LUXEMBOURG Scott's Pub

Trip: Europe 2023

We spent two short days visiting the scenic city of Luxembourg, and ate twice at Scott's Pub. The location is very romantic, and the food was fantastic. The only problem we had was all the smokers at the tables surrounding us.

We over-ordered for our first dinner, and could barely make a dent in the very huge rack of ribs. (What you don't see in the picture is the second layer of ribs underneath the first!) The fries were the best fries on the trip though, way better than all the Belgian frites we had.

First dinner at Scott's Pub

We came back here for our last dinner in Luxembourg to get more of those hand-cut fries. We ordered a burger to go with the fries to be shared (not making the same mistake as the first night). This allowed us to order an appetizer (fresh tomatoes in a kimchi sauce), and dessert (apple crumble a la mode.) We ordered perfectly on our second meal: everything was fantastic.

Second dinner at Scott's Pub

Recommendations: Highly recommended. Obviously, since we ate here twice in two nights. Make sure you order the hand-cut fries.

BRUSSELS Belgian Frites

Trip: Europe 2023

After reading so much about Belgian frites, we ended up not being impressed with this particular Belgian specialty.

The best Belgian frites we had was at a random little snack shop near the Atomium. But we still were not into these thick cut fries slathered with mayo-based sauces.

First Belgian frites at Mannekin Pis in Amsterdam

Second Belgian frites at Frituur n.1 in Brussels

Third Belgian frites at Snack Fritomium near Atomium

Recommendations: Skip it. (Or maybe try once just to see.)

BRUSSELS Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier

Trip: Europe 2023

There are many wonderful chocolatiers in Brussels, but of note is Pierre Marcolini, a high end chocolatier. We enjoyed both their fancy dark chocolate tablets and their ice cream.

Pierre Marcolini ice cream

Recommendations: Highly recommended. You should enjoy their ice cream, and carry their chocolate home.

BRUSSELS Belgian Waffles

Trip: Europe 2023

On our last morning in Brussels, we walked to Gaufres de Bruxelles, a take-out shop, for a Belgian waffle breakfast and baguette sandwiches to-go for our train ride.

Gaufres de Bruxelles

As you can see, we enjoyed the simple Belgian waffle on our trip to Belgium and recommend avoiding the Liege waffle with the toppings: way too sweet!

Here is our ranking of the Belgian waffle sampled on this trip:

1. Desire de Lille (Antwerp): hot, light, crispy, made-to-order
2. Aux Armes de Bruxelles (Brussels): hot, crispy, made-to-order; part of dinner
3. Gaufres de Bruxelles (Brussels): freshly made but cooled down by the time we walked back to our AirBnb to eat it
4. Maison Dandoy (Brussels): not warm and not crispy; a famous establishment but it was most disappointing as we came here right when they open; the waffle tasted like it was not made to order

Desire de Lille in Antwerp: best waffle

Second and third place waffles

Maison Dandoy: worst waffle

 Liege Waffle at Chez Albert

Recommendations: Belgian waffle over Liege waffle (by far)

BRUSSELS Aux Armes de Bruxelles

Trip: Europe 2023

We stopped at Aux Armes de Bruxelles, just across from Chez Leon, but they were completely booked for the night, so we went online and made reservations for our last night in Brussels.

This was an indoor restaurant, with chic interior, and an offer of many traditional Brussels specialties. We thought it would be a nice place to eat on our last night in Brussels.

While waiting for the restaurant to open, we made friends with a group of local women out for a good time. They spoke French, looked to have a good time together, and very willing to strike up a conversation (in French) with Thanh. They did not have a reservation, and were turned away even though empty tables were available. As a matter of fact, the manager seemed to make it a rule to turn away every customer without a reservation, unless our server stepped in and pointed him to available tables in the restaurant. It was very odd.

At any rate, we chose the 3-course menu fix: appetizer, entree, and dessert. For appetizers, we ordered 1/2 brown shrimp salad with one shrimp croquette, and a salmon tartare. The brown shrimp is a common European shrimp that is tiny in size and dark brown in color. For entrees, we ordered the vol-au-vent, which seems to be the European version of the chicken pot pie, served with a small hollow case of puff pastry on top of creamy chicken, and a waterzooi, a seafood stew from Belgium and originating in Flanders. We ended the meal with a delicious creme brulee, flamed at the table, and a very crispy hot Belgian waffle.

