A Food Affair

A tried-and-true spot! For over 20 years now, chefs Laurent Locquet (ex-Wout Bru) and Ellen Schaap have been delighting the city of Ghent with their refreshing Southeastern Asian cuisine in this cozy space (lots of recycled PET Lamp lampshades, untreated wooden tables and bar, waxed concrete from floor to ceiling). On the menu the night we went: crispy chicken summer rolls served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce; barely cooked clams in a sweet yellow curry broth with fresh herbs; flavorful Thai salad with julienned papaya and sliced cucumber, mixed with slices of braised and bloody steak, and a green sauce; tender grilled chicken thigh from Huis Diegenant in a homemade red curry coconut sauce; delectable Holstein beef panang curry stewed for hours in a curry sauce seasoned with makrut lime leaves; and for the typically Belgian dessert, vanilla crème brûlée, coffee ice cream, speculoos, caramelized walnuts and mint leaves. // Alba Nebbioli

FEELING THIRSTY? The Eurovision of wine lists, including a few organic and natural options: Aus den Lagen, a German Riesling from Weingut Christmann (€45 a bottle), SP68m a Sicilian Frappato and Nero-d’Avola blend from Ariana Occhipinti (€50), Curtimenta, a Portuguese Bical varietal orange wine from Espera (€49), or Zweigelt, a fruity Hungarian red from the Abeles estate (€45).
PRICE: Snacks €13.50 to €16, appetizers €16-20, mains €26.90 to €38, set menu €56.