Contributed by: Michelle Szpilzinger | Last Visited: January 2009

Kosher Info: This site has a good list of the kosher resources in Brussels. There is not much to find in the old historic center, but there are currently two kosher restaurants in the EU area, which is not a major tourist destination but is fairly simple to get to by metro. I would check to see if they are open on evenings and weekends as I know for a fact that the EU area is deserted at night. I can not vouch for them as I did not eat at either one. Unfortunately, it seems that the one kosher place in Brussels I actually visited (Pilpel) is now closed, which is a shame as it was a nice little restaurant with an adjacent kosher shop that was open in the evenings. We bought our food for Shabbos there.

For Shabbat Hospitality, contact Chabad. They offered to host us for meals and accommodation, but we opted instead to stay in the city center. They were really nice and I had good communication with them by e-mail.

If you’re staying in the city center, the kosher shops are not terribly convenient by public transportation. We opted to stay in an apartment-hotel with a kitchen rather than a regular hotel and brought a small pot and pan and some food from home so we could save money and time by making our own food. We also figured it would mean avoiding the annoying key-card issue, and we almost did — the only problem was that our flat was above a shop and when the shop was closed you had to use the key from the outside or a button on the inside to open the electric door shutter. This meant we were stuck inside Friday night (though we didn’t mind, as it was cold) and on Shabbos day had to make sure the shop was open. It was annoying but I’d still highly recommend the company, Apartments Apart, as the flat was really comfortable and nice, cheaper than most hotels, and even provided free wifi. You also get to feel more like a local for your stay.

Another option is to head over to Antwerp where kosher food abounds. It’s only 45 minutes or so from Brussels by train, and many kosher shops and restaurants are right near the Antwerp train station.  If you’re staying in Brussels for more than a day or two, Antwerp is a must-visit whether you need the food or not.

Chocolate is, of course, a Belgian specialty; but the only brand we were told is definitely kosher is Guylian, which you can also buy internationally. We did manage to find some obscure kosher chocolate in a tiny store in Bruges that happened to have an Israeli hechsher on it, but we never saw it in Brussels.

Another Belgian specialty is beer, including many types of flavored beers. We were never given a definitive answer on the kashruth of these beers, so we stuck to regular, plain beer.

As for the ubiquitous Belgian waffles (sold in stands on nearly every street)…good luck finding kosher ones. Let me know if you do. They smelled incredible — it was torture.

Tourist Info: Once a major medieval city, now the de facto capital of Europe, Brussels has a great mix of old and new with some amazing Art Nouveau thrown into the mix. A first stop for any visitor would be the Grand Place, a stunning square surrounded by the city hall and the glittering former guild houses of medieval merchants, where you can also find the tourist office. Every other summer the square is filled with a giant Carpet of Flowers. If I ever go to Brussels again, it’ll be a summer when I can see it. Nearby is the famous “Mannekin Pis,” a hilarious symbol of Brussels as it’s a fountain with a center sculpture of a tiny boy putting out a fire by rather unusual methods. (The title is a hint.)

Up a hill is Place Royal, home of the King’s Palace (open only in summer) and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which houses both the Museum of Ancient Art and a Modern Art museum.

For Elegant Shopping you can visit the Sablon Squares and Avenue Louise. If you have children with you, you might want to visit Mini-Europe.

One unique museum is the Center for Comic-Strip Art. Belgium is the home of the famous Tintin, and it’s a fun museum housed in a gorgeous Art Nouveau building. Art Nouveau lovers will also love the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Musee Horta.

Jewish Info: The Jewish community of Brussels is much smaller than the one in nearby Antwerp, much of it outside the historic center. We did not encounter a lot of it, but there are a few sites in the city center. The Great Synagogue is a lovely Neo-Romanesque structure on Rue de la Regence between the Palais de Justice and the Place Royal. There are also a couple of memorials to the Holocaust and Jewish martyrs. For more information on Jewish life in Brussels, check out the Jewish Virtual History Tour.

There is now a silly tradition that many Americans hold Christmastime each year… to indulge in Chinese cuisine. Since the Chinese do not celebrate Christmas, like us Jews, their restaurants have no need to take a hiatus on Xmas day.

In honor of this wacky tradition, we’ve compiled a list of Chinese restaurants (both sit-down & take-out) for your convenience.

