Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Viva Espana!


Hollywood Rd/Wyndham Street trawlers will know that the 'nothing special' Mink bar has been turned into a tapas place. As far as I know, it's still under the same (Aussie) owners and I must admit, I'm quite liking Mink #2. Its actual name is Tapeo, and it's doing a great job as one of the SAR's first tapas places. The food is good, mostly cooked to order and you can perch on the bar that surrounds the open kitchen, watching it all happen.

Tapas is probably a 'has-been' trend in most of the western world, and as the number of places claiming to serve these small plates increased, the quality has tended to go the opposite way. Before you knew it, even the village pub was serving last night's leftovers on saucers and calling them tapas - hence my cynicism when Tapeo first opened in HK. "Tapas is so over," I told my boss when he told me about it, but the promise (or possibility) of chorizo is always hard to resist, and I wasn't disappointed.

We had fried squid, chopped duck liver with egg (sunny side up, so the yolk gets all runny... mm...), various cold cuts and a frittata/omlette thing with roasted bell peppers. The last was probably the most disappointing - didn't really taste of anything, texture was mushy and boring, but everything else was very well done, particularly the liver with egg that had a perfectly golden/deep orange yolk and cooked to be runny, but slightly thick - excellent with bread.

It's easy to get overly excited and over-order, as the dishes aren't actually that little (perhaps the size of 2 saucers), so take a deep breath and order slowly, as it does add up. Or, bring a few more friends so you can try everything :)

Tapeo
15-19 Hollywood Rd
Central
+852 3171 1989

Gasp! Tuscany by H missed by Michelin!?

Let me begin by apologising for this slew of Michelin posts - all I can say is that it's a huge thing for us on this little peck of land, so you'll just have to forgive me.

I think I've looked 50 times. Between Tsui Hang Village and Tycoon Hotpot there is no Tuscany by H.

Why/how could they have missed this? Harlan's and H One, which are no longer under Harlan's ownership btw, are in, and they do food that is far less enjoyable than Tuscany, plus Tuscany is in Central, Lan Kwai Fong, to be exact, which is on many a visitor's trail.

Oh well, guess that just means less tourists!

Aspasia, in my opinion one of the most underrated restaurants in Hong Kong, did actually make it into the guide, though in a secretly selfish way I didn't want it to be. Good thing though that it's on Kowloon side, where average visitors wouldn't go unless they're here for longer - I suspect only dedicated and confident foodie visitors will go the distance, which is fine by me - after all, you can't deny a restaurant of its business.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Michelin Hong Kong & Macao, revisited with commentary

The long-awaited, quasi-mythical Michelin has arrived in HK and planted seeds of controversy!

Here's the list for HK and my 2 cents, for what it's worth (probably precisely 2 cents)

3*
Lung King Heen - the most controversial of all. If LKH can get three stars, why not T'ang Court, Spring Moon, or Yan Toh Heen etc?
2*
Amber - agreed, see my thoughts. In my mind, probably one of the best restaurants in HK
Bo Innovation - never been, because the chef (they call him the "demon chef") seemed
too eclectic and expensive for what he offered
Caprice - can't say I agree, but I know many people like it. My thoughts here
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon - guess I agree, but I still like Amber better!
Shang Palace - one of my fave dim sum places, but 2* is a bit excessive!
Summer Palace - Shang's HK-side equivalent
T’ang Court - one of HK's top Chinese restos, better than LKH, which got 3*.

1*
Fook Lam Moon - old school
Forum - old school abalone place - I don't find it that impressive
Hutong - gimme a break! I love the lamb's ribs they do, but seriously, there are places that do it better in BJ for 1/5 the price. Remember, the stars apply globally!
Lei Garden (IFC) - I haven't been in ages, and it's only good if you've pre-booked all
the good dishes. Also, I hear the one at Elements is now the best, and the Wan Chai one is also much praised by local foodies
Lei Garden (Tsim Sha Tsui) - given Michelin's penchant for pretty restaurants, I'm
surprised (from a decor point of view) that they chose this unremarkable basement
bunker! But food is good here.
Ming Court - very glad they made it onto the list. My favourite old-school Canto
Petrus - yep, agree.
Pierre
Regal Palace - never been! But I can't believe even the Regal got a star and the Pen
didn't!
Shanghai Garden - used to be one of my fave restaurants, nowadays quality varies.
A Maxim's resto
The Golden Leaf
The Square - what the?! Another Maxim's, even within the group there are better outlets
Tim’s Kitchen - never been for dinner; lunch is sloppy
Yung Kee - they just had to be there, didn't they? It's good I guess, but to me, not
the same calibre as Ming Court
The Macao List:

3*
Robuchon a Galera - yup, agree.

