Gastronomiz food box - La Collection Christmas edition

It all began with beauty boxes, based on a simple concept: a fixed-price monthly subscription for a box containing a variety of surprise products that can change every time. One might like some products, while others might be totally useless. In the past year, several companies have started offering food boxes. As usual, Belgium was lagging behind and most companies would not bother delivering to Belgium because of the extra shipping charges. As of December 2012, there are three food boxes available in Belgium: Brussels-based FoodsterBox, as well as Gastronomiz and EatYourBox from France.

Someone special was looking for Christmas gift ideas for me. Gastronomiz had a special box on offer (La Collection Christmas) that was supposed to contain some premium products. Since the contents would be a surprise, I suggested this gift idea. Here's the box which I found quite classy:

Before opening the box,  I was relieved to see that nothing was dripping from it. My concern about food boxes in general was that any liquids/sauces might spill during the journey, especially during its last few kilometers (Bpost having destroyed a number of my parcels). Inside, everything was well packaged and the fragile items were covered in bubble wrap.

Here are the contents of the box, displayed on the black apron that was included inside. There was a booklet with recipes and explanations on each product.

Confiture framboise-violette (Raspberry-violet flower jam) by Fusion By Carla

Poudre de cèpes (cep mushrooms powder) by Jardins d'Eini
Already tried in scrambled eggs - excellent!

50cl of Kalios olive oil, made from Koroneiki olives in Peloponnese, Greece

Mon Noël 2012 parfum culinaire à saupoudrer (culinary perfume for sprinkling)

Gastronomiz claims that this alone costs €30, but I wouldn't spend more than €5 on it. Tried it in some warm milk, and it made an OK drink (it contains way too much cane sugar, so was rather sweet and difficult to mix with other sweet foods)

Ceramic knife by Le Couteau du Chef

Overall, the box was one nice gift. Thank you again, darling!

Le Palais des Délices - Place Saint-Josse, Brussels

Place Saint-Josse, with its eclectic array of ethnic restaurants and grocery stores, yet so close to Brussels' EU district, has one of the best Moroccan restaurants in Brussels. The service is always friendly, dishes are excellent and served in big portions, prices are reasonable and the Moroccan pastries are to die for.

The salad bar, complimentary with any entrée ordered

Tajine Kefta (meatballs in a tomato sauce with peas and an egg), served with Moroccan bread

The selection of Moroccan pastries. Order a few and the waiter will tempt you further: "try 1 more on the house".

Overall, an excellent place for Moroccan lunch. Will certainly go back.


Le Palais des Délices
http://www.palaisdesdelices.be

Le Moulin de Lindekemale - Brussels

Le Moulin de Lindekemale restaurant is located in Woluwe Saint Lambert, just across from the Woluwe Shopping Center. We had a discounted coupon for a 3-course menu at this restaurant and decided to try it yesterday evening.

There is actually a functioning moulin (watermill) attached to the antique restaurant building.

We were invited to sit at the bar area and were offered an aperitif of "Kir royal à la pêche de vigne" and some nibbles. 

We were given the menu which had 3 options for each course. After having ordered, we were taken to the dining area.

Bread and butter on our table

Appetizers

Mille-feuilles à la mousse de foie gras de canard relevée au Bas Armagnac, Compote de mangues

Risotto de Scampi d'eau douce juste poêlé au beurre de ferme, Crème légère au curry jaune de Madras, Mesclun de jeunes pousses

Entrées

Roulé de Lapereau farci aux champignons et persil frisé sur son nid de galette de pommes de terre, sauce au poivre doux

Filet de Bar du Nil à l'Orientale, brochette de légumes de saison

Desserts

Soufflé glacé au Grand Marnier sur lit de crème anglaise

Trio de sorbets

Overall, this was a pleasant dinner in a rather rustic restaurant, which seemed to have a number of regulars. Waiting times between courses were too long with a 30 minutes wait before the desserts arrived, and the latter were disappointing. We did however receive a warm welcome from the lady manager and all the young waiters were trying their best to please diners.

Le Moulin de Lindekemale
http://www.lindekemale.be/

La Manufacture Restaurant - Brussels

La Manufacture is about 10 minutes walk from Place Sainte-Catherine on the sleepy Notre Dame du Sommeil street.

The building used to house a printworks and afterwards a Delvaux leather factory. When the latter moved to a much cheaper location, the place was renovated into a restaurant. A photograph at the entrance shows Delvaux employees working the leather inside La Manufacture.

The interior is quite original, with soft lighting, dark woods and leather chairs. The brick walls, metal staircase leading to the first floor (which was unoccupied that evening) and the pillars gave a unique factory feeling.

We opted for the 3-course Menu clin d'oeil ("wink menu" according to their English menu). We were given four small breads and butter. Oddly, the salt on the table was in the same plastic container as sold in supermarkets.

