Category Archives: Things to do in Amsterdam

Hip Guide to Amsterdam

Aneka Rasa Indonesian Restaurant

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The Aneka Rasa is an Indonesian restaurant on the Warmoesstraat in the heart of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. But don’t let that fact put you off your food, some of the best meals in Amsterdam are to be found in this area. Just two blocks from Centraal Station, or three from the Dam Square.

As there were two of us dining, we decided to order a rijstaffel “menu” and enjoyed it greatly for all it’s uniqueness, especially the variety of sauces in each of the many dishes.

We started off with their spring rolls, unusually and delightfully prepared with lime leaf and lemongrass, with bits of chicken and vegetables, they were deep fried to a nice crispiness without being drenched in oil. They were served with a delicious sate sauce.

As we sat in the dining room with our beers admiring the nice wood paneling, the main course arrived with two long heated metal trays down the middle of the table loaded with goodies to eat. There were at least a dozen dishes to choose from, the more memorable are listed below.

Hard boiled eggs, with a dark savoury sauce were in one dish. Another had skewers of chicken satay and a huge puddle of peanut sauce, quite nice and lots of it! There were large portions of rice, both coconut flavoured and stir-fried. A bowl held fresh green beans with a fine zesty sauce and other bits of vegetables and nuts stirred in with it. There was a portion of fried mackerel fish, swimming in it’s own sauce, but that was about the least favorite thing I had. The prawns were great however, with a red spicy pepper sauce, and when sprinkled with finely grated coconut, an amazing treat! A bowl of cabbage and carrots was swimming in some herbal sauce that left me cold, but it was in fact piping hot like all the rest of the dishes. Our most favorite that evening had to be the hot and spicy chicken pieces, with nice chunks of red peppers in its own unique sauce… so it was an evening of many sauces, all unique to say the least.

Afterwards our menu meal featured a dessert with coffee or tea, and fried bananas covered with powdered sugar, a fine way to end the meal. And these weren’t ordinary bananas either, they were the fine red fig variety I love so much when I’m in the tropics, or Amsterdam, and lucky enough to find then in the local market.

Our bill, including four beers, was 61.50 euros. Not bad considering we left the table filled with pleasure!

So, my hats off to the Aneka Rasa, with its great service, fine food, and convenient location.

Koninklijk Paleis

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Open daily during the summer for tourists, the Royal Palace is not the home of any royalty, it’s a museum and venue for important state events held by the Dutch royals. Recently renovated and spruced up for the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Maxima this place is worth a visit if you haven’t been inside before.

Of note are rooms replete with their period furnishings, carvings, bas-reliefs of bizarre historical notes and artworks left behind when the royals abandoned the place.

Amsterdam Historical Museum

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A visit to Amsterdam should include a visit to this unique museum located near the Dam Square. How can you possibly understand Amsterdam as it is now without a look at it’s fascinating history?

The Amsterdam Historical Museum moved into this building in 1975. It was formerly the municipal orphanage (founded in 1520), and a brief history of the building’s previous existence is told in and around the governors room. An interactive program about the orphanage also contains several old photos.

Exhibits of special Amsterdam historical significance are displayed here at the museum.

Info:
Open daily.

The two museum entrances can be accessed from Kalverstraat 92, Sint Luciënsteeg 27 and Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 357. The museum is a twelve-minute walk from Amsterdam’s Central Station, via Damrak, Dam Square and Kalverstraat. Trams 4, 5, 9, 11, 14, 16, 24 and 25 also go to the museum, stopping at Spui.

Oosterpark

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The Oosterpark is located on the east side of Amsterdam, in a culturally diverse section of town. Thus it’s a popular venue for cultural activities involving various groups including Surinamese, Indonesians, Indians, Muslims and others.

But anyone can enjoy this beautiful park. I found the design intriguing as the paths lead to sudden viewpoints offering different perspectives on each section of the park.

Another interesting feature of the park are numerous metal sculptures like the one above. One statue honors a sheepdog named Albert, who helped track down 200 fugitives for the Amsterdam Police department. A new monument will be unveiled July 1st, 2002 to commemorate the Slave History of Holland, which brought the ancestors of those who live around the park to the Netherlands.

You can view a variety of birdlife in the ponds at the Oosterpark.

Rijksmuseum

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The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, is home to a large collection of art and history of the Netherlands. The museum has an famed collection of paintings from the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, the Golden Age, works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and other paintings such as Frans Hals and Jan Steen. At the very heart of the museum is Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”.

The Rijksmuseum houses more than just paintings: there are collections of silver, delftware, doll’s houses, prints, drawings, Asiatic art and Dutch history. Art on paper, prints and drawings, and the photographic collection, are shown four times a year in different exhibitions.

