We have a very small Chinatown in Antwerp. It is only one street. But in our small Chinatown is a very large Asian supermarket: Sun Wah. I don’t know what the name means but it is like a trip to Asia: Everybody speaks Chinese, the products are strange and beautiful, and it smells intriguing. Sometimes I don’t know whether it is a vegetable or fruit and when I have a box with strange signs on in my hands it can be impossible to understand what is in it. My mother bought once a can with snake in it. I didn’t want to taste it.

But it is a great experience to come here. I really love it!

I come there when I want to prepare some Asian dishes or when I’m looking for a special oystersauce for example, but I always buy something new, something I didn’t try before, or something completely mysterious.

I suppose it looks really like Asia in this wonderfull supermarket, but it probably is an asian supermarket with a Belgian undertone.

Antwerp’s Damplein used to be a very grey and desolate square next to the railway where you would only go if you wanted to buy a cheap table or chairs at Belgica Furniture. But the coming of Park Spoor Noord changed things. Coffee bar Zum and restaurant Caravan were the first to see the potential of this square next to Park Spoor Noord. Bar Zeppelin is the latest newcomer.

Like Bar Leon in Borgerhout they serve an interesting mix of excellent beers, cocktails and great coffees. That makes it an ideal stop no matter the time or occasion: there is always a great drink to be discovered. Also great and quite unique for Belgium: they serve you free tap water. There is plenty of reading material and free wifi so you won’t feel bored. And when the sun shines, you can take your drink, magazine, laptop, … outside. I’m already curious what the next thing will be on this rapidly changing square …

Criée isn’t just a food store, but actually a market hall roofing Antwerp’s best butchers and a gourmet supermarket.

I always had a hard time finding a butcher in Antwerp, there aren’t too many, until I discovered this place! It’s like in the Middle Ages where all the craftsmen of the same trade are located in the same street. You wonder how all the different butchers don’t drink each others blood (no pun intended), but they all have there own specialty. So for a dinner party, this is where I buy good quality poultry, lamb or game. And don’t be shy to ask advice how to prepare the meat, these are the real specialists! The shops also have a real crafty feel to them.

So whenever you feel like going to a market, and rain is pouring down (which happens quite often in Antwerp) be sure to make a stop at Criée.

Why did this worldwide chain of noodle restaurants pick Antwerp for their only restaurant in Belgium? Don’t ask us, but we love it! Wagamama is situated right next to the (only) cinema complex in the city centre and it has become a classic ‘dinner and a movie’ formula for Antwerpians. Which means it can get packed at night!

Although Wagamama is a chain, it always serves fresh, healthy and tasty Japanese dishes, usually ready in less than 15 minutes. There are a wide variety of noodle- and rice dishes on the menu, but I always end up picking the ‘kare lomen’ or ‘chili men’.

It’s also hard to resist the garlic edamame beans. A great ‘insider’-tip is you can usually find a coupon for a free second main dish in the free city-zine ‘Zone 03′ distributed in pillars all over Antwerp.

‘Kringloopwinkels’ have become real popular in Belgium. Literally it means ‘shop of the circle of life’, and it’s meaning is to give objects a ‘new life’ at someone else’s home. So instead of throwing away what you don’t need anymore, they come pick it up at your home for free, and probably make someone else really happy with it! Also it’s a social project providing job opportunities for people whom have trouble finding work.

All these ‘treasures’ you can go buy at very reasonable prices at the shops, and one of my favourites is ‘de Kringwinkel’ in the Kroonstraat. It has a very funky interior, and often things are arranged thematically. Here you can find just about anything: from fancy china to clothes, furniture (I just bought a vintage sixties dressoir for €20, yay!) to electronics, books and sometimes even a piano! All the goods are tested and cleaned by the personnel, on the electronics you even get a half-year of warranty. Also they have recently started an auction site for real collectibles.

The hype has become so big there are real ‘Kringwinkel-hunters’, people whom drive from one shop to another on a Saturday in hope to find a real treasure, or others whom buy stuff here and make something new out of it. The circle of life, quoi!