Le Bon Bassin: Maastricht, Netherlands

Maastricht is the provincial capital of Limburg, the southern-most province of the Netherlands bordering Germany and Belgium. -wikipedia- They have their own dialect, Limburgs - for now, I'm sticking to just learning Dutch, even though HT hubbie's family are all from the said place.  (just too much to learn for somebody getting older like me).

Maastricht town...epitomizing a typical Dutch weekend...people having drinks outside, lady cycling with one hand...

I've visited Maastricht several times to hang out with my family-in-law. The last visit before this was my post about the exquisite Vlaai (or tarts) (Dutch Pastries 101).  And with birthday celebration, this shouldn't be miss out.

I had another one...:) looks good, isn't it? (It tasted good too!)

  This time, mam (HT hubbie's mother), celebrated her birthday in one of her favorite restaurants.  This was my 2nd time to dine there (1st time was in 2007 when I was still being introduced  as "girlfriend" of HT hubbie, and fast forwarding 3 years after, we're stuck to each other...happily). 

I can't blame mom for loving this place.  Situated beside a port (nice yachts), outdoor seating...serene environment...it's Gezellig!

We were given free appetizers ("amuse"), smoked mackerel with creamy sauce while having drinks...if free starters are way too good, they're really asking for high expectations!

And, we didn't fail them, in return, they didn't fail us...

For "voorgerechten" (starters), I ordered Grilled Tuna, Niçoise-style Salad.  I was surprised when it was placed in front of me.  A big, thick slab of grilled tuna fillet stood out on the plate.  I wonder where my greens were...haha.  The light, fresh, salad went well with my fish.  I would prefer my tuna  less grilled despite the warm center, (I was spoiled by Da Paulo) nevertheless, the fish was fresh, tasty and really made me look forward for my main course.

For Hoofdgerechten (main course), I had Roasted Brill in Lemon Oyster Sauce.  I noticed this restaurant specializes in flat fishes (I had sole last 2007).  The brill was so tender and lovely to eat adding the well balanced tangy and creamy taste of the sauce.  I don't usually care about side dishes, but the mashed potato was just like babies' food in consistency which I prefer :D hihi  (How do you prefer yours?)

White and Dark Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Ice Cream - this was heavenly!  HT hubbie and I shared one as my tummy said I can't finish my own dessert.  But with these rich, smooth and lip-smacking mousse, guess, who had more share? *bliss*  (We ladies need more chocolates to balance it off with our hormones, do you agree, gentlemen?)

All of us enjoyed our dinner and each other's company.  And mom was happy as after 4 years, her only son was able to celebrate her birthday with her....+ 1...her only daughter-in-law. :D

P.S. HT hubbie's family were so cool, that even before we dig in to our plates, they even ask "L, where's your camera?  Aren't you suppose to take pictures?"  *smile*

Le Bon Bassin
Capucijnenstraat 91
6211 RP Maastricht, Nederland
http://www.lebonbassin.nl/index.html

Utrecht, Netherlands: Goeie Louisa Brasserie: First bday in NL

"What do you want for your birthday?"  asked HT hubby.  To be honest, I can't think of anything.  He was joking around that I'm too spoiled that's why it was hard for me to answer his question.  (yeah right!)

So, what did HT wife got for her birthday?

HT wife is always hungry...fond of taking pics of food, and writing it on her blog...*bang* suddenly, an idea pop out into his head.

I want my birthday to be special but no fuss.  No dressing up necessary.  So, hubby who is now a foreigner in his own country after years of staying in Singapore, made a research on where to go...and we end up in this brasserie.

Brasserie is  a type of restaurant with relaxed, yet upscale setting which serves simple dishes. (Wikipedia).  What appears on the card is what you get.  No fuss.  Just good food.  (Goeie Louisa website).

You know why I don't want to dress up? As we have to cycle on our way to the restaurant.  Yes, this is another typical dutch.  Hoop earrings, short dresses, long sleeves with coat and tie, everyone was fleeing with their bikes. I just love the uniqueness this country offers.

