Bar Bik

Another favourite restaurant in Brussels is Bar Bik. It has good food and drink, a pleasant atmosphere and even a few tables outside when the weather's good. Booking is recommended.

I was joined there by someone - a Belgian person - who likes to take the necessary literature with him when venturing onto the streets of our capital.

I had asperges again

whilst soup appeared on the other side of the table.

The vitello tonnato was delicious

and this was duck if I remember correctly.

Dinner in the Brussels sun

When the sun is finally out in Brussels, everybody is out on the terraces. Yesterday we had dinner at an old family favourite, la Marie Joseph.

This choron-sauce was anxiously eyed when it arrived, because the fear immediately arose that there wouldn't be enough of it to accompany two tuna steaks.

After dinner we went for an ice cream at Zizi. It used to be another of my favourite spots in Brussels but I have to admit that we were a bit disappointed by the quality of the ice cream last night. I hope this was a one off.

Birthday brunch by the canal

A few weeks ago I was invited for a surprise birthday brunch at kaai Grand Café in Boom.
I forgot to take a picture of the great view on the canal, but I didn't forget the food, which tasted as good as it looked.

By the train station

Today I had lunch at Brasserie de la Gare, a typical Brussels restaurant, at a rather unexpected spot, near the train station of Sint-Agatha-Berchem.


After light starters


we went for very typical dishes: veal's liver

and asperges à la flamande, my favourite in this season!

Italian birthday dinner

Some time ago, I was invited for a birthday celebration at another Brussels classic: Rugantino, an Italian family restaurant in a charming decor.

Some of us had mixed appetizers

whilst others chose ravioli ai carciofi - delicious.

After that linguine alle vongole e zucchini appeared

and I opted for good old-fashioned porcetta alla romana.

Seated at a long table, we had another enjoyable evening.

Rosa's

Another busy month without time for blogging.
Let me start to catch up by telling you about a favourite restaurant called Rosa's.
It's a tiny place with a very relaxing atmosphere. Delicious food is prepared in an open kitchen and served in a friendly manner. Prices are very reasonable.

Fish in Antwerp

Yesterday I went to Antwerp to try the fish restaurant Dôme sur mer.
We had a nice dinner in white and blue surroundings, with goldfish swimming around us - although some of them stopped swimming after a while.

Waiting for amuse-gueules

which then arrived


A handy support was fitted to our table

and filled with seafood

whilst another plate with grilled langoustines appeared.

It made for a pleasant evening. Thanks L!

Birthday dinner

I had a very enjoyable evening at an old friend's birthday dinner: great company, delicious food and pleasant surroundings at Domestica in Gent.





Thanks N! It was great to be there.

One of those Sundays

You start with old books

- the monks made jokes, once in a while, while copying the manuscripts.


Then you have lunch, with a quickly whipped-up soup - pumpkin and parsnip, with a little onion and leek, according to my basic soup recipe - and bubbles, provided by our generous host,

and for dessert: castagnaccio, photographed in a Zen setting.

After a meal like this, we were ready for more culture and went for a walk to discover interbellum architecture in Dilbeek.

And after that, we were ready for a drink

at a favourite spot, where Italian was spoken - appropriately, as Italian travel plans were made, while sipping our negroni's -

and a Chinese meal at Xu Ji, 5 rue des Poissonniers in Brussels, where we got authentic Chinese food (as far as we are able to judge) and terrific wonton soup.


If you ever try this place, here's a tip: go for the 'petits plats' (small dishes) on the menu, hidden a few pages behind the average and more touristy stuff.

Girls and their toys

This week I took an afternoon off for a shopping trip to Antwerp. The first place we ended up in was In den Olifant, the most magical toy shop I've ever seen. We went around the beautiful old house, shrieking with delight at each new discovery.

Isn't this chicken fantastic?

Or do you like this one better?

This was my absolute favourite cuddly toy

Great puppets for playing puppet theatre

and beautiful Pinocchios

a balloon to fly away in


The duck was chosen as a present for a niece

and look at all this miniature cooking gear



After this some more shopping was accomplished, useful as well as frivolous.

And then we went to check out the recently renovated Stadsfeestzaal.
We were impressed.

Fancy champagne bar, high up above

but we chose the ground floor


for our aperitif



For dinner we returned to an old favourite, where we hadn't been in a long time: pizzeria Arte.




This is what happens when you go out for dinner with a fellow blogger


we didn't resist dessert

The food was as good as we remembered, with very pure flavours, we enjoyed the cosy atmosphere and the beautiful interior design, and we thought about the lyrics of Les Feuilles Mortes by Jacques Prévert written on the wall.