On my third trip to this beautiful city, I went back to a few of the memorable eats I had five years ago and at the same time, tried out a couple of new ones.

My first stop was the The Cafe at the Rijksmuseum. A few notable items on the menu are by Chef Joris Bijdendijk of the RIJKS restaurant.

I recall a few of my favourites during my one-month stay in this city five years ago. Pancakes Amsterdam has several locations (I go to the one on Negen Straatjes) and is my favourite go-to spot for traditional Dutch pancakes with a modern twist. They offer more than 30 kinds of delicious pancakes. In the same vicinity, Patisserie Pompadour serves delectable pastries and cakes in a gorgeous tearoom with paneling from the Town Hall of Mortsel from 1895.

Located in Jordann neighbourhood is my favourite Pizzeria – La Perla. Across the street from the restaurant is a take-out store.

One of the restaurants I used to visit often was Buffet van Odette. One of those places that serve “wholesome” food all day long.

Who would have known that there is such a thing as healthy Eggs Benedict? Blushing serves healthy food and coffee.

No visit to Amsterdam is complete without having Indonesian food. Indrapura is a colonial-style restaurant in Rembrandtplein that serves authentic Indonesian cuisine.

One of the iconic cafes in town is Café Americain, located at Leidseplein. The beautiful Art Deco room continues to leave me awestruck.

De Vier Pilaren serves Dutch pancakes and the traditional baked poffertjes in a beautiful canal setting.

One food concept gaining popularity in many cities around the world is the Food Hall (pardon me if I like to refer to them as glorified food courts). I thought it was worth a visit to Foodhallen, the first indoor food market in the Netherlands. There is a mix of food stands from Peruvian, Seafood, Vietnamese, and Spanish, among others.

One of the restaurants I found in the Michelin Guide and tried for the first time is VOLT Food & Drinks in the hip De Pijp neighbourhood. Chef Rick van der Meer is inspired by the French kitchen and the flavours are wonderful.

While at the Van Gogh Museum, I came to a realization that there is an inspiration for most of my restaurant / cafe photography!

I recall during my very first trip to Amsterdam that I stayed in a hotel on Jan Luijkenstraat, which is parallel to the high end shopping street of PC Hooftstraat. The location is very ideal as it is a five minute walk to Museumplein, yet in a very quiet area not overrun by tourists. This time, I stayed at Hotel JL No. 76, which is a 39-room boutique hotel in a renovated townhouse. Housekeeping was a bit spotty, but it was a good place to veg out after a day of walking.