A place for fans of rock candy, made by hand. Inspired by British and Danish rock candy, this little shop opened one and a half years ago, selling rock with all Belgian ingredients and no nasty artificial stuff. Just plenty of sugar. The two hard at work behind the counter look like they’re making jewellery, because actually this rock-making is an intricate business. The thick syrupy solution is moulded while still warm and shaped into large elaborate designs, such as flowers. The stem of the large flower is then trimmed to make the rock pieces, preserving the design – the end result looks more like enamel jewellery than anything edible. There is candy in all colours of the rainbow, in jars or test tubes, and in flavours ranging from raspberry to mojito to apple. Worth a look!

rue du Marché au Charbon,13, 1000 Brussels
+32 (0)2 324 96 41
Google map: bit.ly/15Cb2uZ


* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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Everything proceeds slowly on this sun-drenched terrace (when the sun shines). Housed in a turn of the century outfitters on a pedestrianized street, this is a bar for would-be hippies such as me, a place to loaf cradling a drink or two from the well-stocked beer list. Just battered tables, lazy conversation and not a laptop or latte in sight. On my last visit some guitarists spent a couple of hours jamming there just for fun, and inside there is Bob Marley and the resident cat to keep you company, and sometimes visiting musicians. Au Soleil is just around the corner from C’est bon, C’est Belge and near the Moeder Lambic bar, which takes its beer extremely seriously and boasts a longer list. Then there’s the popular Ethiopian Kokob restaurant a stone’s throw away, the rather risqué lingerie shop next door, and the legendary gay Cabaret bar Chez Maman two doors down.

Rue du Marché au Charbon 86, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium ‎
+32 2 512 34 30
Google map: bit.ly/19p8EPM


* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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The slogan above the shop reads “my grandmother made them, my mother makes them, I sell them.” The name and the two Belgian flags proudly fluttering should really give the game away, so don’t commit the social faux pas we did and ask for a coca cola. The owner looks affronted “I only sell Belgian”, he says. Looking closely at the products on sale, we have to admit that this is true: on the shelves there are conical-shaped traditional cuperdon sweets, truffles, Liège syrup and spiced gingerbread. Even the bottled water is from Spa and chocolate seashells have been ousted in favour of chocolate mussels. But we haven’t come to peruse the delights on the shelves or watch other customers play bridge, we have come to eat! And if I haven’t persuaded you of the merits of Belgian cuisine by now, then try this for an introductory lesson – not least because here you can sample dishes that can be hard to come by elsewhere. How about … eels? Now I am partial to a good plate of beef carbonnades, cooked in beer, but I decide to be adventurous. My friend opts for snails cooked in Maredsous beer, and I plump for the eels. They arrive covered in a creamy, spinach sauce, and – I should warn you-contain bones. I did not realise eels had bones in them, but despite this discovery my meal passes without mishap and is very tasty (as are the snails, I should add). Besides snails and eels, there are other reasonably-priced dishes available around the ten euro mark,including rabbit and prunes and rillettes pâté, plus tarts and crumbles for dessert. “Is it really your mother doing the cooking,” I ask? “No”, comes the reply. “It’s my sister – shhhh!”
C’est bon, C’est Belge is open for brunch, lunch, or a late afternoon pit-stop.

Rue du Bon Secours 14
+3225121999
Google map: bit.ly/1aaTHQJ

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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An artisanal bakery which boasts quality breads and cakes almost too beautiful to eat. There are various different breads to try, from traditional baguettes to olive, walnut, apricot and hazelnut; but I’m told that once they’ve found one they like customers tend to stick with it. Even the Neptune restaurant I’ve featured before buys its own particular type of loaf from here. The bread is made upstairs and allowed to rise 24 hours before baking. It’s a process that takes time and space, but here production is limited by the premises rather than number of personnel. So after 26 years with the shop and atelier in the same building, the Saint-Aulaye has just moved to a new building which has the same surface area, but will no longer require its 12 pâtissiers to traispse up and down four flights of stairs.

www.saintaulaye.be/
Rue Vanderkindere, 377, 1180 Uccle
Google map: bit.ly/Qr1Sex

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