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food guide

Where to Eat in Luxembourg?

by gezielciniz May 6, 2017

Luxembourg is one of Europe’s underestimated destinations. Being know as a very small country it is no surprise that there are many prejudices about there will be nothing much to do here. Therefore it is actually very few who can answer what to do in Luxembourg, even less where to eat in Luxembourg 🙂 At least without doing a Google search first 🙂

Granted Luxembourg may not be your number one destination for full of tourist attractions and long travel plans but I can safely say it is a very nice place for short trips. I already mention what to do in Luxembourg in Luxembourg guide, here I’ll share some of my notes on where to eat in Luxembourg.

As usual, let me know if you have questions or suggestions to add in the comments!

So first things first, let’s start with what to eat in Luxembourg. Luxembourg kitchen is a mixture of German and French (surprise surprise :)) so you will find many dishes that will remind you these country dishes if not direct versions of it! But if I need to give you one name for a Luxembourg dish it would be Judd mat gaardebounen, made from pork meat served with potatoes and beans this would be the name you will get when you asked what is Luxembourg local food.

You will see many brasseries and restaurants but as with any capital city – no matter how small , you can find food from all over the world, there is no lack of Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Italian etc places to eat and of course fast foods and doner kebabs are everywhere!

Here are couple of places for where to eat in Luxembourg from my notes;

Oberweis and Namer , these two are the most known pastry places in Luxembourg City, you will usually find many selections for sweet choices. Namer will give you really old style old times feeling too! I would suggest getting something for snacking from these two.

Chocolate Hause my number one suggestion! Nice location (just across Palace of the Grand Dukes) and an old Luxembourg house turned into cafe, you will be enjoying choosing from many different chocolate flavors for your hot chocolate! Cakes were looking gorgeous and huge and also a good option for breakfast. So I suggest at least making a sweet stop here so you also get to see inside of an old Luxembourg house!

Brasseria Du Cercle: Located in one of the main squares, it may give you tourist trap feeling, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it has a nice interior and a second floor cozy tables. I get inside because my anchor food was cheapest here among nearby places (Luxembourg is not a cheap city!) and because I didn’t want to stay in the rain any longer but it was a nice experience for me.

The dish you see on main photo of this article eaten here, 3 type of pasta: pesto, carbonara, tomato sauce was 16 euro, I picked a local wine 250 cc for 10 euro and with a soup much needed and appreciated in cold weather with a cold was 6.5 euro. So I payed 35 euro with some tips, you can eat cheaper in Luxembourg but unless you go fast food cheap prices were not that expensive for Luxembourg.

A la Soupe: In a city where eating out is not cheap, this place is a nice alternative for lunch or for light evening meal as it offers healthy menus of soup in reasonable prices. There are daily soups and special soups, a lunch menu will get you a big bowl of very nutritious soup and with a sandwich will cost you only 8 euro.

Golden Bean: Nice for a coffee break.

On my last day in Luxembourg my intention was to go Bosso in old city area. I liked their extensive menu and price performance comments I heard. But I wasn’t feeling well so I picked somewhere closer to me. Let me know in comments if you have been and liked in Bosso 🙂

Ambrosia: This place is a Greek restaurant as Greek mythology lovers already guessed. I find this place from Trip Advisor as ranking good with good comments too. Instead of going to a French or German style place in Luxembourg, I picked here because I didn’t want to guess French style places menu for what is ingredients (as local good places has French menu ) and since I live in Germany, German style food wasn’t my calling at the time so I come here. As my general good experience with Greek restaurants, staff were friendly, food was good and in really big portions. I orders a plate with a mixture of meats which came with salad and was around 20 euro. (Yes yes, Luxembourg is not the cheapest)

So these were my experiences and notes on where to eat in Luxembourg!

I hope if you visit one of these places you also have nice experience, let me know if there is something you would like to ask or add!

May 6, 2017 0 comment

Food-Drink

Max Amsterdam Restaurant

by gezielciniz January 26, 2017

written by gezielciniz

It may sound strange at first that Amsterdam is one of the best places to try Indonesian food but history lovers won’t be that surprised! Max Amsterdam restaurant is one of those places that I will suggest, where you can try genuine, classic with a modern touch food in a cozy place.

