April 06, 2009
Eindhoven Markt Cafes
Arrived in Eindhoven about mid-morning and set down our luggage. Had just enough time to get some lunch before our meeting in the afternoon. But after a twelve-hour flight to an unfamiliar city in a distant country, even lunch seemed like quite the looming challenge.
Thankfully we were situated in the middle of town, and like most European cities, the central square is lined with cafes and restaurants. They were just starting to set out the tables and open up the umbrellas for lunch service. Coming from Asia the air was a touch chilly, but not too bad under the sunlight, so we chose a cafe at random and sat outside.
I must've been way too tired for my own good, as I made the worst mistake a visitor can make in a European restaurant: ordering a soda. Two fucking Euros for the tiniest glass of Diet Coke with three tinier ice cubes in it. Should've just got a cappuccino like Max did. It cost the same for a hand-made drink plus they give you a butter cookie to go with it.
Not surprisingly in Holland, the menu was heavy on bread, cheese, and ham. A brunch-y meal was perfect for us confronting jet lag, so it worked out nicely. I had the Chef's Toastie with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers on top of a ham&cheese sandwich. Max goes like a Euro-version of a Grand-Slam-Breakfast with three eggs on ham, cheese, and tomato with toast
After an afternoon of tough meetings, we were even less inclined to seek out fancy restaurants. So we returned to the central square, choosing a different cafe this time. Of course, I manage to pick the one which didn't have an English menu, so we were left to sound out the Dutch words and hope they resembled some familiar English homophone. A couple glasses of cold Franziskaner beer and a plate of tasty bitterballen tided us over. Bitterball is crispy fried breading on the outside, creamy savory meat sauce on the inside, with a dish of mayo for dipping on the side. The perfect Dutch bar snack, which was about the only bit of foodie-research I had time for on this work trip.
The beef steak and stuffed salmon turned out to be safe, albeit unremarkable, entrees. Barely good enough to get stuffed and head back to the hotel for some sleep before jetting off to the customer's factory in Romania the next day.
View Larger Map Posted by mikewang at April 6, 2009 12:45 PM