Tjin's Toko

Forget the tourist traps and follow the scent of spices and deep-fried deliciousness to 't Jina, a true local institution and one of the best kept secrets in Amsterdam's De Pijp neighbourhood. Authenticity & Vibe: A Local's Hidden Gem Tucked right next to the famed Albert Cuyp market, especially lively and bustling with crowds during the Saturday market, 't Jina is a refreshing change of pace. It's wonderfully quaint, splitting its space between a no-fuss food counter at the front and a well-stocked Surinamese and international grocery store at the back. The best part? It's clearly a hidden gem for tourists because you'll be rubbing shoulders almost exclusively with locals, which is always the best sign of authentic quality. The Food: Spot-On Flavours and Unique Tastes The menu is a delicious, multi-cultural journey. The flavours are spot on, a vibrant and hearty blend of Indian, Javanese, African, and Creole influences that define Surinamese cuisine. You'll find classics like the perfectly spiced Roti, rich and comforting curries, and unique street food like Bara (a spiced, fried lentil dough). For a truly special experience, try one of their traditional stews or the famous Broodje Pom (a Surinamese-Jewish classic). Everything feels homemade, incredibly fresh, and serves up genuinely unique tastes you won't find anywhere else. The Bottom Line: Easy on the Pocket In a city where dining out can quickly deplete your budget, 't Jina is blessedly easy on the pocket. The generous portions and wallet-friendly prices make it an absolute steal for a truly authentic and flavourful meal. For a real taste of Amsterdam's rich multicultural soul, bypass the cafes and find your way to 't Jina. It’s an essential experience.

Small but very nice oriental supermarket and sandwich place. You can find groceries which are unavailable in most bigger oriental supermarket (chains). Examples are: Mexican dried peppers, fresh tofu blocks etc. Their sandwiches are freshly made and available with a wide range of toppings and for a convenient price!

This place used to be a solid 5 STAR. But… all good things come to an end and so is this place. Which is really sad. Today we had, noodles with mixed meat and stir fried rice with mixed meet. Both meals extremely dry. They don’t serve it with a sauce anymore, these days you get a squirt of Hoisin on top. Which is wrong on so many levels. The noodles taste of absolutely nothing. I think in a scheme of increasing g profit they opted for a cheap wheat noodle that is thick and filling but lacks taste and texture. I’d give the noodles a -4 that’s how bad they are. The rice must be a cheap rice, no whole grains and feels like there are pieces of plastic in it. Really bad meal. Price quality not worth mentioning, as I don’t recommend you visit this place. Skip it and go to another Surinamese place.

Young girl taking and preparing orders was super nice ! Owners seem chill and nice, food is great, super charming and definitely a good deal for the city standards

A lovely, warm, Asian sandwich bar with friendly service and good community ties. Each crunchy bun can be filled with a selection spiced lamb, chicken, beef, pork, shrimp and vegetarian toppings. Super value in overpriced Amsterdam. From 3,50 you can't go wrong here. You get a good filling of your chosen topping to keep you charged and going for the day.

Warning, Tjin’s Toko sells products in their online store often months after the “best by” date. Even though they claim that they inform you if this in their deals store, they don’t provide how much past this date, and there is no indication that these products are properly screened before sale. Buy at your own health risk! As a response to their reply: best by date is not communicated at all on their website, and yes, I received a partial refund for half of the products past due, whilst I asked for a return and full refund of all these products. Does not seem right to me, but make your own choice when you want to buy products here.

Great deli-style setup with quick service and hot, delicious food. Tried the rendang beef sandwich and hot chicken sandwich; would highly recommend!

Six months ago Tjin's provided excellent service. Today? Not so much. I selected express delivery at check out. I got economy mail instead. When I asked, I was fed some line about how the logistics service had changed, that they'd have to open a case and address customs concerns yadda yadda. Utter nonsense. I wrote back saying I paid for express service because I had ordered perishables. I was told they were shelf stable. I provided evidence to the contrary and was given more impertinent and dubious information, followed up by standard issue corporate deflections and diversions. Long story short, the service I received last March is now only available in Amsterdam and has been replaced with gaslighting and stockholder profit protections. For the cost of one delivery I could have ordered a year of "Prime" and received free delivery.

It's not as easy to find Surinam cuisine. Found this deli walking by and tried some sandwiches. They make things to order it's very good and fast.