For the historically challenged Indonesia was under Dutch colonization long time so actually it is no surprise that many goods from Indonesia was common in Holland, including rich Indonesian cuisine. You can find many fine Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam. In fact one of the “must do” activities in Amsterdam is to try Indonesian cuisine!

Therefore in my search for such a place I stumbled upon Max Amsterdam restaurant with many recommendations and wanted to try myself. Luckily I was able to plan a dinner with my Indonesian friend so she can also comment on “originality” of the food!

Max Amsterdam restaurant gives cozy and warm welcome feeling even at first sight. Attention of service employees, how they introduce menu, describe dishes and even serving of wine were done skillfully so you could tell they were trained well in hospitality. Though since we had our Indonesian friend with us we mostly asked her for explanations anyway!

You can try testing menu for 37 euro per person. Actually you should try it in rijsttafel (rice table) style where dishes are put on the table and everyone takes some to their own plates. In testing menu you get a starter, multiple main dishes but not full portion – smaller testing portions and multiple dessert. But don’t worry portions are not too small just to taste! And actually if you have a favorite main dish they also give you free refill. But along with rice, I don’t think you will feel hungry! With a bottle of wine and water accompanying tasting menu, we payed 57 euro each for 3 people.

My favorite in Max Amsterdam restaurant was the starter because I was able to enjoy multiple tastes in one dish. From main dishes I liked the “Rendang” most (which is stewed meat but it was cooked very well and softness of the meat with the aroma was really good). For those of you who wonder what my local friend liked most, it was the chicken dish! (Sorry I didn’t get the name!)

For dessert, like the starter, they had a little twist, a modernization of a classical Indonesian dish and I think this kind of changes are essential for a good place.

So basically, Max Amsterdam restaurant should be on your to try list for a good night out dinner! Granted it is not the cheapest option but I think they have a good price/performance balance.

You will want to make reservations by the way so see below details:

Max Amsterdam Restaurant

http://www.maxrestaurant.nl/

Address: Herenstraat 14I, 1015 CA Amsterdam, Niederlande

Phone: +31 20 420 0222

E-mail: info@maxrestaurant.nl

January 26, 2017 0 comment

Food-Drink Travel Guides

Where to eat in Belgrade

by gezielciniz December 28, 2016

written by gezielciniz

What to eat in Belgrade is easy to answer, where to eat in Belgrade is not so easy because unless you have a capacity of hungry hippos you have to make a choice between nice places. Don’t worry though; I have answers for both questions 🙂

Belgrade is an amazing place: food is delicious and good priced. You should definitely try red meat here but it is a place where you can find anything from sushi to Italian. So let me introduce you to some of mention worthy places in Belgrade for eating out and later what to eat.

My first recommendation will be for meat lovers. You can find meat in various forms in Belgrade, used in most of the local dishes or as pure T-bone steak or many dried versions sold in markets. (Actually many people chose to get some dried meat from here when they return as a souvenir but if you do so it might be better to put in your luggage not hand-luggage).

So for steak lovers my recommendation on where to eat in Belgrade is ` Toro Steakhouse`.

And as for the local dish/place recommendations on where to eat in Belgrade actually I have 3 places to recommend:

4 main dish (meat) + 3 salad +3 beer +1 cola= 4500 dinar so it is like 36 euro –>9 euro per person!

First one is where one of my local friend took us ` Cuburska Lipa`

Cuburska Lipa has classic decor and has a `your friendly neighborhood` place feeling. Actually if it wasn’t for our local friend we probably wouldn’t find this place. Portions of meals were big as usual of Belgrade and cheap as usual to our surprise because when we first came in and see the service and place we thought it might be expensive than normal Belgrade standards. It wasn’t.

Second one is a place we saw it on Trip Advisor and heard from friends so we wanted to try ourselves: Gradska

Gradska also had an interesting location, we could only find thanks to offline maps and navigation. If it weren’t for the comments we read and heard I wouldn’t bother finding! But good thing we bothered as it was a very cosy and friendly place with good food. Our waitress was really friendly and later she offered us free drinks `rakija`. (My God, what a drink! I mean I’m not a weakling for alcohol but it was really high alcohol and spicy and really not for everyone!). Food was once again really good and cheap.

