Amsterdam has a multi-ethnic culture and this is readily seen in their food. I think you can find nearly any type of cuisine in the city, so we tried some new taste treats. You'll see some of the restaurants we tried along with a few random photos of the city and the side trip we took to Delft.

One new type of food that is readily found in Amsterdam is Indonesian food . We went to Max, a very nice restaurant not far from our apartment in the Jordaan district and tried the Indonesian tasting plate. After an appetizer of a type of barbecued meat on a salad, they brought a large platter of 10 different Indonesian foods, ranging from mild to spicy, including meats and vegetables. We had a beef and chicken dish, cold salad, sweet potatoes, and many other typically Indonesian foods. It was really delicious and they obligingly boxed up our left-overs to take home for the next day's lunch.

Another favorite place we ate several times was an English style tea room called Greenwoods that served amazing breakfasts and lunches.

We also tried some Dutch pancakes at the Pancake Bakery. The pancake I had was a large, plate sized pancake, nearly as thin as a crepe but not quite. You could order them with any of dozens of toppings from savory to sweet. They also served very good omelets and smaller puffy pancakes, similar to our American pancakes .

Megan had never had mussels, so we all enjoyed a dinner of the tasty little crustaceans one evening at a tiny restaurant near Dam Square. 

Our last evening in Amsterdam, we went to a wonderful little restaurant called Sichuan Food. It was awarded the first Michelin star in Amsterdam about 15 years ago for its Peking duck. It was really a delicious meal we'll all remember. First they brought out our roasted duck, whole, to show us. Then it went to the kitchen to re-emerge in three different course and five different incarnations of duck. First course was the traditional crispy duck with pancakes, green onions, and cucumber sticks and hoisin sauce. Second course was duck soup, hot and delicious. The main course was duck, three ways. Minced duck with lettuce leaves, duck medallions and roasted breast of duck. The restaurant owner took us inside and proudly showed us his pictures on the wall of famous people who have enjoyed his Peking duck--like Mick Jagger and Mariah Carey! We had a marvelous time and really enjoyed the duck.

Cory and Megan found a favorite little bar down the street from our apartment where they enjoyed the Dutch beers, 30 different kinds on tap. We also enjoyed Dutch waffles and other specialties--except none of us were brave enough to try the herring sold at the sidewalk stands. Maybe another trip!
 
One day Cory and I took the train to Delft, a small town about 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, famous for the blue pottery. We just poked around the town, very picturesque, saw a local wedding, and a windmill. It was a relaxing day in the countryside and out of the city.