It's a corner market that has a deli with surinamese food. Line can get quite busy since it's very well priced. They have a pretty big selection of food deli items to add. I went for their curry. Overall, it was good, not great. I wouldn't get the same item again, but I would try others if the line wasn't so long.

I had never had Surinamese food before, so what a treat! Came here on our food tour, super glad they stopped in. We had sandwiches that kind of reminded me of something like a Bahn Mi, and it was incredible. Such booming flavors. Definitely worth a visit to check out the market and get a bite!

Another interesting stop on the food tour, let me tell you that "Pom" is awesome. It is a traditional Surinamese dish that was cooked by the Portuguese-Jewish people because they do not have potatoes. So instead, they combine chicken, citrus and a local tuber called "pomtajer." Add some spices and you have something like a chicken stew and because it's from kosher chickens and has no dairy in it, IT'S KOSHER. It's also delicious and we had it in a sandwich. Where our earlier shop had all sorts of imported goods from Asia, this toko is the place where you'll find all sorts of American brands. Looking for Mashmallow Fluff or Stubbs Barbecue Sauce or Campbell's soups? Cure your homesickness here. Friendly service and we also tried a "Fernandes" brand sparkling drink. Like "Mexican" Coca-Cola but cherry flavored and about ten times sweeter. Three sips just to confirm the taste and that was enough. Friendly service and a nice patio with a lot of foot traffic. [Review 12082 overall, 1865 of 2019.]

Fabulous Surinamese takeout in a very convenient location. They serve their sandwiches on fresh baguettes; I had the curry chicken and really enjoyed it. We came back for dinner and had curry meatballs and beef rendang, and both were fabulous. A highlight of our trip.

Tjin's has been great for finding odds and ends from back home in the states; I've picked up spices, seasonings and condiments that I can't find anywhere else (Crystal hot sauce!). They have a pretty impressive selection of canned mexican/tex mex style ingredients, including refried beans and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They also have a surprising selection of fresh peppers that are hard to come by; they have jalapeños, habanero and poblanos! The staff is always really friendly and the prices are very reasonable. Tjin's is a great place to look for your expat needs.

i read a review about soft corn tortillas at this place. Being raised in California and a HUGE fan of tacos i had to come. i was not disappointed when i saw them and tried them at home!!! they also have a lot of american products that are far more affordable than the place in leidseplein. in the front of the market they serve Surinamese food to go. i have to be honest it didn't look that good only because everything looked like it had been over cooked and sitting there for a while. nothing looked really fresh so i passed on the to go section, which i'm usually a fan of. But the market section did not disappoint! this place will be one of my go to places for asian and latin food products! i'm soo happy it's near me too!

We come here regularly for the Surinamese take out. As a pescetarian I like to get the Garnalen (shrimp) sandwich, which reminds me of a vietnamese banh mi sandwich but with a curry sauce. Also would get a Bara (puffy bread) with some extra hot chutney sauce. The rest of the store is an International food store, you can get Mexican tortillas in the fridge, ramen, bbq sauce, and American junk food. Wonderful!

After almost 3 years in Amsterdam, sometimes the homesickness greats a little great. But it's neighbourhood stores like one that make it just a little bit easier. Upon walking inside, you'll notice another little door that opens up to their canteen full of delicious goodies. Goodies that after almost 3 years, I finally sampled. And phew! This one is going on the list of local favourite food spots because everything I tried was amazing and delicious. They also have peking duck on the menu- I haven't tried it yet but I'm excited merely by the thought! Inside the store, you'll find the goodies from the motherland. It's here I stock up on my favourite noodles, sauces, canned goods and snacks that no local Heijn has in stock. There's goodies from all over the world, Reese's from America, Milo from South East Asia and Soba noodles that appear to be imported from Japan. Plus their fridges are stock full of other great things like dumpling wrappers, seafood and tofu. Needless to say, it's a one stop shop for food happiness. So if you're looking for a nice meal, or some home grown goodies- stop here. Everything you need is here, ready to go!

