its traditions, and now sells portuguese sweets and deserts, while housing a cozy tea house.

add to this alluring environment a couple of friendly people and some nice music, and it’s hard not to feel right at home. we shared some mint tea and tried the apple pie, and wow… i wasn’t prepared for the irresistible decadence of it. look, look:

can you see the softness of it? can you smell the cinnamon sprinkled on top? is your mouth watering already? just go! it’s on travessa de cedofeita, 21A (google maps). you can thank me later :)

Charlotte: That was the worst lunch.
Bob: So bad. What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?

quotes from lost in translation, excellent korean barbecue by a restaurant called soba, dongxin road. the whole thing for 4 1/2 people, 124rmb (12 euros). :)

i take all the pictures of food in the blog on the restaurants we go to for dinner, so today i thought i’d show something different: a typical lunch in the company. here it is:


it’s basically a set of random chinese dishes with meat, fish, vegetables, tofu, etc that everybody shares. the ayi orders it from a small restaurant, and an hour later, the delivery boy brings it around and she screams “chi fan le!” :)

sometimes the dishes are good, sometimes they’re not, but since there’s some variety you can always choose the ones you like best. stuff in heavy sauce doesn’t make it to my dish, but in contrast, the beef strips and the curry chicken are a favorite.

we’re usually 8 people eating, and the bill is a grand total of 80rmb, or 10rmb per person (8 euros total, 1 euro/person). amazing, hein?