2 glasses of Veuve Clicquot to start our evening
Koen and I see New Year’s Eve as a reason to indulge. Normally that means champagne, lobster, foie gras, and any other decadent food or ingredient we can think of – but this year we decided to challenge ourselves to create a kaiseki dinner for the two of us.
Kanada-Ya
One of my favorite things about big, international cities like London is that you can find great food from almost any nationality. High on our list during this trip was ramen, so I researched some of the best restaurants and discovered Kanada-Ya. Originally found in Yukuhashi ont he southern island of Kyushu in Japan in 2009, a location was opened in London in 2014. For their famous tonkotsu, pork bones are simmered for 18 hours to create a delicious broth with homemade noodles that are made on site. Worth the 45 minute wait!
SEA ME
When looking up the best restaurants for seafood in Lisbon, you’ll find SEA ME – a Portuguese/Japanese fusion restaurant in Chiado. Because we love Japanese food, we really wanted to visit SEA ME! We discovered the restaurant a bit late in the trip, but luckily were able to secure a reservation our last night in Lisbon. I knew already a bit about the Portuguese-Japanese connection, because I watched a documentary about tempura in Japan, that it was introduced in the 16th century by the Portuguese living in Nagasaki.
Les Saveurs de Yamada
For Koen’s birthday, we decided to try Les Saveurs de Yamada, a Japanese restaurant specializing in Kaiseki Ryori. We had the pleasure of discovering kaiseki when we were in Kyoto in 2016 and were excited to discover we could experience it in Antwerp, as well!
Christina and Rafaël at the Christmas Market
I’m so happy my best friend is married to someone from the Netherlands. That means every once a while she’ll be closeby and we can see each other! Antwerp/New York City is a long distance, but when we’re together it’s like no time has passed!
Hannah and me
This past weekend Koen was away in Rotterdam for a boys’ weekend, so I invited Hannah to come to Antwerp for a girls’ weekend! We planned for a delicious Japanese dinner at Osaka (edit – Osaka has since closed its doors after 20 years), followed by drinks at Dogma. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast at Lints, coffee at Caffènation, and then a walk in the Botanical Gardens to see the cacti! A great weekend!
Roji
Finished! Finally finished! After three months of no free time – researching and writing in the evenings after work and on my days off – my thesis is completed! One step closer to my MBA!
Tonkotsu Ramen
One of my favorite dishes while in Japan was tonkotsu ramen. “Tonkotsu” means “pork bones” in Japanese. The dish is aptly named, because the broth is made by boiling pork bones for almost an entire day. When Koen decided to make the dish, it took an entire weekend to prepare!
Izumi
Ever since we’ve been back from Japan, we can’t help but crave the Japanese kitchen. One night we had friends over for soba dipping noodles and tempura veggies and started discussing the best Japanese restaurants in Antwerp. When Izumi came up, there was disbelief that we hadn’t been there already. So we set a date!
Dotonbori at night
Dōtonbori is amazing! Situated along the Dōtonbori Canal, you can find bright lights, delicious street food, tons of people, and a great energy!
An American in Antwerp 