I have changed homes!

Strange title to a post – isn’t it! Well, I have been changing homes since the past 7 years, since in the city of Mumbai you will not be allowed to have a lease agreement for more than 11 months, so its quite an insignificant activity for me to make announcements about it on my blog. But what IS significant is that I have been calling the city of Delft and the tiny country of Netherlands my home since the past two months now and THAT deserves an announcement!

I am a small town girl now and things are very different – they will be – I live below sea level! My hometown Delft is a cute little town, which is so small that if I am not lazy enough, I can actually just walk from one end to the other and it will be done within a few hours. It has brick laid streets, beautiful buildings and a lovely town square. The town square is my favourite part of the town. It is lively, there is always something happening there and its good fun! It is in the true sense of the expression – a cute, cosy European town and its nice or leuk! (as the dutch would say!)

So, you can see that I am quite enjoying myself in my new hometown and what makes my heart leap out with joy is that Delft has tons of restaurants serving up cuisines from across the globe. You know where this post is going by now, I am getting back to writing about – the love of my life – you guessed it right – FOOD (Kedar, if you were reading this and thinking it was you – Sorrrry!).

People who have been reading my blog will know that I am a chocolate monster and the first place I am going to write about is a chocolaterie. Since the time I saw the movie Chocolat, I have been dreaming of visiting a shop like the one owned by the protagonist in the movie and wondering if such shops do exist in the world. Well, my dream came true when I visited this shop at Voorstraat. Its temptation galore as you enter this shop with all sorts of chocolates lined up to feast your eyes on. It has a beautiful warmth about it. They sort of specialize in chocolates made from or filled with liquers and their collection does seem unique. Try their dark chocolate bar with nuts and the apple and cinnamon truffles. I can still taste them, so good were they!! They also give you a pretty paper bag to carry your exquisite purchases and you can order online from www.chocolaterie.nl and enroll for a chocolate making workshop! Pretty cool I think!

If all this shopping is making you thirsty then its time to go to De Ruif Eetcafe. Order a glass of white wine and alongwith it what they call He Bolle. He Bolle is typical finger food freshly baked bread – slightly crusty on the outside, topped with sesame seeds and nice and soft on the inside alongwith tapenade (a sort of paste of olives with olive oil and sundried tomatoes or capers - the recipe could vary) and aioli (a sauce of garlic and olive oil). Grab a table outside on the barge if the weather is nice (notice the dutch influence) and you are sure to have a great time.

Dinner time! The options are a charming eaterie in the town centre or a surprise at Kromstraat. Take your pick.

The charming eaterie being referenced to is the Boterhuis. I like it so much that I have already dined there twice. Boterhuis means a butterhouse and it seems like it was one centuries ago and the decor has been kept intact to retain the old world charm. Reserve a table on the lower level and you can enjoy a great meal with the canal by your side. The ambience is minimalistic with wrought iron candle stands adorning the slightly dilapidated walls. The lower level also has a huge wrought iron gate as a reminder of the bygone eras. Their herbed risotto with shallots and mushrooms is an absolute must-have. It is a simple yet delicately flavoured, creamy risotto with just the right level of cheese to suit my palette. Also try the portobello mushroom with goat cheese or the goat cheese strudel. They keep changing menus like most restaurants in Delft so don’t be disappointed if you don’t find these dishes. I am pretty sure whatever else is on their menu is equally great.

The surprise at Kromstraat is De Kurk. Kromstraat is a typical student hangout street and to find such a restaurant there was quite a pleasant surprise. De Kurk looks like any regular bar when you enter. But once inside, what awaits you is a beautiful restaurant inside a glasshouse. So even when its raining you can still get your fill of eating outside. The menu for vegetarians is quite limited. Two starters and one maincourse, but the food is great. The vegetarian salad is simple yet scrumptious. My colleague was nice enough to let me dig in when he had this. The highpoint of the meal for sure is the maincourse, consisting of spinach quiche with a gorgeous, slightly creamy sauce on the side and those amazing potato cakes these dutch make.

Try some of these places and let me know what you think. I shall keep updating you all on my stint in the Netherlands. Until then, as I always say – Happy Eating!

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