36 Hours in Singapore
By ONDINE COHANE
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 28, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/travel/01hours-singapore.html?hpw
JUDGING from the number of cranes that dot the city’s skyline, Singapore is booming. In the last few years, casinos and hotels have sprung up; museums and galleries in former colonial landmarks have flung open their doors; and international designers have staked out prime real estate alongside up-and-comers just starting to make their fashion mark. Throughout the city, street vendors and sleek restaurants — new and well-established — serve up the city’s renowned mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic cuisines. And, best of all, sexy lounges and rooftop bars are helping the city-state shake off its formerly staid image.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) BIRD’S-EYE VIEW
There are few better symbols of Singapore’s recent success — or excess, depending on your perspective — than the year-old Marina Bay Sands (10 Bayfront Avenue; 65-6688-8868; marinabaysands.com), a gargantuan, three-towered complex with more than 2,500 rooms that looms over the city. Even if you aren’t staying at the hotel or hitting the casino, a ticket costing 20 Singapore dollars, or $16.50 at 1.22 Singapore dollars to the U.S. dollar, will provide access to the most impressive feature: SkyPark, an observation deck with 360-degree views. In one direction you’ll see the city’s expansive harbor; in the other, its sparkling skyline. Entry also includes a gander at what is billed as the world’s largest infinity pool, an architectural marvel that links the tops of the trio of towers.
5 p.m.
2) DUAL PURPOSED
The city’s new Museum of Contemporary Arts (27A Loewen Road; 65-6479-6622; mocaloewen.sg), known as MOCA, exemplifies Singapore’s ability to conserve existing colonial structures while creating cutting-edge interiors. In this case a former army barracks dating from the 1860s now showcases work from artists from all over Asia. Since opening in December the gallery has featured the Chinese provocateur Guo Jin and sculptors like Jiang Shuo and Wu Shaoxiang. This month the museum focuses on S. P. Hidayat, an up-and-coming Indonesian expressionist. In the fall a 2.5-acre sculpture garden will be unveiled.
8 p.m.
3) CULINARY ARTS
It’s not just for business deals that Singapore competes with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The food scene is also notable. One of its most impressive arrivals, Restaurant André (41 Bukit Pasoh Road; 65-6534-8880; restaurantandre.com), opened late last year in the Chinatown neighborhood with an eight-course seasonal tasting menu that combines Asian and European ingredients — Hokkaido scallop ravioli is served with cured purple shallots, basil and shiso flowers, while wagyu beef from Omi is accompanied by vegetables from France, all paired with wine from small producers in Burgundy and Alsace. The downside is the price (the tasting menu is 288 Singapore dollars; and wine pairings, 200 dollars). For a more reasonable but still excellent meal, head to Wild Rocket (10A Upper Wilkie Road; 65-6339-9448; wildrocket.com.sg), a foodie favorite where a four-course tasting menu includes dishes like soft-shell crab with Granny Smith salad and baked red grouper with French beans and laksa broth, and costs 62 dollars.
11 p.m.
4) NIGHTTIME MAKEOVER
With night-life options now ranging from multiplex techno clubs to more intimate spots that feature D.J.’s and specialty cocktails, the city is shedding its uptight reputation. In the Emily Hill complex, for example, a former colonial estate has been transformed into a multi-use compound that is home to artists’ studios and a theater school as well as Wild Oats restaurant and bar (11 Upper Wilkie Road; 65-6336-5413), where Singapore’s beautiful crowd convenes for drinks after dinner on a sprawling terrace. In Chinatown, Ying Yang (28 Ann Siang Road; 65-6808-2188), a black-and-white rooftop bar at the new Club hotel on Ann Siang Road, has also become a city hot spot — try the litchi martini for 18 Singapore dollars.
Saturday
10 a.m.
5) TRAINING WHEELS
After a coffee or fresh watermelon juice at Kith Café (7 Rodyk Street, nos. 1-33; 65-6341-9407; kith.com.sg) on Robertson Quay — where neighborhood families and fashionable couples convene for breakfast — rent a vintage single- speed French city bike or a Raleigh six-speed from Vanguard next door (65-6835-7228) for 10 Singapore dollars per hour. Singapore is still very orderly in many ways, which comes in handy when trying to navigate city traffic by bike; neighborhoods like Clark Quay and the Colonial Center are especially easy to explore. Just remember to get off your bike when going through the tunnels — or you might get a hefty fine for breaking a city law.
Noon
6) STREET SMARTS
A long tradition of strong regional cuisine and strict hygiene laws makes for some of the world’s best — and safest — street food. Nowadays most of the hawkers are concentrated in covered food halls so that ingredients are kept cool, and preparation methods and cleanliness can be kept to a uniform standard. At the Maxwell Road Food Center near Chinatown, vendors sell everything from dumplings to onion pancakes to dessert: at Tian Tian (No. 11), try the chicken rice; at Hokee (No. 79), the soup dumplings, and at No. 848, fresh fruit and juice (one, a bitter gourd and honey mix, promises “to reduce heatiness (sic).” Prices are 1 to 8 Singapore dollars.
2 p.m.
7) STYLE MAVENS
Many of the city’s promising young designers and fashion curators have set up shop in former chophouses along Haji Lane near Arab Street, a counterbalance to the more ubiquitous shopping malls in town. Know It Nothing (51 Haji Lane; 65-6392-5475; knowitnothing.com) showcases mostly men’s clothes like checked shirts, well-cut khakis and hats (all chosen for the balmy climate), as well as a more limited just-launched women’s line. Salad Shop (25 Haji Lane; 65-6299-5805) has chic basics like stylish summer dresses, many for less than 125 Singapore dollars, and Pluck (31/33 Haji Lane; 65-6396-4048; pluck.com.sg) is an emporium for home-grown talent with a collection that ranges from home accessories to bags and jewelry (and includes an ice-cream parlor on site).
5 p.m.