Starters

Aiguillettes de Bœuf Mariné à la Graine de Moutarde et Dill (Marinated Beef Slices with Mustard Seed and Dill )

Gaspacho Andalou à l’Huile de Pistaches, Avocat et Crevettes (Andalusian Gaspacho with Pistachio oil, Avocado and Shrimps)

Main dish

Magret de Canard Mulard au Citron et 2 Olives (Mulard Duck Breast with Lemon and 2 Olives)

Escalope de Saumon au Gingembre (Salmon Escalope with Ginger)

Dessert

Corolle de sorbets (Assorted Homemade Sorbets)

Parfait Glacé Meringué au Gingembre et Noix de Coco (Frozen Meringue Parfait with Ginger and Coconut)

That was a very good dinner and every single dish was enjoyable. The amount of food was just perfect, we were full without being stuffed. The young waiters were efficient, and the wait between each course was a reasonable 5 minutes. As we left, an employee gave us back our jackets, opened the door for us and said goodbye. Recommended restaurant.

Restaurant La Manufacture
Rue Notre Dame du Sommeil 12
1000 Bruxelles

Brusselicious Bon Appétit! exhibition - Cinquantenaire Museum, Brussels

This 15 August public holiday was the chance to visit one of the museum exhibitions organized as part of Brusselicious. The "Bon appétit! - Gastronomic discoveries through the centuries" exhibition in the Cinquantenaire Museum runs until 16 September.

With the €8 entrance ticket, visitors receive a  booklet which explains some of the key items of the exhibit.

Here's the entrance to the exhibition, which gives an overview of how, over the centuries, different civilizations and their discoveries have changed the way in which food and meals are conceived.

There are 340 artifacts arranged around 7 themes: Cereals; Dairy; Salt and spices; Sugar; Fruits and vegetables of the New World; Tea, coffee and chocolate; and Alcoholic drinks.

There was a "Bij Joseph" ice cream wagon, from around 1895, decorated with mirrors, paintings and sculptures. At the back there's a Mazzoletti mechanical piano and there's even an acetylene lighting system. Wouldn't it be cool to see one of these in Brussels today ?

Or what about the 1950s milkman traveling the streets of Brussels with his pony-drawn carriage ?

The exhibit ended with a thoughtful question: "We who live in the era of plastic, frozen foods, fast-food, caloric restriction diets, globalization and large-scale food retailing, what image of ourselves will we be able to leave for posterity? "

After visiting "Bon Appétit!" we enjoyed a stroll in the park. In the parking in front of Autoworld Brussels,  there was a gathering of vintage automobiles.

This Cadillac provided a preview of our next travel destination (Hint: a big island in the Caribbean).

Musée du Cinquantenaire (The Cinquantenaire Museum)
Parc de Cinquantenaire
http://www.kmkg-mrah.be/expositions/enjoy-your-meal

Note: the item descriptions are only in French and Dutch.

Brusselicious Tram Experience

The Brusselicious Tram Experience is a three-course meal by a Michelin-starred chef on board a tram. The experience lasts for two hours while the tram travels around Brussels. The menu/chef changes every two weeks.

We tried the Tram Experience dinner on Saturday 14 July and the menu was designed by Bart de Pooter. The chef of De Pastorale Restaurant was named "Belgian Chef of 2012" by the Gault Millau guide, so our expectations were quite high.

As instructed on the tickets, we arrived at the tram stop before 21:15 for a scheduled departure at 21:30. We waited with all other guests until 21:35 when a waiter came to check if our names were on his list and advised us to take our "precautions" since the on-board toilet had some problems. We finally boarded the tram at 21:45.

The setting of the tram was cool, with an all-white interior and rows of two and four seat tables. Needless to say, all the other diners were quite excited about the Tram Experience. Across the aisle from us there were four friendly Japanese expats with whom we shared some good laughs. They were very pleased to learn that we were in Japan two months earlier.

Here's our table with the amuses-bouche

Shrimp doughnuts & lemon cake

Entrée: Carpaccio of mature and lightly smoked sirloin steak with vegetable piccalilli - nice

Those who do not like beef were offered a quinoa & shrimps appetizer.

After the first course was served, the tram stopped at Montgomery Square for about 10 minutes while the cooks prepared the second course. They have two ovens in the 'kitchen' to heat up the food.

Main course: skate, red-green Swiss chard simmered in lightly browned butter, chopped spinach, preserved lemon, grilled almonds and cream of almonds - the greens and the cream of almonds were delicious, but the fish was not enjoyable since half of it was just bones.

 

By now (still hungry) I wanted to have some more bread, but unfortunately they had already run out of the tiny buns.

Dessert: tarte au chocolat with a scoop of  chocolate ice-cream - a rather disappointing dessert, a similar slice of chocolate tart can be bought from Pain Quotidien for around €3.

Overall, the food was a let-down. I was expecting so much more from Bart De Pooter, the  double Michelin-starred "Belgian Chef of 2012". True, the actual cooking was done by a caterer (we saw the food being unloaded from the van of "Traiteur Les Garrigues"). But then, Chef De Pooter could have been more inspired when designing the menu. After this meal, it is unlikely that I be tempted by his De Pastorale Restaurant.

The Tram Experience, however, was totally worth it. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event with some significant 'wow' factor. We enjoyed chatting with our dining neighbors and had some good fun waving at the pedestrians staring at us as we passed by. The shortcomings of the food aside, the young waiters were enthusiastic and efficient, keeping in mind that they were working in a narrow aisle in a moving tram.

Brusselicious Tram Experience
http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/brusselicious.do