One of my favorite foods of all time is pappardelle bolognese … you just can’t beat pasta and ground beef with a creamy tomato finish. That’s why it’s getting a post all to itself. haha! Well, I was lucky enough to find a restaurant near my hotel that offered spaghetti bolognese. This restaurant had tons of other things too but as soon as I saw that listed on the menu I didn’t have to think about it… and actually, I went back on my last day during this trip and during my second trip to Brussels a couple years after. It was just so good.
The restaurant is called Mokafé Taverne and it was right in the middle of all the action by the Grand Palace inside the Royal Gallery of Saint Huber. The servers there were so nice every time. They have seating outside if you want to people watch, as well as inside if you want a cozy nook to have great conversations with company over a warm meal. I never had breakfast there but from what I saw, their breakfast options looked delicious too. And of course they served the Belgian waffle!
This particular area was really cute in general because there were lots of shops, restaurants and chocolatiers all around you. It’s a great place to walk around especially if it’s raining outside since this whole section has a ceiling even though it’s an open air gallery.
Within the Royal Gallery of Saint Huber, there are numerous chocolate shops. As many of you already know, Belgium is known for their chocolate. So while you’re here, you have to walk around and check out each of the shops. Some of my favorite chocolatiers from Belgium are Neuhaus Chocolates and Godiva. Now, these aren’t your run of the mill Hershey’s bars, so expect to pay a premium for a truffle or chocolate bar here.
Below I have some photos from that day in Brussels when I walked about browsing these chocolate shops and eating lots of bolognese. I began walking back to my hotel as the sun was setting and it began to rain. Of course I didn’t have an umbrella and my thin raincoat I wore wasn’t of much help either. LOL I got home and dried up a bit before getting ready to explore later at night.
One of the “popular” landmarks I saw was Manneken Pis which is a bronze statue from the mid-15th century of a little boy peeing. The funniest thing about this is the fact that it’s been stolen countless times throughout history. It seems that now there is a replica in its place with the original at the Brussels City Museum. I included a selfie of me with it in the photos below!
Well, that’s all for my second full day in Brussels. I can’t believe this was in 2017! I will share more about Belgium from my 2019 return soon! Let me know if you’ve been to Brussels or if you’d like to visit Brussels one day!
An Afghan Abroad 