My Old Dutch Monday Madness: The only way to start the week right!
I have a very important question to ask you all. Do you want a sweet or a savoury breakfast? Because at My Old Dutch, that is the most important decision you will be making that day. This place sports some of the largest crepe style pancakes I’ve ever seen. Their menu is just as big and is split between the two choices. They even want you all to start the week right with their Monday Madness deal, which puts most of their classic pancakes at £5.95 all day every Monday. Neither wasn’t an option because firstly breakfast is essential to taking care of yourself in university and with branches in Chelsea and High Street Kensington it’s not a question of if guys but which one. Now that I’ve helped you make that decision, we still need to get to the bottom of the first question. To achieve this, we need to have the savoury and the sweet go head to head in a heavyweight championship fight. Let’s see who comes out victorious.
In this corner, we have the savoury section. If you are one of those people that finds pancakes and bacon blasphemous then avert your eyes because this place truly pushes the boundaries of what belongs on a pancake. I’m talking things like halal lamb curry to duck with hoisin sauce. They’ve got some that are basically pizzas with a pancake base like the Hawaiian with cheese, ham and pineapple. (I wonder how the pineapple on pizza haters would feel about this one.) The most important part is that ,crazily enough, they all seem to work. With 21 classic options, this section is great for people who want something new. Shake up your boring uni routine and get out of the rut with these stacks.
If you are feeling even more adventurous, you can discard their curated choices and build your own from scratch. They won’t judge your combination choices. Now this may all sound a bit too rich for you and that is fair – it’s not always best to start the day with something heavy. Well they have just the thing for people like you. Their lite menu prides itself on everything on it being less than 450 calories and it’s all savoury. Sadly, these two options aren’t part of Monday Madness but are great for when you find yourself passing by on other days.
Now in this corner we have the sweet section. A runt between the two in the fight with just 10 classic options. These options are rather basic compared to the classic savoury with a selection of fruits, chocolates, sugar and syrup. The few they do, they do well. The fruits are tart and sweet and the servings of ice cream generous. They just have a diversity problem but this section has some friends to tag team with in this fight. On the sidelines are the butterscotch pancakes, poffertjes and waffles. Now the butterscotch pancakes are American style so they have a smaller diameter and more thickness to them. Only one of them can come savoury as the basic egg and bacon combo so I say these belong on the sweet side. The buttermilk options all mirror those of the classic sweets so the choice between the two comes down to a matter of preference in texture.
The waffles come with ice cream or cream. Even though you only get one on the plate, it makes for a filling meal with how high they pile the toppings on this bad boy. Now we are on to the poffertjes (which I still can’t pronounce). They are the most Dutch thing on the menu so they get points for their authenticity. These are quite like the American pancakes but a lot smaller and they give you a lot more of them. The serving size of these are strange to me. For example, the fruit and ice cake option claims to serve 2-4 but one person comfortably finished them alone. At the end of the day, all of these additions to the fight aren’t even part of Monday Madness. The waffles get a pass as they are less than or equal to the Monday Madness price anyways.
It seems that this Monday Madness deal comes with a lot of terms and conditions and you’re right. Many a times I’ve taken friends to eat here on a Monday and they managed to just not be in the mood for anything that was a part of the offer. Also, university is busy. This deal goes on all day but there will be weeks you won’t eb able to make it. So I want you to be set for the rest of the week as well. That is why I can tell you that is you can get 20% taken off your bill by telling the Manager on Duty “Pancake Power” as you enter. Flashing your student card will get you 10% everyday but Monday so save this for the weekend when your buzzword doesn’t work anymore. Outside of the Madness, every pancake you eat can go towards your stamp card so take all your friends with you so you can get your 10th one free.
As for my question, if you want to live on the edge of acceptability, go for the savoury. Each item will bring a new experience and with so many to pick from, it would be hard to imagine it getting boring. If you want something more comforting and familiar to give you a quick burst of energy, go for sweet. Or come next Monday to see if the grass is greener on the other side.
