Практика Shadowing: How TikTok is Ruining Travel - Изучайте разговорный английский по видео

This is the top rated place in all of Amsterdam to get strope waffles.

Well, at least if you're asking TikTok.

If you ask anyone else, pretty much the exact opposite.

RIP-OFF.

23 euro for two small plain strope waffles.

100% do not recommend.

Stay away.

Avoid this tourist trap.

Huge disappointment.

A tourist trap best avoided.

Long queue.

Very expensive.

Overhyped.

It was the worst strope waffle in Amsterdam.

This is the reality of getting travel advice from TikTok, where oftentimes the people that are giving the advice aren't actually locals, they have no idea what they're actually talking about,

and most of the time the places they choose aren't actually good, they're just, you know, the most flashy, so therefore they do well with the algorithm.

Ooh.

Now Amsterdam's not the only place that suffers from the TikTok tax.

I have genuinely seen the park in front of St. Paul's

Cathedral being listed on an Instareel as a hidden gem of London.

Ah yes, that building that can be seen from most parts of London.

Quite a big secret.

Darn, I hope they don't find out about the big clock tower we got.

The locals would be so angry.

Where was I?

Hi, I'm Evan Edinger, that YouTuber that sometimes makes videos comparing the UK and the US or whatever else I fancy.

And today we're diving into why you shouldn't always trust TikTok when it comes to travel recommendations, especially in Amsterdam.

Let's start with the Strope Waffle, but not the one you might be thinking about.

This is what most Brits probably think of when they hear the term Strope Waffle, A pre-packaged caramel waffle that they sell in the Starbucks or grocery store.

Whereas this falling apart thing, this is the real deal.

This is a fresh strope waffle.

It's not just the size that counts, but it's how fresh it's made.

It's the oozing caramel coming out the sides.

Mmm, oh my god.

Night and day.

It's like going to Wagamama's and saying, you've had a true Japanese experience.

Stop that.

A freshly made strope waffle is a world apart than the pre-packaged ones that you can find in the grocery store.

It's not just a cookie.

It's an experience.

Two freshly made thin waffles made right in front of you, and then in the middle, hot caramel squished in between.

It's my favorite cookie, if you can even call it that.

TikTok's top choice for Stroopwafels in Amsterdam might feel like the obvious choice.

I mean, there are strength in numbers usually, but if you're someone that genuinely gets most of your travel advice from TikTok,

well, there would be one place that was definitely showing up in your feed over and over and over.

And that's Van Wanderen Stroopwafels. So that's

the expectation, and here's the reality.

First you wait in a 20 minute queue with everyone else that considers TikTok a valid source of information,

then after waiting you find just one of the Strope Waffles costs nearly 20 euros.

Finally, you take a bite and realize you've ascended.

Now I understand why on Van Wondernam's website they claim to be the world's best stroke waffle.

Because it's all just marketing bullshit.

They cover their stroke waffle and candies to attempt to hide the fact that the core stroke waffle is incredibly mid.

A simple look at Google Maps would have probably helped most people out of the situation.

If you look at the Google reviews on Google Maps for Van Wanderen, they have over 5,000 reviews.

That's a lot.

However, the average review for 5,000 reviews is a 3.3.

Yikes.

And it's a shame, because there's a lot of Stroopwafel places around Amsterdam enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.

In one way, it's a good thing, because the actually good places aren't clogged up with tourists that are more interested in Instagramming the food than eating it.

And so for you right now, I'm going to take you to the three places in Amsterdam that actually have good Stroopwafel worth trying.

If you're annoyed at how I pronounce Amsterdam differently every time I say it, so am I.

My brain is very confused.

First up is Rudy's in Albert Kuipe Market.

Rudy's has been serving up the same recipe of stroopwafels from the small food truck in the market since 1978.

Just one original stroopwafel please.

And you'd think with a story and a history like that, Rudy's would be charging even more than the TikTok place.

But you'd actually be wrong.

They're less than a fifth of the price.

How much is it?

$250.

Lovely.

And that's the way it should be, to be honest.

It's a cookie.

Kinda.

It's a strobe waffle.

Not your bag, love you.

No, no, no. Incredible bargain.

The ones in the center that are for TikTok.

Yeah.

And today, the day that I got to visit, Rudy, the OG Rudy, was actually there serving me up.

Rudy's original.

