Belgian Beer Goodness

Amis bon aprés-midi. A long week has passed and a new week is about to begin (again). Once again, my apologies for not posting as often as I should be. I will be trying my best to to be as up-to-date as possible.

My first post for the day is about Friday evening and the trip to Belgian Beer Cafe Oostende in Ebenezer Place off Rundle Street (refer below for the specific address). It is always a busy joint on Friday nights as it is an awesome place for afterwork-drinks! There is quite a wide selection of imported beers (which I will be talking about a bit later) and they are of course also popular for their chips (in cone cups) and mussels. This is also a good place on weekends if you are up for some drinks with a few mates, just to catch up and chat - or get up to some mischief ;)

The first beer which I ordered was the Hoegaarden (according to the menu: ...refreshing, spicy beer with only a slight bitterness & a hint of coriander & curacao). Normally, I don't drink beers if I had a choice, but this beer is one I definitely liked. I ended up ordering a HUGE pint of it (500mL to be exact - refer to the picture below). It was easy to drink and didn't really bloat me unlike other 'typical' beers. The next beer I tried was very different - called the Rochefort 10, it is a dark beer with a complex aroma of malt, elderberries, chocolate, prunes and raisins. The first sip was "OH SO BITTER", but the more you drink, the better and sweeter it started tasting. It is also a nice complement to salty dishes (e.g. their les moules!).

Hoegaarden (look at the size of the pint compared to the hand!)

Rochefort 10 (beware - it has a very high alcohol content of 11%!)

Then comes one of their signature dishes: 1kg Les Moules (mussels; refer to picture on right). I have been there numerous times to try different flavours and this time round, I tried the Moutarde, which comprises of mussels steamed with French whole grain mustard, chives and cream. The mussels were a bit small this time round, but the flavours were quite nice. The mussels typically arrives with a serving of their chips with mayonnaise (which is always quite tasty - never mind the calories at this stage!). 

Les moules - Moutarde (the cream soupy-base is not very creamy which makes it pleasant to eat)

Chips with mayonnaise (I recommend getting tomato sauce and dipping in both mayonnaise and tomato sauce)

As always, the broth of the mussels is very salty. This is where the beer comes in very handy, washing the saltiness away (I suggest the Rochefort if you are keen for an interesting combination). 

If you intend to come here for dinner with a group of friends on Friday nights or weekends (which I highly recommend), then I suggest that you make a booking as early in the week as possible as they are booked out very quickly (unless the group is very small and you don't mind eating in the bar area which is also nice).