If beautiful cities like Bruges and Brussels weren't enough to entice you into going to Belgium, maybe the following foods will. Being half Belgian, I'm not going to dispute the fact that Belgian food is arguably one of the best in the world. Waffles and Belgian chocolate are my favourite (as well as the french fries...!) and here are 9 things that you simply must try if you go to Belgium - names are in Flemish and French as they're the two main languages in the country.

Eet smaakelijk | bon appétit! 

1) Mosselen | Moules | Mussels

Although this dish is super popular in France it actually originates in Belgium! In Belgian restaurants a portion for one person is normally 1.5kg of mussels, can be prepared in a number of different ways (usually with a white wine sauce) and normally comes with fries or frietjes/frites (check number 3)! On average 25-30 tonnes of mussels are consumed each year in Belgium and the Belgian artist Stromae even has a song called 'moules-fries', so you could say that the dish is pretty popular.

2) Biefstuk met bearnaisesaus | Steak à la sauce béarnaise | Steak with bearnaise sauce

Okay so this one technically is from France, but the Belgians do it so, so well and it is one of my absolute favourite dishes when I go back to Belgium. If you don't know what bearnaise sauce is, it's similar to hollandaise sauce and is made with a mix of butter, egg yolks, white wine vinegar and herbs such as tarragon - so an explosion of calories basically. So, so worth it though.

3) Frietjes | Frites | Fries

Although there has been a lot of dispute over the origin of frietjes or frites and despite the fact that they are called 'French fries' in English, many claim that the food originated in Belgium and that people have misunderstood the origin of the food due to the georgraphic proximity of the two countries.

My mum told me that the name 'French fries' came about in the second world war when there was no fish as it was rationed by mothers who had to improvise by cutting fish shapes out of potatoes and frying them to feed their kids - an American soldier saw this and, thinking he was in France, called them French fries. I'm not sure how true this story is but I know that they are super tasty and there's nothing better than a zak met frietjes with a massive dollop of mayonaise.

4) Dame Blanche 

Dame blanche (French for 'white lady') is a Belgian dessert which is vanilla ice cream with warm melted chocolate - it sounds simple but the warm chocolate is sometimes mixed with cream and it is incredible. Literally incredible.

5) Oliebollen (smoutebollen) | Croustillons 

This is a very popular Belgian and Dutch food which is essentially a deep fried ball of dough, covered in powdered sugar. In English they're literally translated as 'oil balls' but they are more commonly known as 'Dutch donuts'. They are traditionally eaten at New Year (see photo below of my friend and I after being way too excited about buying them on NYE) but around Christmas time you can find little mobile trucks selling them - definitely eat a couple, they're delicious, especially if they are still warm.

6) Bitterballen 

These are originally a Dutch (and north Belgian) snack which contain a kind of thick sauce and minced beef or veal which is then battered in a breadcrumb mixture, deep fried and enjoyed with mustard sauce.

7) Wafels | Gauffres | Waffles

I'm pretty sure that you all know what waffles are, and if you haven't tried Belgian waffles then you haven't lived.

8) Belgische bieren | Bières belges | Belgian beers 

There are around 180 breweries in Belgium and in 2016 Belgian beer made it onto the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. You've probably heard of Westmalle, Duvel, La Chouffe, Corsendonk, De Konink, Hoegaarden (obviously) and Leffe but why not try a couple of Belgium's other great beers? They've got loads of festivals on all the time, the perfect excuse to visit Belgium.

9) Chocolade | Chocolat | Chocolate 

And finally, leaving the best till last, Belgian chocolate. I've been raised to know that Belgian chocolate is the best in the world and you should all try some if you have the chance. My favourite store brand is 'Côte d'Or' and one of my favourite speciality shops is Leonidas because the pralines are amazing but do not break the bank. There are more expensive (and yummier) brands, of course, however Leonidas is my favourite!



Hope that you have the best time when you visit Belgium and that you get to try some of these iconic foods & beers! Let me know which one or ones are your favourites x

The Big Mamma group has taken the Paris foodie world by storm with their incredible Italian food including their pizzas, truffle pasta and tiramisus. I had been to almost all of their restaurants except for the only one which serves brunch: Biglove Caffè.

Knowing that I only had a couple of weeks left in Paris and being the brunch lover that I am, I knew that I had to visit before I left, so that's exactly what Marie and I did one Sunday morning.

We woke up bright an early to beat the queues and prepared ourselves for carb heaven...

We decided to order lots of food and share it all (which in hindsight was actually far too much food - definite food babies appeared post-brunch). We ordered:

Pancake aux fruits frais

A big pancake made with buffalo ricotta, seasonal fruits (in our case, strawberries) and almonds

Le bigboy pain perdu

Sexy banana cookie

As the name suggests, a sexy banana cookie with big chunks of chocolate and hazelnuts from Piemont.

Big brioche à la sicilienne

Super soft and fluffy which came with nutella...(!!!)


Our favourites were the two mains, the pain perdu and the pancake. To be honest I think that the pain perdu won - but only just! Definitely go if you're a brunch lover (and carb lover). Other options are a yoghurt with granola, avocado proscuitto toast, truffle eggs, eggs benedict and a hummus/bean concoction, so something for everyone!

They also are the only Big Mamma Group restaurant which serves gluten free pizzas which means that you can try their heavenly pizzas even if you're gluten intolerant or allergic.

