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neighbourhood watch
PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC
A great outlook into the authenticity of Amsterdam, its quality of life and easy-going spirit ble stalls run by Algerian merchants, fabric shops flaunting bold African colours, local Dutch cheeses, fat Italian sausages, and vats of creamy Greek hummus. A RISING STAR This charmed life wasn’t going to stay a secret much longer. Over the past few years, the cheap shops and generic brands geared towards lower-income families have slowly been replaced by a more trendy fare. The second-hand shops on Bilderdijkstraat are carrying more luxury and sought-after items, and have seen new neighbours move in with funky, alternative and attractive concepts, such as grocery shop Bilder & DeClercq, greenery-enamoured Wildernis, and Asian-fusion star restaurant Happyhappyjoyjoy. New hotspot cafés have sprouted all over Kinkerstraat, lining up benches on the street where hipsters, businessmen and young mothers with strollers sit together with their cups of organic, freshly-ground coffee. Jan Pieter Heijestraat, which was always the odd duck of the neighbourhood with its handful of cool little shops, is now a bizarre tapestry of local laundromats, hairdressers and hardware shops, and a slew of designer boutiques of trendy fashion or interior wares. But when it comes to interior design, Overtoom takes the cake. If the large avenue that cuts into West directly from Leidseplein looks utterly industrial and unattractive, it’s actually ripe with great furniture stores, as well as entertainment venues such as independent culture staple OT301 and giant pool-hall Plan B, and many great restaurants like Ethiopian Addis Ababa, Tex-Mex Tomatillo, and Mediterranean Frenzi Cucina. ‘I love it. All these new shops
BILDER & DE CLERCQ When this concept food store opened five years ago, we had doubts on its longevity: Albert Heijn is right across the street! And it carries everything! But it turns out the plot was genius. We’ve all been stuck in a cooking rut, rotating the same handful of easy dinners to whip up after a long day at work. Then in came Bilder & De Clercq, with its fresh foods and fresh ideas. The concept is simple: each stand contains all the ingredients required to prepare the recipe which enticingly looms over the pedestal on a giant poster. It also carries gourmet breads and desserts, wines, oils and spices, so that even a pit stop across the street never proves necessary.
De Clercqstraat 44 www.bilderdeclercq.nl
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HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY The opening of Happyhappyjoyjoy last year was one of the hints that the neighbourhood is going hip. Creative celebrity chef Julius Jasper brings his own twists to spicy streetfood from Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand such as Har Kau, Shao Mai, and of course sizzling barbecues and woks. The visually-laden décor is, indeed, so happy-happy that it’s difficult to have a bleak meal at this temple of everything Asian fusion.
Bilderdijkstraat 158 www.happyhappyjoyjoy.asia