8) PASS THE CRUMPETS
For a taste of the British colonial past, book a table for high tea at the Tiffin Room at Raffles (1 Beach Road; 65-6337-1886; raffles.com), a hotel from the 1800s that hosted literary types like Rudyard Kipling and Noel Coward. Tea sandwiches, crumpets and a harp player, not to mention the white glove service, are the vestiges of a more rarefied era; 55 Singapore dollars a person for adults, 27.50 for kids.
8 p.m.
9) TABLE WITH A VIEW
Orchard Street, the city’s main shopping district, received a multimillion-dollar revamp in 2009 when it became home to another retail giant, a mall called the Ion Orchard. Now the Australian chef Luke Mangan has opened Salt Grill on the 55th and 56th floors (65-659-25118; saltgrill.com), with jaw-dropping views over the city. The menu includes dishes like yellowtail kingfish sashimi, a salad of seasonal baby vegetables, slow poached hen’s egg, buffalo mozzarella and candied walnuts, and more substantial entrees like a strip loin from Rangers Valley in Australia for 52 Singapore dollars. The combination of the panorama and the food has made Salt Grill one of the city’s hardest reservations to snag.
Sunday
10 a.m.
10) GREEN SPACE
Join local residents on a Sunday morning stroll in the city’s impressive Botanic Gardens (www.sbg.org.sg; 5 Singapore dollars for access to the orchid area, otherwise admission is free), a 150-acre-plus green space with meandering pathways, pretty lakes and an excellent variety of local plants and trees. Don’t miss the Orchid Garden with more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of the show-stopping blooms.
Noon
11) SWEET AND SAVORY
Forget brunch. Dim sum at the aptly named Dim Joy (80 Neil Road; 65-6220-6986; www.dimjoy.com/home.html) involves plates of delicate handmade dumplings based on seasonal ingredients from local markets like delicate char siew so (4 Singapore dollars) and chive and pork wor tip, as well as pan-fried radish cake (3.50 dollars), stewed pork belly and mui choy buns (8 dollars). Leave room for the sweet custard buns.
IF YOU GO
With spectacular views over the city and a secluded pool area, the newly renovated Ritz-Carlton Millenia (7 Raffles Avenue; 65-6-337-8888; ritzcarlton.com) is a luxury option that’s also child friendly. Doubles start at 380 Singapore dollars, or about $312.
A few boutique hotels have sprung up in the last couple of years, including the Club (28 Ann Siang Road; 65-6808-2188; theclub.com.sg; doubles from 225 Singapore dollars) in a historic 1800s building; the Scarlet (33 Erskine Road; 65-6511-3333; thescarlethotel.com) in Chinatown; small rooms from 320 dollars; and Wanderlust (2 Dickson Road; 65-6396-3322; wanderlusthotel.com), the latest arrival in a 1920s building in little India; opening rates from 180 dollars.
IF YOU GO
With spectacular views over the city and a secluded pool area, the newly renovated Ritz-Carlton Millenia (7 Raffles Avenue; 65-6-337-8888; ritzcarlton.com) is a luxury option that’s also child friendly. Doubles start at 380 Singapore dollars, or about $312.
A few boutique hotels have sprung up in the last couple of years, including the Club (28 Ann Siang Road; 65-6808-2188; theclub.com.sg; doubles from 225 Singapore dollars) in a historic 1800s building; the Scarlet (33 Erskine Road; 65-6511-3333; thescarlethotel.com) in Chinatown; small rooms from 320 dollars; and Wanderlust (2 Dickson Road; 65-6396-3322; wanderlusthotel.com), the latest arrival in a 1920s building in little India; opening rates from 180 dollars.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
36 Hours in Amsterdam
36 Hours in Amsterdam
By GISELA WILLIAMS
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 14, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/travel/17hours-amsterdam.html?hpw
MOST visitors to Amsterdam rarely wander beyond the arched bridges, watery passageways and crooked canal houses of the enchanting city center. But equally fascinating is the development boom around the harbor and in the once gritty areas that lie between the historic center and the surrounding ring road (A10). These pockets of innovation — pioneered Brooklyn-style by young designers and entrepreneurs who cannot afford the rents on the Keizersgracht — are worth a detour. To explore them, just act like a local: hop on a bike and go.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) DESIGN FRENZY
For more than 25 years, fans of Dutch design have frequented the iconic shop Frozen Fountain for Piet Hein Eek tables and Hella Jongerius vases. But some affordable design shops have recently entered the scene. Store Without a Home (Cabotstraat 1; 31-65-474-3062; storewithoutahome.com) is the eccentric project of an interior designer, Janwillem Sanderse. It started as a communal exhibition space on the harbor but then developed into a roving store that is half gallery, half design shop. Until the end of the month you’ll find it in a corner storefront in De Baarsjes, a multicultural neighborhood southwest of the center, selling everything from outsider art to colorful crocheted stools to ceramic lamps in the shape of potatoes. At the two-year-old Restored (Haarlemmerdijk 39; 31-20-337-6473; restored.nl), you will find fashionable DIY design objects from the Netherlands’ most promising newcomers: quilted lanterns from Maartje van den Noort; sewn bird brooches from Naked Design (nakeddesign.nl) and Red Riding Hood-inspired porcelain cups handcrafted by rENs (madebyrens.nl).
7 p.m.
2) EAT YOUR VEGETABLES
Take a cozy storefront with an open kitchen in the up-and-coming Westerpark neighborhood, mix in food trends like farm-to-table and supper club dinners and you get Culinaire Werkplaats (Fannius Scholtenstraat 10; 31-65-464-6576; deculinairewerkplaats.nl). Part restaurant and part atelier, it was opened about two years ago by Marjolein Wintjes and Eric Meursing, a former designer and chef. Every few weeks they create a theme that inspires the cooking, like Light or Flowers, then serve a five-course meal that focuses on seasonal vegetables, fruits and grains. A recent meal included Jerusalem artichoke prepared three ways (roasted, whipped and fried), croquettes of black quinoa with ras al hanout and a “deconstructed” apple pie: apple soup with frozen Champagne cubes and a stick of sugared crust. Guests pay what they think is fair.
10 p.m.
