Time to go home — An Elegant Sufficiency

We’ve had lovely times in the Netherlands. We’ve laughed, cried, sung, danced and spent time with friends and by ourselves and we have had a ball. It’s time for home, though.

First though, there’s the birthday dinner!

We’d booked a table in the hotel restaurant having seen a menu and been tempted. We made our way down there to find the Maitre d’ awaiting us. Were we sure we wanted to stay, for we were the only ones booked this evening?

It was fine by us…

He was about to go and get the menu but said that if we were happy to be surprised, we could simply say how many courses we’d like and the kitchen would tailor them to suit us. If we’d like wine pairings, then he would happily pour each of us a glass to match each course too.

That sounded so good, we agreed…a seven course tasting menu would be perfect.

So here goes. There being no one else in the place, I felt no shame in taking photos. Trouble is, I can’t remember exact details of every dish right now, so bear with me…

We began with two small amuses-bouches. This one, served on a bed of pumpkin seeds was a small crispy disc with some pumpkin puree, black sesame seeds and a small garnish of spring onion on top.

The other was a spiced egg and fishy mixture (I think) served with two sheets of the finest carta di musica bread. Isn’t it dreadful that I can’t really recall the exact details when it tasted so good? At this point, we were enjoying Gs & Ts, made with Bobby’s Gin, Clementine tonic and a garnish of orange zest and cloves.

Next came a little dish with the most delicious combination of sweet-sour-creamy-sharp. It was a little Indian in character with crispy rice on the top and the whole flavour was simply yummy. I couldn’t wait to tuck in, as you can see…my Hero stopped me and said “photo!”, thankfully before I’d finished. Again, it was only small, possibly a tablespoon, max.

Still working our way through the assorted amuses-bouches, next came a pair of mini tacos, with a fresh little mix of tomato and …errrm…..

And then an egg each, made into a creamy, mildly spicy slightly fishy mixture over a layer of chilli at the bottom.

Now came the first “real” course - a sea bass ceviche, so beautifully prepared that the fish was the star of the plate. We’d made a similar dish at our cooking class in Lima and found it to be so acidic with lime juice that the fish flavour just about disappeared. This, however was really delicious and the Peruvian Aji Amarillo sauce added authenticity. My word, had we made the right decision to come here this evening or what?!

Cod and cauliflower next, served in an eel sauce with a puree of cauliflower underneath. These delicious morsels were just perfect, each one beautifully served and not too much in terms of quantity either. Yes, each one came with a really great wine too, mostly something we’d not had before, so a good opportunity to try something different. I can’t remember which came where, but I do recall a Birgit Braunstein Austrian Chardonnay that was unlike anything I’ve tasted before and an Hungarian Zenit which I rather enjoyed too.

I’m sorry, my Hero wasn’t quite so quick off the mark this time and I’d eaten my plateful before he reminded me! You’ll have to believe that what I thought was a pasta dish (we were given a spoon and a fork) turned out to be a layer of oxtail underneath slices of kohlrabi and morsels of pickled kohlrabi served in a dashi sauce. As you can tell, I really didn’t like it…(hah!)

Now came gnocchi, crispy on the outside, soft little pillows inside, served with Comte cheese, tiny mushrooms and a chestnut puree. This might have been my favourite combination so far but strangely, I always felt the last dish I tasted was the best!

Anyone would think that I was hungry and couldn’t wait to tuck in the minute the plate was put in front of me, but of course, that was hardly the case. By course five, we were getting ever so slightly full - but far from bored and still eager for the next one. So, here we are with the “main” plate of duck breast with a toasted nut topping served with a celeriac puree, hispi cabbage with epoisses cheese layered in between leaves and a pepper sauce.

Still with us?

The cheese was brought for the next course. A selection of Dutch cheeses with just one exception - a Belgian blue cheese snooked into the variety. We were offered a piece of each but both drew the line at that idea and chose three each. My Hero reckons that the goat’s camembert was delicious (and he doesn’t normally like goats cheese) He also chose an aged hard cheese and the Belgian blue and was delighted with all three. I opted for the three “medium” cheeses in the middle: the aged Dutch cheese, a pale cheese with the same crystal texture as sometimes occurs in a Quartz cheddar that had been aged in a WW11 bunker and a softer, rather sticky yellow cheese that was fine but my least favourite.

Small, tempting morsels, each one, served with a glass of chilled Oloroso sherry which went beautifully with cheese…who knew?

Excitement now - no, this was not course seven, but the pre-dessert. Served on a bed of wood chips, the little boule of lemongrass sorbet sat on top of a small sweet biscuit, the flavour enhanced by a “lemongrass cocktail” poured onto some dry ice at the table, creating a lovely fresh aroma.

At last, the grand finale. Dessert came with a flourish: peach and mango in a variety of forms, with white chocolate here and there, sorbet, mousse, a crema and a little sponge.

Oh my.

We slept well!!

The following morning it was time to go home.

We checked out of the Prinsenhof and set out towards Schipol airport for our afternoon flight to Heathrow.

I guess it’s only in the Netherlands where a motorway comes to a halt because of a lifting bridge?!

And has Duty-Free Tulips at the airport?

What a trip we’ve had. Our flight was late, the boarding was chaotic and our luggage took forever to appear when we arrived and the M4 was crazy-busy the whole way. How good it is to be home.

I arrived to find a little heap of birthday wishes, flowers and presents too - how lovely! I took a photograph of the present my Hero schlepped all the way there for me, carrying it from place to place without my knowing too. How sweet is he?