{"id":79670,"date":"2017-08-02T09:25:44","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T07:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=79670"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:49","slug":"lifes-good-at-aloha-the-abandoned-waterpark-turned-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/08\/02\/lifes-good-at-aloha-the-abandoned-waterpark-turned-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"Life’s good at Aloha, the abandoned waterpark-turned-bar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Could you get a better view of the Maas?<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIvar Laanen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cNice atmosphere, cool terrace. The vegan oyster mushroom bitterballen are delicious, I\u2019m a fan!\u201d \u2013Tina, from Google Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n

Vegan oyster mushroom bitterballen! <\/em>When I read this I knew something was fishy about Tina\u2019s review. Word on the street is that Aloha bar, situated in the abandoned Tropicana waterpark that sits idly beside the Maas, was becoming a hip hotspot. But could it be possibly so hipster that they could take the classic Dutch bitterballen<\/em>, add oyster, and still call it vegan?<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cThe waterpark-turned-caf\u00e9 has their own bees to produce homemade honey, they roast their own coffee, and they even offer their own brand of filtered water, which I guess is cool.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

No way in hell Tina! The waitress confirmed to me that the oyster is indeed a marine animal, and as far as I know, if it\u2019s vegan, it certainly shouldn\u2019t involve any animals. Looks like Tina mistook the Dutch word oesterzwam<\/em>, a particular type of mushroom, for oysters.<\/p>\n

"A creamy delight"<\/h3>

Still, Tina\u2019s review lured my good friend Alp Gasimov and me onto the terrace, and accompanied by a couple Vedett IPA\u2019s on tap, we tried the oyster-less vegan oesterzwam <\/em>bitterballen served with coffee-infused mayonnaise. To my utter surprise, not only were the unorthodox bitterballen a \u2018creamy delight\u2019\u00a0<\/em>as Gasimov put it, but the mushrooms inside it were grown next door at BlueCity, a hub for startups trying to usher in the circular economy that was also featured on the VICE series Munchies<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tina may have been confused about the bitterballen (and the concept of veganism in general), but her description of the ambiance was accurate. Sitting on a woven, circular-string chair upon a wooden deck, Gasimov and I had a picturesque panorama of the city.<\/p>\n

Fire!<\/h3>

Our bird\u2019s eye-view was actually so good that we were able to spot a fire burning behind Unilever\u2019s margarine factory on the other side of the Maas. Although this doesn\u2019t really have to do with Aloha, I found it amusing to be on the phone calling 112 (the Dutch 911) reporting a fire while holding glass of the house whiskey in the other hand. As we chatted with our pleasant-faced waitress, who served us cordially, we watched the firefighters race behind the factory and battle the flames. Am I a good samaritan or what?<\/p>\n

The menu at Aloha is eclectic and decently-priced for a student. The waterpark-turned-caf\u00e9 has their own bees to produce homemade honey, they roast their own coffee, and they even offer their own brand of filtered water, which I guess is cool. And while that\u2019s all nice and dandy, what Gasimov and I found most important was that the drink selection was fine, the ambiance was peaceful, and the service was quality. You can even catch a whiff of chlorine as you weave through the deserted waterpark to find the bathroom, which, by the way, is located at the end of the emptied lazy river.<\/p>\n

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Vegan bitterballs with coffee-infused mayonnaise. Delicious.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIvar Laanen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Other summer hotspots<\/h2>