In our recent trip to Europe, our first stop was in Belgium. We were here for 2 full days and we tried to explore its local food as much as possible in this short time. We visited the cities: Brussels and Bruges. Both of them are small, but amazingly beautiful. There will be no one who will not be mesmerized by these cities. If you wish to know more about Bruges, here is my blog on A Day in Bruges . Lets talk about my favorite topic first – food!

We all know Belgium is famous for 3 main food items

1. Belgian Beer
2. Belgian Waffles
3. Belgian Chocolates

I’m sure I have got you attention now. Apart from these three, there are some other local cuisine too. Let’s explore each of them.

BELGIAN BEER

Though I am not a big fan of beer (don’t mean to hurt the beer lovers feelings!), but I did explore and tried some of their local Belgium beers. They have a large variety of beers. We even found a ‘Beer Wall’ in Bruges and a museum dedicated to beers. Here are some of the local brands that we tried in our trip.

You can get a good beer at lots of places. But I prefer a place with unique ambience. One such unique place is La Porte Noire. It is a Celtic bar that has over 100 beers and has vaulted 16th century cellars.  It is very unique and is underground! Another modern looking place is Moeder Lambic, though we did not visit it. May be if you go, you can share your thoughts here.

Belgian beers are smooth and have higher alcohol % than usual. So I would be cautious going for Beer Pong game using Belgian Beers! Jokes apart, if you enjoy a good strong, cold beer, then Belgium is your place. Before moving to the famous waffles, here is a quote that was written on the ‘Beer Wall’.

Here’s to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to all of life’s problems – Homer Simpson 1987

BELGIAN WAFFLES

“Warm, crispy and sweet” who can say no to a waffle that is described like this! Belgium has two types of waffles – Brussels and Liege waffles. While the former is lighter with deep pockets, the latter is doughy with sugar that caramelizes when it cooks. Both of them are delicious and one should try them both.

Unlike maple syrup, which is mainly served with waffles in US, Belgium offers a variety of toppings for waffles. It can range from simple powdered sugar, to chocolate sauce, banana, strawberries or seasonal fruits to soft and fluffy whipped cream or warm caramel.

Maison Dandoy (May-Son Don-Dwah) is one of the famous places for waffles.  It had its first shop in the year 1829. Now they have multiple cafes and shops. So if you are in Belgium, don’t miss to have breakfast or afternoon tea in one of their cafes.

 

BELGIAN CHOCOLATES

Belgian chocolates unique because of their exotic fillings. They are more bitter and have higher cocoa content. Praline, which is a soft chocolate shell with liquid or nut fillings, was also invented in Belgium.

There are hundreds of stores around Belgium. Each one having many different flavors of chocolates. What makes it interesting is how unique is their fillings. After doing a lot of research, we shortlisted few shops but ended up buying chocolates from other stores too (could not resist it!).

• Chocolate Line in Bruges – We felt it had the most unique fillings.
• Pierre Marcolini Chocolate in Brussels – His speciality is in his cocoa beans from different countries
• Wittamer in Brussels – They not only have chocolates, but also some amazing desserts. They also provide chocolates to the royal family
• Neuhaus Chocolate in Brussels – This was more of a modern shop with modern flavors.

All the shops of Brussels are nearby in one market area. You can avoid large crowds if you do not go the shops that are in Grand Place, which is always busy and is a beautiful & happening place.

These were some of the famous food types of Belgium. But there is more! And one should definitely try these ‘not so talked about’ dishes.

First is Chicken Waterzooï. Its a simple dish stew dish with a creamy broth and lots of veggies.

Second would be Mussels of Brussels. We just randomly went to Chez Leon, which turned out to have a huge variety of mussels. We had Gratin. It was mussels baked in butter cheese and breadcrumbs and was delicious!

This next dish is not a speciality of Belgium. But I loved it so much, I thought I have to mention it. Its roasted lamb in butter and garlic sauce. During our visit to Bruges, we casually went to this restaurant called Tom Pouce and were amazed by this dish. It was simple yet mouth-watering! They gave a side of salad that added freshness.

Last but not the least is Hot Chocolate. Yes, Frederic Blondeel has few unique hot chocolates like Madagascar chocolate with lemongrass and chilli pepper, Costa Rica chocolate with saffron and Ghana chocolate with cinnamon, vanilla and anise. And here I am enjoying my cup of hot chocolate!