2*
Tim's Kitchen

1*
Imperial Court (MGM)
Ying (Crown)
The Eight (Lisboa)
Tung Yee Heen (Mandarin Oriental)

Haven't been to any Macao ones except Robuchon, but isn't it funny that they're all hotel restaurants, apart from Tim's?

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Michelin Hong Kong Announced!

Weird list though...

via Bloomberg

Restaurants awarded three stars are:
Lung King Heen
Robuchon a Galera

Restaurants awarded two stars are:
Amber
Bo Innovation
Caprice
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Shang Palace
Summer Palace
T’ang Court

Restaurants awarded one star are:
Fook Lam Moon
Forum
Hutong
Lei Garden (IFC)
Lei Garden (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Ming Court
Petrus
Pierre
Regal Palace
Shanghai Garden
The Golden Leaf
The Square
Tim’s Kitchen
Yung Kee

Monday, November 17, 2008

White truffle season!



note 14.03.2009: I do apologise - this has been sitting in my drafts folder for a fair few months, but as we will be sans truffes for a good chunk of the coming year, I suddenly felt compelled to complete this as a belated tribute to my last truffle meal of the season...

'Tis the season to be jolly lala lala la la la la la!

We told our home away from home resto Borgo to call us when they were flying one in, and a few days later, voila, we were summoned.

It was like having a truffle dinner at home, sans washing up and the pressure of thinking we might destroy it with our hit and miss cooking.

The dishes were totally simple and homely. With an ingredient like truffle, simplicity is the key. Nothing could be as much a waste as having delicious but forceful flavours compete on the palate.

Yes, that is a potato chip in my truffled caesar. Do try this at home!

Brilliant poached egg on baguette with truffle cream, prosciutto and loads of mmmmtruffle

Interesting, mostly because of the kaiseki-esque presentation - but not the best dish of grilled veg. The Japanese potato has been smothered with shavings.

Classic - truffle & cream pasta

Wine #1 of the night - Cascina Bruciata barbaresco 2000. Not spectacular, but very adequate for our down-to-earth dinner and I do believe Piedmontese vini go best with the white truffles from that region, like a lot of other food/wine pairings.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

e_ting's Australasia's top 20

Following my harsh criticism of the Miele Guide, I decided to make my own Asia's top 20 list. Actually I don't know if I can come up with 20. I'm going to cheat and put Australia in too... And I can't really rank them... I tried, but there were like 5 in 8th place... I guess that means that they are all absolutely essential. There are so many more that I would like to have put in. Here's to hoping that one day, I will write my own food guide.

So, here goes, in alphabetical order:

Amber, Hong Kong
Bing Sheng, Guangzhou
Da Dong, Beijing
Du Xiao Yue, Taipei
Gaddi's, Hong Kong
Gang Nan Chu Zi, Shenzhen
Grossi Cellar Bar, Melbourne
Grossi Florentino, Melbourne
Isetan depachika, Tokyo
Jacques Reymond, Melbourne
Ji Cun, Guangzhou
Kwei tiao hawker stall behind YWCA, Penang
Le Normandie, Bangkok
Maisen, Tokyo
MBK Food Court (not the international one), Bangkok
Ming Court, Hong Kong
Pork knuckle braised in sweet soy sauce stall, Sukhumvit Soi 8, Bangkok
Sarti, Melbourne
Tsukiji - random sushi place, Tokyo
Zhang Sheng Ji, Shanghai

Monday, November 03, 2008

Miele Guide released: Asia's top 20 restaurants


The Miele Guide has been released. The publisher is Ate Media, helmed by Chubby Hubby Aun Koh and wife Tan Su-Lyn. It's supposed to be an "authoritative" guide on Asian restaurants. Interesting choice of word. I've rambled on about my thoughts on the voting/selection process already, and in short I don't think the guide is very representative of Asia's 'best' restaurants (a slippery word in itself), but anyway, here are their top 20, and my commentary (if any):

1. Iggy's, Singapore
I've personally not been, but have made my parents (the very people who have made me a passionate foodie, no less), who were in Singapore a few months back, try it on my behalf. Both came back sorely disappointed and said it was nothing compared to Amber (Landmark Mandarin HK) or Le Normandie (Oriental Bangkok). An unofficial forum post on Chowhound indicated a change of chefs earlier this year.

2. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong
Been several times, dinner is good, lunch is pretty hopeless, especially for the price, but it's not my pick for HK's top Mod Euro/Mod French restaurant...

3. Les Amis, Singapore
Amusing that two Singa restos made it into the top 3, anything to do with the origin/publishers of the Guide?

4. Gunthers, Singapore
Another Singa resto...

5. Mozaic, Bali
Never been, but many sources indicate that the quality plummets dramatically if the head chef is not in.

6. Robuchon a Galera, Macau
First resto that I am in total agreement with.

7. Garibaldi, Singapore
Singapore... yet again...

8. Yung Kee, Hong Kong
Can you get better roast geese elsewhere in Asia? Yes. Can you find a more famous roast goose restaurant in Asia? Probably not.

9. Hutong, Hong Kong
Apparently foodies who voted forgive the bad (very, very, very, bad) service for the excellent food. I'm less forgiving, personally. But that's because I'm a bitter person.

10. Antonio's Fine Dining, Phillippines
I'm ashamed at how ignorant and uninformed I am. I'd never heard of this restaurant prior to seeing this list.

11. Caprice, Hong Kong
See my thoughts here.

12. Zuma, Hong Kong
Hello? Japanese-ish food in Hong Kong... I don't get it.

13. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Tokyo
So, it was graced by Michelin...

14. Bukhara, India
Never been, but arguably the most talked abou restaurant in India.

15. Grissini, Hong Kong
I strongly dislike it. Period.

16. Nobu, Hong Kong
Another Japanese-ish place in Hong Kong. Hmm, makes me think Japan wasn't even in the running (but it was. Bizarre.
I like their lunchtime bento boxes; don't really like having dinner there. I'd go, but it's not top 20 in my books.

17. M on the Bund, Shanghai
Never been. I usually don't have enough time in Shanghai to get bored of Shanghainese food. Shang food is probably my favourite Chinese cuisine, so naturally I fill up on it as much as possible while in town...

18. Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong
A Hong Kong classic. Not my favourite, but I understand how it should/could be in Asia's top 20.

19. Zanotti Il Ristorante Italiano, Bangkok
Certainly not a personal 'must', but good if you are in town and sick of Thai (how could you?) I suppose. Give me a gapow moo, som tum or sweet soy braised pig's knuckle on rice instead anyday.

20. Kyubey, Tokyo
Ugh, so predictable. I don't know if it's overhyped cause I've never been, but something makesme think that some people who voted had never actually been to eat there and just chose it cause they recognised the name.

Actually that could have been the case for many of these places.

The people who produced/published the guide are prepared for the list to be controversial, but I didn't expect this...

One of my main no-no's about this guide was that only large cities were sampled to represent the whole country, e.g. only HK, Macau, Beijing and Shanghai represented China (actually maybe only BJ and SH did and HK & Macau were on their own? No matter) - how about Guangzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou etc., that are also home to spectacular restaurants? From what I've read from their website I found no proper justification.

I also wonder who the target market is - to me, it seems like it's not Asian residents but visitors to Asia, which renders it similar to a Lonely Planet guidebook for silly tourists. If you were creating a guide, would you want it to be the Lonely Planet of your category? I wouldn't, but maybe they would, because after all, LP sells heaps. If this is their aim, the irony is that only a scanty few of the their top 20 serve local cuisine. I can't help but lead myself to the conclusion that this guide is for scared, non-Asian tourists with quite a bit of money. Not my type of guide, but I this is undoubtedly a big market...

I've commented already on the, in my mind, disproportionate number of Singaporean restaurants that made it... Can anyone explain it? I love Singapore for its hawker food, and I don't think HK would be worthy of that many in the top 20 either. Can't really get my head around it apart from publisher's/voting population bias (since the guide is published by a Singaporean company I suppose the voting would have been more widely known/more talked about in Singapore, hence more residents from that region - who of course would be most familiar with their city's cuisine - would have voted). Democracy is indeed a flawed affair.

