All posts tagged: sorbet

#52 Our lunch at Little Asia in Brussels ***

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Restaurant review #52 – Little Asia is well known Asian restaurant in the center of Brussels. Owner and chef is Quyên Truong Thi, who is reportedly famous for participating in several TV-cooking programs (I say reportedly, because I never watch these shows myself! – the day they become vegan, I just might 😉  ). The restaurant is just a 5 minutes walk from the stock market (La Bourse) and the concert hall Ancienne Belgique. Brussels is 100km from Bruges, and is the capital of Belgium. Little Asia has a vegetarian menu standardly available, so I mailed them with the question whether we could get a vegan menu (explaining what we do and don’t eat), and if conformed, we would like to make a reservation. The reply was that this was no problem and that we should mention it again to the staff when ordering. We were there one a Friday for lunch, with two friends (non-vegans) and the place was soon packed (full house). We asked the waitress about the use of eggs, dairy and oyster sauce or fish sauce and she …

#39 Our vegan menu at a communion feast in De Baronie, Lovendegem ***

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Restaurant review #39 – A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to a banquet for a communion feast, at de Baronie in Lovendegem. Lovendegem is a small village just outside Ghent. The host had specifically asked for a vegan menu for the both of us and had communicated with me about the menu (thank you!). Still, on such occasions we’re always a bit anxious about what we’ll be served, and whether the kitchen has understood what vegan actually means! Especially in a place where there’s nothing vegan available, and the standard menu is full of fish and meat dishes and lots of dairy. When I arrived at the restaurant, I quickly inquired whether our vegan wishes were noted and the head of the restaurant confirmed it was taken care of. This is what we got. Two appetizers (on the first photo you can only see part of it, I had already eaten half before I remembered to take a photo! 😉 ) The starter was with white asparagus, radish, tomatoes and scallions. Nice and fresh. Main course with dark pasta, …

#30 Di Coylde, Beernem ***

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Restaurant review #30 – Di Coylde is a more upstyle restaurant in Beernem, with a traditional cuisine (meat and fish menus). Beernem is about 13km from Bruges. In 2013, we asked whether a vegan menu is possible for two persons, but got a negative reply. Hence, restaurant Di Coylde is not included in our list of restos outside Bruges where vegans are welcome. A couple of weeks ago, we had a brainstorm day at work, with lunch for all of us planned at restaurant Di Coylde. The organisers listed everyone’s preferences for lunch (fish, meat, vegetarian or vegan – that’s for me, since I’m the only vegan at work 😉 ) and forwarded this list to the restaurant. This is the vegan menu that I got at Di Coylde: tomato and courgette crisp green herb soup (unspecified) butternut soup with fennel and mushrooms couscous with grilled vegetables lemon sorbet with mandarines, nuts, raisins and apricots     The food was nice, but it was no gastronomical masterpiece. It started promising, with the appetizer and the soup, although these were very small portions. The waitress …

#11 Salade Folle, Bruges ***

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Restaurant review #11Salade Folle is located near the Beguinage (Begijnhof) and the brewery De Halve Maan. We had already inquired via e-mail whether we could get a vegan menu at Salade Folle (specifying what we do and don’t eat) and got an affirmative reply: ‘we can prepare something to meet everyone’s wishes‘. When we made the reservation, I asked again about the possibility of a vegan menu, and it was no problem, we could go the same evening. We were there on a Thursday evening and it was pretty quiet. Salade Folle is a spacious place, with high ceilings and seating upstairs as well. It is more a bistro-style type of place, with pastas, quiches and salades (obviously) on offer. Our waiter was very friendly and knowledgable about animal ingredients in certain dishes. He also did not have a problem to go double check for animal ingredients for some items, which gave us a reassuring feeling. All in all, our menu options were quite limited, but at least we each could get a different main …

#10 Bistro Pastis, Bruges ***

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Restaurant review #10 – Bistro Pastis is one of the few places in Bruges which standardly has vegan main dishes available. We received this tip from vegan friends who had already been here for dinner. There are four vegetarian main dishes standardly available on their menu, of which two are without dairy and eggs. We had previously mailed with the question if we could get a vegan menu, explicitating what we do and don’t eat, and we got an affirmative reply. We went there on a friday evening, some months ago (November 2013). Remarkably, there were hardly any tourists, but a lot of locals. Although Pastis is very close to ‘t Zand, there seems to be little tourist traffic in the Speelmansrei. That night it was very quiet on the street. But the restaurant soon packed. So we do advise you to make a reservation. Tables are spaciously situated, which gives it a calm and more restaurant atmosphere than a bistro impression (at least downstairs, we don’t know about upstairs). Appetizer There’s nothing vegan to choose from on …

#8 Restaurant Sans Cravate, Bruges ****

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Restaurant review #8 Sans Cravate is one of the more classier restaurants (and hence more expensive ones) in Bruges. It is listed in the Michelin guide (2013-2014) with one star. Sans Cravate is located on the edge of the city center, in the North East side of town, in a completely renovated house in the Langestraat. There’s an accompanying B&B just on the other side of the street, not far from the restaurant. When we first inquired into the possibilty of getting a vegan menu at Sans Cravate end of 2013, the owner mailed us that because of staff shortages, it was not possible at that time, but he advised us to inquire again in a couple of months time. And so we did, and in the beginning of 2014 we made a reservation for a 4-course vegan dinner (having explictly stated what we do and don’t eat – as we always do when inquiring at a restaurant). We went there on a weekday evening. Sans Cravate is French for ‘without a tie’, and the atmposhere …

#6 Restaurant Chang Thong Thai, Bruges **

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Restaurant review #6 – Chang Thong Thai is a Thai restaurant in a small alley next to ‘t Zand. Their online menu card lists several vegetarian/vegan dishes seperately. We’ve already heard some experiences from other vegans and vegetarians about this place, so we decided to go check it out ourselves! It was a good thing we made a reservation for dinner, because shortly after we arrived, the place was packed (on a weeknight). Although it is in the city center, we hardly saw any tourists probably because it’s not in a main street. There’s a small area upstairs with some tables as well, but since the toilets were located there we decided to take place at one of the tables downstairs. Tables are stashed pretty close next to each other, which made us a bit uncomfortable (hearing every word of the conversation of the couple next to you, willingly or not, is not really enjoyable). Comfy arm chairs though. This is dining in a traditional Asian style setting (well, you know, Western Asian style), with buddhas statues …