Pietermaai ‘Proeft’
Willemstad mainly consists of the districts of Punda, Otrobanda and Scharloo, but also knows some less well-known neighborhoods that are emerging. For example, in Pietermaai, not long ago, the decor for drugs and crime, the culinary festival ‘Pietermaai Proeft` is held. Several restaurants and cafés have been opened in recent years, and cultural activities have been developed, while most of the old buildings are beautifully restored. Pietermaai Taste is there for the fourth time this year. We decide to take a look! On Rock Beach, restaurants offer snacks and small meals, so you can taste and enjoy all kinds of kitchens. Upon arrival we have a beer printed in our hands and offered a herring snack. Haring is not our thing, but it gives a nice Dutch touch to the festival, where young and old, locals and tourists, and a single lost `famous Dutchman`, come to an end. One cannot miss the relaxed atmosphere … .. the stalls with food, the bar, the tables are loosely arranged in the sand, cords with colored lights show the old pastel façades on either side, and the ruined house on the pit sea gets something fairytale by. The lounge-like music, and the noise of the sea …… .the ingredients for a special evening. Walking along the various stalls, where the menus are arranged, is difficult to choose from all the sweets. Eventually, the delicious goat cheese bitter buns with beet jam, from Blessing, and mild curry (vegetarian or beef), from the Scuba Lodge. A friend from the Netherlands, with an exuberant American girlfriend, is a week on holiday here , and soon the beers were followed by delicious bottles of cava from Servir Frais. All in all, this initiative is beginning to become a tradition in the Pietermaai distict. The cool music from the speakers ranges from Grace Jones to unknown house numbers. Some people grab their chance, and improvise a dance, barefoot in the sand. This will be a memorable evening!
