4

But now back : to , the diet

I have rarely, while

‘travelling, encountered
better. food than ‘in
_ Holland. Matter
-fact, my neighbors are

of

soon to be treated’ to
the - ‘sight of a. slight
pudgy writer struggling
up the hill on a bike! I

. MUST lose the six:

pounds. that I added i in

one week. .

b ys Barbara
McCreadie

local cheese;

--First - breakfast. Included
in the price of your hotel, it
isn't that dreadful “Con
tinental” thing often thrown
at you-in most of. Europe.
The usual Dutch offering is a
couple of ‘trays of superb
ham, sausage and salami -
thinly sliced; a tray of fine
up to 20
varieties of bread and
crackers; hard-cooked eggs;
fruits and/or juices;.
butter (and often, as an
alternate - diet margarine);
jams and marmalades; tea or

coffee. Served buffet-style,

you can help‘ yourself until
you're stuffed.

It didn’t surprise me to see
some tourists making sneaky
little sandwiches and tucking
them in their handbags for
lunch!

Speaking of lunch -
everywhere we- went, the
lunch menu was exactly the
same as the dinner menu so
expect large servings and
high prices, especially in the
better restaurants. We
Canadians are spoiled
because we can visit some of
our country’s best
restaurants at reasonable

rices by going for lunch
instead of dinner.

I'VE NEVER HAD
BETTER FISH! Being a fish-
addict, I tried it every
chance I got. Especially
good was the turbot (firm,
white and with a lot more
flavor than sole), crab,
lobster and trout. I only ran
into overcooked fish once -
it was salmon and everyone
laughed at me for ordering a
Canadian specialty in
Holland. They were right.
One great disappointment -
the sidewalk snack stands
were out of herring every

passport

while you wait |
see 98-9813

_ Various
dishes. You can get a very
cheap - lunch which ° ‘most

milk; ”

‘time we tried to get it. Do

watch for these little street.

stands selling small portions
of herring, eels, fried
potatoes (GREAT!) and
other ~ national

travellers would. enjoy:
Many people stop at.a street

stand and pick up a bagful of. -

assorted goodiés and then
retire to the nearest sidewalk

bar to sip and much. I’m not

much of a connoisseur of

. beer. but it tasted fine: to me —
a: others. in’ the” group |
_ assured ‘me that it“was in-

variably excellent.

_ It was explained that many *

of the most famous Dutch
specialties are “winter food”,

meant:to keep body and soul
‘-together-on a cold-winter’s
_day. These are discontinued

during . the -heat of the
summer: (Who needs thick

soups and stews when the .

thermometer: is at 30

celsius?)-We did try.a small.

bowl of the famous pea soup.
It resembles the French-
Canadian variety but it is
Slightly thinner. The local
residents enjoy the chunks

of fat in it and I am told that .
in winter the soup is served

with more of the same on the
side. With crusty bread, that
makes quite a meal.

To me, . pancakes are
loathsome things! Given any
chance to avoid them, I'll do
it. The Dutch . “PAN-
NEKOEKEN” were served
to us one day for lunch and
everyone except me “dug in”
with a vengeance. The
pancakes come with a

Variety of things cooked

right in - such as_ bacon,
apples, cheese, or ham.
Then, you. spread the whole
thing. with black-strap
molasses, roll it up and I
wish you luck! They are as
big as dinner plates and hit
my stomach with a dull thud.

But, everyone” else
disagreed with me and
polished off some second
helpings. A. shaker of
powdered sugar is supplied,

just in case you fee] you're

short on calories.

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~“~had_ elsewhere.
_there in the high season for

. fas.

Vegetables and fruit are

plentiful and much more ~“Rijsttafel”.. The. first time I

flavorful than anything “I’ve

asparagus ‘and ‘strawberries.

The asparagus is the white

variety but nota bit stringy

. It was

green 1 stuff any ‘old, day. The
strawberries were often as

‘served with vanilla ice cream
and whipped cream. I ..

sampled ‘one . berry’ then

' passed my plate over to one

of the group who was a
genuine dessert freak. She
thanked: me then - but I
wonder how she’s going to

feel when she has to lose ten

pounds?

Don’ t visit the Netherlands
without ‘sampling an In-

We were:

the. canned. white

donesian ice. table. - or

_tried-it; -E-didn’t enjoy it as

much as a. feast of Canadian
Chinese. food. ‘But, that’ “was
my own) stupidity. - ~ I didn’t .
know what to do with the

“thing!..The . best’ meal is

“served to the largest group -
naturally- you. get ‘the: best —

sélection. If you're only two,
get the waiter to:select for
_you and save: your ignorance
for later.

" ‘Briefly, it’s a selection of
Javanese. dishes, served on
tiny plates, w which is meant to
be eaten with white rice and
condiments. First, you'pile a
hefty spoonful of rice on the.
middle of your plate. The
other foods are taken in
small quantities and: placed
alongside: Watch the sauces
- called:““Sambals”. They are
hotter than the hinges of hell
and dipping the tines of your

fork in these are usually
sufficient. ve

-$6- -you begin. Pile up the
rice. Sprinkle it: with the
toasted cocoanut and pour
over. some cocoanut milk,
You can’t miss either one of

off to the side. One of our
group mistook them for
something __ else, -

- soprano.
. crackers

Shrimp ‘are

served alongside. Huge - -

they are meant to be broken.
cand shared. Should you get.a
something.

mouthful of .

‘hotter than you'd like, you
quickly chomp up a cracker
and wash it down with beer.

- What's on the menu? Well. -
- here’s a sample: whole *

aot

Gott see.

et

the cocoanut offerings. Take ©
a tiuy spoonful of a couple of —
sambals .and set. them well:

took a -
forkful, and he’s still singing -

chicken; all varieties of meat .

on small skewers (some of it
. is doused :in peanut sauce:

which ‘is: Super); vegetable
soup;. ‘cucumber i in vinegar;

vegetables in. peanut: sauce;

sweet fried potatoes; ‘fruit“in

- Sweet and sour sauce; ‘boiled.
eggs in aspicy tomato sauce;

bean sprouts in a:.‘meat--
sauce; beans, both greenand
dried; meat stew. . in Aa
cocoanut sauce;.
chunks ...of- crisp’ pork;
something. that “resembled.

_. shredded cabbage in a broth.
7 maybe Fye-s missed a few

things! -

-I must recommend the

Restaurant Bali in Breda.

For about $12. per person

you get the whole thing - and

I didn’t try anything I didn’t
like! ‘This is pure Javanese
and many other restaurants.
are a combination. of
Chinese-Indian-Indonesian.

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