Casa Exotica

LANG LEVE ROTI!
I love myself a good roti and after living in Amsterdam for over a year, I think I’ve finally developed a sense for Surinamese food. You’ve got to realize that if you don’t grow up in the Netherlands or Suriname, you’ve probably never even heard of the Republic of Suriname, let alone their cuisine. After getting over the confusion of this unique culinary mixture of Javanese/​Chinese/​Indian/​Dutch flavors, I’ve really grow to like Surinamese food!
Since I’m now popping my Surinamese Unilocal Review cherry, I thought it might be nice and Unilocalmantic to write a review outside of my bike congested comforts of Amsterdam and review something in the little village where I work — Hoofddorp! As I leave the confines of my office and make my way passed sheeps and goats grazing in the fields, I can’t help but enjoy the peaceful serenity of the small Dutch village life. Then I make my way to the exotic casa and after passing that green, white and red flag over the entrance, I suddenly warped out from gouda cheese dutchland into a tropical shop filled with foreign spices, suri-​groceries and of course, homemade food!
While there were soooooooo many things I wanted to try (shredded salty cod, chicken curry, grilled tempeh) I HAD to go with two suri-​basics:
1. ROTI
2. KIP SATE
I mean… these should be standard and if you can’t get this right, go back to Suriname! Luckily, this place delivered the goods! The place is simple, but the people are super nice. Whatever you pick, they’ll make for you fresh, warm it up and take it out to your table. The Kip sate smaakt lekker and although you can find it EVERYWHERE in the Netherlands, it was a little different here! The chicken was grilled to optimal yumminess and the sauce wasn’t the out of the can overly viscous sauce. It had good flavor and tasted like it was exotically made right at the casa!
The Roti was placed in front of my drooling mouth wrapped in foil, ready for my consumption. Lifting it up, I wasn’t sure if I was holding a roti or a newborn baby! I mean… what did they put in this?! I’ll tell you what… kilos of flavorful potatoes, vegitables and spicy beef chunks. NOM NOM NOM! I will admit that for a country that uses ghost peppers to spice things up, it wasn’t as spicy as it could have been. But after eating that and drinking their homemade gingerbeer, my nose was 43% runny.
So my final assessment is that it was NOT my final visit! I will be back for all the other things I want to eat.
And who wouda thunk a little village outside of Amsterdam would house such a great tropical treat!
LANG LEVE ROTI!!!