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Funny sandwich names (Or: Eggstra cheesy)

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Niki

The weather has definitely turned; the cold fingers of fall has arrived. If you’re lucky you’ll get a moment of sun but otherwise it is just wind and rain. Therefore I haven’t taken many photos for the blog of late. So here is one from a month or two ago which I never got around to posting:

It shows two sandwiches which are on sale at the Pathé movie theatre. The one on the right is named “Eggstra cheesy” which is a horrible pun. Good, but horrible.

The one on the right is Boerengezond. That one is less punny and simply translates to “Farmer’s healthy sandwich”.

In other news:

Saturday first day below 15 degrees since May 17; ends record warm day streak from nltimes.nl. 15C is around 60F. It was a nice record while it lasted.

Van Gogh museum stops Pikachu card promo due to “chaos” from dutchnews.nl. They are cute cards (you should check them out) but really, anyone could have known that these would have been snatched up immediately and re-sold by scalpers.

This Dutch company invented sushi krokets (and we’re not sure how to feel about it) from dutchreview.com. (Krokets are breaded, deep-fried rolls usually filled with a sort of meat paste. See also Wikipedia.) This new product is called “crushi”. I am not sure how I feel about it, but who knows. I’d probably try it once.

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On Doritos and oliebollen (But: Not at the same time)

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Niki

Here are two food related things I noticed in the last few weeks. Check out these bag of Doritos on sale at the local Albert Heijn supermarket:

In the US this flavor is known as “Cool ranch”. Frito-Lay thought that “Cool American” would be a better name for this flavor in Europe because ranch isn’t that well-known in this country. I don’t understand how “American” helps explain the flavor any better, but okay. I did end up buying a bag last week (the first bag in years) just to remember what the flavor was like. It isn’t one of my favorite chips but it was good enough.

And in other news… it is October! Which means the oliebollen stand (Wikipedia) magically appears on 1 October.

Admittedly they weren’t open on that day but they did open shortly thereafter. You know it is that time of the year when this stand appears!

Categories: Everyday purchases, The Hague | Tags: | Leave a comment

10 year anniversary (Or: Dining in style at Blue Blood)

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Niki

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary. Sometimes we go for a swanky hotel, like the executive suite in Amersfoort, or the awesome views from the nhow hotel in Rotterdam, or the Kurhaus hotel in nearby Scheveningen during corona. This time I went with a nice restaurant since we already have vacation plans later in the year.

I booked a reservation at Blue Blood in The Hague as a surprise for Marco (he didn’t know where we were going until we were there). The restaurant offers “a mash-up of the Peruvian and Japanese cuisine”. I had read good things about both the food and service at this restaurant and they did not disappoint. When booking the reservation I was asked if this was for a special occasion. I of course clicked on anniversary. When we arrived we saw they had given us a table in the corner next to the canal, with rose petals on the table and a glass of cava (on the house) to toast the occasion.

I knew in advance that I wanted the tasting menu. It started off with oysters. The first oyster I have had in my life. It did not disappoint!

The sauce was yuzu sauce, which gave it a lovely sour taste, with Peruvian corn and lots of other goodies inside.

Another plus point: as each course arrived the staff took the time to explain what each component was, what the ingredients were and why it was on the menu. Unfortunately my memory isn’t good enough to remember most of it, but it was lovely to hear what the inspiration was behind everything.

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Categories: Food, Marco&Niki | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Friday night with Marco (Or: Enjoying the grub by Kompaan Binnenhaven)

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Niki

A few Fridays back, during that week when the weather was so warm, Marco and I met up in the city centre. We each had an idea about where we could eat that evening to celebrate the end of the work week. Great minds think alike, since we quickly found out we had the same idea: Kompaan Binnenhaven at the Torenstraat in the city centre. They had been open for a while now but we had never gone. With the weather so good it is hard to pass up the opportunity to sit outside in the sun for a while. (Although to be fair the sun was pretty mean, so a bit more shade wouldn’t have been a bad thing.)

Marco chose the pork tacos. Don’t they look awesome?

Whereas I had the Libanese flatbread veggie kebab. This one also had pickled cucumber and red cabbage kimchi which gave it a lovely slight sour note. It combined well with the other components of the dish which had me dancing in my seat a bit. (Marco knows if I really like something I start to do a tiny dance. I was dancing.)

We also shared some salted jalapeño peppers. They were delicious and not actually that spicy considering they weren’t deseeded. The salt was definitely at the forefront with this one (in a good way). Since the jalapeños were grilled there was also a lovely hint of smokiness.

Okay, now I sound like a restaurant connoisseur and I’m not. But it was a great way to end the work week for sure.

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Pretty plates (Or: Tasty food by Umami in The Hague)

Posted on September 10, 2023 by Niki

At the moment the weather here in The Netherlands is gorgeous. It has been about 30C/85F all week, although temperatures will drop back to normal tomorrow. But Marco and I have taken full advantage of the situation trying to soak up some rays (including a visit to the dunes in nearby Kijkduin, but that is for another blog post).

Last weekend Marco and I went to Umami to celebrate Roger’s birthday with his family. It is an Asian fusion restaurant with five locations in the Netherlands. We previously went to Umami for the lunch service. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs then, since we ended up asking for a doggie bag.

This time we did the shared dining experience over three courses. Each course meant two plates for each person, so with six people we had twelve plates each course. Here are some of the photos I took:

I don’t remember anymore what the plate above was. Probably salmon? But you can get the tone of this restaurant just with that photo.

