Sunday, October 25, 2009

Eastern Flavours

Already for years my boyfriend and I have a habit to visit an oriental marketplace once in a while. We take the car, leave early in the morning and drive to Beverwijk, near Amsterdam, to spend a while in the bustle of the market. (Actually, I learned yesterday that it is the largest decked market in Europe.)

A day at the market is like a short, cheap holiday to a far-away country. We enjoy walking in the crowd, watching people and bargaining with the salesmen. There is probably nothing that they wouldn't sell in one of the hundreds of stands! The quality of clothes, shoes or furniture may not be really high, but you can get the best fresh fruits there.

When entering the hall of foodstuff, we get dazed by the strong aromas of herbs. Hills of herbs everywhere and all kinds of fruits and vegetables you can think of, and more... Piles of olives in all colours, aubergines in the deepest purple - it is all very beautiful.

Yesterday we got back home our bags filled with pineapples, dragon fruits, mangos, grapefruits... Of course Turkish bread and nuts as well. And this time we also chose the unusual delicacies sesame halva with pistachio nuts, baklava and Indonesian banana cakes. Mmmmmmm...

All in all it was a tasty weekend - on our way home we found and tested a Chinese restaurant in the neighbourhood. The food was excellent so we have a new address for take-away meals in the future...

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