Everything we had was excellent, even the butter for our warm baguettes was fancy.

Upscale restaurant

Appetizers

Entrees and desserts

Recommendations: Highly recommended for high quality Belgium specialty dishes. Make a reservation before you go, preferably for a rainy evening, as many small restaurants in the heart of Brussels do not have indoors seatings like this one.

BRUSSELS Plaka

Trip: Europe 2023

We walked around for a place to eat, and decided to stop at Plaka, a small Greek gyro shop that looked very popular.

We ordered gyro platters and they were delicious.

Plaka gyro platter

 Recommendations: If you are looking for something simple and delicious near the heart of Brussels, stop at Plaka for a quick gyro sandwich or platter.

BRUSSELS Tonton Garby

Trip: Europe 2023

We found Tonton Garby mentioned on travelers' blogs and Youtube videos, and it was very intriguing. This was a hole-in-a-wall fromagerie sandwich shop run by one man in the center of Brussels.

There is no menu, no set opening hours, and the owner talks to you about your food preferences and makes your sandwiches accordingly. He spends a good half-an-hour making a couple sandwiches per customer. As a result, the line moves super slow, so you need to plan accordingly.

Tonton Garby at work

It turned out that Tonton Garby was extremely close to our AirBnb, and today we spent the morning walking around Grand Place before returning to the sandwich shop for lunch. The hand-written sign said he decided to open at 11:30am on this morning, and when we arrived at 11:50am, there was a short line of 3 or 4 parties ahead of us. Even so, it was around 12:30pm when he finally got to us.

We decided on getting 3 sandwiches, since we weren't sure we would be able to come back another day. We went for a sweet one (he added pear to this sandwich), a savory one, and one with olive tapenade that looked really interesting.

Our three sandwiches from Tonton Garby

Tonton Garby insisted that we took a bite out of one of the sandwiches, as he claimed he would not charge us if we didn't like it. Each sandwich was 8 euros, and we gave him a generous tip, as he was quite a one-man show.

We took the sandwiches back to our AirBnb and enjoyed each of them very much. We saved some for dinner later that night. 

It turned out that we were not able to return to Tonton Garby on another day. His opening hours were just too late for the remaining days we had in Brussels.

Nope, not yet opened

Recommendations: Highly recommended. Plan accordingly because of weird opening hours and the slow moving lines. Don't go if you have places to be at a certain time, otherwise you will probably be late to the next thing.

BRUSSELS Grand Cafe by the Bourse

Trip: Europe 2023

We spent the day exploring Antwerp and returned to Brussels for dinner. We had no dinner reservations and popped into the Grand Cafe by the Bourse after walking around to check out our various dining options. The Grand Cafe was centrally located for people watching and had plenty of available outdoors seatings.

Grand Cafe sur la place de la Bourse

Recommendations: The food was pretty decent and it was very nice to sit outside and people watch. The location is perfect. We found better vol-au-vent elsewhere (Aux Armes de Bruxelles - requiring a reservation.)

BRUSSELS Charli Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

The Charli bakery was not too far from our AirBnb in Brussels, so we took a nice walk one morning to check out the breakfast pastries.

Charli offers French baked goods, and we wanted to check out their chocolate croissants. We ended up ordering a chocolate croissant, a Clafoutis a la Framboise, a coffee and a hot chocolate.

Charli Boulangerie

Recommendations: Everything was good, but not exceptional. 

BRUSSELS Chez Leon

Trip: Europe 2023

Chez Leon is located in the middle of Grand Place, Brussels, right in the touristy area of Brussels. It has mostly outdoor seatings, with just a dozen or so small tables for two or four. 

Just getting a table was a fight, since the manager did nothing to take your name down. We camped near a table that looked like they were finishing up, but even that was risky since Europeans tend to sit and smoke and drag it out for who knows how long. We were lucky that the table we bet on did clear up and we happily grabbed it.

Chez Leon was known for its moules-frites, and it did not disappoint. We did not bother looking at the rest of the menu.

