, Food

Estaminet ‘t Kelderke

Posted on 1 June, 2021 by pierreo

PIERREO.COM Restaurant Review

Estaminet ‘t Kelderke

Grand Place 15
Bruxelles

+32 2 513 7344
https://restaurant-het-kelderke.be/en

Overall :

I do not trust a lot of Restaurants in and around the Grand Place in Brussels. Most places are tourist traps which serve so-so food at inflated prices.

I have been eating at this place for many years and have not been disappointed once. You also cannot beat the view from their terrace.

Food:

We went there for lunch and had, as always, excellent food. I had the Burger “L’Estaminet” and my wife had the Carbonnades Flamandes. Both came with Belgian Frites which we ate with mayonnaise.

They specialize in Belgian Food and for the moment have only a limited menu due to the current restrictions (outdoor dining only) – they also have an excellent selection of local beers.

Atmosphere:

Eating ‘al fresco’ at the foot of the Maison des Bouchers with the full extent of the Grand Place in front of you is unbeatable. There is a constant spectacle developing in front of you: tourists taking lot’s of photos; groups on a horse carriage ride; tour guides looking for their next victims, sorry customers; locals happy to just sit and absorb.

They have a very large room inside as well – I have never eaten there.

Comments :

They are highly rated on TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188644-d694640-Reviews-T_Kelderke-Brussels.html

As I indicated above, one of the addresses you can trust in that neighborhood.

If you do not have reservations, you need to come early for lunch or dinner as they tend to fill fast especially with good weather.

Details:

Reservations: accepted on the phone or by email

Credit Cards: American Express, Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Debit Card

Parking: The Grand Place in Brussels is a pedestrian zone. There are a lot of choices for parking around the Grand Place.

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, Travel

Alaska – Part 3

Posted on 26 November, 2019 by pierreo

Our continuing saga on a small ship in a large state…

It is still day 4 of our adventure and we have now moved all the way to the Northern end of the Seymour Canal, not far from where we were on Day 1. We are going to visit Park Creek, a bear sanctuary, not to rehabilitate them, but just an area that provides safety for them. The rangers have interacted with the local bear population for many years, and quite a few bears have their own name; the bears are left alone as much as possible, but are used to human presence and do not see it as a threat. We took the dinghy to go ashore and just as we were talking to one of the rangers, this is what we saw coming towards us. That is when I remembered I forgot my bells!

Mama Bear with two cubs, slowly coming along the shore to where we were. The rangers did not panic, so I figured we were safe. They kept on coming very close to us, but then followed the shore to our right, without taking a second look at us. We will encounter her again.

The cubs just followed Mommy.

Our valiant vessel parked in the sound waiting for us. She is such a beauty, I have to show more pictures.

After a very short walk, we came to a river where the salmon are running. Mama bear is now fishing for herself after she provided fish for her two cubs.

She jumped on a salmon and immediately started to eat. Continue reading “Alaska – Part 3” →

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Travel

Alaska – Part 1

Posted on 28 September, 2019 by pierreo

For a long time, I have wanted to go to Alaska and it seemed to me that a cruise would give me a good chance to see some of it. However, the idea of sharing cramped quarters with 1000-4000 other guests did not thrill me nor Bee. When we moved back to Houston, an Alaskan Cruise was one of our priorities which became even higher when it became clear that my Dad was interested in coming to visit us and would be interested in a cruise too.

We found the PERFECT way to do this! On 31 August, we left Houston for Seattle and later Juneau where we arrived in mid-afternoon (there is a three hour time change).

We would board our boat on 1 September around noon and therefore we had a full evening to enjoy and then a morning to ‘kill’. We had a very nice dinner at a Fish&Chip shop right on the old harbor (In the old Warf right across from the sea plane docks – Alaskan Fish and Chip Co – it was quite good).

In the morning, we went to visit a salmon hatchery which was pointed out to us by the taxi driver who took us from the airport to our hotel.

There are salmon stairs to allow the adult salmons to climb back into the tanks were they will lay or fertilize the eggs. Unfortunately, we were there at low tide and therefore the salmons could not reach the first step. We saw a few salmons swimming around looking for the entrance though. It is amazing that even in this very artificial situation the instincts of the salmon pushed them back to where they were born.

