This September, Andy and I went on a backpacking adventure (actually, we
wheeled ourselves) in Europe for three weeks! We visited 5 countries and our first stop was Belgium! We stayed w/ our awesomest friends Stesi (Steven and Sita). Our great host took us everywhere and introduced us to lots of Belgian food. It was great hanging out with the locals! They saved us from those tourist traps (which i will blog about for other countries...grrr!!)
(this was taken in Antwerp central train station. it's def much nicer then Brussels's train station)
When we got there the first question they asked, "What do you want to eat/try?" I quickly told them WAFFLES!! I visited Belgium 2 yrs ago and really missed their delicious crispy and melts in your mouth Belgian waffles. They knew exactly where to take us. According to them, this place has the best Belgian waffles and they were RIGHT!
Désiré de Lille
Everything on the menu looks so delicious:
Beignets: these are Belgium donuts, it's like the zeppoles from our street fairs. very yummy when it's warm.
I forgot the name of this dessert but it's another type of waffles. It's flat and thin and made with special syrup. The syrup was very sweet and had a strong molasses taste which I didn't like too much. I wish they had maple syrup but then found out you can't find any in Belgium.
Pancake with apples and ice cream: omg this was so good! the warm apples and the pancake was a little crispy...
Last but not least, a REAL Belgian Waffle!!!!! This was HEAVEN!! so light and crispy...most of the time the waffles we have in the states are thick and doughy w/ lots of cream and crap on it. This waffle was melt in your mouth and fluffy w/ a little bit crispy on the outside. DELICIOUS!!!!
According to Stesi, the Belgian way to eat a waffle is not to put crap (syrup, lots of whip cream, chocolate, fruits) on it. You are suppose to eat it plain. A good Belgian waffles are suppose to be coated with sugar so when you bite into the warm waffle, it is a little bit crunchy from the sugar. We actually saw many places that serves it with tons of crap. Andy couldn't help but want to try the crappy waffle so he did while Stesi shook their heads with disapproval. All the crap made the waffle very soggy and messy to eat!
I like mine, the Belgium way =)
You can find all these little trucks around Belgium. You can have a choice to put crap on it or not. Waffles are usually 2 euros for the plain ones.
More Sweets:
These pretty sweets are marzipan, a confection consist primarily of sugar and almond. It is usually shaped into different forms such as a fruit or animal.
These triangular shaped candy is called
cuberdon.
It is hard on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside.
I found cuberdons liquor in a
store. I didn't get to try this but I'm sure it's good because the candy was very yummi! I have to try this next I go to Belgium.
Gelato in Belgium from the Australian Home Made Ice Cream. The gelato was so creamy! I wish I could've tried more favors. I want more when I go back =D
so yummi!!
I don't know how we got into bonbons....I told them I really like them when I was little but can't find them anymore. Stesi being an awesome host took us to a near by theater to buy these bonbons. We didn't have tickets to see a movie but Sita used her charms so they let us in to the store. yay, I get to eat bonbons! =D
Instead of the popcorn/food counters, they have a 7-11/supermarket in the theaters. They have so much more selections!
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Désiré de LilleAntwerp, Belgium
http://www.desiredelille.be/
tons of fruits and juice to buy! different kinds of fruits were mixed w/ coconut juice for a very creamy taste:
fresh fruits of all kind cut up and put in containers...
chocolates...
different kinds of eggs...
creamy gelato...
meat...
more fruit!
dry fruits and nuts...
Korean restaurant (the only Asian store there)
candied fruits..,
fried fish balls (we tried them and I didn't it, Andy said it was okay...)
Restaurants towards the back of the markets were crowded but we finally found seats at Bar Boqueria.
it was kinda pricey...
picture with our food before we devour it!!
