It was almost 5 years ago when I had my first stroopwafel. My cousin’s friend, who was living in Amsterdam, took us to her favourite stroopwafel place in the city. I didn’t remember much of the place. Firstly, it was years ago, and secondly, because I was high. But I vividly remembered the stroopwafel itself being a really delightful treat. Love at first bite.
Stroopwafel
A Dutch delicacy, Stroopwafel is made of two thin wafers stuck together with caramel syrup. It originated from the same place that birthed the world-famous Gouda cheese.
I have had a few stroopwafels ever since the first magical stroopwafel. Once in a Dutch-inspired restaurant in Jakarta. A few times when I got it as the go-to souvenir from Amsterdam. And a store-bought one from, of all the places, Nagoya, Japan.
I tried to relive the taste I felt during my high as a kite moment, but nothing ever came close. I couldn’t finish a single stroopwafel ever since. It had always been too sickly sweet. Thankfully Fafa loves it, so no stroopwafel that entered our house has even been wasted.
It made me wonder whether the first stroopwafel was special or just a one-off blue-moon experience. I had to find out.
Lanskroon Bakery
Last year, an hour after we landed in Amsterdam, I convinced my friends to go out for a stroopwafel.
“It’s still breakfast time in Australia, after all“, I told them. It wasn’t, but none complained. It must have been the jet lag.
Conscious Vondelpark, the hotel we booked, wasn’t really located in the city centre, warranting a bit of walking on the chilly Amsterdam morning. Which was great as it woke us up and made us hungry. And more importantly, it gave me extra time to find out the exact place where I had my first stroopwafel.
I mean if I had to test my point, it had to come from the same shop. So I put: “corner stroopwafel store, by the river, yellow door” after “Amsterdam tourist” on Google. Thankfully, Lanskroon Bakery was easy to find.
10 minutes later, we were inside the century-old bakery (no yellow door, though) with only four tables and some chairs surrounding it — all fully occupied.
An old man who was enjoying his coffee while reading the newspaper noticed us and gracefully gave up his table so we, the three loud tourists, could sit. I “dank je“-ed him a few times before sitting with my stroopwafel and a cup of coffee while my friends shared one between the two of them.
Reunited
After a big 5 years of waiting for worth of breath, I took my first bite. Hoping the jet lag that made me a bit disoriented would help heighten the stroopwafel taste.
Well.. the stroopwafel was magical indeed. The heat from the coffee melted the glue-like caramel holding the wafers, making it easy to bite while keeping the crunchiness intact. The warmth made its way into my heart.
“It felt like a blessing“, I told my friends with a bit of exaggeration. Fully immersed in the stroopwafel while making faces that disgusted them. Not that I cared. It was as amazing as I remembered it to be.
Dank Je delicious stroopwafel. It was worth the 18 hours of flight.
Lanskroon Banketbakkerij Amsterdam Singel 385 Bloemenmarkt, 1012 WL Amsterdam The Netherlands
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