Suriname And Then Some

Ex-colonies always come up with the most delicious food. Suriname in South America used to belong to the Dutchies, and since it's not a cuisine we're likely to find anywhere else, I thought we should definitely try it out. It also coincided with watching a travel cooking show on Suriname and it's interesting food, a mix of Chinese, Javanese, Indian and much more.

We picked a popular restaurant in Chinatown, Kam Yin, a typical dive with big serves and cheap prices (rare for Holland, even in Chinatown). Missing greasy Chinese, we ordered fried wontons and chicken satay sticks to wash down with cold Tsingtao beer. We had to try Pom, a baked dish of chicken and root vegetable similar to potato, which was yummy mush, and moksi meti, a selection of different meats - roast pork, grilled chicken, Chinese pork sausage and chargrilled pork. It wasn't anything spectacular, but very filling and cheap, worth another visit to try more of the extensive menu.

Afterwards we seeked out Bar Gollem, a favourite brown cafe near the Singel with something like 200 beeers, mostly Belgian. A cosy, typically smokey bar, we tried a citrusy white beer and a slightly spicey honeyed San Bernardus. Each beer is served in it's own special glass. A must on the Amsterdam circuit.

Green and gold

Some entrees to kick-start the cholesterol

Moksi meti, aka meats on a plate. No need to complicate things

Pom Special - the special was that you got more of it. No oil painting, but pretty delicious

And I'd just like to report that Dani and I are officially creeps. Yesterday was a balmy 12C and like the rest of Haarlem, we cooled off with a gelato. A gelateria opened up by the church in Grote Markt and we enjoyed two scoops while walking around the Saturday market: amarena cherry and vanilla bourbon for me, amarena cherry and coffee for Dani. Smooth and delicious.

Yum