The coffee is quite good, while tea, contrary to the belief prevalent in England, is by no means an un- known beverage, but is favoured by a great many Dutch people.” The cookery of the better-class restaurants is purely French, a Frenchman being generally the chef. A feature of the cookery in the houses of rich merchants are the dishes of the Far East. Malay curries and the fruits of Java and Sumatra are often offered to the guest, and it is not at all uncommon for a merchant returning from the Dutch colonies to bring his Malay or Madras or Chinese cook home with him. The favourite dish of the lower classes is a sort of kedjeree, in which dried stockfish, rice, potatoes, butter, and anchovies all play their part. Sauerkraut and sausages, soused herrings and milk puddings also have claims to be considered national dishes. The hour of the mid-day meal throughout Holland is generally between noon and 2 p.m., and the dinner hour between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Hague There are several restaurants in the Hague which deserve mention. One is Twee Steeden in the Twee Steeden, Buitenhof. This is a new building Buitenhof next door to the Hotel Deux Villes, or Twee Steeden, a comfortable hotel with a garden. The building of the restaurant is of buff stone with a good deal of carving and gilding on the front and balconies of wrought iron. The walls of the restaurant’s big room on the ground floor are crushed strawberry in colour, and the upholstery is of greenish grey. There are other rooms on the first floor. The service is good and quiet, and the menu of a breakfast of the day at 1.50, selected at random, was Coquille of Salmon , pigeon and peas, escaloppe de V mu , and cheese. Holland 167 Another is the Cafe Royal in the Vijverberg, an establishment which has its large room on the ground floor. The restaurant is comparatively cafe Royal, airy, and the cookery French, and my Vijverberg Dutch friends tell me “ fairly good.” I did not make experiment there myself. The most distinctive of the Hague restaurants calls itself simply The Restaurant, though it made its name and its fame as Van der Pijl’s. It is in The Restaurant, the centre of the town, and its three 18 Tlie Plaats windows look out on to the dusty little triangle of the Plaats and the tower where the brothers De Witt were torn to pieces by the populace. The walls of the dining-room are panelled with blue silk, and during the week of my visit to the Hague, when I both dined and lunched several times at the restaurant, I was always received by a very fat maUre d'hotel , who bowed in a dignified manner by letting his first chin drop into his second and third ones. The cuisine is French, and it has a cellar of excellent wines. A good set luncheon is served at this restaurant for the very moderate price of a florin and a half — it used to be a florin, but prices have risen in the Hague, as in other capitals. This is a lunch of the day, but I fear I have not kept a very favourable example of the- menus. CEufs a la Gambetta , Irish stew — made with- out onions and therefore rather tasteless — cold meats, and cheese. It is wise to order dinner a la carte , and to give some hours’ notice. It is advisable to secure a table near the windows, especially in summer. Some of the best wines are not put on the wine-list.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The coffee is quite good, while tea, contrary to the belief prevalent in England, is by no means an unknown beverage, but is favoured by a great many Dutch people.” The cookery of the better-class restaurants is purely French, a Frenchman being generally the chef. A feature of the cookery in the houses of rich merchants are the dishes of the Far East. Malay curries and the fruits of Java and Sumatra are often offered to the guest, and it is not at all uncommon for a merchant returning from the Dutch colonies to bring his Malay or Madras or Chinese cook home with him. The favourite dish of the lower classes is a sort of kedjeree, in which dried stockfish, rice, potatoes, butter, and anchovies all play their part. Sauerkraut and sausages, soused herrings and milk puddings also have claims to be considered national dishes. The hour of the mid-day meal throughout Holland is generally between noon and 2 p.m., and the dinner hour between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Hague There are several restaurants in the Hague which deserve mention. One is Twee Steeden in the Twee Steeden, Buitenhof. This is a new building Buitenhof next door to the Hotel Deux Villes, or Twee Steeden, a comfortable hotel with a garden. The building of the restaurant is of buff stone with a good deal of carving and gilding on the front and balconies of wrought iron. The walls of the restaurant’s big room on the ground floor are crushed strawberry in colour, and the upholstery is of greenish grey. There are other rooms on the first floor. The service is good and quiet, and the menu of a breakfast of the day at 1.50, selected at random, was Coquille of Salmon , pigeon and peas, escaloppe de veau , and cheese. Holland 167 Another is the Cafe Royal in the Vijverberg, an establishment which has its large room on the ground floor. The restaurant is comparatively cafe Royal, airy, and the cookery French, and my Vijverberg Dutch friends tell me “ fairly good.” I did not make experiment there myself. The most distinctive of the Hague restaurants calls itself simply The Restaurant, though it made its name and its fame as Van der Pijl’s. It is in The Restaurant, the centre of the town, and its three 18 Tlie Plaats windows look out on to the dusty little triangle of the Plaats and the tower where the brothers De Witt were torn to pieces by the populace. The walls of the dining-room are panelled with blue silk, and during the week of my visit to the Hague, when I both dined and lunched several times at the restaurant, I was always received by a very fat maître d'hôtel , who bowed in a dignified manner by letting his first chin drop into his second and third ones. The cuisine is French, and it has a cellar of excellent wines. A good set luncheon is served at this restaurant for the very moderate price of a florin and a half — it used to be a florin, but prices have risen in the Hague, as in other capitals. This is a lunch of the day, but I fear I have not kept a very favourable example of themenus. CEufs a la Gambetta , Irish stew — made without onions and therefore rather tasteless — cold meats, and cheese. It is wise to order dinner a la carte , and to give some hours’ notice. It is advisable to secure a table near the windows, especially in summer. Some of the best wines are not put on the wine-list.

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