Yamato Antwerpen – Recommended by Japanese

Yamato Antwerpen is an atypical Japanese restaurant in Antwerp without the usual sushi and ramen that you would expect. This Japanese restaurant tucked in a little corner of Antwerp South (Antwerpen Zuid) near to the Royal Museum of Fine Art (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen) was a recommendation from two Japanese friends.

They live near to Yamato Antwerpen. Hence, the whole family of three went to support it regularly. They urged me to try out this inexpensive restaurant which served original Japanese cuisine. Therefore, I have the best assurance of high-quality food. If my friends swear by it, then the food must be noteworthy.

Yamato Antwerpen Japanese Restaurant Interior

The owner of Yamato Antwerpen was very welcoming and friendly. There was a young Asian woman at the bar counter preparing the food. The interior design has a woody green theme. Furthermore, the small backyard has pretty Japanese decor.

Yamato Antwerpen Japanese Food Menu

When I looked at the menu, I knew I would order many dishes from there as the food menu had many small portions of food for sharing. If you want to be full, you have to order a lot of plates from there. Below were the plates of food that we ate for two people and the names of it. They were indeed all very delicious!!!

Excellent Customer Service

The owner of Yamato Antwerpen is a Belgian who speaks fluent Japanese with his staff as he had lived in Japan before. There were two ladies working for him, a Japanese and a Korean. The boss came over and asked whether the food was good. All of them had excellent customer service. Most importantly, they prepared Japanese food that was finger-licking good!

Note: Yamato Antwerpen opens only in the evening from 6 pm and closes in the afternoon.

Home Brewery – Restaurant Het Pakhuis Antwerpen

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen restaurant located at the street of Vlaamse Kaai is one of the two breweries that remains in Antwerp. The other one in Antwerp is De Koninck. In 1946, there were 27 of them in Antwerp. Subsequently, many of them closed down their operation over the years due to volatile market situations. It was said that at the beginning of 1900, Antwerp had only 25 breweries back then.

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen Brewery

As you would have guessed, premium home-brewed beers are Het Pakhuis Antwerpen flagship products ever since the brewery established in 1996. With an increasing standard of food demand, the consumers look for high-quality natural resources without filtering and pasteurisation. ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen maintains its brewing process in an authentic way, using only pure natural materials with stringent quality control.

Antwerp Brewery Tour

People who are interested in the making of beer can go for an Antwerp Brewery Tour at Huisbrouwerij ‘t Pakhuis. It offers a 1-hour guided session of the brewery process in either English, Dutch or German. You have to state your preference clearly before reservation.

The Antwerp Brewery Tour includes home-brewed beer tasting as well. The cost is €125 for a group of maximum 10 people. The cost is €125 for a group of maximum 10 people. An additional person will pay €8 per pax consequently.

5 Types of Beers

Brasserie ‘t Pakhuis offers five types of beer on their menu. These beers yield different flavour and different percentage of alcohol level. You can also get a few cans back at their sales counter.

1) Antwerps Blond  @ €2.70

Ongefilterd, zacht en fruitig. Schitterend Dorstlesser.

• Alcohol: 4.9%
• Unfiltered, soft and fruity. Brilliant quencher.

2) Antwerps Bruin @ €3.00

Zacht bruine kleur, lichte karameltoets. In afdronk zoete aanzet met een droog einde.

• Alcohol: 5.6%
• Soft brown colour, light caramel taste. Sweet start with a dry aftertaste.

3) Den Bangelijke @ €4.00

Donker blond, aangename geur, zeer fruitige smaak. In afdronk lange fijne bitterheid.

• Alcohol: 8.5%
• Dark blond, pleasant smell, very fruity taste. Long, subtle bitterness aftertaste.

4) Den Zwarte Sinjoor @ €4.20

Zwart, de kleur van Stout! Chocolade met koffie, ook aarbeien en drop. Volmondige zoete start. In afdronk, gebrande bitterheid.

• Alcohol: 6.7%
• Black, the colour of Stout! Chocolate with coffee, also strawberries and liquorice. Perpetual sweet start. Burned bitterness aftertaste.

5) Het Stalen Ros @ €4.20

Oranje-amber, ros! Fruitig, sinaasappel, licht kruidig met wijntoetsen. Volle complexe smaak en afdronk, een feestbier waardig.

• Alcohol: 6.8%
• Orange-amber, stallion! Fruity, orange, lightly spicy with wine taste. Full complex flavour and aftertaste, a deserving party beer.

‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen Restaurant Food Review

Vol-au-Vent @ €19.00 or €17.50

The French word, “Vol-au-Vent” means “Flight in the Wind”. It originates from France in the early 18th century. It is a pastry puff that has savoury fillings such as chicken and fish. In France, Vol-au-Vent is a snack or appetiser. However, in Belgium, it is the main course and commonly seen on the menu in Belgian restaurants.

In ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen, there are two types of Vol-au-Vent with different filling offered in the food menu. The first choice is prawns, plaice (a type of flatfish) and salad. The second option was chicken, meatballs, mushroom and salad. I was told that the second one was the typical Vol-au-Vent. I decided to choose the chicken combination since it was the original version.