Inside the hatchery there were four tanks which were filled (we were told) with 190,000 young salmons. You can see a few swimming around where the lights from the windows shine but do not reflect. The photo below shows two of the four tanks. The young salmons spend 1-2 years at the hatchery before they are released back into the wild. After 5-6 years, 1-5 % will return to create the next generation; the rest were food for men and animals throughout the region.

From the hatchery, we had a good look at the Gastineau Inlet, the narrow sea arm in front of Juneau where harbor seals were hunting the salmon waiting to get up the stairs. Juneau is actually at the end of the inlet which creates a dead-end at low tide due to shallows – one can almost walk across it at very low tides.

A view of Juneau – these are not the boat we took! The one on the left is one of the Mega-Cruise sips that just pulled into Juneau around 11:30 AM. It has over 5000 passengers! The one on the right is a lot more modest – it si a National Geographic ship that was also loading as we went by. Probably holds 200 passengers and that was still a lot more than our boat.

This is not the boat we took either. It is a private yacht that left just as we were boarding ours. For a moment, I thought it might be nice to take that one – the I discovered all the great features of the boat we would spend the next 7 days on and did not regret anything anymore.

This is “The Catalyst” – our home for 7 days. The boat was christened in 1932 (there was only one passenger on board older than the boat) as a research vessel for the University of Washington. She was a patrol boat in the Aleutian Islands during WWII and changed hands several more times after that. She is now owned by a couple who take very good care of her and she makes regular voyages between Juneau and Petersburg from May to September. We are actually making her last trip of the 2019 season.

Catalyst only has 6 cabins, 4 below the main deck, one at the back of the dining area and one (the one where Bee and I stayed) located on the top deck right behind the pilot house. She has sea kayaks for 14 people, a fast tender and 4 wonderful crew members. Since there were only 6 gusts on this particular cruise, we quickly became one happy family.

Continue reading “Alaska – Part 1” →

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Culture

An Unusual Transhumance

Posted on 16 November, 2015 by pierreo

Last Sunday, on a prairie called “Le Chant des Cailles” in the middle of Watermael-Boisfort (one of the communes that comprises the greater Brussels) people slowly gathered but also seemed puzzled.

There are vegetables in the garden, but they are ignored by the crowd.

Children are also present, some wearing costumes, but this is not a masked ball.

There is sheep wrestling too. But the only spectators here are other sheep – they actually seem to be very puzzled as to what their “man-friend” Antoine is doing to their boyfriend! All these are 8-9 month old yews with a single “ram” charged with inseminating them. He has been quite busy and successful so far! Jamina later went to reassure the ladies.

So why the crowd – the anticipation is building as the people move to a local street. One car came up the street, and upon seeing the unexpected crowd made a quick U-turn and is now fleeing the scene. There are even professional photographers, who should watch their backs!

Jeremy has decided that all is OK and the show can begin Continue reading “An Unusual Transhumance” →

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Culture, Food, Travel

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast – Part 2

Posted on 9 February, 20159 February, 2015 by pierreo

After 5 days in Naples, Bee and I moved to the relative tranquility of Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, on the Amalfi Peninsula, and the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and Capri. We had ten more days to explore this part of Italy, rich in History, Art and Nature.

We went to Capri on our first day there – the weather forecast was not ideal for the week to come and we thought we wanted to take advantage of a reasonable day to explore the island.

Unfortunately, two cruise ships had arrived overnight, and all passengers from the ships were also going to Capri. Our ferry into the island was full and we could not get the return trip we wanted, so had a return earlier than we wanted initially.

Still, the day started positive – we booked a boat trip around the island, which included a visit to the Blue Grotto and wandered around the harbor while waiting for the departure. It was very interesting to see that even though this is a very touristy island, there are still people here doing traditional work, such as fishing out of small boats.

Here is a general view of the main harbour. On the side of the mountain in the background, you can see the first few houses of the second town in Capri called Anacapri.

Taxis on the island have been somewhat modified to cater to the expectations of local tourists. It is obvious that the maximum expected speed on the island is very low, or this type of roof on a car would not survive very long.

On the trip around the island, we first passed by the Blue Grotto. We were told that unfortunately the tide and the wave were too high to be able to visit the grotto that day. The entrance is very tight and it is often impossible to go through. However, it looks like some people are making it, so I am not sure if the boat captain was telling us the truth or not.

At the Western tip of the island, on Punta Carena, stands a very tall light house. It is critical to mark the entrance to the Bay of Naples where there has been a busy port for many centuries.

