It is finally summer in the Netherlands! Now that calls for a lunch celebration in Amsterdam with Blondine. Our choice of venue is the Brasserie in the newly renovated and recently opened Conservatorium Hotel located in the Museum Quarter (Amsterdam South).
Trivia: Did you know that the hotel used to be a bank before (circa 1897)? In 1983 the building was turned into a musical academy — the Sweelinck Conservatory of Music. In 2008 it was bought by a hotel group and subsequently renovated into a luxury design hotel. It recently opened its doors to the public end of last year (2012).
The Lounge & Brasserie
Because the Conservatorium has just recently opened, and with a lobby that has lots of character, gorgeously designed in contemporary and classical styles (check out my pictures), it’s just natural sequence of events for this hotel lobby to become one of the new hotspots in town. It is the buzzing place. The new ‘it’ stylish place. The place to be.
Arriving without a reservation has indeed some consquences so we had to wait for a few minutes in the lounge with our drinks, which wasn’t shabby at all, in fact I highly recommend this before the actual dining in the Brasserie. The modern lounge is a great place to unwind and settle in, and people-watch.
We do have a nice view in front of us, do we not? You know, every woman has an Imelda Marcos hidden inside her =)
Then after 10 minutes the maître d’hôtel came back with a big smile informing us that our table is ready. Oh, that was quick? We’re not done people watching just yet?! *sigh* We followed her reluctantly to our lunch table.
Lunch Time at the Brasserie
We were craving for fresh oysters so we ordered half a dozen of Fines de Claires to share. These were good but the best oysters we’ve ever had so far was in Paris 2 years ago at Restaurant Garnier. Read here: First night in Paris: Best oysters in town and our cute room. Blondine and I could not stop gushing about them.
Broodje Gezond sandwich (Reypenaer cheese, tomato, humus, avocado, rucola) with seaweed chips (the seaweed chips were sooo good). A Reypenaer cheese is an aged Gouda type of cheese.
The Soto Ajam chicken noodle soup (which was mwah). They served it with rice noodles instead of egg noodles which should have suited well for this type of soup.
After lunch, Blondine and I went to the Chanel boutique nearby to check out some bags and wallets. Nonetheless we were smitten of course but not sure just yet if we want to take the plunge. The sales lady who attended us was very cheerful and helpful, even showing us the new arrivals. Business is doing great she said. Ah right, thanks to all the Asian tourists who plunder high-end boutiques in Europe.
Summer was quickly interrupted by heavy rain fall (end of May huh?) so we were stuck inside the boutique. When it dwindled down to a light drizzle, we ducked outside and braved running in our high heels to the parking garage located a block away. We initially debated on coming to Amsterdam with public transportation, which is also expensive by the way, but then we’d probably pay ¾ of what we have spent on parking + worn out feet + getting really, really soaked. You cannot win them all I guess.
Visit Period: May 2013
Destination: Amsterdam Zuid (Amsterdam – North Holland), The Netherlands
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)