As part of an Amsterdam video web series (Amsterdam Calling), we ventured to World of Food because…read moreit's such a cool concept. I've been to, and rather like, de Foodhallen (http://www.yelp.com/biz/de-foodhallen-amsterdam) so this seemed right up my alley! I will get to the food, but will cover the practical stuff first.
In an old parking garage, it certainly has personality. With restaurants, up, down and literally around the structure, you could get lost finding all of the diverse food spots. Since there were three of us and we wanted to try A LOT, we got some of the smaller dishes the different stands had to offer. And the owners are so happy to talk about their food and where they came from!
First of all, hours. We thought going there on a Saturday at noon was a good bet...the website says they open at 8 am. While some opened *around* noon, looks like 3 or 4 pm on Saturday is best. As we missed out on some spots with a nice line attached because they opened as we left (and were stuffed!). I'm not sure about weekdays, though.
It's not the easiest spot to get to with public transit, but it does have a parking lot for cars if that's how you roll. I would suggest taking your bike on the metro or be prepared to walk at least 1 km, or figure out which bus might go near by as I did see one bus stop.
FOOD!
Ground Floor
My favorite was the fried chicken! OH SO GOOD. This is real fried chicken. The kind that you are so happy you are eating. I kind of forgot to share mine. It's directly across from the bar and can order by the piece. They also have the hot chicken (spicy hot) which my friends seemed to really enjoy as well. I just don't do spice.
Supu Food was so cool. The man was happy to let us taste the Zoutvlees "salted meat" before we ordered. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was good! So we got a sandwich with the salted meat in a juice with green beans and topped with a pickle. Not usually my thing, but this guy knows what he's doing because I thought it was great! He also has a few soups!
Surinamese Pasty is a my go! She not only has cakes and pastries from Suriname, but I believe she also had some from Indonesia. Doesn't really matter where they are from because they are divine. And if you seen a green colored cake...eat it. So much deliciousness.
1st floor (2nd for Americans ;) )
Good 4 Us--We started off with a strawberry/banana smoothie made with yogurt. She has a nice variety of yummy things that you can't go wrong. But what we thought was cool what that she wants to education the children about food. What a great idea! I think the importance of food education has slipped, so I'm happy to see one woman pushing that movement forward.
Chilli & Spice's fish burger made with naan was next. It was made with tandoori spices and topped with mango chutney. I didn't taste the mango but they flavor would have been great. But even without it, I was a very happy woman with my fish in naan.
Bara Man made traditional Bara. And if you aren't familiar, it's kind of a bread with spices and we got chicken curry inside. It gets mushy, but I like it! Add a little cucumber in your bite and perfection.
Lastly a super nice Armenian woman served us a pastry with cheese and spinach. I'm not a spinach fan, but it wasn't bad. The pastry was absolutely perfect and what ever kind of cheese it was, was delicious. I still could have eaten the whole thing, regardless of the spinach.
I hope to be back soon to share the fried chicken with my husband, and to try some of the places that weren't open when we arrived!