This is Rudy.

Wow.

The papa is here today.

Original.

You're lucky.

The papa is here.

Looks delicious.

Oh, the original.

No chocolate for me, please.

Rudy's is the way a stroopwafel should be.

Cheap, incredibly fresh, delicious, crisp, moist.

It's perfect.

I would say if you're looking for a stroopwafel in the original recipe, you really can't find any better than Rudy's.

One of the big issues with Rudy's stroopwafels is that they're not open all the time.

They're actually only open four days of the week, and of those days, they also close at 5 p.m.

What if you've had a, I don't know, some special things at a coffee shop in Amsterdam at like 7 p.m

and you want a hot, fresh stroopwafel?

100

Can't go there.

101

So therefore, my second pick is Melly's Stroke Waffle.

102

Now, Melly's Stroke Waffle, they're not made fresh in front of you.

103

You don't see them making them.

104

They're not hot, so there's some negative points there.

105

But they do taste amazing.

106

It's a solid stroke waffle.

107

Wish it was hotter and fresher.

108

But in terms of, like, always open and stuff, it's a good one.

109

Now, Melly's does cost quite a bit more, but they do provide toppings, if that's something you're after.

110

I would say that if you're going to go there to bring some back, getting their made prepackaged ones are actually pretty good.

111

I like to give these as gifts to my family whenever I visit Amsterdam to be like, here you go, I brought you these.

112

Please love me.

113

They are very fresh and crisp and delicious.

114

Probably some of the best packaged stroopwafels you can get.

115

But now it's time to stray from the traditional recipe and move on to my favorite stroopwafel in all of Amsterdam.

116

Hans Eggstorf.

117

Whereas most stroopwafel have a very similar base with a little variation, I feel like their batter,

118

their dough, their stroopwafel actually tastes more like a waffle than a cookie.

119

Like, there's a bit of a pancake-y taste, a bit of a waffly taste that is definitely not the original recipe, but I think actually makes it just that much better.

120

Plus there is something to be said about being able to

121

watch them make the hot fresh stroopwafel right in front of you.

122

It does add a bit to it.

123

The vibe of the whole place, it's very nice.

124

Now the cost of getting one at Hans Eggstorf is right here, but this plus Mellie's plus Rudy's is still less than the cost of the TikTok one in Van Wanderen.

125

Now for the vegans in my audience feeling a bit left out, There is one place that I can recommend for vegan stroopwafel.

126

It's right down the street from the TikTok place And it's called Queen's Stroopwafels.

127

They're a little expensive at 10 euro

128

And they're not as good as the non vegan ones in my opinion

129

But I did introduce some of my vegan friends to them last time I was in Amsterdam

130

and they seemed to like them quite a lot.

131

Queen's vegan Nice little place here Is it nice?

132

Really good.

133

Oh sweet.

134

I wasn't expecting to like it because stroopwafel was a little bit overwhelming.

135

It's bit sugary.

136

But my god, it's so good.

137

It's such good balance.

138

Fresh ones are so much better than the ones you get that are hard as well.

139

I don't think I've ever had a fresh one.

140

Yeah, this is the only place you can get really good at, but it's Amsterdam.

141

I really don't like them when they're dry. So here's the thing.

142

There's nothing wrong with using TikTok or Instagram to find some inspiration on places to go or where to eat.

143

As long as you don't let it be the only place of inspiration.

144

Whenever I'm researching for places to go in a city I've never been

145

or a city that I want to know more about, The first place I really go is local subreddits, because finding out, for instance, what the best burger in Amsterdam is,

146

is really easy when there are multiple threads on the Amsterdam subreddit of locals arguing, whether it's Burger Bar or Beef Chief.

147

I've tried Burger Bar.

148

It was actually pretty good.

149

It's not quite Burgermeister in Berlin, but gets my stamp of approval.

150

Or I usually also check out some travel vlogs on YouTube because I feel like I can quickly parse that information.

151

TikTok is everything is just so gleamy.

152

That's kind of the whole point of the platform.

153

You don't have time to process things on it.

154

YouTube is a bit more longer, drawn out, and you can still watch it at two times speed.

155

The optimal way of watching anything.

156

Except my videos, don't do that to my watch time, please.

157

You see a really long queue around the corner, you know, our monkey brains go, Ooh, must be popular, must be good, and...