3) BACK TO THE ROOTS
Nearby, the Westergasfabriek, a former factory complex full of artists’ studios and cultural venues, is home to Toko MC (Polonceaukade 5; 31-20-475-0425; tokomc.nl), a funky restaurant and music destination connected to the MC theater, both of which celebrate Amsterdam’s rich mix of ethnicities. Pull up a chair at the vibrantly designed bar (coconut wood floors, hand-painted walls and street market-inspired lanterns), order a cocktail made with hand-cranked cane sugar (7 euros, or about $9.80 at $1.40 to the euro) and get ready for late night dancing to a mix of live and D.J.’d world music.
Saturday
11 a.m.
4) EXPLORE THE NORTH
North Amsterdam has become an edgy cultural center à la Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the late ’80s. It scored some major hipster points in 2007 when MTV moved its offices there; in the same warehouse complex is a skate park and a hive of artists’ studios. Architecture and film buffs are anticipating the completion of the spaceship building that will be the new Eye Film Institute. Right off the NDSM ferry stop is the cheerful IJ-Kantine (Mt. Ondinaweg 15-17; 31-20-633-7162; ijkantine.nl), a cantina where parents tank up on caffeine while their children tackle one another in the play corner of the soaring light-filled dining room. A five-minute walk away is the Noorderlicht (NDSM wharf, T.T. Neveritaweg 33; 31-20-492-2770); noorderlichtcafe.nl), a sort of transparent hanger, where a five-year-old cafe shelters an arty crowd who sit on mismatched chairs at driftwood tables. In summer, everyone sits outside, turning the industrial lots into partylike spaces.
1 p.m.
5) A BOOM ON OVERTOOM
The area close to where Overtoom street hits Nassaukade is quickly becoming a compelling alternative to P.C. Hooftstraat, Amsterdam’s designer-shop avenue. Over the last two or three years there’s been a boomlet of independent shops along its edges. One of the most inspiring is Friday Next (Overtoom 31; 31-20-612-3292; fridaynext.com), a sprawling concept store built around the owners’ interior design atelier. While you decide whether you can fit that wooden Muuto lamp into your luggage, grab a coffee at the store’s cafe, which features ingredients found next door at Marqt (Overtoom 21-25; 31-20-422-6311; marqt.com), an organic supermarket with products from small local producers.
3 p.m.
6) HIGH TEA
The Dutch, even the younger generation, still like to take time out on weekend afternoons to practice the art of high tea. The latest insider favorite is the spread (starting at 10.95 euros) at Gartine (Taksteeg 7; 31-20-320-4132; gartine.nl), a cozy cafe in the historic center. Another good option is the Amsterdam South branch of De Bakkerswinkel (Roelof Hartstraat 68; 31-20-662-3594; debakkerswinkel.nl), a chain of bakeries with a homey atmosphere. At this outpost, manicured locals curl up on chairs and savor scones served with clotted cream (1.40 euros).
5 p.m.
7) NEW DUTCH CERAMICS
For contemporary handmade ceramics, head to the source: two workshops of several talented designers, both in the lively, bohemian De Pijp neighborhood. There are Hilde Tempelman’s UFO and guitar-painted plates at Atelier Tempel (Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 20; 31-20-470-0106; ateliertempel.nl/pottery; by appointment), while three artists work and sell their pieces at nearby Keramiek van Campen (Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 38; 31-62-913-0883; keramiekvancampen.nl).
8 p.m.
8) IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT
Last summer, the ambitious chef Rogier van Dam and his sommelier girlfriend opened the very respectable Restaurant Lastage (Geldersekade 29; 31-20-737-0811; restaurantlastage.nl) in the midst of sex shops. Mr. van Dam attempts to surprise his guests not only with the location but also with his chef’s menu (36 euros for three courses), which offers an elegant twist to Dutch cuisine.
11 p.m.
9) STOP THE PRESSES
There’s still news coming from Trouw (Wibautstraat 127; 31-20-463-7788; trouwamsterdam.nl), a temporary restaurant and club in a former newspaper printing warehouse in East Amsterdam, but these days the news has more to do with cocktails, cuisine and art. The space is now a sleek backdrop for a young crowd who read their news on iPads. On summer evenings, the terrace is packed with late-night revelers.
Sunday
Noon
10) THE EXOTIC EAST
In the last two years the Indische Buurt district in East Amsterdam has drawn young designers, artists and families looking for affordable housing in an area that has been home to squatters and a mix of immigrant families. Last year the chefs Jaymz Pool, Faysel van Thiel and Frenk van Dinther opened Wilde Zwijnen (Javaplein 23; 31-20-463-3043; wildezwijnen.com). The name means wild boar and it hints at the kitchen’s preference for seasonal products. Lunch could include roast pig with clams (9 euros) and, for dessert, crème brûlée with Earl Grey and blueberry sorbet (7 euros). This is a good starting place for exploring the neighborhood’s main boulevard, Javastraat. Lined with shiny Mediterranean-style tiles, Turkish grocers and coffee shops, it resembles a street in Istanbul.
1 p.m.
11) TROPICAL MUSEUM
Even if you don’t have the slightest interest in Holland’s former colonies, which include Indonesia and Suriname, the Tropical Museum (Linnaeusstraat 2; 31-20-568-8200; tropenmuseum.nl) is worth a visit. The architecture alone — a towering and grand early 20th-century building that wraps around an entire city block — is impressive. And its gilded interiors, especially its library, hide many romantic nooks where you can read up on your next exotic adventure. Until May 8 a splashy exhibition called “Red” showcases about 300 objects that illustrate the importance of the color red in various cultures.
IF YOU GO
The big hotel news of the moment is that the five-star grand Hotel De L’Europe (Nieuwe Dolenstraat 2-14; 31-20-531-1777; leurope.nl; rates from 339 to 3,000 euros) will officially reopen in May after a much needed renovation. It includes a wing of suites inspired by the Dutch masters in the Rijksmuseum, a complete redo of the main 19th-century building and a new dining concept overseen by the chef Richard van Oostenbrugge.
If you want the comforts of home in the heart of Amsterdam’s famous shopping area, the Nine Streets, book one of the four elegant contemporary spaces at Miauw Suites (Hartenstraat 36; 31-20-893-2933; miauw.com; rates from 145 to 245 euros), which is owned by a couple with backgrounds in fashion design and filmmaking.