Again, we can see that normal life continues around tourism – this gentleman was fishing probably in the same way they were doing it 100 and 500 years ago!

Continue reading “Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast – Part 2” →

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Culture, Food, Travel

London 2013

Posted on 4 January, 2014 by pierreo

I do not want to be constantly late with new posts to my blog. And I have also decided to try and be more regular in the posts, so those following me are not disappointed week after week when nothing new comes along.

I am not going to post something every week, but will try to do something at least monthly at the start.

And here we go with a short trip to London. Since it was a short trip, I only took 4 cameras and not my big one! The pictures come from my little Casio Exilim and some have been “improved” in Photoshop with the treatment that I usually do with my regular photos.

Bee and I left work for the airport where we took a train to the Midi Station in Brussels and there caught the Eurostar to London. It was only my second trip on the train, and the first since the high speed rails had been opened in the UK. It took us the better part of 20 minutes to go through Checkin, security and emigration – glad we were early.

We arrived in St Pancras and took the tube to Green Park where our hotel was. Very nice location, but the hotel was a little dated for a Hilton. We still had a nice room and it had all the amenities we would have expected.

As it was already late, we went to dinner in the neighbourhood and found a good Turkish restaurant.

The next day, the weather was not great so we decided to do museums. We started with the Victoria and Albert Museum. On the way there, we saw the Christmas Windows at Harrod’s which were quite nice. V&A is a huge complex and it took us a while to get oriented. We wanted to see the modern glass exhibit, but had to go through several others, very interesting sights just to get there. We saw an exhibit of copies of famous statues and architectural pieces made in the 19th century. Some of these were used to restore the original. Also saw a great display of Chinese artefacts and clothing.

After a couple of hours we had enough so we went to China town for lunch. Had one of the best Chinese food in a long time!

We bought tickets to the Opera – Mozart’s Magic Flute, tried to get reservations at Jamie Italian (they do not take reservations) and did our share of shopping at Kathmandu. The opera was very nice, even though I was a little disappointed it was sung in English and not the original German. However, now I understand the story a lot better and will enjoy it even more when I listen to it at home. We tried Jamie Italian again – 45 minute wait at 9:40 PM so we went to another Italian Restaurant near Leicester Square

The weather on Sunday was great, so we went to Hampton Court. An adventure to get there as the normal trains from Waterloo were cancelled due to maintenance work. We took the Tube to Wimbledon then a replacement bus, which seemed to be taking forever. I knew we were in trouble when the driver looked back and asked if anybody knew how to get to the station! Fortunately, some one did and we got there in the end. This is not the first time we had problems with drivers of replacement busses.

Hampton Court is really majestic and a great day trip from London. The main entrance at sunset!

When we paid our entrance fee, we were told that re-enactments would be going on throughout the day and the next one started in the main court at 11:00. Since it was close to that time, we waited and sure enough a lady in period costume did show up and start telling us of her love story, not for the King but one of his aides. However, the king was in love with her etc, etc, etc…

We followed along, and in the main dining room, we got the meet the king!

Of course, the story is full of intrigues and misunderstandings and political moves.

We stopped following it as the Royal Chapel was about to open. In the chapel is a recreation of Henry’s own crown (the original was destroyed by Cromwell). We had good audio guides so we continued the visit on our own. We did the kitchen and we also did an exhibit on the life of Henry as a young man, up to his divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella who had reunited the crown of Spain and sponsored Columbus to look for an alternate way to India. It was very well done as this also included the break-up of the Church of England when the English Cardinal who supported Henry could not convince the Pope to grant him a divorce.

We had lunch then spent some time in the gardens which are gorgeous as always in England

This swan came quite fast when he saw us – if he expected food, he was disappointed!

As I said, it was a beautiful day and the views of the palace were magnificent. I was surprised to see palm tress in the garden! I wonder if they resist to the winter or have to be replaced every year? Continue reading “London 2013” →

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Culture, Food, Travel

Portugal – Part 1

Posted on 13 October, 201326 January, 2014 by pierreo

In May, Bee and I spent two weeks traveling around Portugal. I had only spent a few days in Lisbon and therefore most of it was a new discovery for me as well.

We started in Porto. A beautiful ancient city on the Douro River. Walking around town, we ended up near our first church, not a major attraction as it is not even listed in our guide-book, called the Church of the Clergy (Igreja dos Clerigos) but decided to go in and marvelled at the intricate decorations inside – baroque at its finest (for some people I guess!)