I just ate salad for the dinner, so I’m keeping my diet, nevermind the half kilo cheese on top of it!

And last of my where to eat in Belgrade local food place recommendation is a place I heard a lot from my traveler friends: Şeşir Moj. It is on famous Skadarlija Street (a place you will hear a lot on what to do in Belgrade). Actually I would say that most places in this street are a good choice to experience local food and dinner time –Balkan tavern entertainment. But if I have to give another name it would be Dva Jelana where you can find hunt animal meats such as deer. Fun fact, Şeşir Moj means my hat and Dva Jelana means two reindeers so it is also interesting to learn what the names of restaurants in this area meant 🙂

So far we talked mostly about meat and local places let’s see what else is there.

Lorenzo Kakalamba is one of the places to answer where to eat in Belgrade. This place is famous for its really interesting interior and a kitchen which is a combination of Italian and Serbian food.

For sushi lovers they should look for W Sushi.

And if you want a bit more high end places you can check Manufactura or Dorian Gray. Though compared to Belgrade standards these places would be expensive they will still be reasonably priced compared to most of the Europe.

Sol baştaki Sırp kahvaltı tabağı, sağdaki başka kahvaltı, ortadaki de hızımızı alamadık yumurtaları…

For breakfast my suggestion is La Petit again in Skadarlija Street. Well to be honest there is just many places to try in this street and they all are nice, but I suggested this place because they have a plate called `Serbian breakfast plate` and it has cheese, special Serbian butter, ajvar, dried meat, borek in it which is a good combination for a super breakfast time! And you can order other plates and extra eggs too like we did for an extra super-duper breakfast time!

Eggs and bacon is one usual way to start the day and another popular option for Serbians are getting some pastries for breakfast from bakery shops called `Pekera`. So if you see a place named `… Pekera` , there you can find many fresh made and delicious pastries including sandwiches, little pizza, and sweets too. You can sit also but most of them only have places to stand and eat and it will be really cheapest and delicious option for breakfast. If you want to go a somewhat famous pekera then try Pekera Toma.

So we covered where to eat in Belgrade now let’s focus on what to eat in Belgrade!

Here are some local foods you should try while you are in Belgrade:

Cevapcici – made from red meat this is flag dish for Balkans, basically they are like meatballs in short finger shape and always ask for `kaymak` with it.

And you must definitely have Karadordeva/Karajorjeva! Actually if I am to suggest you just one thing to try it would be this Karajorjeva! It is again a meat dish but I’ll say no further just try it!

I love breakfast in new places the most where my camera and map also shares the table!

`I can eat a lot more tell me more people` should save some place for Pljeskavica – another version of Balkan meat ball this time shaped in one big flat piece and don’t forget to ask for salad with every meal!

They have this salad called Sopska and Serbian of which you should try both. Actually they almost have same ingredients like tomatoes, cucumber etc and but one has onions in it. My favorite is Sopska though because it comes with plenty of cheese on top of it!

(Side note Cevapcici and Sopska are also local food in Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Before ordering though, be aware that portions came really big so if you are not travelling alone you might want to consider sharing your plate.

As for the desserts, there is this local dessert called Krempita, but not expect too much as it is just plain cream between milfoy dough but you might want to try it from one of the pekeras for around 150 Serbian dinar.

And as for the local drink you can ask for sljivovica or rakija but let me warn you it is pretty strong alcoholic drink! Don’t assume you are used to alcohol as it contains really high alcohol and very spices. But guaranteed to make you feel hotter!

Also I saw lots of pizza places around Belgrade, really much to notice. And yes they were nice as well. (Ok at this point I should probably admit that I was a hungry hippo while in Belgrade!)

Bu da rakija dedikleri içkileri, buzlu bardak içinde beher tüpü gibi geliyor, daha kötü çekilmiş ve hiç belli olmayan fotom yoktu, olsaydı ona koyacaktım, şimdilik bunla idare edin!

