All posts tagged: shop review

Shopping at organic shop Mordan, Ostend (2)

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Shop review #33 – Mordan is an organic shop in Ostend (at the Belgian coast) and has two locations: the oldest shop is the city center (right next to the main shopping street Kappelestraat) and has been there for decades. The other one is at the edge of Ostend, on the Torhoutsesteenweg (review of this one is here: shop review #16). Mordan now also has a webshop, with free delivery throughout Belgium (for any order above 25€). The shop Mordan has been there as long as I can remember. As I grew up in Ostend (and didn’t live far from it!), I know the shop quite well. Mordan in Ostend is not a vegan shop, but sells many vegan products that you won’t find so easily in ‘regular’ shops. From vegan cheese to chia seeds from coconut oil to vegan chocolate, from vegan bread spreads to vegan desserts. Note: as is the case in many organic shops in Belgium, there is unfortunately also a ‘meat and cheese’ counter: One big difference with the other shop at the Torhoustesteenweg is there is no …

A look inside organic shop Panda, Ghent

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Shop review #29 – When I was in Ghent a couple of weeks ago, I had some time left before my lunch date with a friend at Mosquito Coast (see blog here). So I decided to go take a look at organic shop Panda in Oudburg, situated near the Vrijdagsmarkt. I had been ages since I been to Panda. The shop – and adjacent restaurant – already exists since a couple of decades. We had been here for lunch during the period that we lived and worked in Ghent (nineties). It was a rather old-school macrobiotic style restaurant, with a vegetarian plat du jour. Last time I had lunch here was a couple of years ago, and then discovered that restaurant Panda hadn’t changed much over the years. I asked for the plat du jour to be veganised, which was no problem. The dish was OK, but it was no gourmet experience. (btw Panda is often called a vegetarian restaurant, but it is not since they also serve fishes). Panda it is not an all-vegan shop, but they do have many vegan products available that you will not find so …

‘Boterkoeken’ and ‘suissen’ from Bakery Frimout in Ghent!

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Shop review #27 – I went to Ghent, and I bought ‘koffiekoeken’. Yeah!! 🙂 These are called ‘koffiekoeken’ in Dutch, which translates as ‘coffee cookies or coffee pastry’. But ‘koffiekoeken’ are not really cookies, nor pastry, nor cakes, so that doesn’t really cover it. If someone knows a better appropriate English term, do let me know! ‘Koffiekoeken’ can be eaten on any occasion, mostly for breakfast or brunch, but also as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee. They come in different shapes and sizes, from the standard ‘boterkoeken’ (butter pastry or cookies) with or without chocolate, raisins, … to round shaped ‘suisses’ or pudding filled ‘Boules de Berlin’. They are sold in every bakery in Belgium, but unfortunately they are not vegan … So it was more than 6 years ago that I had eaten koffiekoeken from a Belgian bakery! In comes bakery Frimout in Ghent! After a request from a vegan living in the neighbourhood a cuple of months ago, Dieter Frimout started making vegan koffiekoeken. He now sells them on a daily basis (next to his …

Looking for gluten powder to make seitan. Visit to Gents Bakkershuis

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Shop review #22 – My search for gluten powder (for homemade seitan) led me to “Het Gents Bakkershuis“, a shop with baking equipment and supplies in Ghent. (NOTE see edit below) The shop is more aimed at wholesale trade and opening hours for retail is limited. Gluten powder or vital wheat gluten is not so easy to find in Belgian shops.  I had previously bought organic vital wheat gluten in organic shop Biovita in Bruges (only available on special demand), but that was very expensive (+/- 50€ for 5kg, being organic). Last year, I paid a visit to Flourpower in Pouke, a small shop inside the Artemeersmill at Poeke to buy gluten powder (13,70€ for 5 kg). I inquired beforehand to Het Gents Bakkershuis to be sure they had gluten powder in stock.  And they did. So I paid them a visit at the end of 2015. I found the wheat gluten powder, 21,62 for 5 kg. Het Gents Bakkershuis is packed with baking supplies, from pie decorations to rolling pins, packages for chocolates, cakes and other baking or pastry things. I arrived …