The Hong Kong Michelin Guide will be coming out soon too, so it'll be interesting to compare these two "international" views on Asia/HK. (Oh, and the Mobil Guide is out for HK too, but... it's the Mobil Guide...)

Lastly, I think the happiest person is Joel Robuchon, who's sitting at three of the top 20 restos in Asia. And he's not even Asian. Felicitations, Monsieur Robuchon~

P.S. I think this has inspired me to write my own 'Asian Top 20'... so until next time folks...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Coffee in Hong Kong - a sad day

Soft Aroma in Causeway Bay, one of the very few 'real coffee' places in this unfortunate town, has shuttered. It's a couple of doors away from the new and unremarkable Brunch Club - why has BC even survived? What is wrong with Hong Kongers?

The rent spike is definitely an issue for many businesses in Hong Kong, but I can't help but think that this marks the beginning of more coffee closures. When will Hong Kong wake up to the smell of freshly pulled espresso and stop spending their hard-earned cash on freaking Starfucks and Pussific Coffee?

I swear I'm losing faith in this city. Fast.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Coffee in Hong Kong - the neverending quest

Good coffee is hard to come by in the SAR (sorry *bucks just doesn't cut it for this ex-Melburnian), so whenever I hear or come across a place that offers the prospect of decent coffee, I'm there in a flash. I was in Mong Kok over the weekend - MK? Coffee? Hmm... I gave it a shot anyway, 'cause (I'm desperate and) I already love this place for its cool selection of magazines (French Archi Digest, Monocle, Jalouse etc.), so I thought maybe the gods of caffeine will pity this deprived soul.

They did not. Maybe they're punishing me for not praying more?

The cakes were fugly too, but I guess I'll give the gelati a try next time...


Lucky I have that primitive Vietnamese coffee dripper thingy at home and Nespresso at work (yes, that is how low I have stooped - actually, Nespresso pods aren't that bad all).









Slowly by Da Dolce
B2/F Langham Place
Mong Kok

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Friday, August 22, 2008

A false start - Caprice

Caprice and Pierre - both signature restaurants in HK's top hotels that I hadn't tried, until recently. I'd heard more good things about the former, so I chose it when the opportunity to go haute came along. I don't know what I was expecting - too much, as usual, perhaps - but I didn't come away too satisfied. My first course was amazing - a crab leg salad kinda thing served just a little below room temp. Fresh, yes, but it had a bit more done to it to enhance, heighten, meld (whatever) all the flavours into one lyrical whole. Maybe it was this perfect entree that made me expect too much from my main - a dory bouillabaise. I was expecting a hearty, clay-coloured dish with chunks of fish among some ratatouille-like veg, but it turned out to be a boring hunk of fillet in a fishy consomme. To its credit, the consomme actually tasted quite similar to that clay-coloured thing I'd imagined, but the fish was relatively taste and texture-less and frankly it was just visually boring. Apparently the cheese platter is a must, but unfortunately we had other commitments (in the form of puff pastry, cream and strawberries) so I guess I'll come back next time for an entree and the cheese, if at all.

I also thought the sommelier was a bit pretentious and the chandeliers a bit much... Views are rad though.



Caprice
Four Seasons Hotel
Central
Hong Kong
+852 3196-8860

Monday, August 18, 2008

Milan

where sunglasses are worn on the underground, and...
where old men wear the coolest aviators

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Lawry's The Prime Rib - Steak a Break

'American' food to had always meant everything on the menu at Dan Ryan's or Ruby Tuesdays - ribs, huge sundays, and burger-heights reminiscent of the Empire State Building. ('New American' is a different matter entirely). So when Lawry's opened in the SAR, I wasn't exactly in a rush to get there, if at all.

A phone call comes from mother in the middle of a rainy week (we've had a couple of those recently), declaring she was in no mood to be home for dinner, and that we should go to Lawry's. Both were weird requests coming from my mother, who finds every opportunity to frown whenever I tell her I won't be home for dinner and has made 'almost vegetarian' a lifestyle choice. Regardless, who was I not to submit to her majesty's demand?