By GISELA WILLIAMS
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 14, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/travel/17hours-amsterdam.html?hpw
MOST visitors to Amsterdam rarely wander beyond the arched bridges, watery passageways and crooked canal houses of the enchanting city center. But equally fascinating is the development boom around the harbor and in the once gritty areas that lie between the historic center and the surrounding ring road (A10). These pockets of innovation — pioneered Brooklyn-style by young designers and entrepreneurs who cannot afford the rents on the Keizersgracht — are worth a detour. To explore them, just act like a local: hop on a bike and go.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) DESIGN FRENZY
For more than 25 years, fans of Dutch design have frequented the iconic shop Frozen Fountain for Piet Hein Eek tables and Hella Jongerius vases. But some affordable design shops have recently entered the scene. Store Without a Home (Cabotstraat 1; 31-65-474-3062; storewithoutahome.com) is the eccentric project of an interior designer, Janwillem Sanderse. It started as a communal exhibition space on the harbor but then developed into a roving store that is half gallery, half design shop. Until the end of the month you’ll find it in a corner storefront in De Baarsjes, a multicultural neighborhood southwest of the center, selling everything from outsider art to colorful crocheted stools to ceramic lamps in the shape of potatoes. At the two-year-old Restored (Haarlemmerdijk 39; 31-20-337-6473; restored.nl), you will find fashionable DIY design objects from the Netherlands’ most promising newcomers: quilted lanterns from Maartje van den Noort; sewn bird brooches from Naked Design (nakeddesign.nl) and Red Riding Hood-inspired porcelain cups handcrafted by rENs (madebyrens.nl).
7 p.m.
2) EAT YOUR VEGETABLES
Take a cozy storefront with an open kitchen in the up-and-coming Westerpark neighborhood, mix in food trends like farm-to-table and supper club dinners and you get Culinaire Werkplaats (Fannius Scholtenstraat 10; 31-65-464-6576; deculinairewerkplaats.nl). Part restaurant and part atelier, it was opened about two years ago by Marjolein Wintjes and Eric Meursing, a former designer and chef. Every few weeks they create a theme that inspires the cooking, like Light or Flowers, then serve a five-course meal that focuses on seasonal vegetables, fruits and grains. A recent meal included Jerusalem artichoke prepared three ways (roasted, whipped and fried), croquettes of black quinoa with ras al hanout and a “deconstructed” apple pie: apple soup with frozen Champagne cubes and a stick of sugared crust. Guests pay what they think is fair.
10 p.m.
3) BACK TO THE ROOTS
Nearby, the Westergasfabriek, a former factory complex full of artists’ studios and cultural venues, is home to Toko MC (Polonceaukade 5; 31-20-475-0425; tokomc.nl), a funky restaurant and music destination connected to the MC theater, both of which celebrate Amsterdam’s rich mix of ethnicities. Pull up a chair at the vibrantly designed bar (coconut wood floors, hand-painted walls and street market-inspired lanterns), order a cocktail made with hand-cranked cane sugar (7 euros, or about $9.80 at $1.40 to the euro) and get ready for late night dancing to a mix of live and D.J.’d world music.
Saturday
11 a.m.
4) EXPLORE THE NORTH
North Amsterdam has become an edgy cultural center à la Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the late ’80s. It scored some major hipster points in 2007 when MTV moved its offices there; in the same warehouse complex is a skate park and a hive of artists’ studios. Architecture and film buffs are anticipating the completion of the spaceship building that will be the new Eye Film Institute. Right off the NDSM ferry stop is the cheerful IJ-Kantine (Mt. Ondinaweg 15-17; 31-20-633-7162; ijkantine.nl), a cantina where parents tank up on caffeine while their children tackle one another in the play corner of the soaring light-filled dining room. A five-minute walk away is the Noorderlicht (NDSM wharf, T.T. Neveritaweg 33; 31-20-492-2770); noorderlichtcafe.nl), a sort of transparent hanger, where a five-year-old cafe shelters an arty crowd who sit on mismatched chairs at driftwood tables. In summer, everyone sits outside, turning the industrial lots into partylike spaces.
1 p.m.
5) A BOOM ON OVERTOOM
The area close to where Overtoom street hits Nassaukade is quickly becoming a compelling alternative to P.C. Hooftstraat, Amsterdam’s designer-shop avenue. Over the last two or three years there’s been a boomlet of independent shops along its edges. One of the most inspiring is Friday Next (Overtoom 31; 31-20-612-3292; fridaynext.com), a sprawling concept store built around the owners’ interior design atelier. While you decide whether you can fit that wooden Muuto lamp into your luggage, grab a coffee at the store’s cafe, which features ingredients found next door at Marqt (Overtoom 21-25; 31-20-422-6311; marqt.com), an organic supermarket with products from small local producers.
3 p.m.
6) HIGH TEA
The Dutch, even the younger generation, still like to take time out on weekend afternoons to practice the art of high tea. The latest insider favorite is the spread (starting at 10.95 euros) at Gartine (Taksteeg 7; 31-20-320-4132; gartine.nl), a cozy cafe in the historic center. Another good option is the Amsterdam South branch of De Bakkerswinkel (Roelof Hartstraat 68; 31-20-662-3594; debakkerswinkel.nl), a chain of bakeries with a homey atmosphere. At this outpost, manicured locals curl up on chairs and savor scones served with clotted cream (1.40 euros).
5 p.m.
7) NEW DUTCH CERAMICS
For contemporary handmade ceramics, head to the source: two workshops of several talented designers, both in the lively, bohemian De Pijp neighborhood. There are Hilde Tempelman’s UFO and guitar-painted plates at Atelier Tempel (Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 20; 31-20-470-0106; ateliertempel.nl/pottery; by appointment), while three artists work and sell their pieces at nearby Keramiek van Campen (Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 38; 31-62-913-0883; keramiekvancampen.nl).
8 p.m.
8) IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT
Last summer, the ambitious chef Rogier van Dam and his sommelier girlfriend opened the very respectable Restaurant Lastage (Geldersekade 29; 31-20-737-0811; restaurantlastage.nl) in the midst of sex shops. Mr. van Dam attempts to surprise his guests not only with the location but also with his chef’s menu (36 euros for three courses), which offers an elegant twist to Dutch cuisine.
11 p.m.
9) STOP THE PRESSES
There’s still news coming from Trouw (Wibautstraat 127; 31-20-463-7788; trouwamsterdam.nl), a temporary restaurant and club in a former newspaper printing warehouse in East Amsterdam, but these days the news has more to do with cocktails, cuisine and art. The space is now a sleek backdrop for a young crowd who read their news on iPads. On summer evenings, the terrace is packed with late-night revelers.
Sunday
Noon
10) THE EXOTIC EAST
In the last two years the Indische Buurt district in East Amsterdam has drawn young designers, artists and families looking for affordable housing in an area that has been home to squatters and a mix of immigrant families. Last year the chefs Jaymz Pool, Faysel van Thiel and Frenk van Dinther opened Wilde Zwijnen (Javaplein 23; 31-20-463-3043; wildezwijnen.com). The name means wild boar and it hints at the kitchen’s preference for seasonal products. Lunch could include roast pig with clams (9 euros) and, for dessert, crème brûlée with Earl Grey and blueberry sorbet (7 euros). This is a good starting place for exploring the neighborhood’s main boulevard, Javastraat. Lined with shiny Mediterranean-style tiles, Turkish grocers and coffee shops, it resembles a street in Istanbul.
1 p.m.
11) TROPICAL MUSEUM
Even if you don’t have the slightest interest in Holland’s former colonies, which include Indonesia and Suriname, the Tropical Museum (Linnaeusstraat 2; 31-20-568-8200; tropenmuseum.nl) is worth a visit. The architecture alone — a towering and grand early 20th-century building that wraps around an entire city block — is impressive. And its gilded interiors, especially its library, hide many romantic nooks where you can read up on your next exotic adventure. Until May 8 a splashy exhibition called “Red” showcases about 300 objects that illustrate the importance of the color red in various cultures.
IF YOU GO
The big hotel news of the moment is that the five-star grand Hotel De L’Europe (Nieuwe Dolenstraat 2-14; 31-20-531-1777; leurope.nl; rates from 339 to 3,000 euros) will officially reopen in May after a much needed renovation. It includes a wing of suites inspired by the Dutch masters in the Rijksmuseum, a complete redo of the main 19th-century building and a new dining concept overseen by the chef Richard van Oostenbrugge.
If you want the comforts of home in the heart of Amsterdam’s famous shopping area, the Nine Streets, book one of the four elegant contemporary spaces at Miauw Suites (Hartenstraat 36; 31-20-893-2933; miauw.com; rates from 145 to 245 euros), which is owned by a couple with backgrounds in fashion design and filmmaking.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
To: All Spanish Employees
To: All Spanish Employees
Several visitors have brought to our attention that our Spanish speaking employees commonly use offensive language. Such behavior, in addition to violating the firm policies, is higly unprofessional, offensive both to visitors and employees, and will not be tolerated.
Therefore we have dicided to implement a series of rules in our ofice and expect them to be applied. It is expected that ALL employees immediately adhere to these rules:
1- Words like "coño, carajo" and other such espressions will not be used for emphasis, no matter how heated the discussion may get.
2- Non importants matters should not be addressed to as "pendejadas".
3- You will not say "la cagó" when someone makes a mistake, or "se cagó en su madre" if you see someone being reprimanded. All forms and derivatives of the word "cagar" are inappropriate in our environment .
4- Lack of determination will not be referred to as falta de cojones or mariconerías, nor will a person with lack of initiative be referred to as pendejo, mamao or comemierda.
5- No Manager or Supervisor, under any circumstance, will be referred to as "hijo de puta, ese cabrón", or "maricón".
6- When a good proposal is presented, the term "está de pinga" must not be used.
7- Unusual or creative brainstorming meetings should not be referred to as "pajas mentales".
8- Do not say “como jode” if a person is persistent, or "se jodió" if somebody is going through a difficult situation. Furthermore, you must not say "que jodienda", or "esto está del "when matters become complicated in your line of work.
9- When asking someone to leave you alone, you should not say "vete pa'l carajo", nor will you substitute "¿Qué carajo quieres"? for ¿May I help you?
10- When leaving the office using the term "me voy pa'l carajo" is not proper.
11- When any office equipment fails, it must be reported as " it broke down". not "se descojonó" or "se jodió la mierda ésta".
Last but not least, after reading this memorandum, please do not say "me voy a limpiar el culo con esto". Just keep it clean and file it properly.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Several visitors have brought to our attention that our Spanish speaking employees commonly use offensive language. Such behavior, in addition to violating the firm policies, is higly unprofessional, offensive both to visitors and employees, and will not be tolerated.
Therefore we have dicided to implement a series of rules in our ofice and expect them to be applied. It is expected that ALL employees immediately adhere to these rules:
1- Words like "coño, carajo" and other such espressions will not be used for emphasis, no matter how heated the discussion may get.
2- Non importants matters should not be addressed to as "pendejadas".
3- You will not say "la cagó" when someone makes a mistake, or "se cagó en su madre" if you see someone being reprimanded. All forms and derivatives of the word "cagar" are inappropriate in our environment .
4- Lack of determination will not be referred to as falta de cojones or mariconerías, nor will a person with lack of initiative be referred to as pendejo, mamao or comemierda.
5- No Manager or Supervisor, under any circumstance, will be referred to as "hijo de puta, ese cabrón", or "maricón".
6- When a good proposal is presented, the term "está de pinga" must not be used.
7- Unusual or creative brainstorming meetings should not be referred to as "pajas mentales".
8- Do not say “como jode” if a person is persistent, or "se jodió" if somebody is going through a difficult situation. Furthermore, you must not say "que jodienda", or "esto está del "when matters become complicated in your line of work.
9- When asking someone to leave you alone, you should not say "vete pa'l carajo", nor will you substitute "¿Qué carajo quieres"? for ¿May I help you?
