Eiling goes to Antwerpen

 Windmills all the way from Netherlands to Belgium border

It was really an impulsive trip that I decide to hop onto the plane and fly to Amsterdam in less than 40hours. And that explains my hiatus last week because no one knew I was actually in Belgium for a few days. If I have a choice, I wouldn't want to go to Antwerpen via Schipol Airport as I had the worst treatment there during my last trip. It wasn't my 1st time to Amsterdam and in fact I was just there twice for the past year and the passport control gave me a helluva difficult time. When asked where I was heading, I told them that I am going to Antwerp and then he asked me which hotel I was staying and I said I will be staying with a friend. Then he asked me if I have an invitation from the friend... and I said "why the hell would a friend send me an official invitation to stay at their house?!!" And that proceeded to them referring me to another lady immigration officer to further interrogate me. I'm so pissed off. Why the hell I would fly on business class and with a return ticket to be overstaying at your country? Hello?!! Do you know that the GOLD is in Asia now and I am not coming for illegal employment?!! *super pissed @%%^&* I was again interrogated by the customs officer when I am exiting into the arrival hall. Sigh...

Such a discrimination! 

Anyways, let's not let such events dampen my mood for an impromptu holiday.

'De molen' in Boechout

This is a very nice windmill at the very backyard of the Mortsel, a city in Antwerpen where I stayed for the week. Brussels seem to be a more popular choice for a trip to Belgium but I can tell you that Antwerp is also a very nice city to visit. I had a day out at Antwerp despite the crazy-cold-weather of 1°C in the morning/afternoon even when it's supposed to be Spring by now. There used to be a bar and a restaurant  here but it has since been closed and from the look of this place, it looks like a nice place for a run in the mornings and evenings.

Belgian Frites with Mayonnaise from Frituur No.1

Very often we call fries - French fries but if you are a potato connoisseur (or a Belgian), you will love Belgian Frites because they made "French fries" look like child's play. And to recognize the real Belgian frites, they need to be fried twice (Heston Blumenthal will suggest thrice) because they first have to make the inside soft, and a second time to give the outside a slight crisp. Usually, it's served with mayonnaise but there are also many other sauces that are available such as blue cheese and they seldom eat them with ketchup. These frite shops are quite a common sight in Antwerp and don't forget to drop by and stuff yourself with such delicious calories! *On a cold day, this is heaven!!!*

Frituur No.1

Hoogstraat 1 Old City Centre

I made my daytrip to Antwerp an eating tour. But of course the credit goes to my tour guide who knows the city at the back of his palms. And since I am a tourist, I need to first have a taste of Bolleke (also known as De Konnick - famous belgian beer). Pelgrom is one of the more famous pubs and brasserie in Antwerp and it's also a tourist place due to its structure and interior. From the outside, it looks like just an ordinary shop but the drinking and dining tables are located in the cellar and the cellar is never ending that stretches beyond a few streets underground! How cool is that? But with the music that they are playing in there, it felt more like a dungeon. 

I had one Bolleke which costs EUR2.50 and there's also quite a number of popular belgian beers available here. After I had frites, I came here for a beer... how much calories have I just gained?

Pelgrom

Pelgrimsstraat 15 2000 Antwerpen Belgium‎

Tel: +32 3 234 08 09

As if the frites and beers are not sufficient, I dropped by at Desire de Lille which is a famous dessert restaurant in Belgium. When I walked into the restaurant, the aroma of the freshly made belgian waffles are already making me hungry!

 Warm belgian waffles with cream and ice-cream and a bowl of Smoutebollen. These are really tasty desserts and the smoutebollen reminds me of the Oliebollen in Amsterdam.

 

The Smoutebollen are actually "lard balls" but they are not made of lard of course! The real "smout" is actually rapeseed oil and they taste very much like the small doughnuts we find in the bakeries except that these ones here have a firmer body and are served with powdered sugar. I think I just had a sugar rush after indulging in both the smoutebollen and belgian waffles. The waffles are a must-try here as they are soft, eggy and buttery.

Desire de Lille

 Schrijnwerkersstraat 14, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium

Tel: +32 3 231 62 26

Antwerp is quite a nice place to visit apart from Brussels. For some people, Brussels = Belgium but that's actually not true. Antwerp is a historic city filled with beautiful ancient architecture, churches and also nice belgian beers and food. Even the largest shopping centre in Europe, Wijnegem shopping center is here and it's about 10km away from Antwerp. I will be coming back for moreeeeee.....