Archive for the 'Holland' Category

Fabulous Hotel Okura Amsterdam

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

When you want that perfect vacation that combines calm rejuvenation with the rev of action, then head for Holland. Make Hotel Okura (www.okura.nl) in Amsterdam your home base oasis. Its modernity and cool decor belies the fact that it has been here for forty years and brought high end five-star luxury along with Japanese cuisine to Amsterdam. You can start off  by taking advantage of their jet lag program and then wind down in the pool, Japanese sauna, Turkish bath and health club.

Reaching for the stars, the family grabbed a few Michelin ones – half the ones in the whole city. The two-star Ciel Bleu perches appropriately on the 23rd floor, up in the blue sky with walls of glass, so every seat and every bite is a delightful wonder. Winding down is easy to achieve at the one-star serene Yamazato, set in 15th and 16th-century Sukiya style decor and with views of the Japanese garden to complement the Japanese culinary arts.

We dined at the new canal-facing Serre where some of those Michelin-trained cooks drifted. So for only 34 Euros you can taste the same heavenly cooking with simpler versions of last year’s Ciel Bleu’s signature dishes and more. Our bento box lunch was an artist’s palate of tastes and textures filled with 9 tiny delights (guinea hen in garlic sauce, crispy crab, steak tartare, bulghur, smoked salmon, roasted artichoke, all in sauces, foams and powders. Yum!

BentoBox

Japanese Tranquility in Amsterdam

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

Amsterdam is fun, hopping, bustling with bikes, museums, cafe life, canals and history. After a day of all that stimulation, it’s a blessing to come back “home” to the Okura Hotel, a 4o-year old sea of tranquility. Fabulous sleek design (love those light fixtures) and super friendly service.

Sure it has a pool and sauna but also a jet lag program, a hairdressing salon, cooking school, shoe shine service, a florist – and – half of all the Michelin starred restaurants in Amsterdam (one French and one Japanese). Best new secret in town is the new sunny Michelinesque cafe, Serre, facing the canal and cheffed by some of the staff from Ciel Bleu. So, the food has all the quality, sauces and presentation of its sisters but at prices you can afford – 35 Euros for a tasting menu or a giant bento box with 9 surprise dishes inside.

www.okura.nl

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