10- When leaving the office using the term "me voy pa'l carajo" is not proper.
11- When any office equipment fails, it must be reported as " it broke down". not "se descojonó" or "se jodió la mierda ésta".
Last but not least, after reading this memorandum, please do not say "me voy a limpiar el culo con esto". Just keep it clean and file it properly.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Four Paris Restaurants Worth a Metro Ride
Four Paris Restaurants Worth a Metro Ride
By MARK BITTMAN
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 1, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/travel/03Choice.html?hpw
FOUR years ago, writing in these pages about Paris restaurants, I mentioned one called Au Boeuf Couronné, called it “terrific” and added that traveling to its location in the 19th Arrondissement was “the rough equivalent of going deep into Brooklyn.”
This was true, psychologically (for me at least), but no longer. Paris is smaller than New York: it’s just over three miles from Île de la Cité to Au Boeuf Couronné, and about six from Midtown Manhattan to the restaurants I like in Brooklyn. And — as has happened in New York — as restaurants in the wealthy and most tourist-laden neighborhoods of Paris have become more crowded and expensive, the areas where one can find a great meal have expanded.
With this in mind, I set out to explore some of the farther-flung alternatives. I concentrated on the increasingly energetic northeast quadrant of the city, namely the 10th, 18th (generally speaking, Montmartre), 19th (around the park of Buttes Chaumont) and 20th (which contains the Belleville neighborhood) Arrondissements. And it wasn’t at all like “going deep into Brooklyn.” In six nights of eating I took exactly one taxi “home,” and even that was because the people I was eating with offered to drop me.
Two additional restaurants worth knowing about: Restaurant Astier at 44, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud (in the 11th, it’s theoretically out of my range and is owned by a friend), not only does it have one of the best cheese trays in the city, it’s open seven nights, which is unusual and valuable. Quedubon, in the 19th at 22, rue Plateau, is better established than anything I’ve written about in more detail here, but I found it relatively disappointing; still, if you get through this list and want to take a shot, it’s beloved by many of my sources.
The four to follow have this in common: They’re in neighborhoods you might not get to otherwise, the food is good and in some instances fantastic, and the prices are way below average.
Baratin
Just off Rue de Belleville, this two-room place looks as if it put itself together with a design fee of zero. Yet it’s attractive and hip, at least in the style of an older generation. Beige walls sport oil paintings and black-and-white photos; the bar, tables and chairs — maybe there are 30 altogether? — are all of slightly beaten wood; the floor is old tile; the napkins are paper.
There are elegant touches, however, like the lovely water carafes sitting on the bar, and the easy, affordable and instantly likable wine list. Then there is the chef and owner, a hard-working gracious woman toiling in a kitchen that’s not open for style but because the door is ajar, presumably for ventilation and easy access.
After a bit of a hiccup — rather than being greeted we were sneered at by the black-dressed bartender — things settled down nicely. (Eventually, we charmed the owner with ignorance and bad French.) It’s not easy to order here: the appetizers are all about 10 euros (about $13.50) and big enough for a main course; you could easily split one, a main course and a dessert, and others were doing just that.
But duty called, so two of us ordered enough for four, starting with monkfish with red beans and sun-dried tomatoes, an unusual mix but a good one, and then a combo of octopus and potatoes, with pimentón (smoked paprika). Stewed lamb looked fantastic, as did roast pork, but we opted for barbue — a turbot-like fish — the skin crisp, the meat subcutaneously fatty and moist, the plate strewn with buttery root vegetables. (This was a theme of every restaurant we visited, it being late winter and these restaurants were hewing close to tradition, or trying to.) Pintade — guinea hen — was cooked perfectly, the dark meat braised and the white roasted, along with mushrooms and cabbage cooked in butter.
The baguette served with all of this, without fuss or comment, was incredible — crackly crisp and chewy. The pineapple confit with lime was an intense and welcome dessert.
Meanwhile, a guy walked in with a cat and let it loose to roam, which seemed to bother no one. Many people knew one another and stood around chatting. Even the surly bartender warmed up. It became a nearly perfect meal.
Baratin, 3, rue Jouye-Rouve (20th); (33-1) 43-49-39-70. An average meal for two (or, that is to say, a big one) is 70 euros, $97 at $1.39 to the euro, though you could eat much more cheaply. (None of the prices include drinks or tip, the latter insignificant as service is included.)
Philou
While I was in Paris, I told a native I was off to Philou, in the 10th. “Who goes to the 10th?” she demanded, with a bit more vulgarity than that.
At least enough people to fill Philou every night. (Some folks might even live around there; it seemed fine.) About a 20-minute walk from Bastille, Philou is too bright in both lighting and color, and that’s my only complaint. (I’ve read that it’s noisy, but that wasn’t my experience.) It’s unpretentious, with a compelling poster from “Les Enfants du Paradis” featuring the nearby Canal St.-Martin dominating one wall.
The owner, Philippe Damas, owned and sold the wildly successful Le Square Trousseau, reportedly because it was too successful for him to enjoy. This place is tiny — another one with about 30 seats — and he seems to be having a blast.
It’s also pretty inexpensive: 25 euros for two plates, 30 for three. There are several menu items that carry supplements, but at these prices you can’t complain, and you can, of course, avoid them.
The food: wonderful, sometimes perfect. Like the marinated sardines with parsley gelée, apples and horseradish. Also wonderful were a dead-on pâté with a jug of cornichons, pork cheeks in a gorgeous dark sauce with celery root cooked in stock (my mouth is watering at the thought of that); a few chunks of insanely good calf’s liver and poularde de Bresse, with meat that was almost as good as the skin, served with Chinese cabbage.
Imperfect but very good were real frogs’ legs, lots of them with pleurotes (the mushrooms were better than the meat); and scallops in their shells, with butter and puréed celeriac, which was “fine” in the sense that it was acceptable, but unexciting.
I will go back here. So would you.
Philou, 12, avenue Richerand (10th), (33-1) 42-38-00-13. An average meal for two can run as little as 48 euros, or as much as 68 euros.
