Belgium Part 1

Hi! i'm here to update about Belgium!  But before that i have to tell everyone about how I missed my train from Paris to Brussels, and had to pay another 69 euros to get on the next train ))))):

Anyway, I was in Belgium for the Harvard World Model United Nations Conference, which was in Brussels (:

It is so amusing to me that when I tell people that I'm going for world model united nations, people think it is fashion modelling. Lols!! No okay, i do academic stuff too!

So this year, the NUS delegation of 21 people had the great honour to represent the Federal Republic of Germany! I had a co-delegate in my committee, the United Nations Development Program, debating GM crops and access to clean water. 

It was AMAZING to meet people from all over the world!!! It was scary to actually debate with them, but once we got into the swing of it, it felt better, and it helps that we were representing such an important country, so people had to listen to us. hahaha :D

WorldMUN was definitely a great experience, and an eye opener to diplomacy, politics and international relations. I'm super glad I took part (: 

BELGIAN FOOD 

of course the highlight for me will always still be food. so i have to introduce you all to all the amazing things I ate haha

Brussels Grill

 there is this chain store called Brussels Grill everywhere in Brussels, and my friend and I decided to try it out for dinner on one of the nights!

It was super pretty, with a warm fireplace and stained glass

Here's us waiting for our food :D

 I ordered a steak with mushroom sauce and fries. It was 15 euros, but it was a really good steak, no regrets (: the mushroom sauce was as creamy as a soup, and I understood why steak is always really popular in Belgium!

my friend had scampi, which is a prawn dish in garlic aioli sauce i think? i didn't have prawns, but i tried the sauce and it was delicious!

Dinner with Edmond 

Met a fellow singaporean studying in Cambridge, and we had dinner together at a restaurant, the name of which I can't remember hahah.

but it was pretty good!

for starters i had a cheese croquette, and he had escargot

then i had a delicious sea bass with fries (in belgium, almost everything comes with fries)

whilst he had the famous brussels mussels!!! too bad i don't eat seafood, because mussels are a traditional speciality in Belgium

and for dessert we had a yummy belgian waffle. i really am in love with belgium waffles! you can find them everywhere, the same way that croissants and crepes can be found everywhere in paris. haha it's like a local favourite snack.

of course, post dinner has to be with a nice glass of belgian beer! the one on the right is cherry beer, which i really enjoyed. haha

Fish Market 

one day during the conference lunch break, my friends decided to head to the famous fish market in Brussels. It was definitely worth the trip!!!

It is a really cool concept because you order at the bar, and then head to an alfresco table to stand and eat. haha, was super crowded and difficult to get a table, but very worth it!

I shared grilled swordfish and fried fish fritters with my friend. it was heavenly

 and the famous soup du poisson! it comes with a generous mound of cheese that you're supposed to dump into the soup!

in fact we loved the fish market so much, that we went back! this time I tried the swordfish grilled in a different style (chilli with roasted veges). 

and my friend had prawns. it was pretty good, but I think i preferred the food on the first day

UNDP committee dinner at Restobiere

on the last day of the conference, my worldmun committee UNDP had our committee dinner at a very quaint authentic Belgian restaurant. It was cool on many levels.

Firstly, dining with a whole table of different nationalities was very interesting and it is always great to make new friends

Secondly, the food was very awesome. I had the most amazing bread and butter ever, and I ordered sausage and stoemp (a kind od mash), which tasted so good

Thirdly, the whole atmosphere felt very homely, and it felt like an authentic belgian restaurant, especially since it was a local girl who recommended it, so i definitely felt pleased to get the chance to dine there

Chocolates!!!!

chocolates are EVERYWHERE in Belgium. they smell so good, I just want to buy everything up hahah

I managed to get free samples, and I bought a couple of pralines to eat on the way. i was super tempted to buy a whole box back, but I knew it would definitely melt by then. ):

okay, i shall update about my Belgium day trips in the next post! 

Love, 

shermine