You would think the above picture is chicken, but nope, it is cauliflower. It came with cauliflower purée, asparagus, coriander oil and olive crumble. And it was just as delicious as it looked.

For dessert Marco had the matcha yuzu cake, which came with matcha ice cream, matcha sauce and raisins. It was a great way to end the evening.

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Standing watch (Or: Nijntje in De Passage)

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Niki

The newest guest in De Passage shopping area is Nijntje:

Nijntje is short in Dutch for Konijntje or “little rabbit”. Outside of the Netherlands you probably know her better as Miffy (Wikipedia). I took this picture on the first day, but if you walk past now you’ll see a sign that says if you take a photo with her and place it on social media you can win a package of Nijntje gifts worth around 150 euros. See also Instagram.

And, just as randomly, here is a photo of the lovely ramen soup I enjoyed earlier in August at Momiji Ramen:

This ramen featured a lovely spicy broth and minced meat. Delicious.

This should be interesting (although they don’t have any details yet): Disney to collaborate with Rijksmuseum to celebrate its 100th anniversary from nltimes.nl

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A moment of quiet (Or: De Passage and its flowers)

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Niki

It’s been a while, so I figured I would share a new photo of De Passage. It is an indoor shopping area in the shape of a triangle which connects parts of The Hague with each other. Hence the name “De Passage”. You can even buy a keychain or miniature momento.

This photo is taken near the end of the De Passage closest to the Gravenstraat, not far from the Grote Kerk.

How are things for Marco and I? We’re enjoying the brief but sunny weather (one day of around 26C/79F, before it drops back down again for a few days). Luckily the rain has let up the last week or so.

In other news:

Dutch and Belgian railways to double daily intercity trains to Brussels by 2025. This step makes sense — the Dutch train provider NS lost their monopoly on all other international routes (except for Brussels) so they want to focus on that route. Both articles are from nltimes.nl.

Automated study buddies: a quick look at Dutch language apps from dutchnews.nl (just for a fun look at how some Dutch words are pronounced).

Seals practise social distancing, aerial survey of North Sea shows from theguardian.com. As you might guess, it is likely to prevent spreading illnesses. Check out this other news article from nhnieuws.nl which shows the difference between the grey seals (who don’t keep as much distance) and the harbor seals who do.

Categories: The Hague, Transportation | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Fun in the sun (Or: Two weeks in NYC)

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Niki

My apologies for the lack of posting over here. Marco and I just got back from a trip to NYC. We met up with a lot of family members (my parents, brother, sister-in-law and their kids) for some fun in the sun. And a bit of rain…

Without further ado, here are some random pictures we took:

First off, here is the view from our hotel room at night (!!). Best view from a hotel room ever.
The Vessel at Hudson Yards. Lots and lots of stairs in this piece of art/architecture, although it isn’t open to climb at the moment. Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vessel_(structure)
Statues by the waterfall at W 48th street, between 6th and 7th avenue. Read more about the hidden waterfalls in New York City here: https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-waterfalls-parks-in-new-york-city-2016-7
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Categories: Friends&Family, Holidays, Marco&Niki | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Eating habits (Or: How they can change)

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Niki

Last weekend I had a day off so I decided to visit the Mall of the Netherlands. It is for the most part a very American looking mall, with dazzling store fronts and small food stands set up in the middle of the walkway. When it first opened I was surprised to see that the mall’s owner is Westfield. I found that particularly interesting considering I lived near a Westfield mall growing up in the US, so it felt like a piece of home.

For lunch I decided to go to the food court on the upper level of the mall. Technically I am European enough these days to want to write that it is on the 1st floor, but any American readers might think I mean ground floor if I say that… (Ground floor = 0 or “BG” for begane grond.)

After walking around looking at the options I chose Laffa, a place which serves Middle Eastern street food. I went for the falafel, which was of course delicious.

That made me realize that eating habits definitely do change, at least for the most part. I hate peas (still do), but if you grind them up or change the texture I am much more likely to appreciate them. I love falafel, I love roti bread.

Back when I was a kid I was mostly enjoyed chicken fingers. Heh. I still have a memory of scrapping spaghetti into a trash can when no one was around as a young picky eater, not realizing that it would be very obvious if anyone looked into the trash can or saw the marks on my plate. Obviously I was caught. For the record, I am still not a fan of spaghetti, but I do love penne. Growing up we called it mostaccioli.

Who knew I would move here and get to eat Vietnamese, or sushi, or Indian, or Indonesian, or Greek whenever I want. Of course, I still need to broaden my horizons a bit more. But it is a start.

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Remnant of the past (Or: Veteran’s Day, 2023)

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Niki

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day in the Netherlands, held every year on the last Saturday in June.

Veterans Day attracts 90,000 visitors in The Hague from nltimes.nl, which has some nice photos of the event.

Here is a picture that I took of a medical vehicle. I wasn’t able to get any good pictures of the parade, unfortunately. I was just passing through and most of the city centre had crowds 10 man deep. But the marching bands I could hear sounded great.

In other Dutch news: ‘It’s every woman, it’s us’: Rotterdam falls for British statue of ordinary black woman from theguardian.com. It is a pretty interesting statue. And I love the backdrop of Rotterdam’s Centraal train station in the photo.

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: , | 2 Comments

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