The Grand Place was crowded even though it was early in the morning.
Since I had no timetable to stick to, I decided to have an early lunch and try out a seafood stall at Place Ste Catherine that we had unsuccessfully tried to eat at when we were in Brussels last year. Then, we had attempted to get a standing space at peak hour and were sadly disappointed. So this time I made no mistake. It's called Noordzee in Flemish and La Mer du Nord in French - both mean the North Sea, and it's a small stall just at the rear of the Eglise Sainte-Catherine, or the St Catherine Church, fronting an open plaza.
I started with a bowl of fish soup, which was lovely in the cold weather. 
The fish stock was extremely rich - I could taste heaps of flavour from the fish bones and other vegetables that had been thrown in. The shredded cheese was amazing with the soup - after melting, it added a different dimension to the soup.
The prices are all on the board so you know exactly what you are going to get. I started off ordering in French, but it got much easier once I realised the server understood English.
Having been convinced that this was a good place to stick around, I then ordered the scampi a la plancha, or the grilled prawns. This came with the most amazing seafood sauce. I have no idea what went in, but I daresay that there would have been some lobster/shrimp stock, mixed with butter and other vegetables and herbs, and then reduced to a thick, wholesome gravy. The prawns were extremely fresh, and with a dash of pepper, absolutely heavenly. 
After seeing the old man next to me order a dozen oysters for himself, I decided to follow his good example and order a couple to try. They shuck the oysters on the spot. 
I was told that one had a stronger taste of the sea, while the other had a milder flavour, because of where they were harvested. I can't remember which is which now, but they were very very fresh. 
I was debating between having more oysters or trying something else, and in the end, reasoned that I could eat fresh oysters anywhere in the world but that I would not be coming back to this place for a while. So I asked for a couple of scallops, also known as Saint Jacques in french. The chef asked me whether I wanted grilled vegetables with them instead of salad, given that I had already had an earlier serve of salad with the prawns. Fortunately my French was good enough to understand that much! That was a really nice touch - it's just a roadside stall, but they bothered to make the visit a memorable experience for the customer. And the scallops were to die for - nicely cooked on the outside with just a little bit of a grill mark, and soft and still slightly raw on the inside. Perfect. 
After eating I had to go for a walk around to walk off the food - the area near Ste Catherine used to contain quays where seafood was delivered in the past, and there are still many seafood restaurants around currently. The streetscape was very quaint and interesting.
I also came across a park full of cherry blossom trees - it was a truly wonderful day.
No comments:
Post a Comment