Reminiscing the summer days
Postcards from Ameland and inspiring conversations
Summer in Ameland
Summer came late to the Netherlands and it seems she is departing… just right in time. Fall is officially here. The sun sets earlier, evenings are getting chilly, and the leaves are turning yellow. Rule number 1 of living in the Netherlands, never take the sun for granted. The lowland enjoyed only 1910 hours of sunshine in 2023, meaning only ~80 days of sun in a year. Before fall disappears and the long dark winter kicks in, I’m here to reminisce the summer days.
Back in August, I took a trip to Ameland, one of the West Frisian Islands off the northern coast of the Netherlands. In a nutshell, the trip was full of eating (and catching!) seafood, swimming in the sea, and soaking up all the sun. I had the chance to savor these sweet and tasty shrimp, both raw and boiled—thanks to my friend, who was kind enough to peel them for me.
The catching part isn’t the hardest. We had to shovel the beach shore with a shrimp net, separate them from the other tiny sea creatures (mostly jellyfish and tiny fishes), and store the shrimp safely in a big bowl. The cooking part is the epitome of a labor of love. Firstly, we had to rinse them in a sieve over running water to make sure you remove the sands and dirt before you boil them. The peeling part took forever as these shrimps are very tiny! But, when you have shrimp shells leftovers, don’t waste them but rather turn them into a shrimp bisque. And oh, by the way, I’m definitely adding shrimp nets to the list of things that Dutch people bring on their bikes!!
I love feeding people, so I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for the group. Before the trip, I had endlessly scrolled through seafood-based dishes inspo on Pinterest but ended up switching things up based on the ingredients we got (gotta improvise a bit). Big courtesy of Metz Vishandel — we had a feast with mackerel, seabass, and big fat gambas. FYI, this fish shop is owned by my friend’s family, so whenever you are in Ameland, make sure you drop by for some broodje haring or seafood paella. For dinner, I prepared two main courses including some grilled fish, veggies, and garlic butter cilantro rice, and some spaghetti with calibrian chillies and gambas. My sambal andaliman also made an appearance and they went really well with the fish and rice. Safe to say that dinner was chef’s kiss!!
A wholesome conversation
Every time I am in Amsterdam, I make sure I pay a visit to my favorite Indonesian restaurant in this country. Yes, big statement. Paon Amsterdam serves Balinese cuisine. Their menu might seem simple at first glance. They offer a rotating set menu: Wednesdays feature pork or fish, Thursdays are for chicken, Fridays showcase their signature dish, and Saturdays offer a mix of pork, chicken, and tofu.
The to-go restaurant is owned by an Indonesian/Balinese and Dutch couple. Every time I visit, I take my time to savor every bite and enjoy the party in my mouth. This time, I came by myself on a Wednesday evening. The restaurant opened at 17:30 and I arrived at around 19:00. I had to queue for 40 minutes and luck was with me as I saw some people behind me were sent home because op is op! Everything was sold out for that day. I took a seat outside and devoured my dinner while I watched the sun on Java island (not Java Java, but Java Amsterdam) set.
I waited until the owner of this place was done with service so I could chat with her. The conversation sparked so much joy in me. I proudly told her that I tried making a couple of Balinese cuisines such as jukut nangka from my Balinese cookbook. She gave me some essential tips for the infamous Balinese sambal matah which is to cook/mix/massage it with your hand. We talked about how tourism in Bali played a big role in how its cuisine evolved. Interestingly, she grew up with mostly Javanese food as some Balinese food that we know today was actually eaten only during religious ceremonies (I’m talking about babi guling). Despite the many tokos that we can find throughout the country, she told and showed me the importance of courage needed to introduce lesser-known Indonesian dishes beyond the typical offerings.
So, whenever you are in Amsterdam, Paon should be on your to-eat list.
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