Every now and then, when I really don’t feel like cooking and it is still early in the evening, we take the kids to Issa, a little Japanese restaurant around the corner from us here in Amsterdam. This restaurant is particularly popular in our family because not only do we all love Japanese food (even the baby does), it also has a tiny private area in the back with traditional Japanese low tables. Such fun! My daughter loves taking her shoes off and sits at the table as if she is twelve years old instead of three; the baby likes playing the ‘climb onto the table’-game until we finally get enough of it and strap him into his Phil&Teds Me Too chair.
Last night at Issa we tried a new dish: Okonomiyaki, or Japanese Pancake. A true discovery! Initially, the dish almost looked alive — it’s presented on a hot plate and because of the heat, the bonito flakes on top were moving around like wiggly worms! Intriguing! The taste of it was wonderful, and the kids loved it!
We chose the variety with sliced pork belly, but it also comes with seafood, which we are definitely going to try next time as this dish proved to be an instant hit. I will also maybe try to make it myself sometime. This seems like a good recipe…
xxx Esther
Comments (4)
Mmmmm….okonomiyaki! You should also try Japanese Pancake World in Amsterdam (http://www.japanesepancakeworld.com/). The owner/chef is German, his wife is Japanese and the pancakes are tasty! They have a young child of their own, so the restaurant is fairly kid-friendly, too.
Sounds good Krees, thanks for the tip!
And what a cool name!! It looks yummy!
Can we go to this restaurant next time we’re in Amsterdam???
I stayed at the Hilton and wandered up to ISSA, then wandered back several times during my week in Amsterdam. It was the only place I found near the Hilton that served a decent sized beer! But, I’m jealous that it’s around the corner from you. What a great little place. If you haven’t already, try the soba misoni, ebi with mayonnaise, and fried sardines. All delicious.