Welkom (1ste keer)

Welkom (David Simonstraat)
The Snootie Foodies second adventure was at the Chinese restaurant named Welkom – pretty inviting right.  This restaurant is owned and operated by a Chinese chef named David – I’ve been told by several members of the Chinese Surinamese community that he is an excellent chef, who they have followed through the years from restaurant to restaurant.
The restaurant is located on the David Simonstraat almost directly across from the small wooden bridge close to the Anton Dragtenweg.  Just look for a large neon sign with the name on it.  The left entrance is for the restaurant, while the right entrance leads to the take-out section.  While standing at the take-out counter you can see straight into the kitchen where cooks are working away at various wok stations.  The meats are hung and cut in a separate room (also visible from outside).  The kitchens look very clean and almost sterile.
The restaurant itself is somewhat typical of Surinamese Chinese restaurants – high ceilings, tiles, plastic tablecloths, etc.  The only modern touch can be found in the square plates – nice.  The acoustics of the place are somewhat horrendous though, when the Snoodies went, there were three small children at a neighboring table – the echos of their screeches seemed to drill holes in everyone’s heads.  Perhaps some carpeting and/or wall hangings would be helpful to reduce the echoing effect in the restaurant.
The food, however, is excellent.  We ordered the steamed fish with ginger, pork with Chinese mushrooms, fried calamari and stir fried kaisoi with garlic.  Everything was delicious.  The fish was flaky and flavorful – the meat fell off the bones and the sauce -- it was delicious.  The pork was tender and melted in your mouth.  Veggies were fresh, still had some crunch and very tasty.  Other delicious items at Welkom are the beef with black bean sauce, the fried rice and the sweet and sour chicken (with delicious chunks of pineapple).

Score:
Ambiance – 2 (the acoustics were horrible – it made a handful of people sound like a stampede).
Food presentation – 4
Flavor – 5
Customer service – 3.5 (our waitress went into a spiel about her allergy to pork even showing us the bumps on her arms – not very appetizing).

Overall score: 4

Final words: This restaurant is definitely worth visiting again and again in order to sample the rest of the menu.