I spend 2 days 2 nights in Brussels and 1 day in Bruges.
Pickpockets!! Beware of pickpockets or robbery when you are in Brussels, especially at night.
I witness an incident of robbery and spot a thief-like man on the first night in Brussels near Grand Place, all the tourists go there. It is pretty scary - a girl gets robbed and she screams and runs after the thief, unfortunately, no one could help her. Btw, according to wikitravel, it's not safe to walk around at night in Brussels, so i just have dinners a bit early (around 7-8) and then head back to hostel.
Don't be too scared, its still safe to walk around during the day.
SIGHTSEEING
I arrive in Brussels at 5pm, so I only have dinner (don't walk around at night in Brussels, not safe enough). The next day, I spend around 7 hours walking in the city to all sightseeing places, and I am pretty much done everything in there.
I don't recommend you to spend more than 2 nights there as you won't walk too far away from the tourist places to keep yourself safe, so nothing randoms to explore.
There is a small beer museum near Grand Place,
don't go there!
MUSSELS
Chez Leon, Grand Place, ~Euro$25-30/set, MUST TRY.
Try to avoid eating near Grand Place as they try to scam tourists with cheap food but very expensive drinks. However, you can still try one there called Chez Leon. They have the best musels in Brussels. You can see locals also go there for dinners too.
The set I order includes 500gr + fries + beer
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| Cherry Beer |
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| 500 gr mussels + baked mussels with cheese |
OTHER SEAFOOD
Mer Du Nord, Euro$30, CAN'T MISS
When you are strolling down to watch the church, St. Catherine, just keep walking down the road, you will see a semi-restaurant called "Mer Du Nord'. They don't have any sitting places, you can only stand there. The semi-restaurant gets crowded during lunch hour so be there a little bit early, say like 12pm to avoid lining up. (btw, they close at night)
On the other side of the eating area, this shop also sells seafood, that's why the ingredients are so fresh.
I order 3 dishes:
- The chief cooks it till medium-rare with herbs and olive oil !!! DON'T MISS
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| Fabulous Grilled Tuna!! |
- 12 fresh mussels, Euro $6, come with lemon juice-like sauce. Interesting and sweet!
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| Fresh Raw Mussels |
- Raw Oysters (forgot to take picture), ~Euro$1.5-2 each, well, like oysters I normally have in different restaurants. ummm... If you have tried the oysters at Hog Island in San Francisco, they are pretty much the same. I don't highly recommend you to order this if you have oysters once a while, these won't surprise you.
I also order a glass of white wine, the bill is ~Euro$30, GOOD VALUE !!!
ABC, near St Catherine, Good To Try
I also try a similar eating place right across the street called, ABC. Part of the shop sells meat and seafood and the other side serves food. As I have already eaten a bit at Mer Du Nord, I just order 1 dish - squid and octopus cooked in Spanish way. It's also good !!!
They only have a menu written in Dutch, but the owner is nice enough to translate them for you.
The total costs Euro$30 as I have also ordered a glass of white wine and add some extra Spanish sausages in.
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| Octopus + Squid + Sausages cooked in Spanish Way |
Le Paon Royal, very close to St Catherine, GOOD
We walked back to Mer Du Nord trying to have our last dinner in Brussel with them, unfortunately, they have closed. So I just walk arounda little bit and find this restaurant.
You don't see too much tourists here, first criterion, not a touristy place, pass !
Here are the 3 dishes I order:
- This dish comes with french fries, Euro$24, the way it cooks is very interesting, however, the eel is a bit fishy. I prefer the Chinese style more.
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| Eel cooked in herbs |
- Horse fillet with shallots and red wine with french fries, Euro$23, surprisingly, it is delicious ! I couldn't tell it's a horse fillet from my first bite! It's like eating a beef steak but a very tender one.
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Medium Rare Horse Meat, Delicious !!
- You can tell that the crepes are made with a lot of eggs that make them smell good and chewy.
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| Crepes with custard and mixed berries. |
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| How can you miss fruit beer in Brussels?? |
WAFFLES
oh about this, I don't have any recommendations for you guys. None of the waffles I bought are good, they are just too sweet or taste very artificial (like using a lot vanilla oil). I couldn't find a shop that makes it when you order.
ummm.... I probably wont go to Brussels !! Instead, I would travel to Bruges again !!