Table d’Eugène
Found (perhaps with a little difficulty) in a part of Montmartre you may not have previously visited (I hadn’t), Table d’Eugène is the “fanciest” and most attractive of these places, in an old-fashioned way.
I confess that I visited here as an afterthought, for a last-minute lunch with my friend the cookbook author Patricia Wells, with whom I spent the morning visiting bakeries and cheese shops. It was late, I was tired and restauranted-out, and we tweaked our reservation to the displeasure of the proprietors. In other words, it was a setup for failure. Yet the food was so carefully presented and gorgeous — delicious, too — that the restaurant easily made the cut here. Like the others, it’s tiny; we wound up sharing our hastily arranged table with a couple of regulars who made us feel at home.
We started with a Parmesan sable, a delicate pastry that’s essentially a savory shortbread, with artichoke and pata negra, the fine Spanish ham. Rich piled upon rich, but that didn’t make it less enjoyable. No lighter but perhaps more elegant were chicken ravioli, with perfectly thin skins in an old-fashioned cream sauce and a garnish of fried parsnip. Just super.
Main courses were, if anything, better. Pork belly, with a rich, well-reduced meat sauce, was crisp and sublimely tender, cooked slowly and then browned. It was impossible not to polish off the entire plate, an act I didn’t regret for a moment. Our other course was a bar de ligne (sea bass), nicely browned and braised, with similarly treated fennel: simple, but spectacular.
I can’t drink or eat dessert at lunch so no report there. Next time I’ll go for dinner, and soon after I arrive.
Table d’Eugène, 18, rue Eugène Sue (18th); (33-1) 42-55-61-64. Lunch can be as little as 34 euros for two, dinner can run to 68 euros, but you could spend less.
Le Verre Volé
This 10th Arrondissement “eating cellar” is fun and frustrating. As much like someplace on the Lower East Side as you’ll find in Paris, it has mismatched and painted tables and chairs, a painted floor and a teeny tiny open kitchen. It’s funky, immediately likable, loud, brash and inconsistent. I wouldn’t make it your first stop, but its charms are undeniable, though it is crowded and noisy, with erratic service.
There is wine on many of the walls, sold at retail (people wander in, buy a bottle, wander out) and opened for you for 7 euros above that price, which is fine, since much of it is inexpensive. There are also good wines by the glass, like an organic Chablis at 5.5 euros a glass. Given, then, that you can drink cheaply, that a starter and a main course together will set you back just 25 to 30 euros, and that the food is quite good ... well, you can understand the popularity.
We ordered a lot, and enjoyed most of it: shrimp in intense shrimp sauce; steamed razor clams; more shrimp, big and little, steamed, from Brittany; the best scallops of the week; beef cheeks with aromatic vegetables, and an outstanding blood sausage. Some dishes — fish with vegetables, for example — were less exciting. Cheeses, from Jean-Yves Bordier, were fantastic, as was his insanely good butter. (That, on good bread, with a bit of blue ... there’s nothing better.) Crème brûlée was made with tonka beans, which are illegal in the United States (they contain coumarin, which has been found to cause liver damage in rats), and are gorgeously fragrant; that was a treat.
Le Verre Volé, 67, rue de Lancry (10th), (33-1) 48-03-17-34. An average meal for two could be had for 52 euros, but many people will spend more.
By MARK BITTMAN
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 1, 2011
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/travel/03Choice.html?hpw
FOUR years ago, writing in these pages about Paris restaurants, I mentioned one called Au Boeuf Couronné, called it “terrific” and added that traveling to its location in the 19th Arrondissement was “the rough equivalent of going deep into Brooklyn.”
This was true, psychologically (for me at least), but no longer. Paris is smaller than New York: it’s just over three miles from Île de la Cité to Au Boeuf Couronné, and about six from Midtown Manhattan to the restaurants I like in Brooklyn. And — as has happened in New York — as restaurants in the wealthy and most tourist-laden neighborhoods of Paris have become more crowded and expensive, the areas where one can find a great meal have expanded.
With this in mind, I set out to explore some of the farther-flung alternatives. I concentrated on the increasingly energetic northeast quadrant of the city, namely the 10th, 18th (generally speaking, Montmartre), 19th (around the park of Buttes Chaumont) and 20th (which contains the Belleville neighborhood) Arrondissements. And it wasn’t at all like “going deep into Brooklyn.” In six nights of eating I took exactly one taxi “home,” and even that was because the people I was eating with offered to drop me.
Two additional restaurants worth knowing about: Restaurant Astier at 44, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud (in the 11th, it’s theoretically out of my range and is owned by a friend), not only does it have one of the best cheese trays in the city, it’s open seven nights, which is unusual and valuable. Quedubon, in the 19th at 22, rue Plateau, is better established than anything I’ve written about in more detail here, but I found it relatively disappointing; still, if you get through this list and want to take a shot, it’s beloved by many of my sources.
The four to follow have this in common: They’re in neighborhoods you might not get to otherwise, the food is good and in some instances fantastic, and the prices are way below average.
Baratin
Just off Rue de Belleville, this two-room place looks as if it put itself together with a design fee of zero. Yet it’s attractive and hip, at least in the style of an older generation. Beige walls sport oil paintings and black-and-white photos; the bar, tables and chairs — maybe there are 30 altogether? — are all of slightly beaten wood; the floor is old tile; the napkins are paper.
There are elegant touches, however, like the lovely water carafes sitting on the bar, and the easy, affordable and instantly likable wine list. Then there is the chef and owner, a hard-working gracious woman toiling in a kitchen that’s not open for style but because the door is ajar, presumably for ventilation and easy access.
After a bit of a hiccup — rather than being greeted we were sneered at by the black-dressed bartender — things settled down nicely. (Eventually, we charmed the owner with ignorance and bad French.) It’s not easy to order here: the appetizers are all about 10 euros (about $13.50) and big enough for a main course; you could easily split one, a main course and a dessert, and others were doing just that.
