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The Bottom Line

Everyone in Amsterdam has heard about "the oysters at Nam Kee's", the dish that's been immortalized as the title of both a book and a film. But one dish doesn't make a restaurant: instead, a full menu of souped-up classics has put Nam Kee on the map as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Amsterdam.

Pros

• Classic Chinese comfort food
• Sizable portions for affordable prices
• Simple, sophisticated decor

• Ten minutes' walk from Amsterdam Central Station

Cons

• Sometimes crowded

Description

• Address: Zeedijk 111-113, Amsterdam
  Phone: +31 (0)20 624 3470
  Hours: Daily, 12 - 11 p.m.
  
  
• Location: Amsterdam Chinatown, close to Central Station.
  
  
• Directions: Head south from Central Station (Stationsplein) and make a left on Prins Hendrikskade, which branches off into Zeedijk; follow Zeedijk south to number 111-113. By metro, take line 51, 53 or 54 to "Nieuwmarkt, and head north on the Zeedijk.
  
  
• Attire: Casual.
  
  
• Décor: New, improved, and minimalistic, with classical Chinese accents.
  
  
• Payment: Cash or Dutch bank cards only.

Guide Review - Nam Kee - Amsterdam Restaurant Review

Few eateries can boast that their star dish has lent its name, however prosaic, to both a popular novel and film; Nam Kee, a Chinese restaurant on Amsterdam's Zeedijk, can. Since the publication of The Oysters at Nam Kee, and even more so since the premiere of its silver-screen adaptation, curious diners have streamed into this Chinatown institution to taste the well-publicized morsels for themselves.

Renovated in 2010, Nam Kee has traded in its sterile white tiles for a warmer decor of stone and woodwork, draped with the occasional Chinese scroll. Still a study in simplicity, the restaurant has nevertheless become a much more aesthetically attractive place to dwell over dinner with friends or a date.

The menu remains the same -- and that's just fine. The fabled steamed oysters bathe in their own pools of a silky black-bean sauce, and make a fine starter for pescatarian diners. For oyster-haters, there are loads of other options, from soups (the velvety corn soup is a hit) to dim sum-portioned snacks.

Entrees are splendid renditions of Chinese restaurant classics. The salt and pepper squid, whose crispy batter is redolent of peppercorns, is a personal favorite of mine. The crisp, roasted duck is one of Nam Kee's top hits, and a contender for the best in town. Even the ubiquitous fried rice is made over as nasi yueng chow, spiked with shrimp and char siu (barbequed pork) and laced with omelette.

For those diners who want to take the taste of Amsterdam Chinatown home with them, Nam Kee even has their own cookbook, Nam Kee: The Oysters and Other Dishes -- filled with the classic recipes that established Nam Kee's reputation for delicious, authentic Chinese meals.