Hey Garmanvsfood family, how we doing? We are midway through this year already! Hope the first half of the year has been kind to you and yours. Ours has been tricky but, in all we give thanks. Gratitude is always a must, you know? We keep it things moving.
Amsterdam in summer is freaking gorgeous I tell you! What brings us here? Neal has a conference and me? Well, I tagged along (as I do). One time for the Euro star train, 4 hours from London and boom! You are here! No, I have not been twiddling my thumbs while Neal has been in his conference, I have been hard at my day job thank you very much! The perks of remote working.
It’s finally the weekend and so we made the most of our city break soaking up the sunshine in Dam and exploring the art scene. We are big fans of Banksy and went to see an unauthorised Banksy exhibition at Moco, an independent museum. It had works by Banksy donated by private collectors and it was pretty cool. We also stopped by the photography museum called Foam which Neal undoubtedly enjoyed more than I did, yep, he is into his photography like proper! With all the walking, dodging locals, tourists and bicycles as well as looking out for trams, you know I was well ready for din dins!
Dins dins at Pianeta Terra was interesting. Not sure if Neal planned for us to have a meal here or we ‘happened’ to find it? either way, we outchea! The chefs here take pride in ‘slow food’ which is not just sourcing food from locals but ensuring that the produce come from small farmers and supports biodiversity. I liked how the menu was folded into a quadrant and then opened like a map – details folks! The course(s) range from 3 to 7 dishes depending on your taste and comes paired with wine. We went for the Be All menu; 7 courses paired with wine. The dishes were true to Italian cooking – simple with only about 2 – 4 main ingredients with the quality of the ingredients the most important!
We started with buffalo mozzarella, pumpkin flan, celery root chips and balsamico. The chips were the most surprising thing – it looked nothing like traditional chips and was made from celery. I never had celery made into chips It was a new taste to my palette and I quite enjoyed it.
In true Italian fashion (I can say this with authority having eaten in Don Alfonso and IL Buco), we had 2 pasta courses. First up was Gnocchi. It was served with wild boar and season vegetables. It was creamy with chewy soft dough dumplings and pasta. The second pasta course was Mezzelune (think Ravioli) that came with Jerusalem Artichoke, Sicilian Pistachios and parmesan. We had Selengaia and Greco di tufo wines respectively. The Selengaia wine is bio dynamic wine made from grapes that have had no pesticides and use organic farming methods (using compost as fertiliser). I liked the Greco di tufo. It tasted fresh and crisp with fruity notes perfect for summer evening!
The Veal and Pork belly again, also had 4 ingredients. The pork belly came with chestnuts, anise mushrooms and limburgs syrup while the veal sukade steak was with chianti wine, Tuscan kale and parsley roots. Both were delish!
Pudding was hazelnut ice-cream truffle, chocolate sauce and tuille. Let’s just say your girl was very happy cos I love me some ice cream! What could be better than a gelato? More importantly an Italian gelato eh?
Thoroughly enjoyed the food here. I have learned about new things and I am thankful for what these guys do. In their own small way, they are doing their bit, made me think about what little changes I too can make in my life, Grazie!
Saluti
Ndidi
