Eating in Curacao

by jenjenk on September 26, 2011

I lied to you.  I feel terrible about it.  I told you that I had deleted my photos from the rest of my Curacao trip.  Wait.  I just lied again – I don’t feel too broken up about it.  I discovered that I had downloaded the rest of my Curacao pictures in some other random file called “San Francisco”.  Because Curacao is no where near San Francisco.  I do dumb things like that all the time.

SO let me continue on my Curacao trip with something near and dear to my heart – food.  Plasa Bieu is where the locals go to eat, cafeteria style, a hearty meal for a very low price.  It’s located in Punda, not too far from the Floating Market.  It’s only opened Monday – Friday from 10am – 3pm so you’d need to adjust your schedule accordingly.

Plasa Bieu consists of row after row of vendors – Chinese, Jamaican, and local flavors, with communal seating on the other side.  This is definitely my kind of joint to eat at – filled with locals.  I was lucky enough to be taken there by a Dutch National who grew up on the island and knew his way around. He chose Zus di Plasa Aki.  He said that this was the “best” of all the vendors and where he always came to eat with his family.

I took in all the sights and sounds.  I looked at my menu and walked up to the “kitchen” where I perused, sniffed, and asked questions.  So many choices and only one meal to try it.  I didn’t want to make a mistake.  I was torn between trying the oxtail stew and the goat stew.  Thankfully, the waitress recognized me for a newbie when I told her I wanted one of everything . She took pity on me and offered to make ONE mix plate so that I could try them both.  Yay, me.

I was so pleased with my dish – both the oxtail & goat stews.  The richness and salty, spicy flavor of the stew really filled my mouth with a burst flavor, especially when I paired it with the sweet plantains.  That’s when I saw HIS dish…and I almost reached across and speared it with my fork.  The only thing preventing me was that it was my first time meeting him and I didn’t really know him.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it would’ve been awkward.

I love deep fried fish – this one was so flaky with this wonderful salsa over it.  I promise you, if we ever have a meal together and you have deep fried fish, I’m diving in.  There’s no stopping me [and don’t try to tell me that I should order it.  That’s boring.]

If you find yourself in Curacao and need to find a place to eat, thumbs up from me.  Go here and try some goat or oxtail stew!!!  [and find someone to order the deep fried fish so you can have a taste!]

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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Annie - FootTracker September 26, 2011 at 8:24 am

mmmm, I like the look of the fried fish and sweet plantain, they bring back memories. I remember when I was little my mom make fried fish like that for the family dinner a lot (though with no salsa). I sometimes accidentally get a small fish bone stuck in my mouth because I ate too fast x_X Now I miss that taste because I don’t see those at where I live.

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jenjenk October 2, 2011 at 4:52 pm

Fried fish is the BEST! my dad had heart bypass surgery when I was young so my mom NEVER made me fried fish [i don’t count fish sticks for so many reasons]. It wasn’t until COLLEGE that I tried it!

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Anh Nguyen September 26, 2011 at 6:24 pm

Oxtail stew! It has to be my new fav dish. Tried it for the first time in Miami at a Cuban restaurant and it was sooo good.

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jenjenk October 2, 2011 at 4:53 pm

Funny thing – the first time I tried it was at a bowling alley in Hawaii! so rich!!!

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Laurel October 1, 2011 at 9:11 am

I wouldn’t have thought that oxtail or goat stew would be appealing, but they actually look really good.

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jenjenk October 2, 2011 at 4:54 pm

the concept is more worrisome than the results…it was so tender and delicious! the only thing is that it is a bit rich so I couldn’t finish the whole thing…

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Ruth October 1, 2011 at 7:02 pm

I dream about eating Caribbean food all the time. If I want to go back to Puerto Rican food, I have to cook it. But the Caribbean cuisine is so varied and would like to try food from other islands. So sad there are not a lot of restaurants around here. There are some Cuban ones but I feel like they lack something.

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jenjenk October 2, 2011 at 4:55 pm

You’re right – there are so few here in So Cal and the Caribbean ones that they have here lack something…probably that wonderful grease. 🙂 I do like Versailles but it’s just because i love that vinegar-y taste on the pork…and let’s face it…i love how fatty it is.

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Sheril Benedict October 3, 2011 at 1:02 am

wow ..i guess i must taste this kind of food at least once in my lifetime !! your pic makes me hungry

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Mark Wiens October 3, 2011 at 4:29 am

That food looks awesome Jen, and I’d be right with you and the fried fish. As much as I love meat and goat stew, if there’s fried fish involved, that’s my first choice most of the time. Those plantains also look fantastic!

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Technosyncratic Travel Blog October 4, 2011 at 11:18 am

I don’t think I’ve ever had deep fried fish before! Apparently I need to rectify that asap.

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Nicole October 13, 2011 at 1:46 am

Those photo’s look yummy 😉

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