What is more remarkable, and listed in the good book, is the Torre dos Clerigos, the church’s bell tower. The view from the top is reported to be quite nice, but 225 steps on a small spiral staircase and the line to buy tickets dampened our enthusiasm…

Much more impressive is the fortress-like Igreja da Misericordia. There is a small park in front of the church from which there is a spectacular view of the Douro River and the other bank, full of storage and ageaing warehouses for the Port.

This was taken inside Igreja de Sao Francisco, one of the best and most elaborately decorated churches in Porto. It is next to the Palacio da Bolsa (the local Chamber of Commerce) and attests to the wealth of the merchants, at one time, in this city. We visited the Bolsa as well. Continue reading “Portugal – Part 1” →

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Food, Travel

Tuscany after New Year

Posted on 5 August, 2013 by pierreo

After five great days in Florence, Bee and I decided to go explore the Chianti area between Florence and Siena. We took the long way there, stopping in Pisa first. I had not been in Pisa for a few years and the last times I was there, the Campanile, also known as the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” was leaning a little too much and under severe renovations. That is all done now, and the view coming into the Piazza dei Miracoli is back to where it should be, to me, one of the best sights in the world …

We started by visiting the Battistero, not visible on the picture above but facing the Cathedral. The interior was surprising to say the least. It looked as much as a formal meeting place for political discussions as a place where young babies are introduced to the Catholic faith.

You can climb the tower again. This is done in groups of about 20 people every 1/2 hour. You book your ‘time’ in advance and hope the weather does not change too much just before you get to go in. It was threatening to rain, but held off while we were in line. The visit begins inside, at the bottom of the tower which is hollow! I forgot that. There is an explanation of the history of the tower and the restorations, which reduced the lean by a few degrees and actually stopped it from going further. Quite a success considering that 10-15 years ago, people thought there was nothing to do and the tower would eventually collapse.

There are instruments inside the tower which measure its position to make sure that everything remains safe.

It is a bell tower and therefore there are bells at the top. Here is a panoramic view of the carillon. Being so close, I Was happy it was not time to ‘ring’ the hours, or call the faithful to mass. That would have been very painful, I bet.

The view of the Piazza dei Miracoli from the top is spectacular. The Cathedral is in front, obviously, then the Battistero and to the right, you can see the roof of the Campo Santo. In the distance, Marina di Pisa, now a place where beachgoers go to private beach resorts but formerly the source of the wealth of Pisa with access to the Mediterranean Sea and the spice trade.

Continue reading “Tuscany after New Year” →

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Food, Travel

Flash visit to Perth, Australia

Posted on 23 February, 20139 March, 2013 by pierreo

I needed to be in Singapore for business for two weeks. During the week-end, Bee and I decided to make a quick jump to Perth to see friends I had not seen in over 4 years. We arrived late on Friday night, actually very early on Saturday morning so we made a late start on Saturday. We had lunch with Rajan, Julie and Georgia on the shore of the Swann River just to catch up on the last four years. as it often is the case with good friends, it felt as if we had seen each other the previous week!

However, Georgia had changed a bit since the last time I had seen her…

We decided to have a pic-nic on the beach at Cotesloe – I had been there before, but never really had a chance to swim as I never came at this time of year. We arrived around 5PM and had a quick swim first. The water was really nice and I felt refreshed.

We had a light pic-nic, with good wine! That is what we always did in the past too. Bee enjoyed the day.

and so did Georgia

Rajan had brought a special bottle of wine for the occasion. We really enjoyed that.

Here is the full spread, with the view, Rajan and Julie

Continue reading “Flash visit to Perth, Australia” →

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Culture, Travel

Iceland – Part 2

Posted on 9 December, 201220 December, 2012 by pierreo

On the last day in Stykkisholmur, I decided to take on a boat ride on one of the local Fjord.

We were lucky to see several puffins and I was even able to photograph them flying (yes they can fly) and swimming

On one of the islands in the bay, I caught this woolly sheep in an apparent staring contest with a sea gull – this is not a Mexican Standoff!

This is the perfect season to raise chicks – or whatever young Cormorants are called. There were several nests with young chicks in them along the cliffs.

The specialty of this particular tour is that towards the end of the tour, they trawl the bottom for whatever lives there and let you taste what comes up fresh and raw! All that with a glass of wine too. It was delicious. I particularly liked the sea urchins.

Continue reading “Iceland – Part 2” →

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