-Gastblog van Annabel Langbein- While I was in Holland recently, I was lucky enough to enjoy a special tasting of seafood from Zeeland when Ronald Hoeben kindly brought some fresh seafood products up from the Dutch province for me to try. Wow, what a revelation! I loved the crisp brininess of the oysters, the clean taste of the tiny mussels and the incredible sweetness of a long, skinny razor clam we don’t have in New Zealand. We tasted them with little embellishment. The razor clams and mussels were cooked in a little wine and butter with a bay leaf and parsley, the samphire was steamed, and the oysters we just ate raw, with a little squeeze of fresh lemon. 
We devoured everything with our fingers, savouring the incredible freshness. More than anything I was taken aback by the clean taste. I had imagined somehow that with such a vast population base around, the waters wouldn’t be so pure, but I have to say this seafood was as good as we get all those thousands of miles away in the remote waters of New Zealand. The razor clams were irresistible – a revelation! I wish we had them growing here at home. After tasting the seafood from Zeeland I was left thinking, whether it’s from Zeeland or New Zealand this has to be the best seafood you will ever eat!
