[Gill H]

We start with a celebratory glass of prosecco, and as it’s a special occasion we choose the most expensive menu! This starts with half a lobster in a coconut sauce. It’s creamy, rich and utterly decadent.

Then along come the bowls of steamed and fried rice, and the many dishes that make up the meal – about 15 of them! Some are accompaniments, such as spiced potato sticks, prawn crackers and peanuts with an anchovy flavouring. Others are cold dishes such as pickled vegetables and a mango salad. Then there are the hot dishes – everything from beef, lamb and chicken to fish and shrimp, in a variety of sauces and styles. We’ve asked for the mild version, and our server points out which are the most spicy dishes, but even these are well within our spice tolerance. Everything tastes fresh and full of flavour, and there is such variety here. There is plenty to eat, but the portions are very small, so we manage to finish just about everything

Of course we find room for a small taste of something sweet to end the meal. We choose coconut ice cream with pineapple, which sounds a nice light and refreshing dessert. But rather than a few chunks, we are served a sliced half pineapple each! It’s beautifully presented, and complements the ice cream nicely, but we don’t manage to quite finish all the pineapple.

We finish off with a coffee and ask for the bill. When it first arrives, they’ve forgotten to take off the early bird discount, and we do feel a bit penny-pinching reminding them! But our server is happy to sort this, and the final bill comes to 103 Euros. Considering the luxurious meal we have enjoyed, that seems pretty good value really.

We walk home slowly – after such a huge meal we don’t have much alternative! But it’s still only about 10 minutes before we’re back at the hotel. Rachel welcomes us and we chat about the restaurant and the meal we’ve had.

As it’s still early, we decide to have a drink with Rachel and Pepjin at the hotel bar. We are keen to try the traditional Dutch spirit, jenever, which is related to gin. Fortunately Rachel knows her stuff, and for the next hour she guides us through a tasting of four different kinds, individually tailored to our palates. Of course we have to have a sip of each other’s too! It’s great to learn about the different kinds of jenever and how they are produced. A wonderful end to a very special evening.

Eventually we drag ourselves up the narrow spiral staircase (a bit of a challenge after all that food and four jenevers!) and soon we are fast asleep after a great day.

>>> Day 4

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