But duty called, so two of us ordered enough for four, starting with monkfish with red beans and sun-dried tomatoes, an unusual mix but a good one, and then a combo of octopus and potatoes, with pimentón (smoked paprika). Stewed lamb looked fantastic, as did roast pork, but we opted for barbue — a turbot-like fish — the skin crisp, the meat subcutaneously fatty and moist, the plate strewn with buttery root vegetables. (This was a theme of every restaurant we visited, it being late winter and these restaurants were hewing close to tradition, or trying to.) Pintade — guinea hen — was cooked perfectly, the dark meat braised and the white roasted, along with mushrooms and cabbage cooked in butter.
The baguette served with all of this, without fuss or comment, was incredible — crackly crisp and chewy. The pineapple confit with lime was an intense and welcome dessert.
Meanwhile, a guy walked in with a cat and let it loose to roam, which seemed to bother no one. Many people knew one another and stood around chatting. Even the surly bartender warmed up. It became a nearly perfect meal.
Baratin, 3, rue Jouye-Rouve (20th); (33-1) 43-49-39-70. An average meal for two (or, that is to say, a big one) is 70 euros, $97 at $1.39 to the euro, though you could eat much more cheaply. (None of the prices include drinks or tip, the latter insignificant as service is included.)
Philou
While I was in Paris, I told a native I was off to Philou, in the 10th. “Who goes to the 10th?” she demanded, with a bit more vulgarity than that.
At least enough people to fill Philou every night. (Some folks might even live around there; it seemed fine.) About a 20-minute walk from Bastille, Philou is too bright in both lighting and color, and that’s my only complaint. (I’ve read that it’s noisy, but that wasn’t my experience.) It’s unpretentious, with a compelling poster from “Les Enfants du Paradis” featuring the nearby Canal St.-Martin dominating one wall.
The owner, Philippe Damas, owned and sold the wildly successful Le Square Trousseau, reportedly because it was too successful for him to enjoy. This place is tiny — another one with about 30 seats — and he seems to be having a blast.
It’s also pretty inexpensive: 25 euros for two plates, 30 for three. There are several menu items that carry supplements, but at these prices you can’t complain, and you can, of course, avoid them.
The food: wonderful, sometimes perfect. Like the marinated sardines with parsley gelée, apples and horseradish. Also wonderful were a dead-on pâté with a jug of cornichons, pork cheeks in a gorgeous dark sauce with celery root cooked in stock (my mouth is watering at the thought of that); a few chunks of insanely good calf’s liver and poularde de Bresse, with meat that was almost as good as the skin, served with Chinese cabbage.
Imperfect but very good were real frogs’ legs, lots of them with pleurotes (the mushrooms were better than the meat); and scallops in their shells, with butter and puréed celeriac, which was “fine” in the sense that it was acceptable, but unexciting.
I will go back here. So would you.
Philou, 12, avenue Richerand (10th), (33-1) 42-38-00-13. An average meal for two can run as little as 48 euros, or as much as 68 euros.
Table d’Eugène
Found (perhaps with a little difficulty) in a part of Montmartre you may not have previously visited (I hadn’t), Table d’Eugène is the “fanciest” and most attractive of these places, in an old-fashioned way.
I confess that I visited here as an afterthought, for a last-minute lunch with my friend the cookbook author Patricia Wells, with whom I spent the morning visiting bakeries and cheese shops. It was late, I was tired and restauranted-out, and we tweaked our reservation to the displeasure of the proprietors. In other words, it was a setup for failure. Yet the food was so carefully presented and gorgeous — delicious, too — that the restaurant easily made the cut here. Like the others, it’s tiny; we wound up sharing our hastily arranged table with a couple of regulars who made us feel at home.
We started with a Parmesan sable, a delicate pastry that’s essentially a savory shortbread, with artichoke and pata negra, the fine Spanish ham. Rich piled upon rich, but that didn’t make it less enjoyable. No lighter but perhaps more elegant were chicken ravioli, with perfectly thin skins in an old-fashioned cream sauce and a garnish of fried parsnip. Just super.
Main courses were, if anything, better. Pork belly, with a rich, well-reduced meat sauce, was crisp and sublimely tender, cooked slowly and then browned. It was impossible not to polish off the entire plate, an act I didn’t regret for a moment. Our other course was a bar de ligne (sea bass), nicely browned and braised, with similarly treated fennel: simple, but spectacular.
I can’t drink or eat dessert at lunch so no report there. Next time I’ll go for dinner, and soon after I arrive.
Table d’Eugène, 18, rue Eugène Sue (18th); (33-1) 42-55-61-64. Lunch can be as little as 34 euros for two, dinner can run to 68 euros, but you could spend less.
Le Verre Volé
This 10th Arrondissement “eating cellar” is fun and frustrating. As much like someplace on the Lower East Side as you’ll find in Paris, it has mismatched and painted tables and chairs, a painted floor and a teeny tiny open kitchen. It’s funky, immediately likable, loud, brash and inconsistent. I wouldn’t make it your first stop, but its charms are undeniable, though it is crowded and noisy, with erratic service.
There is wine on many of the walls, sold at retail (people wander in, buy a bottle, wander out) and opened for you for 7 euros above that price, which is fine, since much of it is inexpensive. There are also good wines by the glass, like an organic Chablis at 5.5 euros a glass. Given, then, that you can drink cheaply, that a starter and a main course together will set you back just 25 to 30 euros, and that the food is quite good ... well, you can understand the popularity.
We ordered a lot, and enjoyed most of it: shrimp in intense shrimp sauce; steamed razor clams; more shrimp, big and little, steamed, from Brittany; the best scallops of the week; beef cheeks with aromatic vegetables, and an outstanding blood sausage. Some dishes — fish with vegetables, for example — were less exciting. Cheeses, from Jean-Yves Bordier, were fantastic, as was his insanely good butter. (That, on good bread, with a bit of blue ... there’s nothing better.) Crème brûlée was made with tonka beans, which are illegal in the United States (they contain coumarin, which has been found to cause liver damage in rats), and are gorgeously fragrant; that was a treat.
Le Verre Volé, 67, rue de Lancry (10th), (33-1) 48-03-17-34. An average meal for two could be had for 52 euros, but many people will spend more.
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