I wasn't exactly expecting much (Dan Ryan's being the only portrayal of American 'cuisine' I grew up with), but was very pleasantly surprised. Everything we had - lobster bisque, crab shell, 'spinning' salad, beef (Cali cuts) - bar one - apple pie - was genuinely delicious. I don't think it's 'fine' food in anyone's books, but it was mad tasty.

Probably the best 'traditional' American (as opposed to 'New American') restaurant export around. A big thumbs up for the crab shell - which was filled with chunky strands of crab meat, as well as the uber crisp lettuce in the spinning salad - especially in this town where we've sadly become accustomed to limp mesculun with browning edges.

You'll be licking the plates clean and full to the brim by the time you're done with the steak and yorkshire pud, so rest assured that skipping dessert here is no biggie (rather, that would be my suggestion).


lobster bisque; crab shell; spinning salad; cali cut with mash and yorkshire pudding; yorkshire pudding; apple pie

(Apologies about the low quality photos - I took them on my phone - though I must say, my phone seemed to have done a pretty good job despite the low lights)

Lawry's The Prime Rib 
4/F Lee Gardens
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
+852 2907 2218

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Friday, March 28, 2008

Melbourne - Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons

Sad to inform y'all that it's been more than a week after I've left Melbourne (in which I stayed for a whirlwind 7 days). One of the highlights of my trip (apart form my cousin's wedding, of course) was an excellent dinner at GAS, the new Terzini place at Crown.

Firstly, they don't take reservations, so my advice would be to go earlier or later (dinner service begins at 6pm) - we went at 9pm.

Location: where one of the Warner Bros. stores were - the space is hence pretty big, and the decor is quite industrial meets retro, with 50s-style tiling all round. Not exactly to my liking, but the salumi glass case just behind the bar area is an ace gawping opportunity.


Menu: large, very reasonably priced (mains come in approx. under $30), split into various sections - antipasti, zuppe, pasta, meats, crudo (raw), seafood, offal (yes, offal is a category), dolci etc. The style of food is casual, hearty Italian - think ragu, braised meats, veal, simple steamed fish etc.

We started with veal polpotte (pls excuse any spelling mistakes) from the antipasti cat., and "hand dive" hervy bay scallops plus sardines from the crudo section. The scallops were mind-blowingly fresh and was perfectly paired with its slightly tangy dressing + lemon juice. veal meatballs were good too, deep golden brown and piping hot from the deep fryer, v. tasty.

         
pig's trotter, scrumalicious scallops, sardines

Mains - two of us had pastas, which were very well done, but the highlight was the stuffed pig's trotter from the offal section of the menu. It was stuffed with lamb sausage, celery, majoram etc. and cooked till the pork skin was translucent and jelly-like. It was delicious, if not a bit too salty - though it does come on a bed of veg (watercress? silverbeet?)


Dessert - portions were pretty big, so we could only fit one dessert in - it was a fresh raspberry, mascapone and vanilla tart. Perfect tart base (like a tuile - crisp, yet cookie-substantial), runny mascarpone mixed with grappa for a slight twang, and juicy berries. Simple yet totally yum!
So all in all I was very impressed (not so much by the sparse/capricious decor, but anyway, I'm not here to eat tiles), esp. for the price. Dinner for 3, incl. a glass of vino each came to A$150, which is a bargain at Crown, and for food and service of that calibre. (Service by the way was swift, though not always perfect, but never annoying).

Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons
Crown Promenade
+613 9694 7400

Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Landmark Mandarin is NOT owned by the Mandarin Oriental Group. (Thank goodness)

Coz it sucked.
And I love the 'original' Mandarin Oriental.

A scone wannabee that turned out to be more like a tasteless, springy muffin with too much fat rubbed in. Um, they definitely don't share the same cake shop...


Like most 'traditional' afternoon teas in Hong Kong, this came in three-tiers. Except this stand stood on the ground rather than the table. Pretty cool, but unfortunately being cool doesn't make your food taste any nicer. Speaking of cool, the hard surfaces in the 'hip' interior didn't do noise levels any favours either.

The pannacotta on the right, however, was right on the money. Tart berry coulis, light jelly at the bottom and vanilla bean-packed cream in the middle. The only thing worth eating again.

Service was sloppy and uninspiring and coffee was weak. I don't need to spell it out right? Ok fine, B.A.D. (but it was packed! Another HK phenomenon I will never fathom).

