Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
L
$$$
Covent Garden Hotel,
10
Saturdays with a farmer's market. Forget
fish and chips shops; this is the quintes-
sential London street grub.
Monmouth St., Covent Garden (
&
800/
553-6674
in the U.S., or 44/20/7806-1000;
www.firmdale.com). $$
B + B Belgravia,
64-66 Ebury St., Belgravia (
&
800/682-
7808
in the U.S., or 44/20/7734-2353;
www.bb-belgravia.com).
9 Broadway Market (
&
44/20/7254-
6458
).
(
Heathrow (24km/15 miles); Gatwick
(40km/25 miles).
Global Traditions
192
Sama Sabo
Setting the Rice Table
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Oddly enough, one of the most character-
istic meals you can have in Amsterdam
isn't Dutch at all—it's the Indonesian-
inspired
rijsttafel,
a dining custom devel-
oped in Holland as a sampler of the exotic
dishes that Dutch planters brought back
from 3 centuries of rule in Indonesia. The
name means “rice table”—your dining
table will be covered with small dishes,
each with a portion of a spicy Indonesian
dish, arrayed around a central platter of
steamed or fried rice. At its best it's a fes-
tive profusion of tastes—more food than
anyone could eat at one sitting (though all
too often people do).
Every Amsterdammer has his or her own
favorite
rijsttafel
place, but Sama Sebo,
located close to the Rijksmuseum, is a
widespread favorite. Decorated with rush
mats, panels of bamboo, traditional wood
carvings, and bright hand-printed batik tex-
tiles, it sets the mood for an Indonesian
feast. Sama Sebo's 23-plate
rijsttafel
will
include
babi ketjap
(meat in soy sauce),
various
satehs
(grilled meats on skewers
with peanut sauce),
krupuk
(shrimp toast),
gado-gado
(vegetables with peanut sauce),
sambals
(various types of spicy relishes),
serundeng
(fried coconut),
rudjak manis
(fruit in sweet sauce); and
pisang goreng
(fried banana). The names are almost beside
the point; the fun lies in being adventurous
and relying on your own taste buds to tell
you what you like, letting the sweetness of
coconut milk meld with the bite of chili pep-
pers and the mellow earthiness of peanut
sauce. You begin by scooping a mound of
rice into a soup bowl, then add dollops of
various side dishes around it, as well as a
dab of spicy
sambal
at the edge to add a
little fire. The trick is to eat it in alternating
bites, rather than diluting the side dishes'
flavors by mixing rice into them. Some
items are indeed spicy-hot, but in general,
the memorable effect comes from effec-
tively blending spices and sauces, not just
amping up the firepower.
Can't get into Sama Sebo on your
desired date? Other good choices in town
include
Puri Mas
(Lange Leidsedwar-
sstraat 37-41;
&
31/20/408-0664;
www.
purimas.nl) and
Kantjil & de Tijger
(Spuistraat 291-293;
&
31/20/620-0994;
www.kantjil.nl).
Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat 27 (
&
31/
20/662-8146;
www.samasebo.nl).
(
Amsterdam Schipohl (13km/8 miles).
L
$$
Estheréa,
Single 305 (
&
31/20/
624-5146;
www.estherea.nl). $
Amstel
Botel,
Oosterdokskade 2-4 (
&
31/20/626-
4247;
www.amstelbotel.com).
