5-Course Chinese Dinner at the Floating Sea Palace in Amsterdam

The Chinese are known all over the world for their food. There is always a Chinatown in every big city in every country, and somewhere out there, in every nook and cranny, there is always a Chinese restaurant. Chinese cuisine is actually one of my favourites. Fact is, I tend to cook Chinese at home. With that, Dutchman and I eat a lot of stir-fry style dishes (wok!) loaded with lots of vegetables.

Blondine and moi outside the Sea Palace.

Here we are, doing our little pose! =)

The Sea Palace is right in front of the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Amsterdam Public Library). Tip: there is a La Place Restaurant at the top of the library with lovely views to Amsterdam.

Nevertheless, it was time to catch up with Blondine once again. We were both hankering for a new place to meet, something different for our get together dinner. I thought long and hard of a restaurant in Amsterdam that is unique and with easy parking. Then I am reminded of the Floating Sea Palace Restaurant.

I have seen and passed by this restaurant a gazillion times, but have never really eaten here. Not yet! So I suggested to Blondine the Chinese pagoda-style floating pavilion restaurant near the Amsterdam Centraal Station and she was delighted with the idea so I went ahead and booked a reservation for two. I love Chinese food, and moreover, I love eating on the water with a view.

The restaurantâ€™s specialty is Cantonese cuisine. It was already busy with customers when we arrived at 18:00. It is patronised by locals and tourists alike. We were ushered by the wait staff to a table on the window which I specially requested for. Dining with a view is always high up in my dinner in a restaurantâ€™s agenda. This is something I, rather Blondine and I, never discount on. We live for the little nice things in life such as a good view while having lunch or dinner.

We decided to order a set dinner, the lightest set dinner on the menu, the â€˜Canton Menuâ€™. This consists of a starter, 3 dishes and a dessert. In short a 5-course meal.

1st course (starter): Fried wan tan filled with beef and a mini spring roll
2nd course (main): Beef with sugar snaps in spicy Sichuan sauce
3rd course (main): Chicken with ginger and spring onions
4th course (main): Roasted duck and honey roasted pork
5th course (dessert): Strawberry ginger ice cream with almonds and fresh fruits

We ordered each a glass of Chardonnay.

The 1st course (starter) arrived: Fried wan tan filled with beef and a mini spring roll. We each had a plate of this.

Trivia: Did you know that a typical Chinese dinner menu consists of at least 8 courses?

Now an 8-course meal is minimal and normal. During banquets and special festivities (weddings for example), the course meal setup can go up to 10, and even 12. We call this lauriat back in Cebu.

I grew up with a lot of Chinese influence around me and we often go to Chinese friendâ€™s parties where we are served the lauriat style dinner which is sometimes up to 12 courses! At the end of the party everyone has a doggy bag to bring home, haha.

Anyway, the rest of the courses arrived.