MO Bar
Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Hong Kong
+852 2132 0188

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Borgo and Wunsha's Kitchen - SO Hong Kong

I make that sound like it's derogatory. Why do "That is SO New York" or "That is SO Parisian" sound instantaneously better?

Many people are critical of large cities, accusing them as uniform, lacking in individuality, losing its charm in favour or multinational hooha, and so on. To some extent, this is true - starting first and foremost with the almighty golden arches, then to Starbucks and even Krispy Kreme. But then again, like its inhabitants, constantly finds itself in the battle between assertion of individuality and societal acceptance. (Dear anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists, please excuse my naive use of terminology)

Nonetheless it is within this struggle, or perhaps with this struggle as a backdrop, that there breeds another identity that is unique to that city.

What makes Hong Kong Hong Kong? I'd be here till next year if I were to go on with this ethnographic analysis, but there is one kind of cuisine that is "SO Hong Kong", actually, make that "SO Hong Kong, right now".

HKers are increasingly skeptical of 'authentic' Chinese cuisine in HK, as many are now frequent travellers to China and have tasted 'the real thing'. They usually come home with exotic stories about how they saw a snake skinned alive before their eyes, or how the chicken tasted real, unlike the fleshy chilled crap we're being fed from supermarkets. Actually, I'm one of them, but the thing is, do all these people realise that as a result, HK is steering away from what is traditionally believed to be 'authenticity', and doing just as well?

At WunSha's Kitchen, we were served a mushroom sautée in a Korean stonepot (dolsot), soy sauce chicken infused with tea, five spice poached pork with xo sauce, raw turnip and cucumber, and almond sweet soup with white fungi in a baby papaya. All of these were pretty fantastic, though hardly traditonal.

Borgo, one of the earliest in this 'genre', has an awesome signature dish of vinegar marinated fish (fish depends on what's good that day), served cold - shock and horror in the Cantonese kitchen. But it's awesome. Did I just say awesome twice? (now it's thrice...)

And that, is nothing to be ashamed of.

WunSha's Kitchen
33 Wun Sha St
Tai Hang
Hong Kong
+852 2890 1230

Borgo
GB01-02 Tai Hong St (aka Soho East - man I detest that name)
Lei Yu Mun
Hong Kong
+852 8100 8446

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Berlin - Currywurst, Bandol Sur Mer, Gugelhof


Berlin was a.w.e.s.o.m.e!

Didn't get subzero temps, it was surprising warm (prob averaged about 0-8 celsius), while closer to home it was freezing. BA lost my luggage at Heathrow, surprise surprise, but anyway, that's not of much interest to you, I'm sure.

What may interest are a few things...

1. Currywurst wasn't that bad - it's just a sausage doused in very sweet ketchup and light sprinkled - yes - with curry powder, like icing sugar on a tart. Man, I was almost hoping I'd have an ewww story...

2. It's kinda sad, but I have to admit, Brad Pitt knows his food. Bandol Sur Mer rocked. We were so full already, but when we (or rather, my boss) saw the slab of steak sitting in the ingredients tray, he knew he had to get it. I'm glad he did, coz I got a couple of bites too haha. It's a teeny weeny shoebox of a place - not much decor to speak of, but the amazing thing is that they haven't even had their 1st anniversary, yet the fitout makes it look like all the staff were born there.

3. Bill Clinton knows his food too. Gugelhof was great! I don't even like boudin noir (blood sausage), but theirs was great - full of cinnamony spices. We had choucroute and the pork (loin?) was awfully tender, flavoursome and presentable too - baby pink and glistening like a lightly perspiring young face under the spring sun. And the sauerkraut - I have to confess that I already love this stuff - I even eat the overly sour ones - straight out of the jar - but this sauerkraut was goooood, and even those little waxy boiled potatoes on the side were nice. Wonder if Hillary would cry over the choucroute at Gugelhof? I almost did.

4. I forgot to bring my camera and my phone charger, so I couldn't take photos of any of the abovementioned things. Sorry. Couldn't get photos until the last 3 days of the trip when they found me a charger, so I could at least take photos with my phone...

Bandol Sur Mer
Torstr. 167
Mitte
+49 30 673 020 51

Gugelhof
Knaackstr. 37 (corner Kollwitzplatz)
Prenzlauer Berg
+49 30 442 92 29