AMSTERDAM, Nov 4 — Some cities are meant for walking. Everything worth seeing should be discovered on foot, which means plenty of exercise while on holiday, and plenty of fresh air for lungs used to recycled fumes from central air conditioning.

It does make sitting down for a good meal a bit of a challenge, especially in places like Tokyo where eating and walking is generally frowned upon. Not so the case with Amsterdam, where locals and tourists alike happily eat on the go. And what do they eat, you ask?

Exploring the canals of Amsterdam can work up quite an appetite for most visitors

The answer presents itself almost immediately as you arrive at Amsterdam Centraal. Barely a five-minute walk from the station, you will encounter other travellers, perhaps as famished as you are after a long flight, eager for some sustenance that won’t squander precious time better spent exploring nearby De Wallen (the infamous red light district) or one of the city’s many canals.

A signboard declares that the shop is called Manneken Pis, named after the legendary Belgian infant who saved Brussels by taking a well-timed pee. (Depending on which story you hear, the target of the young boy’s tinkle was alternatively explosive charges, a fire or unlucky enemy troops!)

The name is an important clue for the shop sells the always popular Belgian fries or Vlaamse Frites. Also known as patatje (Dutch for fries), this adopted food item is quite the national obsession here in the Netherlands. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, many argue the Dutch do them better, though usually not within earshot of Belgians of a certain size.

Manneken Pis, with its prime location along the Damrak, offers almost two dozen types of sauces such as barbecue, green pepper, satay, garlic, curry, tartar, cocktail and the intriguingly named Samurai sauce (a blend of mayonnaise, ketchup and spicy harissa). Mayonnaise is always a favourite; here, adaptations include truffle mayo, Flemish mayo, pesto mayo and even vegan mayo!

But no amount of sauces can disguise a poorly cooked frite. Fortunately the good folks at Manneken Pis take their work very seriously — cutting the fries fresh daily from whole russet potatoes harvested in Zeeland, frying once to pre-cook them, then a second time to order. We don’t see any heat lamps or microwaves, but with the volume they’re selling, that’s hardly a surprise.

Many Amsterdammers consider Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx to be the best fries in the city

Taking orders for fries and serving them quickly

Part of the fun is guessing how much you can eat. It might be less than you think, so don’t get greedy unless you truly have a very healthy appetite.

Generally, children go for the Schanulleke size (300 grams) and most adults will be sated with the Urbanus (450 grams) for a decent meal. Order and finish the Obelix — a whopping 1 kilogram! — by yourself, and you probably won’t need to eat for the rest of your stay...

To understand more about the provenance of Vlaamse Frites, however, you’d have to return to the source. This means Belgium, specifically the charming city of Bruges where the "first and only museum dedicated to potato fries” may be found.

Located along Vlamingstraat, the Frietmuseum (literally "fries museum”) offers a self-guided tour of the history of the humble tuber and how it travelled from its birthplace in South America to Europe.

A happy customer leaving with his order

Manneken Pis, located along the Damrak, offers three different sizes of Vlaamse Frites (left). A vintage poster advertising potato peelers (right)

Quite the maze of potato history and Vlaamse Frites lore

It’s quite a maze: you could get lost in exhibits of 8,000 B.C. Peru where potatoes were first cultivated (with many oddly-shaped and colourful varietals) to all the antique devices used in frites preparation including, in a wonderful circular twist, Dutch ovens!

From posters advertising peelers that could transform 5 kilograms of potatoes into fries in a minute to cooking instructions for the perfect chips (using unrefined beef tallow or blanc de bœuf is one helpful if not entirely practical tip), you’d work up quite a craving for Vlaamse Frites just by wandering around the museum, as we did.

Thank goodness for the canteen in the basement where we can get freshly-cooked fries. A paler yellow than the Vlaamse Frites we enjoy in Amsterdam, these chips are best with sauce Andalouse, a Belgian specialty.

An exhibit of 8,000 B.C. Peru where potatoes were first cultivated (left). Many oddly-shaped and colourful varietals of potatoes (right)

Made with tomato paste, roasted bell peppers and mayonnaise (though a velouté sauce — where a light stock is thickened with a roux — is also used), the sauce is creamy, tangy and subtly smoky.

Back in Amsterdam, our favourite spot for Vlaamse Frites isn’t in as touristy a location as the Damrak but unbelievably the lines may be even longer! Open since 1957, Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx is considered by many Amsterdammers to be the best fries in the city which explains the large number of people queueing up while bantering in Dutch.

Situated not far from the Spui — a square that’s practically the centre of Amsterdam — the small shop is fondly known as the Sausmeester ("sauce master”) thanks to their 25 types of sauces.

Dutch ovens were traditionally used to fry the frites

Besides the usual suspects, sauce flavours include sambal, yellow curry, appelmoes (apple sauce), Piccalilli (a mild turmeric and vinegar laced mustard), Hannibal (sweet caramelised onions) and even pickles!

Go for their Oorlog Mix with your homemade Belgian fries served in the distinctive white paper cornet. This is basically a double portion of sauces: a divine marriage of mayonnaise and satay sauce topped with onions.

Sounds like a strange concoction? Perhaps for some the nutty satay sauce, creamy mayonnaise and sharp onions will spark a battle in the belly (oorlog means "war” in Dutch) but for us it’s more like a symphony playing on our tastebuds.

The paler yellow of the Frietmuseum canteen’s frites (left). Take a dip (right)

If the lines look formidable, don’t worry: as with most patatje places, everyone is served very quickly and efficiently. It’s not only the vendors; the customers decide in advance what size of fries and which sauces they’d like. The quicker they order, the quicker they’ll get their Vlaamse Frites to savour, one chunky and crispy fry at a time.

Manneken Pis

Damrak 41, 1012 LK Amsterdam, Netherlands

Open Sun-Thu 10am-12am; Fri-Sat 10am-1:45am

Frietmuseum

Vlamingstraat 33, Bruges, Belgium

Open daily 10am-5pm

Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx

Voetboogstraat 33, 1012 XK Amsterdam, Netherlands

Open Sun-Mon 12pm-7pm; Tue-Sat 11am-7pm