Moules-frites at Chez Leon

Amazing broth

Recommendations: Highly recommended. It was very hard to get a table, but it was definitely worth it to wait for one. Order a moules-frites here.

BRUSSELS Pasta Divina

Trip: Europe 2023

We went for Italian fresh pasta on our first night in Brussels, at Pasta Divina, near Grand Place. The family-run restaurant only has outdoor seatings, and even though we were there for an early dinner, it was packed. We were lucky to grab a table for two.

The owner of the place walked around each table and greeted the guests, telling them that his wife made pasta by hand from scratch every night, and made recommendations on his favorite items on the menu.

One of the popular items was already sold out, but the black ink squid pasta with shrimp scampi, another popular item, was still available, so we went for that and the cheese ravioli.

The owner of Pasta Divina

Fresh pasta from Pasta Divina

Recommendations: Highly recommended. There is no good way to make a reservation online, but if you are in Grand Place doing touristy things, stop by Pasta Divina to put your name down for dinner later in the evening,  and you will be all set.

AMSTERDAM Gebr. Niemeijer Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

On our last morning in Amsterdam, we seeked out Gebr. Niemeijer, a French Artisan bakery near our AirBnb, for some breakfast pastries and sandwiches to-go for the train ride.

We ordered a chocolate croissant, an apple tart that comes with creme fraiche, a mille feuille, and a coffee and mocha drink for our breakfast. We also ordered two ham and cheese baguettes to-go.

Gebr. Niemeijer - a French bakery in Amsterdam

Recommendations: This was the best apple tart of the trip so far (not counting the apple strudel in Germany, because they are not the same thing after all.) The chocolate croissant was average. The mille feuille was good, nicely layered and crispy. Coffee and mocha drink were excellent. We recommend this bakery for a nice French breakfast if you are in the area.

AMSTERDAM Rijsttafels

Trip: Europe 2023

Rijsttafels is a Dutch word that translates to "rice table," and is an Indonesian elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the hidang presentation of nasi padang from the Padang region of West Sumatra.

This was a lavish banquet, popular in the Netherlands.

We starved ourselves, had a few snacks instead of lunch, to get ready for this feast. We chose Blauw, highly recommended by Conde Nast Traveler and Michelin Guide.

Rijsttafels at Blauw

 

Recommendations: We enjoyed trying rijsttafel at Blauw. We made reservations ahead of time. There was a lot of food, and we couldn't finish everything, but it was cool to be able to try a little bit of everything. If you have time and the appetite while in Amsterdam, we recommend trying this.

AMSTERDAM Stroopwafels

Trip: Europe 2023

Another snack food that was recommended to try in Amsterdam was Dutch Stroopwafels. They are thin, round waffle cookies made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by caramel filling. They come in many different toppings to choose from.

We went to van Wonderen Stroopwafels, located in the middle of a very touristy area, and shared one stroopwafel.

Stroopwafel at van Wonderen

Recommendations: The stroopwafel was too sweet for us. We were glad to check this off our bucket list, but would not go back for more. 

AMSTERDAM Salted Herring

Trip: Europe 2023

Based on our research, Thanh felt the need to try the salted herring snack in Amsterdam. The more famous Stubbe's Haring was not open every time we walked by the stand, but we ran across the Haring & Zo stand and ordered one.

Salted herring at Haring & Zo

Recommendations: Skip it, unless this is on your bucket list to try. We did not like this very much. The combination of the salted fish and raw onion and pickles was a bit much for us.

AMSTERDAM Dutch Pancakes

Trip: Europe 2023

We wanted to try Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam, and Pancakes.Amsterdam was conveniently located near Anne Frank's House museum where we were heading to.

The Dutch pancakes are thin, flat and crepe-like pancakes, and can be ordered with various toppings.

Recommendations: A good but very filling breakfast. We would be better off sharing one single Dutch pancake. Service was not super fast, even though all we ordered were the Dutch pancakes. It was a good thing that Anne Frank's House was next door to it. We had to eat quickly to get to our time slot at the museum.

AMSTERDAM Cafe Winkel 43

Trip: Europe 2023

We read great reviews for Cafe Winkel 43, conveniently located within walking distance of our AirBnb in Amsterdam. Many reviewers claim they have the best Dutch apple pies, so we had to try.

