Belgium Place

RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED

Belgium Place is one of the newer cafes that serves authentic liege waffles; the ones with pearl crystals throughout the dough which caramelizes the exterior and results in a nice golden color. Walking in, one of the cashiers was having lunch and he immediately got up to greet us and take our order. We were very pleased with his friendliness along with his patience as we browsed through the four screen television menu.

The cafe is very spacious and there is a fair amount of seating arrangements along with a few patio seats. I like the spaciousness because during busier times, both the ordering and picking up line ups would not be cramped. There is nothing worse than bumping and nudging the next person beside you when in a long line up!

Other than waffles, Belgium Place offers croissants, quiches, panini and baguette sandwiches. About the waffles though, there are sweet as well as savoury choices and everything is housemade. There is also a choice of almond, chocolate, as well as chocolate and almond waffles for those who want to skip on the plain ones.

As for the accompaniments, there are fruit compotes which include apple, apricot, blueberry and strawberry. On top of that, gelato (vanilla or chocolate), sauce (chocolate, caramel, maple syrup) and caramelized nuts (almond or walnuts) are also available as toppings.

LIEGE WAFFLE ($3.80) + VANILLA GELATO ($2.00) AND ALMONDS ($0.75).

My choice of dessert is very plain and simple (no surprise there…) with only the waffle, gelato and caramelized almonds. I actually also ordered walnuts which were forgotten, but I was not charged for them so meh. The waffle is served fresh off the press; therefore warm, soft and doughy. In addition, there is a nice caramelized exterior.

As for the gelato, there is a smooth and creamy consistency along with a subtle vanilla flavour. The two scoops are definitely appreciated.

WAFFLE VANILLA ICE, APPLE COMPOTE, GELATO VANILLA, CARAMELIZED WALNUTS, WHIPPED CREAM ($7.80).

C'est la vie a Maggi ordered a chef's creation, which includes her choice of apple compote and caramelized walnuts. The compote is served cold and consists of diced apple, which tastes hard but not too crunchy and there is a natural tartness. As for the walnuts, there is not much of a crunch or a caramelization compared to the almonds in my order.

TOTAL: $15.10.

Our experience at Belgium Place was positive; the staff is very friendly and the waffles are served fresh off the press. Furthermore during our meal, both cashiers dropped by on separate occasions to see how the waffles tasted and mentioned stainless steel cutlery is available rather than the disposable wooden ones we selected based on cuteness. At a cafe? Wow, I had no idea the staff at cafes even follow up with diners!

Since my first visit at Belgium Place was a positive one, I decided to revisit with a friend who has never been here. But, the staff was different and not even comparable to the men from the first visit! Walking in on the revisit, I stood there for a while with no acknowledgement and the staff was not busy (I was the only person there too!). The manager was also on site and it is a bit disappointing that the service is not consistent; the staff on the revisit was just not friendly. If it was not for meeting my friend here, I would have left.

POTEAUFLETTE QUICHE, HAM, POTATOES, ONIONS AND CHIMAY CHEESE ($5.90).

The quiche is heated before serving and has a flaky pastry crust, somewhat resembling a croissant but without the crispiness. In addition, there is a slight bitter and saltiness from the burnt portions. As for the ingredients, the ham tastes very chewy and dry, like jerky, but fortunately there is only a bit so it is fine.

Asides from the ham, the potatoes and onions taste generic so no complaints there. However, the quiche overall is very basic and lacks flavour in the filling.

CHICKEN ANDALOUSE, STEWED TOMATOES, PEPPERS AND UNIQUE SPICE BLEND ($6.50).

My friend chose the Chicken Andalouse because it was the cashier's favourite… which I do not believe. The Belgian baguette tastes soft and not too chewy, but very generic (I prefer Finch's more). A side of green salad is also included which consists of fresh romaine, shredded carrot and tomato. The salad was our favourite and much better than the quiche along with the baguette sub.

The sub includes a pre-assembled and cold chicken filling along with a tomatoey sauce which I believe is supposed to be "andalouse". The chicken has no flavour except for a watered down tomatoey peppery sauce and there was cartilage in the sandwich.

In addition, the sub was dripping with watery tomato sauce! As for the other ingredients, there is tomato, carrot and romaine.

LIEGE WAFFLE ($3.80) + VANILLA GELATO ($2.00) AND WALNUTS ($0.75).

After finishing the mediocre snacks, we ordered a liege waffle. Since there were a few waffles sitting around when we first arrived, I requested for a fresh one. It took guts for me to ask because I hate being labelled as "those" customers lol. The cashier mentioned the waffles are always fresh, but I was too shy to request for a "fresh off the press" waffle like what I had on the previous visit.

But no worries, my friend asked the man who was in charge of making the waffles! He was friendly and had no problems with her request. Also, he was more friendly when the walnuts were missing again! Why do the walnuts always seem to be forgotten! Although to be honest, I like that the walnuts were forgotten because we were given more than what I had on the previous visit. Furthermore, the walnuts tasted caramelized this time and crunchy. As for the waffle, it tastes a bit better than my first visit. The waffle tastes more caramelized with a light density and have a nice sweetness.

TOTAL: $19.90.

Belgium Place serves fresh liege waffles and the prices are reasonable. Furthermore, the cafe uses quality ingredients. As for the other items, the food is very… meh. I do not recommend the andalouse unless the sauce is improved.

POSITIVES
- Fresh waffles
- Quality ingredients

NEGATIVES
- Quiche is very average
- Chicken andalouse (1/5)
- Some of the staff ain't friendly

LITTLE THINGS
- Presentation of the waffle is noticeably nicer on the first visit, especially the scoops of gelato

Food: 3.5/5
Service: N/A