The Rijksmuseum is at one end of the Museumplein which is also bordered by the Van Gogh museum, the Stedlijk museum and the Concertgebouw. The Museumplein is a good place to take a break on a nice day. It’s especially refreshing if you’re attempting to do more than one museum in a day.

Info:
Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on January 1.
Admission is 8.50 euros for adults.

Address:
Stadhouderskade 42
Amsterdam 1071 ZD
Phone: 020-674-7047

Toko Dun Yong

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Amsterdam’s Chinatown is growing daily, with new shops opening along the edge of the district, servicing the booming restaurant trade and immigrant population as well as the growing interest in Asian food among Europeans.

Toko Dun Yong, a multilevel department store, has been selling a wide variety of products made in China since 1957. This is the class market in Amsterdam’s Chinatown, with far more items than the other, smaller markets carry.

Their excellent selection of food, kitchenware, ceramics, furniture, books, music, restaurant equipment and decorations are without peer in Amsterdam. Whether you’re looking for just the right size wok, or that special kind of tea you’ll find it here or nowhere.

If you can make it past the first floor’s enormous selection of edibles, venture downstairs to the basement’s treasure horde of kitchen and restaurant items. You’ll be sorely tempted to buy that long desired kitchen implement. I was amazed to see such a range of items, including things I didn’t expect to find in a Chinese store, like Paella pans (in 2 sizes!).

With all the other Chinese specialty stores around, the prices might not be the best on certain items, but it’s hardly worth the time to shop all over to save a few cents, when this place has it all.

Info:
Open: 9am – 6pm daily, Sunday Noon-6pm.
Metro: Nieuwmarkt

Address:
Stormsteeg 9
Amsterdam 1012 BD
Phone: +31-(0)20-622-1763

Blokker

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The popular Blokker chain of stores can be found in most every shopping district in Holland. They sell a good range of household items, focusing on kitchenware, house cleaning utensils, small electronics, plastic goods, seasonal items, gifts and various sundries.

Check out their weekly flyers for specials.

Prices are good but be prepared for crowded tight aisles jammed packed with merchandise and shoppers.

There’s a big three story Blokker on the Nieuwendyke, but most are smaller neighborhood stores like the photo above.

One of my favorite Blokker’s is on Beethovenstraat, in Amsterdam, it is located in the map below, and also found everywhere through Holland.

Tjin’s Toko

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I discovered this little market by chance one day while shopping at the Albert Cuypmarkt. It didn’t look like a grocery store because the front is a take-away Asian place. But once you enter into the main shop (there’s two doors, one for the take-away), you’ll discover a treasure trove of hard-to-find grocery items from countries around the world.

The three very narrow aisles stock a wide range of products that will remind you of home. Or perhaps some exotic place you wish you could be. Like a good selection of Patak’s curry pastes and condiments, soy sauces including light and mushroom flavored, canned hummous and tahini, real hot jalapeño peppers from Mexico (not the mild Old El Paso ones, which they also carry), Betty Crocker cake mixes and frostings, Mrs. Dash salt-free seasonings, Phad Thai noodles, a good selection of beans, chocolate chips (very difficult to find in Holland, despite so much chocolate everywhere), and too much more to mention. You really need to see this place to believe it.

The manager is very good about locating and stocking items that you can’t find. My request for hummous was filled by my next visit!

The biggest drawback to this place is how cramped it is. You can barely work your way down these short aisles before someone tries to squeeze by. And the lack of space doesn’t leave much room for fresh produce, and the selection in the one cooler isn’t much.

Perhaps success will enable them to expand and increase their selection further. While the prices on some items are very reasonable, others like the cake mixes are expensive (7.50 euros is a lot for a mix that’s around $2.50 or less in the states). But if you’re jonesin’ for that special treat to remind you of home, you just might find it here!

I haven’t yet ventured into the take-away yet, but judging by how busy it is, I’d say it’s a good value.

Update: You might want to check the expiration dates on items before you purchase them, as I’ve noticed certain things that don’t sell remaining on the shelves for a very long time.

Phone: 020-671-7708

Anne Frank House

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The actual hiding place where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis during World War II.

Eerie and ghostly, with lots of lessons for everyone about hatred and war. This should be visited by all who come to Amsterdam so that you understand the things that have happened here in the past, and why Amsterdam is what it is today.

Info:
Open daily from 9 am to 7 pm. Admission is € 6,50 for adults. Children less.

You can walk to the Anne Frank House from Centraal Station, Amsterdam’s main train station, in 20 minutes. You can also board tram (streetcar) number 13, 17, or 20 as well as buses number 21, 170, 171, or 172 which all go to the tram/bus stop called Westermarkt, located about a block (300 feet) from the museum’s entrance.

Visit the website: Anne Frank House