Food tour in the Javastraat in Amsterdam

The Javastraat is a street in the Indian neighborhood in Amsterdam, it’s in Amsterdam East close to the Muiderpoort train station. In the Javastraat you’ll find many shops and restaurants with a large variety of cuisines from all over the world. From Italian to Ethiopian and from Caribbean to Syrian: you can find it all at the Javastraat.
Last week I went on a food tour in the Javastraat. It was organized by Tilda, my favorite rice brand. They’ve been selling genuine Basmati Rice for over 40 years in multiple countries including Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. Rice is a ingredient that is used in many cuisines and on this food tour we discovered some of the many dishes you can make with rice.
Our guide for the day was Jonneke from Mooncake, she took us to 3 different restaurants and told us all about the dishes we’ve tasted.

We’ve met up at Bar Botanique (pictured above), this tropical bar has such a cool interior with green, pink and many many plants! They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and have plenty vegetarian options!

Our first stop was Saeed’s Curry House, a real hidden gem in Amsterdam East on Javastraat 9. Saeed’s started out as a toko for Pakistan food, but now also sells his famous curries. They’ve made it very easy for you with a 5 step plan to make a real Pakistan Curry. And Saeed’s is famous for its mangos that you can get from May till Oktober. He gets them from Pakistan and they’re super sweet.

Saeed made a Pakistan Pilau for us with the basmati rice from Tilda. This rice dish is made with cumin and cardemon and Saeed served it with potatoes and green pees.

Have you ever seen this? This Pani Puri, a Pakistani snack. They’re small, crispy bun-like bites filled with red onion, tomato, chickpeas and cilantro (coriander). You dip the Pani Puri in tamarind water and put the whole bun in your mouth at once. They’re tasty, healthy and very original!

Our second stop was Ricardo’s at Javastraat 47. Owner Ricardo was born in Surinam and has worked in many restaurants in Amsterdam before he started his own Ricardo’s in 2007. At Ricardo’s they sell traditional Surinamese dishes, different ones every day of the week. He made Masoes Moksi Alesi with the basmati rice. Masoes is a fruit that gives rice a yellow color. Moksi Alesi is like the Surinamese take on Nasi, a rice dish that’s traditionally made with leftovers.

Our last stop was Restaurant Nour, on the Javastraat 109. Owner Anton is from Iraq and most of the dishes in the restaurant are from Iraq or Lebanon. In the kitchen you can find a tandoor, a traditional oven in which they make the famous Lebanese flatbreads.

The chef puts a bit of dough on a cushion and when it’s flat he puts it on the inside of the oven. In mere minutes the flatbread is ready. The flatbread has a distinctive smokey taste.