• NORTH AMERICA
  Annie Chan’s Restaurant
  190-11 Union Turnpike
  (off 190th Street)
  Fresh Meadows, NY 11366

  
  Bamboo Garden Vegetarian Cuisine
  364 Roy Street
  Seattle, WA USA 98109
  www.bamboogarden.net

  Chai Peking
  2205 Lavista Road Northeast
  Atlanta, GA 30329
  www.chaipeking.com

  China Bistro
  3565 NE 207th Street
  (The Waterways)
  Aventura, FL 33180

  China Glatt
  4413 13th Avenue
  (Between 44th & 45th St.)
  Brooklyn, NY 11219

  Chopstix
  172 West Englewood Avenue
  Teaneck, NJ 07666
  www.chopstixusa.com

  Chopstix
  478 Pleasant Valley Way
  West Orange, NJ 07052
  www.chopstixusa.com

  ChoSen Garden
  64-43 108th Street
  (Bet. 64th Rd. & 65th Rd.)
  Forest Hills, NY 11375

  ChoSen Island
  367 Central Avenue
  (Cor. of Central Ave. & Frost Lane)
  Lawrence, NY 11559

  ChoSen Village
  505 Middle Neck Road
  Great Neck, NY 11023

  Dragon Inn Glatt Kosher
  7638 Castor Ave
  Philadelphia, PA 19152

  Eden Wok Manhattan
  43 East 34th Street
  (Bet. Park & Madison Ave)
  New York, NY 10016
  www.edenwok.com

  Eden Wok Westchester
  1327 North Avenue
  (Northfield & Quaker Ridge Rd.)
  New Rochelle, NY 10804
  www.edenwok.com

  Ernie & Ellie
  6900 Decarie Blvd.
  (Decor De’Carie Square- enter through Venezia)
  Montreal, QC
  H3X 2T8, Canada

  Golden Chopsticks
  7000 Bathurst Street
  Vaughan, ON L4J, Canada
  www.goldenchopstick.ca

  Grand Bamboo
  106 Route 59
  (Corner Route 306)
  Monsey, NY 10952

  Hunan
  557 Kings Highway
  Brooklyn, NY 11223

  King Solomon’s Table
  3705 Chesswood Drive,
  North York, ON
  M3J 2P6, Canada
  www.kingsolomonstable.com

  Mr. Chopstik
  4020 Royal Palm Ave
  Miami Beach, FL 33140

  Royal Dragon
  4832 Boiling Brook Pkwy
  Rockville, MD 20852
  www.royalkosherrestaurant.com/royaldragon.htm

  Shangchai
  2189 Flatbush Ave
  Brooklyn, NY 11234

  Shanghai Diamond Garden
  9401 West Pico Blvd.
  Los Angeles, CA 90035

  Singapore Chinese Vegetarian *
  1006 Race Street
  Philadelphia, PA 19107-2306
  www.singaporevegetarian.com
  (*this place is vegan / vegetarian and is open on Shabbat)

  Tein Li Chow
  2485 Howard
  Evanston, Illinois
  www.teinlichow.com

  Wok ‘n Take Out
  455 Route 306
  Wesley Hills, NY 10952
  www.wokntakeout.com

  Wok Tov
  594 Central Avenue
  Cedarhurst, NY 11516

  Yi-Tzi Peking
  145 Montgomery Avenue
  Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
  www.yitzipeking.com

• EUROPE
  Blue Lagoon
  Lange Herentalsestraat 70
  2018 Antwerp, Belgium

  Kaifeng
  51 Church Road
  Hendon, NW4 4DU
  England, UK

  Missada
  45, rue Laugier
  75017 Paris
  France

• ISRAEL

  Canton
  The Tayelet Hotel
  6 Gad Machnes Street
  Netanya , Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)
  www.chinese.co.il

  Chai Tai
  Moshav Hutzot Hagolan
  Katzrin, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  The Chinese Wall
  26 Mikve Israel St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  China-Lee
  7 Montifyori St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Glatt Kosher)

  Korussin
  Malha Shopping Center
  Jerusalem, Israel
  (Kosher Mehadrin)

  Lemon Grass
  Azrieli Shopping Center
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Lemon Grass
  22 Even Gvirol St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Ming Ling
  12 Herzel
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Pikansin
  Azrieli Mall ~ 1st floor
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Tokyo Bankok
  40 Ainstain St
  Ramat Aviv Shopping Center
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Tuch Food
  48 Menahem Begin Road St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Yosi Pekin
  15 Keren Kayemet St
  Jerusalem, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

• CHINA
  Dini’s Kosher Restaurant
  Nuren Jie Xingba Lu Jiuba Jie
  Beijing, China

And now here is a funny video about Jews, Chinese food, and Xmas for you to enjoy.