The Vol-au-Vent sauce in Brasserie ‘t Pakhuis was rather tasteless and disappointing. As it was my first attempt, I had to seek more opinions from the rest of the Belgians in the group whether that was the original taste. My boyfriend and his brother tasted it.

They had the same opinion as me and agreed that the sauce was not flavoursome enough as they had tried better Vol-au-Vent. The portion of the food was generous and comes with a few pieces of croquettes. As it was not tasty enough, I could not finish the whole dish.

Rundstoofvlees | Flemish Beef Stew @ €17.50

The Rundstoofvlees | Flemish Beef Stew is one of my favourite cuisines ever since I moved to Belgium for cohabitation with my boyfriend. The thickened sauce with dark beer cooked in many hours of low heat has turned the beef stew into an aromatic rich flavouring.

Het Pakhuis restaurant stews their Rundstoofvlees in their brewed beer, Antwerps Bruin. The gravy had a strong bitter taste but yet tasted very sweet at the same time. The verdict from the three of us on the table was that it should not be overly sweet for this dish.

Fish Waterzooi @ €18.50

Waterzooi, as the name derives is a Flemish stew dish which first started in Ghent, prepared with fish from the freshwater or sea. The Waterzooi of Brasserie Pakhuis Antwerpen contains fresh green herbs, potatoes and their home-brewed beer, Antwerps Blond in the bouillon. I had tried this Waterzooi with salmon.

The soup was so delicious that I regretted not ordering it in the first place. I swore that I had been thinking about it even on the next day and was thinking of going back to try! In the end, I bought a supermarket-grade Waterzooi just to satisfy that craving! Highly recommended to order this course from Het Pakhuis Antwerpen if you love fish soup!

Steak Tartare @ €22.50

Steak Tartare is a cold raw dish with chopped small pieces of meat presented in a round mould. Seasoning in Steak Tartare should not be overwhelming as tasting the freshness of the meat is still the precedence. Here, Het Pakhuis Antwerpen has the condiment perfectly mixed into the raw beef. Almost perfect!

Steak @ €22.50

The brother of my boyfriend ordered the steak. He had been praising the freshness of it for a few times and said it was good. He is an extreme steak fanatic. The steak comes with Belgian fries, of course. Hence, the steak from ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen is a dish that one can go ahead to try from someone who is so in love with eating steak.

Crème Brûlée @ €7.25

The Crème Brûlée was definitely up to expectation!

Overall Review

The staffs at Brasserie Het Pakhuis Antwerpen lacked smiles and a welcoming body language that I was expecting. Thus, there is still room for improvement in this restaurant with a cosy ambience for gathering.

Pho-bulous Vietnamese Restaurant in Grote Markt Antwerp

Pho 61 Antwerpen started its business on 7 March 2016 selling Vietnamese street food in an upscale touristic area in Antwerp Grote Markt run by the Vietnamese team. Hence, you can be assured of the authenticity of the Vietnamese cuisine. A beautiful Vietnamese lady was also preparing the ingredients and the rice paper for the spring roll.

It was interesting to see how she prepared the spring roll and then, I could learn a trick or two. She first placed the rice paper into the water and then dried the rice paper between two dry cloth by pressing gently. Lastly, she put the ingredients onto the rice paper and rolled, stacking them up eventually.

Pho 61 Restaurant Interior

Pho 61 restaurant has a modern interior with a Vietnamese touch. A huge trishaw is hung on top of the ceiling together with one conical straw hat known as nón lá in Vietnam which serves as an ornamental lighting. Both are symbolic objects of the Vietnamese culture. The trishaw was introduced during the French colonial and known as the cyclo.

Vietnamese Pho – National Dish in Vietnam

Pho is a national dish in Vietnam in which the meat (chicken or beef) and rice vermicelli noodles are cooked in flavoursome broth. Fresh bean sprouts and mint leaves are also eaten with Pho. In Vietnam, Pho is a street food that one can easily eat on every other street. Since my Belgian boyfriend was not familiar with Vietnamese food, I ordered Pho for him to try. The food serving was generous and the soup was delicious.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Chicken

As for me, one who has been living in Singapore most of my life and exposed to all kinds of Asian food, Vietnamese cuisine is undoubtedly one of my picks. Vietnamese fresh spring roll is my top favourite Vietnamese food. Whenever I go to any Vietnamese restaurant, I will never fail to order the fresh Vietnamese spring roll as a starter if it is available.

It is not easy to get fresh spring rolls in Belgium and other parts of Europe as a street food. Usually, the fried spring rolls, nem are more commonly seen. I guess the storage condition is the reason which makes nem more easy to prepare and sell everywhere. The seller prepares the raw meat and is able to store it in the fridge for a longer time.

On the other hand, the fresh spring roll is folded with damp rice paper which contains rice vermicelli noodles, prawns or cooked marinated meat (choice of chicken or beef), fresh mint leaves and lettuce. A sweet dipping sauce is always served together with the fresh spring roll to enhance the taste.

