Rijstafel

This morning wes even warmer than yesterday; we decided to head for the countryside and took a bus to the quaint village of Edam. So pretty! There we tasted different flavours of Edam in a cheese shop before having coffee at a café in a lovely old square. We watched the canal bridge being raised to let boats pass underneath it, then walked a very pleasant 5 km along the coast to Volendam. Volendam is a very busy little town on the Markensee, and today it was jumping with tourists; it appeared that all of the restaurants were pretty full. Just as we approached a small restaurant beside the pier, a table came free outside it and the man who was leaving said "you have the best seats in the house!" which was correct because we could sit back and watch all the people coming and going along the seafront from a relaxing vantage point. Then we jumped onto the ferry which took us across the Markersee to another picturesque little village, Marken, which has attractive painted wooden houses. It was very hot all day but we kept hydrated with frequent stops in cafés who here we chatted and enjoyed the atmosphere. 

The Dutch arrived in Indonesia in the 16th century in search of spices, and eventually Inonesia became a colony of the Netherlands. I mention this because it explains the Dutch people's love of Indonesian food, and Ewan suggested that we try one of the many Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam. I loved it! We all had Rijstafel which is a large meal to be shared amongst a group, consisting of rice with many small dishes of spiced vegetables and meats. The dishes looked small but they were very filling and the flavours were spicy and unusual. Then our dessert was brought out; again a large sharing platter where the crowning glory was an amazing banana tart surrounded by delicious cakes, sorbets and ice creams. Interestingly, Rijstafel is said to have been influenced by Dutch colonials who asked Indonesian chefs if they could have "a bit of this and a bit of that" so the chefs prepared a variety of small dishes for them to taste and it became a new tradition - so the culinary influence goes both ways. We were so full at the end of this delicious meal that we had to go for an extended walk on the way back to our hotel to aid our digestion!