Niek's Opinions: A Tale of Two Cities: Gouda

Ok. Technically this post is not about Gouda. It's about Rotterdam, more specifically the Markthal in Rotterdam. But.. It is linked to Gouda as it has to do with how centrally Gouda is located. 20 minutes by train away from Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht and it's 40 minutes to Amsterdm. By car it depends on how busy the roads are, but I like going by train, you're in the city centre and no parking troubles.

To go to the Markthal, my mum and I took the train to Rotterdam Central station and hopped on the train to Rotterdam Blaak. You can also take the metro or walk. But by train it's a 3 minute ride. And I do have bum knees ;-).

Anyway, when you exit Rotterdam Blaak and glance over your right shoulder, there it is, the Markthal.

It's a marketplace, combined with living space and restaurant and store space. And quite frankly, it is the bet thing to happen to Rotterdam in a long time! Thelocation is magnificent! Right next to the 'kubuswoningen'

And 'the pencil'.

So not only can you satisfy your culinary cravings, sniff a little architecture while you're at it.

Inside is an oasis of food stalls, foodie stalls, foodie stores and restaurants (and there is even an Albert Heijn, an Etos and a Gall and Gall for your more regular needs). It can be a little overwhelming, because there is just SO much! My mum and I just started on one side and worked our way up and down the aisles. And still I feel I may have missed some spots.

There is a little bit of everything. There are the things you would expect at a food market: veggies, flowers, cheese, fish, meat. But it's not just your regular stalls. Schmidt Vis has a stall (one of the best fish mungers in the Netherlands, in my opinion), the meat vendors have some A class pieces of meat, Wagyu anyone?, and the cheese stalls vary from extremely touristy to more specialised with odd cheeses.

I won't discuss ALL the stalls, simply because there are too many and I may go back quite soon and I'll leave some for a future blogpost. But.. A few are worth mentioning straight away!

Monsieur Saucisson.

As the name and the photo give away, monsieur Saucisson sell sausages. Good sausages, in the most amazing flavours. They are not shy in letting you try different flavours and actively encourage you to do so. 3 sausages cost 10 euros, which is not a lot for that quality. We took home: duck and pepper, wild boar, and pheasant cognac. DELICIOUS. Definitely worth a stop, if only to have a slice for tasting.

Bakery van Vliet

I mentioned van Vliet before, as they are the bakery with the original Goudse siroopwafelen. I was pleasantly surprised to see they have a stall in the Markthal, the prices are the same as in the store in Gouda, so don't hesitate to buy some siroopwafels or (my current fave) a siroopwafel lollypop! (2 on 400ml cream and two egg yolks, makes for delicious ice cream, but more on that in a lter post).

Habitas

Habitas is a foodie heaven. No food, but everything you might need in the kitchen. So if you get so inspired you want to experiment, you needn't go far to buy the things missing from your kitchen to conduct your experiments. Cook books, kitchen appliances, baking accessories etcetera. They also have a websghop: www.habitas-online.nl

There are also some candy shops, bakery stands and even a patissery stand of sorts, which I oddly kept myself away from. One of these stands has a gazillion type of doughnuts. And to be honest, they looked really well made, not too greasy. Haven't tried one yet, but it looked so so good.