We entered Hotel Karel V which used to be a cloister - from the 13th century onwards, but now houses a 5 star hotel, with restaurants Brasserie Goeie Louisa  and a Michelin star restaurant (which is closed for renovation).  Both restaurants work closely with their house suppliers to offer biologically grown veggies, meats and cheeses, and they prefer to grow traditional or oldfashion type of breeds.

Goeie Louisa ("good Louise") have 2 rooms to suit customer preferences.  You can dine in the living room or in the kitchen.  Guess where we end up to?

keuken, of course...to see what the chefs were cooking

The ambiance was really a true brasserie...simple yet elegant.

A tin base plate for a medieval look

As soon as we were seated, this plate of toasted bread with olive tapanade was served.

The menu (menukaart), was indeed straight forward.  Not too much choice for main course, 1 beef, 1 chicken, 2 types of fish, 1 veg and 1 lamb.

I've been researching on restaurants here in NL, almost every place offers set menu.  In this brasserie, they don't print out the set menu details so I have to listen carefully to the waiter (which I was very fortunate since he spoke excellent English).  While he was enumerating each ingredient in the 4-course set, I was already salivating, that i had to secretly swallow a bit and got me somehow demotivated to look at the menu as I already know what I want.  HT hubby felt the same too.

After waiting for our orders, they served a basket of bread with this very aromatic olive oil (the best I ever had).

unfiltered, Valderrama from Spain

Finally, the set arrived...

Salad with organic veggies, scallops and bacon - when it was place in front of us, hubby and I were thinking where the heck is the bacon that the waiter mentioned? :)  See those translucent sheets on top of the small scallops ?(yes i was a bit disappointed as the scallops were tiny)  Those were the bacon fats! I gorged into it as it was so tasty, and didn't give me that tingling feeling everytime I accidentally eat meat fats.  Lightly drizzled with citrus dressing, it was a great starter.

King prawns on saffron risotto with sea lavender - The king prawns were not really kings, they're more of young princes...coming from Asia, where the king prawns are really huge.  The prawns were lightly grilled giving its yummy natural taste.  The winner for this dish I would say is the risotto!  You don't even see the grains as it was fully covered with cheese that's not overwhelming but delicious.  Those leaves were called lamsoren (literally lamb's ear) in Dutch.  I was shocked for a second, then the nice waiter explained, that its called sea lavender.  It grows in an area influenced by tides or flood giving its salty edge (wikipedia).  And, since it's not available all year round, this ingredient was considered special.  And it tasted pretty good, just well-balanced green for this plate.

Lamb on mashed potatoes and fennel with tuinbonen - Ok, i'm not very sure what is the English word of tuinbonen whether it's petai or broad beans but i can attest that it was very fresh.  The mashed potatoes and fennel tasted so good, which we really can't think of what's making it so tasteful that we suspect it was the fennel (read more about it).  The lamb was tenderly cooked and heavenly.   The main course was such a delight.

click on the picture to see the up close and personal

Strawberry pudding with citrus cream - this big bowl was placed in front of me, making my dessert look small.  But first bite, it was absolutely divine.  It was nectarous and the citrus cream was a great complement.  I just love its lightness to end the meal. 

Hubby had his dose of coffee and this was what came with it...

macarons, nougat candies, cinnamon chocolate covered almonds

A great meal wouldn't be as great without a fantastic service!  And, it's always nice to see how your food is being made.  I've seen the waiters do return to the chefs if they think the dish they're about to serve doesn't look good enough or  doesn't have enough sauce.  I love how they worked together, all for the satisfaction of the customers. *clap clap*

Thanks to HT hubbie for the wonderful dinner. 

Price Summary in Euros

4-course set €42.50

Still water €5.50 ( too much )

Coffee with all the sweet €2.25 (better drink coffee than water)

Geertebolwerk 1 3511 XA Utrecht

The Netherlands
*reservation is a must (especially in the kitchen)
http://www.goeielouisa.nl/