This is a small foreign grocery with 3 rows of items, but it had everything I was looking for. It has a wide assortment of Asian & Latin cooking ingredients. In addition, it has a random assortment of American items. Interesting things I found included. - Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup. - Random boxed cake mixes from the US - A variety of Masa to make fresh tortilla - Random assortment of cheap Asian noodles - Thai Curry Pastes What this place lacks - Fresh chilies to make salsa with (I was told finding fresh chilies in AMS is very difficult) - A wider assortment of fresh greens. (The store stock only a handful of fresh greens) I found the items here to be slightly cheaper than the Oriental grocer on Nieuwmarkt 27

Although I am more of a fan of the Dutch or Turkish biological markets because they are much more healthier. However, I don't mind coming in here periodically for some American products. I came in here to pick up some fluffy pancake mix from Betty Crocker and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for Dutchman. I was surprise to see some Gluten Free Cookie mix as well from Betty Crocker. I requested for them to put the Gluten Free cake mix on their list to order from the states as well. I hope they get it, because I will be the first person to buy them up. They have a small collection of American products from different sauces, to cake mix, to unhealthy cereal full of sugar,preservatives to other American junk foods in here, but it's so worth checking out. Yes a little pricey but I am sure it is due to the shipping cost. Customer service is extremely polite and friendly, which makes me want to come back again to shop.

As a person used to having access to ingredients to make food from any part of the world, Amsterdam was a bit tricky for me at first. I couldn't find ingredients to make the Mexican food I was accustomed to eating back home in California. Luckily I heard about this place on an Amsterdam foodie blog and checked it out. The market has almost everything you're looking for, but prepared to pay through the nose. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were like 3.50 euros. If you don't like Mexican food, there's ingredients to make Thai and Vietnamese food as well. Oddly, there's random food from America, including pancake syrup and American cake mix brands. There's also sort of restaurant in the front that sells some pretty scrumptious looking fried stuff. Haven't tried it, but I'm definitely intrigued.

Tjin's has been my go to grocery store for any American or ethnic style foods and sauces which you can't usually find anywhere else. I have even found Bisquick pancake mix and macaroni and cheese here. I know these aren't amazing food items but it's still fun to see some things which remind me of home. Also my favorite of all sauces, Sriracha! Prices for all of these specialty items is very reasonable for what they are and where this is located. Definitely the place to go if you're looking for something unique. Only recently I had tried the deli section of their business. It's is an Indonesian style preprepared food boxes like many you have seen in the city. I can't say that I liked it or disliked it, I was just in difference about the food. The prices for this are also descends so it's worth a try if you don't feel like cooking.

This shop is like the United Nations of processed foods. They've got a little asian isle, American stuff, the Brits are represented.... My latest visit that brough me there was for the Latin stuff though! They've got all kinds of peppers, you know, the Aji kind...fresh, dried, in cans. Up till a few sec ago, I thought I was the first to discover they have fresh corn tortillas (well, fresh frozen corn tortillas). Guess I'm like Columbus, rediscovering great stuff. Anyways, so they've everything you need to make yourself some delicious chicken enchiladas with green tomato sauce

The only place in the Netherlands that I was able to find my Mexican hot sauces among other things that are extremely hard to find elsewhere when it comes to Mexican products.

Small but has the Mexican items so hard to find in Amsterdam. You can find corn tortillas frozen and jarred salsa and beans. Compared to the US, the prices are high but it seems to be the only option. They have a random assortment of items from all over and they are friendly.

Handy to have this little Toko in the neighborhood. Has a small but good selection of different goods from around the world (American, British, Vietnamese, Thai, etc). The prices are a little high but not any moreso than the other import grocers around town. Added bonus is the ready-made food counter and the really friendly staff who always says hello with a smile, helps you find what you're looking for, is open to discuss ordering speciality items, and makes helpful suggestions. I appreciate their great service and selection.

Great supermarket. I havent had any takeaway food from here yet, but I will buy some in the future. The supermarket part of Tjin is really great. They have so many products (also some american).

Their peppersauce is phenomenal. Like nothing I've had before, and I have a shelf in my large American fridge reserved for hot sauce. When I have visitors come to New York from Amsterdam, I don't ask for stroopwafels I ask for Tjin's hot sauce. It's made of piccalilly (after a frustrating search in a desperate attempt to recreate this sauce- I learned (after making and tasting the "picalilly") that picalilly is the British word for pickle relish) garlic, sugar, vinegar, onion and madame jeanette peppers. I had some of their order-to go-food, little sandwiches which were quite good.