My Life, My Food, My Places

No, I don’t miss living in Belgium. The Philippines are ‘at home’ for me since more than 6 years already. But, sometimes, I miss some foods, dishes whom only are as they have to be in Belgium. What dishes am I talking about? To start with, I noticed that I had no less than three dishes based on witloof (chicory or Belgian endives), that fantastic and versatile vegetable. Before really the pride of Belgium nowadays imitated by the Dutch and the French in hydro culture, less labor-intensive, cheaper but surely not the same thing! My absolute favorite dish with chicory is Witloofrolletjes uit de oven , the gratin of chicory with good Belgian cooked ham (not that plastic stuff of the supermarket) with a rich béchamel sauce topped with Gruyere cheese and cooked in the oven till the cheese is melted and golden brown. A few years ago this dish was elected by the Flemish part of Belgium as the ultimate comfort f...

Sunday was our lazy day. No rush to prepare for school or work and no stressful rush to the metro station (underground) to go to the office. After a slow breakfast, hot chocolate with ‘pain au chocolat’ (chocolate pastry) bread for the kids, coffee and bread or a few croissants for us we prepared to go out for our Sunday mission: The Market. All over Paris there are nearly daily markets as, by law, every district  has to organize two markets a week. There are not only street markets but Paris has also numerous covered markets such as The Enfants Rouges Market. Created in 1615 its Paris oldest food market.  But still today Parisians and foodie-tourists like the Enfants Rouges to buy the fresh produce at the stalls full of color and fragrance. Even in wintertime it is like hanging around on a Provence market is July. Sundays is our market day to get our provision for the week in vegetables, seafood, poultry, charcuteries and cheese of course. And in Les ...

Every country has their famous ‘national’ sandwich. The Americans have their burgers and hotdogs, the French are very proud on their Croque Monsieur, a baked sandwich with cheese and ham, and their fresh baguettes with ham, the famous 'jambon beurre' , the Italians like their Panini as the Vietnamese have their favorite Banh Mi sandwich. And the Belgians have their Martino sandwich. "Invented" in 1951 by a former soccer player, Albert De Hert, who was running the small sandwich bar named  Quick at the famous De Coninckplein in Antwerp.  The story goes that one evening another soccer player nicknamed ‘Martino’, came in after drinking obviously a few beers too much and asked for a sandwich with ‘everything’ and it had to be spicy. In the kitchen Albert got a half baguette, spread it with ‘filet americain’ (minced raw beef mixed with mayonnaise, mustard, some capers, pepper and salt) and topped it with minced onion, chopped pickles, tabasco sauce, some ket...

Food, an important issue in the daily life of the Filipinos and surely also for the expats living on the island. For our fresh food we can only go to the market because the island doesn’t have any supermarkets as there are in the city where you can by different meats, cheeses and a variety of fresh vegetables. The offer in the market is very limited and offers only the basic veggies the islanders use to prepare their meals such as eggplant, onions, bitter gourd, some string beans and pumpkin. Completed with some local greens. Meat is limited to pork, very fat pork meat except on Sundays where there is some beef. Only problem is that the beef has not matured and the butchers don’t know how to cut the meat. Chicken, pork, beef and the fish are put on open benches without any form of refrigeration. And flies are always around. But as everyone on the island, three times a week I go to the market to see what ‘goodies’ I can buy. Every time I buy at the same stall run by a y...

Bread is a serious issue for the Parisians! We learned very fast after moving in our apartment in St Cloud, that bread wasn’t just bread. The first days we bought bread everywhere we passed a bakeshop on our way home from the Metro station. I think it was the third day after we moved in that I met my neighbor, in casu the very friendly elderly woman whom lived on the ground floor, greeted me ‘bonjour’ when I came in with my bread. And after some small talk about where we were from -ah! Des Belges- she asked me ‘the’ question: where do you buy your bread? And that moment I learned that bread is a serious matter for a Parisian! She explained me that you have to pick your Boulangerie (bakeshop) and stick to it. The neighborhood Boulangerie is more than just a place to get your bread, it’s a local institution with their own protocols and like the local Brasserie (café/coffee shop/restaurant) the place to go as ever...

Winter, spring, summer or autumn: the place to be to sample the best dishes in Brussels is the Place Sainte Catherine. Situated in the heart of the city, not far from the historic Grand Place, this square is the epicenter of fish and seafood of the Belgian Capital. Along the square in front of the church and in the nearby streets you find numerous fish- and seafood restaurants, wholesalers of fish, oysters and lobsters and a few great fishmongers. One of those top-of-the-bill fishmongers is without any doubt “Mer du Nord” (the North Sea). The place to be for locals and tourists every day of the week except on Mondays. Opened many years ago as a ‘normal’ fishmonger, the Mer du Nord started to sell fish soup and scrimp croquettes at a window counter. Soon they offered a glass of wine with it and added other dishes like mussels in white wine sauce, raw mussels (eaten like oysters), ‘scampis a la plancha’, sandwiches with fresh home-made fish salad and oysters. It ...