The Pineapple Chicken Blog

Hi everyone!

Happy Friday! What wonderful things have you planned for this weekend? Or will it be super relaxing focusing on self-care? Either way, I am very glad that I am finally back on the blog. For those who had seen my recent post, the blog was on pause because I was moving in with my boyfriend!! Thank you for all the well wishes from friends and readers – I was extremely grateful for all the messages.

I am not going to lie, the past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster! I had forgotten how stressful moving can be and I do not think I managed my own expectations and the change appropriately. The move in day coincided with one of the most sociable time of the year for me because of Chinese New Year and as a result, this has meant I have not actually spent much time in my new home.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR. 

May the Year of the Pig bring everyone good health, positivity, good luck and prosperity!

I am really excited to share with you my weekend away to Rotterdam with my sister.

Where we stayed

The James Hotel is a three-star boutique hotel. It looked like it had been newly renovated, with a sleek contemporary design. My sister and I shared a twin room, which was luckily upgraded to a larger room. I was extremely chuffed, however, we realised a large room does not the size of the bed changed! They seemed to be particularly small, which was a bit odd. I would recommend others to book a king size bedroom instead of twin beds.

They also seemed to have sprayed quite a distinctive “perfume” into the rooms, so if you have a sensitive nose, this might not be the place for you.  Despite this, it was conveniently located around good restaurants and the shopping district so there was a lot to see! I would recommend the hotel mainly for the location, cleanliness and friendly staff. (3 out of 5 pineapples)

Museum Voorlinden

The raison d’etre for going all the way to Rotterdam was to visit Museum Voorlinden. Noted that museum was actually nowhere near Rotterdam but in the Hague; and that my sister and I decided to fly all the way to London to visit this place – you can imagine how high my expectations were.

I was actually blown away – I had such an amazing time that I would fly back to Rotterdam just to see what other exhibitions they might hold in the future. Currently, they have two exhibitions, in addition, to their permanent collection:

1. Less is More (until November 2019)
2. Armando (until 10th March)

I highly recommend the Less is More exhibition, I have taken a few pictures of my favourite pieces (check out my Instagram feed) including Alicja Kwade Trans-For-Men 8 (Fibonacci), 2018. Brilliantly curated and just shown in such a wonderful space. The architecture of the building meant that there was a wonderful light flowing into each room.

My sister and I really wanted to see Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool which specially designed for Voorlinden. As the museum was not crowded, we managed to have at least 20 minutes taking photos with this wonderful art piece which would have been IMPOSSIBLE in London. This piece of art was such a tranquil space, so much so that I was wondering how I could have my own little pool at home so I could have a zen room hehe 😉 (It continues to be a dream).

I had a wonderful time – flying to Rotterdam and going to the museum really made my trip! (5 out of 5 pineapples)

Tip: If I was to visit again, I think I would stay in the Hague, there is a lot more to see and I found it much prettier than Rotterdam. 

What we did

• Markthal – This is a food hall very conveniently close to the shopping area in the Cool District. There are a variety of stalls ranging from seafood to Indonesian food to Tapas. There is something for everyone, however, it did get very crowded in the evening. Personally, because of all the choice, it was very difficult to decide on what to have. I recommend going there with a cuisine or dish in mind, or you might end up wandering aimlessly like me. There was a dessert shop which sold Poffertjes – these amazingly buttery and sugary mini pancakes. They were SOOO GOOD – definitely try some whilst you are out there! (2.5 out of 5 pineapples)
• Cube Houses – I am not sure why this is a recommended destination on most guides for Rotterdam. These are located right next to Markthal, so whilst you are there, why not go to see it but don’t expect anything special! (1 out of 5 pineapples)

Where we ate

• The Fish Market – very chilled out vibes and an extensive seafood menu. Everything was very fresh and well executed. The portions were also very large, so I recommend ordering to share, or if you can go with a big group that would be even better! 3 out of 5 pineapples
• Dudok – turns out there are few Dudok cafes in Rotterdam/Hague. There is one about 3 minutes from our hotel. We went there for breakfast on Saturday morning and it turns out that everyone else thought the same idea. Super popular with a mixed crowd. It was slightly odd that people seemed to have cake and coffee in the morning, but I could understand why because the apple pie is to a must try! 3 out of 5 pineapples
• Restaurant Napoli – it was a cold weekend so wanted a bit of comfort food. This small little Italian place was SUPER busy, that we were only able to get a reservation on Saturday for 8:30pm. Delicious comfort food particularly if you are in a pasta mood – highly recommend this bustling restaurant. 3.5 out of 5 pineapples
• by Jarmusch – American style diner that is super popular for brunch – great pancakes and had an awesome veggie breakfast. Expect there to be a relatively long wait, but was a great way to start the day! 3.5 out of 5 pineapples. 

Until next time

Rotterdam is filled with so much more to see. I didn’t even cover 20% of the locations I had on my google maps. I would have wanted to spend more time in the Hague, so next time I think I will stay there. The weekend trip was a great taster of what Rotterdam has to offer. As mentioned previously, I would go back just for Museum Voorlinden so I might use that time to wander around this more, and maybe not in winter because it was constantly raining whilst we were there!

Have any of you been to Rotterdam before? What do you think I should do next time whilst I am there? As always, I would love to hear from you!

With Sweet & Sour Love,

Pineapple Chicken x