We went late at night, so we just wanted a snack and a slice of their Dutch apple pie.

Recommendations: Can skip. The fried meatballs were a specialty of the Netherlands, but we weren't particularly into with them. The Dutch apple pie was okay, but cannot compare to the German appelstrudel of Feldmann's Bierhaus in Bremen. However, if you need to find a place to eat at odd hours of the day, their opening hours are very convenient.

BREMEN Aldi and Train Station food

Trip: Europe 2023

The morning leaving Bremen, following our typical routine, we bought food and drink to eat on the train. Our Marriott hotel was located just outside the train station, and the Aldi grocery store was also just outside the train station. We also noticed that there were a lot of food places inside the train station. This was all super convenient.

At the Aldi grocery store, we bought some juice and fresh strawberries. Inside the train station, we bought apple turnover, chocolate croissants, two Portuguese egg tarts, and two sandwiches to go.

We ate the breakfast pastries and strawberries back at the hotel, and decided the Portuguese egg tarts were very yummy so we bought some more for the train. The strawberries were in season and very sweet.

 

Recommendations: We always book our train tickets to travel around the lunch hour since this works well for check out time (typically by 11am) at the departing hotel and check in time (typically after 3pm) at the arriving hotel. We find it good to research the area ahead of time to know where to go for our grab-and-go food. We love that the Bremen train station has such a convenient grocery and food places for our travel food.

BREMEN Feldmann's Bierhaus

Trip: Europe 2023

Our first (and only) dinner during our very short visit to Bremen was to the Feldmann's Bierhaus on the Schlachte.

Feldmann's Bierhaus

We were able to get outdoors seating to people watch. The menu was all in German, and we struggled with the order. Luckily Thanh did not mind striking up conversations with strangers, and asked for recommendations from the customer sitting next to us. The older gentleman was very helpful, and showed us what he ordered, as well as what he recommended. Phil ordered the Feldmann's Dunkel, their specialty, a dark beer.

Translated to meatloaf, bratwurst, and apple pie a la mode

This was our favorite meal in Northern Germany (Hamburg and Bremen combined.) 

Recommendations: Highly recommended. Great location and awesome food and beer! The bratwurst with the fried onions and potatoes is so good. And the apple strudel is nicely layered. If you are in Bremen, make it a priority to stop here.

HAMBURG Hisar Backhaus

Trip: Europe 2023

On our travel day by train, we always look for a bakery for take-outs for the train ride. We found Hisar Backhaus that had convenient opening hours and good reviews.

We ordered a couple of sandwiches and some baklava for our lunch on the train.

Hisar Backhaus bakery

Recommendations: This was a good bakery for sandwiches-to-go. They open very early every morning so it's great to grab-and-go before a trip. The baklavas are very sweet (I think they are supposed to be.) 

HAMBURG Otto's Burger

Trip: Europe 2023

"When in Hamburg, eat a hamburger," we said. We looked it up, and hamburgers did originate from Hamburg, Germany in the 1900's under the name of "Hamburg steak."

Otto's Burger was known for using fresh and handmade ingredients, and its burgers are always juicy and cheesy. We decided to see for ourselves.

Recommendations: Very juicy burger, excellent fries with garlic aoli sauce. The lemonades were super refreshing. If you are in the mood for a burger in Hamburg, stop by Otto's Burger. We could not get outdoors seating (full) but there were plenty of seating indoors.

For our vegetarian family and friends reading this, every Otto's burger comes in a vegetarian version.

HAMBURG Groeninger Brewery

Trip: Europe 2023

We went for a beer at Groeninger Brewery, the oldest brewery in Hamburg since 1722. They brew their Groeninger Pils and served from tap from old oak barrels.

German Groeninger Pils beer

They also served delicious crispy skin pork (by the scale) that was amazing. We were holding back since we had dinner plans but we would love to come back for a full meal here.

Delicious Groeninger bar food

Recommendations: Highly recommended. Come for their beer and eat a full meal here.

HAMBURG Frau Moeller

Trip: Europe 2023

Frau Moeller was the first restaurant we went to in Hamburg Germany.

