Fast Food Brussels

So, I went to Brussels last week! Which you would have known if you bothered to follow me on Instagram (or 'Instant-gram', as the Manbacon calls it). It ain't all fine-dining in fancy restaurants when I'm on holiday...sometimes I get to eat some fast food too. 

The interior at Exki in Porte de Namur

Exki is a Belgian chain in the vein of Pret a Manger/Itsu, and they seem to be everywhere in Brussels. We went to the branch in Porte de Namur, because we needed to calm down after a visit to the Dino Museum where we were surrounded by rowdy toddlers.

The food is precisely what you'd expect from such places - clean-looking, supposedly healthy sandwiches, pastas, noodle dishes, soups and drinks. Their staff are cheery and wholesome-looking, and the dining room upstairs was bright, airy, and warm, with a mix of Ikea-style and random 'vintage' furniture. All very clean, as you'd expect. It made me feel a little like I should have wiped my battered plimsolls on the mat before entering. They also provide complimentary Wifi, so you can grab a couple of drinks and while away an afternoon if you're so inclined.

Manbacon went for a roast chicken sandwich from the refrigerated section - probably not the best choice on a blustery cold Brussels afternoon. So it wasn't much of a surprise when he said he didn't think much of it. The single bite I made tasted rather...indistinct, and certainly didn't make me want to have more. In fact, I'd initially assumed the beige, insipid-tasting meat was some sort of turkey, until informed otherwise. My quiche, on the other hand, was pleasantly warm and had generous portions of bacon and ham in it. What else can I say about it? It was a salty warm quiche, I had no complains.

Exki (locations all around Brussels)

Bacon, ham and cheese quiche

Phillipa - roast chicken sandwich with a carrot and ginger emulsion, salad and olive oil dressing

Hector on De Brouckere

How could we resist the bright lights of Hector? It seemed so out of place, a fried chicken joint right beside our fancypants hotel. We'd been burning through episodes of Breaking Bad, and if you've seen it, you'll know that a fried chicken restaurant is almost a major character in the series. Part of us really, REALLY wanted to meet a Belgian Gus Fring and maybe uncover a major meth business. The other parts just wanted to sit in a warm place and indulge in some fried chicken.

Unfortunately, Gus didn't seem to be at work the day we were there. We relayed our orders to the two guys industriously frying up coated chicken pieces, then took a tray and slid it towards the cashier, stopping to help ourselves to drinks and sauces ('Samourai' and 'Andalouse'). The experience was reminiscent of school lunchtimes. 

No. 3 - Wings, chips and coleslaw

And the fried chicken? Not bad...but not up there with my current favourite fried chicken place - Chicken Inn on Rye Lane. The wings were juicy enough, although rather unevenly crispy. There certainly wasn't a pleasurable shattering of batter when I bit into it. Still, it's a stack of hot fried chicken and chips, so who am I to complain? Also a side of coleslaw and requisite limp lettuce leaf, for the, y'know, vitamins and that. No blue meth on the side. 

Hector (locations all around Brussels)

No. 4 - Chicken tenders, chips and coleslaw

One Night In Paris (Part Deux)

Sorry to inundate you with more Paris photos, but well...maybe I'm not really sorry! It is impossible to go to Paris and not want to take a gazillion photos. And yes, of course gazillion is a proper number. The photo above was taken on the steps just outside the Sacre Coeur - there's a platform where you can see almost all of Paris. 

We also had escargots - it probably isn't to everyone's taste, but Shad and I loved it so we were looking forward to it all day. These ones were pretty good, served with lots of herby garlic butter and not overcooked. They came with some fancy forks and special escargot tongs, and we had to concentrate on handling the tongs to avoid a repeat of that scene in Pretty Woman. You know the one...she's in a fancy restaurant and has to use the tongs to pick up her snails and her dinner ends up flying off into a waiter's face. We were both too hungry to remember the name of the restaurant, but there are plenty of places around Montmartre serving them up if you want to have a go.

Shad and I also paid a visit to Shakespeare and Company - it's a haven for bibliophiles, and has been visited by writers including William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Henry Miller. There is an antiquarian section, as well as a lending library and some boxes outside containing a selection of curiosities you never knew you needed. 

One night is Paris simply isn't enough...

Seven Seeds

One of the good things about going back to Melbourne was that my sister was also in town - and she's got a driving license and knows how to use it! She drove us up to Carlton one Sunday morning for this wholesome-looking brunch you see here. 

Seven Seeds is named for the seven coffee seeds Brother Baba Budan smuggled out of Yemen in the 17th century - read more about it here. Housed in an ever-so-hip warehouse with industrial fittings, their clientale is a mix of uni students and slightly older coffeefiends, all of whom look healthy and full of beans. I felt incredibly grubby in comparison, in my stained blouse and unwashed shorts. I also lacked the necessary accessory - a bicycle helmet. 

The big thing here was obviously the coffee - Melbourne people in general are all a bit mad about their coffee, I think. There was a constant queue at the counter, and we had to wait about 10 minutes to get a table. It was all good though. 

Cold-brewed  single origin coffee

We went for the cold-brewed, single origin (Kenya Kiangi - according to the cards) coffee, which our waitress took pride in telling us involved a 12-16 hour process. All very well, as long as I didn't actually have to wait that long for my coffee.

Have you had cold-brewed coffee before? I certainly hadn't, and I think I was expecting it to just be an iced coffee. While it did come with some ice cubes in the glass, the taste was very different from other iced coffees I'd had before. It was a lot more complex - not as bitter, and slightly sour (in a good way). I think I'm a convert. Also, cold-brewed coffee makers seem to look rather fantastic and should go some way towards impressing your friends. 

Eggs Benedict topped with bacon

Salmon tartare with courgette salad and toasted sourdough

Ricotta hotcakes with bananas, strawberries and blueberries

The food was pretty yummy too, although, to be honest, not as memorable as the coffee. The bacon was sliced thickly and cooked nicely, while my salmon tartare was made with beautifully fresh sashimi-grade salmon. I loved the pairing of beetroot and salmon, it's something that I'll be trying at home. Oh, oh, my sister's ricotta hotcakes came with a tasty banana cream, which I may also try to replicate at home. 

So, good coffee, tasty food, and a nice-looking place, what's not to like? 

Seven Seeds

114 Berkeley St, Carlton

VIC 3053

Australia

Pork Roll

There were plenty of little banh mi stalls and stands along the length of Marrickville Road (we stayed at Em's place nearby) and so we ate a lot of these while in Sydney. Preserved pork products and crunchy veggies served in a crusty baguette - you can't really go wrong, can you? The best ones came from a little hole-in-the-wall on the corner of Marrickville and Illawara Roads, and had juicy, giant meatballs in them. Why aren't there more banh mi places in London, dammit?