This is a bad, if not worst, picture of rakija, served in a tube inside a glass full of ice, next time I promise I’ll bring my lighting systems to dinner!

PS: Only minus point to mention for where to eat in Belgrade is that they allow smoking inside so if you are visiting in cold season and sit inside and have at the same time heavy smoking customers it may not be as nice as it would normally be!

So I hope I was able to answer what to eat in Belgrade and where to eat in Belgrade ! Let me know if you have questions or suggestions in the comments!

By the way speaking of Belgrade, you might be interested in below articles as well:

Belgrade Guide

What to do in Belgrade

Belgrade Night Life

December 28, 2016 0 comment

Food-Drink

Swedish Meatballs

by gezielciniz September 27, 2015

written by gezielciniz

Trying a traditional food from the country I’m visiting is one of the highlights of my trips. Especially if the country I’m travelling has a special food, I try my best to find a good place to eat it. Because I want to experience the food/drink as good and as traditional as possible.

Naturally on my trip to Sweden, Swedish meatballs were on my list. Now, I had previously ate a version of it in Ikea but it is just cruel to compare a fast food version to a good traditional plate prepared in a real Swedish restaurant. So not counting my experience in Ikea, I set out to find a good traditional Swedish restaurant to try this meal for the first time. Of course Sweden, being one of the expensive countries in the world, to eat a good dinner out without a serious hole in the wallet was no easy task. Considering even Mc Donalds and Burger King menus cost about 10 dollars and just a normal restaurant has hot meals starting at least from 10-12 dollars, looking for a good traditional restaurant seemed like a budget suicide. But don’t worry I found just the place with perfect price/performance balance for the job, yes it is not the cheapest but it is totally worth it and trying the traditional food of the place you are visiting, this is where you stretch your travel budget.
I tried Swedish meatballs in a place called “Wardhuset Ulla Windbladh”, located in popular area Djurgården. I recommend a visit to this area if you are ever visiting Stockholm anyway, so why not combine your visit with a lovely lunch or dinner.

To start with, restaurant is a charming villa on the outside and though the weather conditions weren’t good for me, in summer you can also sit in the garden. Inside is decorated elegantly and with waiter/waitresses nicely dressed you can immediately tell it is a good place. As usual in Stockholm you will get free water served immediately. Drink menu is thicker than the food menu which is always a good sign for a really decent restaurant in my opinion 🙂 But don’t be intimidated with all of these and just enjoy because prices are quite reasonable.

You will get 4-5 kinds of bread served with butter before your meal arrives. (No charge). I’m normally not into much bread-butter thing but I loved the breads and frankly had to stop myself to left room for the meal! I didn’t wait much for my meal, and it’s served with mashed potatoes and special sauce. Also in a separate serving you get lingonberries and cucumber with your meal. Though as a wine lover I was tempted to try one of the wines of the day or pick another from the menu, I choose the draft beer as I was yet to try a local beer as well and confirmed my decision with the attentive waitress who offered me to bring their really good draft beer.
Meal was really delicious, I was satisfied by the portion, how it looked, served and taste. Really gave me the good traditional feeling. You are supposed to put lingonberries and cucumber to your plate and eat them all together, but it was delicious either way 🙂 Pricing was really fair for such a good restaurant in Stockholm, traditional Swedish meatballs cost me 155 kronas (around 18 dollars) and my draft beer was 69 krona (around 8 dollar). Now this may seem a bit high but don’t forget it was in Stockholm where a beer already costs you 8 dollars and you can’t find a hot meal in a restaurant under 12 dollars, let alone a good one.

I usually just focus on the meal on my suggestions, but with Swedish meatballs since I really enjoyed my experience and really think that it is a good place to try a traditional food, this time I also suggested a restaurant as well. You may find a cheaper place to eat out, but I think you are allowed to stretch your budget a bit to try a traditional food of the place you are visiting in a good place. This is the place 🙂

(By the way I have no affiliations with the restaurant except being a satisfied patron. I saw this restaurant ranking high in Trip Advisor but it was marked as very expensive, so I wanted to mention it especially, because I found prices of what I ordered very well compared to other Stockholm dining out options)

September 27, 2015 0 comment