We picked it because it was conveniently located near our hotel, and its menu had many Northern Germany specialties like fried potatoes, currywurst, labskaus, ofendkartoffel, apfelstrudel.

We tried the currywurst, which was a German sausage with curry ketchup, and it came with a side of potatoes and sauerkraut. The second dish we shared was the labskaus, made of corned beef, potatoes and onions, accompanied by fried eggs, herrings and pickles.

The food was decent, not the best of what we had in Hamburg.

Recommendations: Cash-only establishment. Easy to get a table and service was quick. Food was decent, not great.

COPENHAGEN Andersen Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

Andersen Bakery early opening hours fit our needs as this was our last morning in Copenhagen.

They were known for their croissants (chocolate, caramel, apple croissants) and their Fastelavnsboller that we discovered was seasonal (and not in-season.)

Their various croissants were pretty good, but we were disappointed by their chocolate croissant, which we did not realize had chocolate pudding as filling.

Our hotel offered a really nice free breakfast buffet, so we brought our pastries back to the hotel and ate them along with the hotel breakfast.

Recommendations: Go if convenient. The bakery was a 15-minute walk from our hotel, so it was convenient for us. No need to go if this is out of your way.

COPENHAGEN Fresh Food Market

 Trip: Europe 2023

TorvehallerneKBH is the fresh food market in Copenhagen. We enjoyed the food markets in Spain last year, so we continue to seek out other food markets during our travel to Europe.

TorvehallerneKBH

Our lunch: Smorrebrod and salmon/tuna tartare

This was a nice light meal to recover from Geranium.

Recommendations: A nice place to walk around and window shop. Good opportunities to sample Danish food. 

COPENHAGEN Juno the Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

Juno the Bakery, owned by former Noma pastry chef Emil Glaser, does not even have a store sign. And yet, you can tell something special is going on there, as the long line winds around the side of the building, and people lucky enough to have ordered their pastries and bread are shooting close-ups and selfies.

Juno the Bakery

Recommendations: Get there earlier than we did (12 noon). They ran out of chocolate croissants, so I can only imagine how amazing it was based on their regular croissant that was light like air and so flaky.

One reason to return to Copenhagen for us is to make up for not getting to Juno early enough.

COPENHAGEN Geranium

Trip: Europe 2023

When we booked our trip to Copenhagen based on the cheapest flight to Europe, we had no idea that Copenhagen was a top culinary destination.

During our research, we learned that Copenhagen is home to Noma, voted the best restaurant in the world for multiple years.

And that Geranium is the second Copenhagen restaurant to take home a World's Best Restaurant accolade. The restaurant is in the middle of Copenhagen, on the 8th floor of a building that houses the Danish national soccer stadium, and overlooks the beautiful gardens. It earned its three Michelin stars in 2016, and achieved its status of best restaurant in the world in 2022.

Reservations for Geranium open 90 days in advance, at 6pm local time, and reservations run out within the first 5 minutes of opening. Pre-payment is required to confirm.

We took too long deciding between lunch and dinner, and ended up on the waiting list. If you are on the waiting list, make sure to start checking your email the same day, as openings are first come first serve. We did not do so, and missed our opportunity. It took a bit of luck a few days later to grab an opening for lunch on the only day we were available.

The menu is expected to take 3-4 hours long. There were 23 courses, meat-free, focusing solely on local seafood and vegetables from organic farms in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Our dressed up travel clothes for Geranium

Our meal took 4 hours long, as we added the "Fruit & Vegetables" non-alcoholic pairing.

Our menu

Appetizers

Apple and kale pairing

Savoury Servings with juice pairing

Tour of the kitchen

Onion turned into art

Savoury servings with fruit pairing

Sweets

Sweets

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. We experienced for the first time drink pairing that augmented the taste of the food, already delicious. Every serving showcased the skillful intricate work of art that never ceased to amaze us. The ingredient list was something we never thought of combining together, yet tasted incredible.

Recommendations: expensive, but worth the once-in-a-lifetime experience

Perhaps share the drink pairing, as this was a lot of food and drink.

Lunch was good, allowing us to walk around and digest the rest of the day.