After all that food we were in desperate need of a walk. Luckily the cafe is situated in the heart of Le Marais (map etc. below) so we headed off to do some exploring (and burn off some of that breakfast).


Biglove Caffè

30 Rue Debelleyme
75003 Paris

The closest metro stations are Filles du Calvaire (line 8), Rambateau (line 11), Temple (line 3) and République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11).

They normally open at 9am but for their full opening times feel free to visit their website here (click!)

"Why the name House of Small Wonder? Because everyday life is not about the big wonders, its about the small wonders that make things just a little more pleasant."

House of Small Wonder originally opened in 2010 in Brooklyn, New York and then made its way to Berlin at the end of 2014, bringing with it its greenhouse atmosphere, filled with plenty of (beautiful) greenery.


After a long morning of sightseeing, Marie and I decided to both go for their sandwich menu which was served with a soup of the day and a choice of salad. Marie and I both went for their avocado and homemade chive goats cheese sandwich. We both ordered the spinach salad and the soup of the day was corn - we would have never ordered it, given the choice but were pleasantly surprised.

Our meal was accompanied by a sparkling lemonade punch which was Crémant (a French sparkling wine) with their original homemade mint lemonade.



Their menu is full of great options for breakfast, all day brunch, lunch and pastries, so basically right up my street. Plus the interior is super, super cute as you can see from the pictures and it's located quite centrally so perfect if you're visiting (map below).

The restaurant had options for meat eaters, vegetarians and even vegans so it's great for everyone - plus it had numerous Japanese influenced dishes such as Katsu Don (Japanese style pork cutlets with rice, egg, cabbage and katsu sauce) and the Onigiri set (onigiri rice balls with vegetables and miso soup), which I was tempted to get .
The food was honestly really, really good and not too expensive, you can have a look at their menu here (click!) My friend Marie found the restaurant via instagram, which is honestly one of the best social media platforms to find places to go when you travel, it's great!





p.s. They only take cash so come prepared - if not there's a cash machine around the corner!

The Big Mamma Group have taken Paris by storm since opening their first restaurant in Bastille back in 2015. Two years later, they've got 5. East Mamma, Ober Mamma, Mamma Primi, Biglove caffè and now Pizzeria Popolare which focuses on a more chilled-out dining experience with pizzas starting at 4 euros. Yes, 4 euros.
Is the 4 euro pizza one with many toppings? No, obviously not. It's a marinara which is a tomato base pizza topped with garlic and Sicilian oregano (no cheese) - very popular in Naples, the homeland of the dish (read about that here). However, margheritas are 5 euros and a margherita DOP (with buffalo mozzarella) is 9, still significantly cheaper than those at the other restaurants (12).

We ordered mozzarella fritta (fried mozzarella balls) to start which came with a tomato sauce. These were honestly divine.




As mains we thought that we would take advantage of the 5 euro margherita so I went for that one (it's actually my favourite type of pizza, i'm boring I know) and my friend Bella went for the same one but added some ham on top of it, making it 8 euros.

By the time we had to choose what we wanted for dessert we were both positively stuffed but were determined to try their traditional gelato which I have missed since leaving Italy. We both went for hazelnut and couldn't resist ordering the churros which were covered in gianduja. For those of you that don't know what gianduja is... it's a heavenly chocolate/hazelnut concoction made by angels. No exaggeration.



So what's the catch? Why are they so much cheaper? The pizzas are around 2-4 euros cheaper than in the other places, as well as new additions to the menu such as a normal margherita (without the buffalo mozzarella), as well as drinks being slightly cheaper. Why? You give up having a private table.

Tables are communal so if you're on a date you may prefer to pay a little bit extra for a more romantic or private dining experience. I personally don't really mind, especially when a margherita is 5 euros - let me just clarify that that is an insane price for Paris. That is what I paid for one when I was in Italy which is significantly cheaper than Paris.



Our whole bill came to 39 euros for 1 glass of red wine, 1 starter, 2 mains & 3 desserts, so definitely, definitely worth it. Unfortunately though their famous truffle pasta is still 18 euros so if you want to try it you'll still have to fork out the money for the heavenly dish which I tried at one of their other branches, Mamma Primi.

As you know if you live in Paris or have ever been to one of the Big Mamma group restaurants, you need to queue around 30 minutes before opening time in order to get a table. They don't take reservations, however if you queue you can make a reservation for later on in the evening (9pm or so). I know it's annoying that you have to get there early but the food is honestly worth it, and with this new cheaper option there's no excuse to not go out for dinner - you could literally only spend 4 euros!

Pizzeria Popolare is located at 111 Rue Réaumur, 75002 (map below) and opening times are 12:00 - 14:30 and then 19:00 - 22:45 on weekdays and 12:00 - 15:30 and then 19:00 - 23:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Although they've started having some DJ nights which last until 2am - just check out their instagram @bigmammagroup to know who is playing & when.

Located in Montmartre, The Hardware Société is quickly becoming one of Paris' favourite brunch spots (as well as mine)! The restaurant originally opened in Melbourne, and made it's way to Paris earlier last year incorporating both Australian and French breakfast favourites into their menu.

Situated just a few steps from the Arc De Triomphe and surrounded by beautiful Hausmann style buildings, the Peninsula in Paris is probably one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stepped into. Last weekend my friend Bella and I headed there for their High Tea, stopping of course to take some pictures along the way.