A look inside shop Vegetarian Shoes in Brighton, UK

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Shop review #21 – I’ve already posted several reviews of the restaurants we went to in Brighton during our mini break there this Summer (there are still some more to come!). Brighton not only has a large collection of vegan eateries and restaurants with vegan options. There is also a shop of the well-know brand ‘Vegetarian Shoes’. It’s located in Gardner street, which is in the main shopping area of the city. And it is right across from a Loving Hut restaurant (world wide vegan restaurant chain). We were there on a Saturday, and the street was made into a pedestrain zone, with terraces in front of cafés and pubs. The weather was beautiful, so it was a nice atmosphere! Although you can nowadays easily find vegan shoes online, I do find it difficult to buy shoes online, as I definitely want to fit and ‘feel’ them (out of 5 shoes I try, most of the times only one ends up being comfortable!). So I was eager to go to a ‘real life’ vegan shoe shop, where I could actually fit …

Our visit to vegetarian shop Veggie4U in The Hague (NL)

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Shop review #20 – Veggie4U is a vegetarian shop on the edge of The Hague, founded in 2013. The Hague is one of the larger cities of the Netherlands, and although Amsterdam is the official capital, The Hague is the political capital of the country. We only spent a couple of hours in The Hague, but it seems like a nice, relaxed town. Definitely want to visit again one day. And it is actually very close to Bruges, only about a 2 and a half hours drive away! Following our lunch at the new vegetarian restaurant Hortus (blog will follow soon!), we paid a visit to vegetarian shop Veggie4U. It is labelled a ‘supermarket’, but I would rather call it a reasonably sized store. It is a vegetarian shop and not a vegan shop, so note that not all items on the photos are necessarily vegan. They do have many vegan items though: The shop sells mainly food items, with also some body and care products. There are several freezers with many ‘meat replacers’ items, and also a large selection of vegan icecream from Professor …

Finding vegan goodies at organic supermarket Biomarkt, Kortrijk / Courtrai

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Shop review #19 – Biomarkt is an organic supermarket on the outskirts of Kortrijk (Courtrai) a town in Western Flanders, near the French border (57km from Bruges). We were in Kortrijk a couple of weeks ago, and I always like to go check out organic shops to go see if and which vegan products they offer. There’s easy parking right in front of the shop. The shop is not really a ‘supermarket’ but a reasonably sized shop (comparable to for example Biovita in Bruges or Roeselare, or Mordan in Ostend). Biomarkt is not an all-vegan shop, but they do have many vegan products available that you will not find so easily in other ‘regular’ shops. For example vegan cheeses, icecream or non dairy milkdrinks, tempeh, silk tofu, nuts, seaweeds, etc. Also a selection of fresh vegetables and fruits. Here’s a look inside shop Biomarket in Kortrijk, to give you an idea of the size of the shop and the space inside (as it is not a vegan shop, please note that not all items on these photos are necessarily vegan).  An overview …

Finding vegan goodies at organic shop Mordan, Ostend

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Shop review #16 – Mordan is an organic shop in Ostend (at the Belgian coast) and has two locations: the oldest shop is the city center (right next to the main shopping street) and has been there for decades (see shop review #33 here). The other one is at the edge of Ostend, on the Torhoutsesteenweg. The latter one is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. As I grew up in Ostend, I know Mordan in the city center of Ostend quite well. I was recently in Ostend and wanted to check out the other one on the Torhoutsteenweg. So this blog is about the Mordan shop at the edge of Ostend, although of course their offer is similar in both shops. There’s a large parking outside shop Mordan 2, which for some people will be a big advantage as to the shop in the city center (where there’s no parking, as it is also in a no-traffic zone). When I entered the shop, I immediately noticed the shop is really packed with rows and rows …