158

Rarely is.

159

It's not just Stropewafel that has been subject to the TikTok tax, but also fries.

160

You know the expression, cheap as chips?

161

Well, not so much here.

162

This is Fabelfriet, a shop in the 9 streets area of Amsterdam that specializes in aesthetically pleasing french fries.

163

Fabelfriet have leaned in really hard to the TikTok audience.

164

During the pandemic they posted a lot showing their aesthetically pleasing chips and well, now the queue wraps around the block.

165

The issue is just how much the insane footfall affects the nearby businesses to the shop.

166

Fabelfried has to employ two bouncers to manage the queue, including an area just in front of the shop where they have to have a break, and then more people on the other side of the street over top of the bridge.

167

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a queue for some sort of celebrity rather than some French fries.

168

But the biggest issue here is that the shop is so small, it doesn't have enough seating to satisfy the insane footfall generated by the TikToks,

169

and therefore the people are just spilling out all over the place.

170

So much so that the residents that live here have signs saying, please don't sit here, plastered on their door.

171

I just spoke to a local business owner who also said she's having a lot of negative impacts

172

because people are standing in front of her shop, blocking visibility.

173

They have to put signs up all over the place, and yet it still doesn't seem to be helping.

174

In situations like this, I think it would make a lot more sense

175

if the business owner of the french fry shop would move to a larger location to accommodate the footfall.

176

However, part of me thinks, well, this is all part of his plan because the giant queue

177

that he has probably is going to convince more people that are passing by, oh, maybe this is worth it, as opposed to just waiting 30 minutes for some french fries with fancy sauce on it.

178

But hey, looks good on the gram.

179

I will say that the business owners of Fable of Treats have definitely leaned into TikTok, but at this point they've come out and said,

180

we don't want to be seen as the TikTok place.

181

Hey, can I ask you a question?

182

How did you find out about this place?

183

Oh, um, internet.

184

Was it TikTok?

185

TikTok, alright.

186

Can I ask you a question?

187

How did you find out about this place?

188

TikTok.

189

TikTok.

190

Can I ask you where you found this place from? In TikTok.

191

TikTok.

192

Where did you find out about this place?

193

Tick Tock.

194

Tick Tock.

195

From Tick Tock.

196

Tick Tock.

197

Alright.

198

Well whose fault was that?

199

Six euros forty cents.

200

That's reasonably priced.

201

Yeah I know.

202

If you wait outside we'll cut Evan Linsert.

203

Thank you very much.

204

Evan.

205

Evan.

206

So I've just got myself some of their chips

207

because after seeing me filming for so long the employees let me skip the queue a bit.

208

YouTuber privileges.

209

Alright let's see.

210

Are these chips worth all the hype?

211

That's actually pretty good.

212

These are delicious.

213

I will also say, despite the incredibly long queue and the stressful situation for all the neighbors, they have not yet jacked up the price of these chips.

214

These chips are only £6.40.

215

And even though there are a lot of more well-established brands around Amsterdam selling Belgian fries, this place, with all of its TikTok fame,

216

could very well just increase the price and do what Ben Wunderen did.

217

But, it's a good product, not that expensive.

218

Maybe it's not too much their fault, but it's so popular.

219

The seagulls are after me.

220

This is not yours, it's mine.

221

Mine, mine, mine.

222

MINE?

Что такое техника Shadowing?

Shadowing — это научно обоснованная техника изучения языка, изначально разработанная для подготовки профессиональных переводчиков и популяризированная полиглотом доктором Александром Аргуэльесом. Метод прост, но эффективен: вы слушаете аудио на английском от носителей языка и немедленно повторяете вслух — как тень, следующая за говорящим с задержкой в 1–2 секунды. В отличие от пассивного прослушивания или грамматических упражнений, Shadowing заставляет мозг и мышцы рта одновременно обрабатывать и воспроизводить реальные речевые паттерны. Исследования показывают, что это значительно улучшает точность произношения, интонацию, ритм, связную речь, понимание на слух и беглость речи — что делает его одним из самых эффективных методов для подготовки к IELTS Speaking и реального общения на английском.

Практика Shadowing: How TikTok is Ruining Travel - Изучайте разговорный английский по видео

Контекст и фон

5 популярных фраз для повседневного общения

Пошаговое руководство по теневому произношению

Что такое техника Shadowing?