In Pho 61 Antwerpen, the sweet sauce that they served was below my expectation. It did not taste as good as what I had tried previously in Asian countries. One possible reason is the lack of ingredients in Belgium to make an original Vietnamese dipping sauce. However, I am full of praises for the Vietnamese fresh spring roll with chicken. It was very delectable. The food presentation was very appetising and original.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp

The fresh spring roll serving was two pieces. But, it was not enough for me. I wanted more. Therefore, I ordered the Vietnamese fresh spring roll with shrimps for the second round. I had eaten one of them. Thus, you see only one leftover in the photo. The image showed that the wrapped shrimps inside the spring roll were big.

It was distinct that the prawns in the spring roll paled off in flavour as compared to the cooked marinated chicken. The combination of the rice paper, vermicelli noodle and the lettuce were rather bland in taste so the fresh prawn at its best did not titillate the palate.

Conclusion

Personally, having tried both the chicken and the prawn spring rolls on the same day, I would feel that the chicken filling goes well with the spring roll as it is more flavoursome. In conclusion, Pho 61 Antwerpen serves authentic and tasty Vietnamese food. The customer service level was good too. The downside is that the selection of food is quite limited. Pho 61 does not have an array of food choices of what I had expected in a Vietnamese restaurant of this size. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend anyone who loves Vietnamese cuisine to try out this restaurant.

* Check out the food review of Yam Thai Antwerpen Restaurant for two people.

Yam Thai Antwerpen Restaurant

A visit to Yam Thai Antwerpen restaurant was spontaneous. I had read the good reviews quite sometimes back. So, my partner and I decided to try out the Thai cuisine. Yam Thai opened its first store in February 2013 by two Belgians, Jeroen and Natalie in Volkstraat.

Three years later, the couple opened their second restaurant, Nimman at Stadswaag, Antwerpen. I had probably expected one of the owners to be a Thai like the modus operandi of the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. However, it was not the case.

On the other hand, the kitchen comprises of Thai chefs in which the authenticity of the Thai aroma was distinctive. As an Asian and avid eater of Asian food, I could not fault on the authenticity of the Thai cuisine. Even the method of serving the food all at the same time gave me a pleasant surprise. That was a very Asian or Thai-style of presenting the food.

Make Reservation in Yam Thai Antwerpen

When we first entered into Yam Thai restaurant rather early for dinner, a lady asked whether we had any reservation. We had not made any reservation in advance. She gave us a high table inside the restaurant even though it was fully booked on a Friday night. The restaurant was rather small inside. Hence, it made sense to have a booking before going over. There was outdoor seating. When the weather is good, there are always many people sitting outside the restaurant.

Yam Thai Antwerpen Food Menu

One of the food menus of Yam Thai was rather cute. It was a passport with drinks items listed on it.

Tom Yum Kung @ €12.50

The most famous Thai cuisine award should go to the hot and sour Tom Yum Soup. It is a favourite of all time. Whenever I try out a new Thai restaurant, I will never fail to order the Tom Yum soup to taste how original it is. To my knowledge, there are two methods to prepare the Tom Yum Soup. The first is a clear soup base and the second is a milk-based soup. In Thailand, if you do not tell the restaurant to add milk, the Tom Yom soup served would be a clear soup base.

It is also a personal preference whether one prefers a clear or milk-based soup. Some people who have a problem with their gastric would usually like to have milk added into the soup to reduce the level of the alkaline. In Yam Thai, the Tom Yum soup contained milk. I think the Tom Yum soup is authentic although it was a little bit salty. The portion was small and meant for only one person. But, it cost €16!

Som Tam Thai @ €16.00

Som Tam Thai, also known as Green Papaya Salad is another of my favourite dish. It is commonly served in Thailand as an appetiser. The Papaya Salad is usually sour and spicy. The sourness and the spiciness can be so intense that the lips have a burning sensation. In the Yam Thai’s menu, it had a 3-chilli rating which indicated a high level of spiciness. However, I did not think it was that spicy, but the strength of it might be overwhelming for many Belgians.

Pla Rad Prik @ €24.00

We ordered Steamed Sea Bream with Chilli. However, Yam Thai served us the wrong type of fish. We did not make a complaint because both had the same price. The fish that Yam Thai served wrongly was the Deep Fred Seabass and Chilli. Did the red sauce and the chilli make the seabass seemingly spicy? Fortunately, it was not. Personally, I did not like the taste of the chilli for this dish as it was not so delicious. The fish was average and small. We would very much prefer to try the steamed fish instead.

Final Food Review of Yam Thai Antwerpen

Overall, I find the dishes overpriced for their small portion. We paid €57.00 in total including a Singa beer €4.50. The variety of Thai dishes was not a lot too. We would probably not go back again due to the exorbitant price but would instead, hunt for another Thai restaurant that can provide the same standard of food at a lower price. The good thing was that the service staffs were polite and we were happy with their services.

* Check out the food review of Pho 61 Antwerpen Vietnamese Restaurant for two people.