restaurant review #339 – Kapulága is an Indonesian restaurant in the city center of Maastricht, on the East side of the river Maas (in the south of the Netherlands). We had already visited Kapulaga in 2018 (see REVIEW) and really liked it!
restaurant review #279 – Bandung is an Indonesian restaurant at the edge of Den Bosch (or with a more fancy name ‘s Hertogenbosch) in the Netherlands. There are hardly any Indonesian restaurants in Belgium, but there are plenty in the Netherlands. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we like to go to an Indonesian restaurant as they always have vegan options and we simply love the food. Note: it is always advised to inquire at Indonesian restaurants about the use of trassi (shrim paste) in vegetarian/vegan dishes. This review is from a visit to Bandung last Winter, before the measures due to the COVID19 pandemic started. I had made a reservation online for a Friday evening, and that was definitely a must as the place was full. It was very busy. We were early, but that was no problem, and were seated near the bar.
restaurant review #267 – This review is from a visit to Bali James in 2019 (before the lockdown and COVID19measures). Although it’s from a long time ago, I still like to post it for archival reasons for myself, as I like to have the photos and impressions on my blog! Bali James is an Indonesian restaurant (well the name does give it away!) in Breda, the Netherlands. Breda is just across the border from Belgium, not so far from Antwerp. The restaurant is just outside, but within walking distance from the city center. There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants in The Netherlands (given the historical link with the country), but unfortunately they are a rarity in Belgium. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we try to go to an Indonesian restaurant, because they always have vegan dishes availble, and we love the cuisine!
restaurant review #188 Kapulága is an Indonesian restaurant in the city center of Maastricht, on the East side of the river Maas. We were here a couple of weeks ago for dinner, on a weekday. I had made a reservation for dinner, but that seemed not to be necessary, as we were the only guests. There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants in The Netherlands (given the historical link with the country), but unfortunately they are a rarity in Belgium. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we try to go to an Indonesian restaurant. The menu at Kapulága lists many vegetarian options, of which most are vegan. When making the order, we asked specifically about the use of milk (no, they only use coconut milk) and the use of eggs and prawns (eg no kroepoek). The waitress was very friendly and seemed very knowledgeable. She offered us a menu, or a ricetable for two, with 8 different dishes. We opted for the rice table, with white and yellow rice (with coconut milk) on the side. We were …
Restaurant review #128 – Leaf is a vegetarian restaurant in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Most of the menu is vegan, there are only a handful of options which are non-vegan. The restaurant used to be in Scheveningen, but moved to Rotterdam recently. The food at Leaf seems to be a mixture of Asian inspired recipes (Indonesian, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc). We visited a couple of weeks ago, with friends. We had made a reservation, but that didn’t seem to be necessary, as there was still plenty of space available (it was a Friday evening). Restaurant Leaf is a spacious place, with a large terrace out front. Although it was a nice Summer evening, it was too windy to sit outside. Inside there’s a downstairs section and some more seating on the balcony upstairs. It was hard to choose from the extensive menu! We’re not used to having so many options 😉 The non-vegan items are clearly indicated as such on the menu card, and the spicy ones are marked with stars. Restaurant Leaf offers a lot of ‘faux’ …
Restaurant review #119 – Selamat Datang is an Indonesian restaurant in the center of Zoetermeer, a small town north of Rotterdam (NL). We’ve visisted Zoetermeer quite a few times over the year for a music show, as there is a music venue that hosts a lot of prog rock bands and tribute bands: De Boerderij. There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants in The Netherlands (given the historical link with the country), but unfortunately they are a rarity in Belgium. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we try to go to an Indonesian restaurant. We had been to Selamat Datang one time before, a couple of years ago, and I recall we had no trouble being served a vegan meal then (we only took a main dish each at that visit). It was a very hot Spring day, and we sat on the outside terrace (the restaurant is on the first floor, and the terrace in front, viewing passage in the street). At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything vegan on the menu. …
Restaurant review #103 – Bunga Mas is an Indonesian restaurant in the center of Leiden (the Netherlands). It also offers take away, and that is what we did, when visiting our friends living nearby a couple of weeks ago (so technically speaking, this isn’t really a restaurant review, but anyway, you get an idea of the place nonetheless 😉 We love Indonesian food, but unfortunately, there are hardly any Indonesian restaurants in Belgium. There are plenty in the Netherlands though (given the colonial history/connection), and whenever we are there, we try to go visit one! We arrived at Bunga Mas just as the shop/restaurant opened, at 1PM. It is a small place, with just a handful of tables. They do seem to be more oriented towards take away. Bunga Mas is not a vegan place (also serves animal based dishes), but they do have a large selection of vegetarian dishes. The lady at the counter was very friendly, and could immediately tell us which vegetarian dishes were also suitable for vegans (most of them). We bought a …
Shop review #24 – Chow Chun is an Asian supermarket in the city center of Ostend. It is located in between the Casino Kursaal and the Kapellestraat (Ostend’s main shopping street). It is not a vegan shop, but we did see a selection of vegan goodies that are not so commonly found in regular shops in Belgium. And also some rather rare fresh vegetables. These photos give you an impression of the size of the store and what’s for sale. Note that not all items on the photos are necessarily vegan, since it’s not a vegan shop. Here are some items that caught our eye (I didn’t have time to check all of them for ingredients, but at first glance they looked vegan): This is what we bought: mock duck and mock chicken, soybean pudding, crackers and fried gluted with peanuts (seitan). (11,30€). Chow Chun, location Van Iseghemlaan 50 8400 Oostende +32 (0)59 80 13 68 website: https://www.hetwinkelweb.be/handelaar/detail/chow-chun-supermarkt
Restaurant review #45 – A couple of weeks ago, we went to Indonesian restaurant Lemon Grass in Tielt. Tielt is a small provincial town in Western Flanders, about 35 km from Bruges. We love Indonesian food, and there are plenty of Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands. Mostly it’s no problem to get a full vegan ricetable. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we try to visit one. Unfortunately there are not that many Indonesian restaurants in Belgium, so we were pretty happy to see Lemon Grass open in Tielt recently! Looking at the menu, I saw a couple of dishes that I guessed were vegan. I called in advance to check, and indeed there are vegan options on the menu, so we made a reservation. Upon arriving, it seemed not really necessary to make a reservation (it was a midweek evening, we were alone at first, then another couple came in). It was quiet and relaxed. Upon checking with the waiter for ingredients (who was very knowledgeable about it!), we ordered the following: Springrolls with vegetables as a starter (6€). This is …
Restaurant review #41 – Texel is an island north west of Amsterdam. There are only a handfull of small villages on Texel, but the island is very touristic, so there are quite a lot of hotels and restaurants. Not that much options for vegans though. In another blogpost, I’ll give our vegan view on Texel, and places where you can have a vegan meal (and also some restaurants that replied they can’t fullfill our vegan needs). We were at Texel for the weekend, and on one of those days, we dined at restaurant Opduin in De Koog, a very small town on the west side of the island. Every Saturday evening, restaurant Opduin serves an Indonesian rice table (besides the regular menu). I had inquired in advance if we could get a vegan Indonesian ricetable (explaining what we do and don’t eat) and got confirmation. So we made a reservation. When arriving at the restaurant, the waitress said she was told it would be difficult to get a vegan ricetable. Duh? I told her I had gotten confirmation beforehand and asked …
The Bruges Vegan 