Foodie Berlin: Chao Pure Vietnam

After my glorius foodie experience at Good Morning, Vietnam, on the Eastern side of the city, I did not find any similar high-appreciation, although I did my best to find. Things changed completely a couple of days ago, when not too hungry, but exhausted after too much walking around Ku'damm and Savigny Platz hunting for subjects, I stumbled upon the newly rebranded and renovated Chao, situated on the already famous fodie avenue of Charlottenburg, at the no. 33 of Kantstrasse. It was around the lunch time, shortly after the opening, at 12 o'clock, in the middle of the week and for more than one hour I was the only guest. The ambiance was relaxing, with some soothing house music in the background, with fast and friendly service and menus written in both English and German.The toilets are not extremely stylish, but very clean. 

 Besides the service, I really apreciated the interior design, with big beautiful pictures from Vietnam, bushes of natural bamboo and small natural flowers and romantic candles on the table. I repeated 'natural' on purpose, to make the difference  with many Asian restaurants where the dusty and kitchy plastic flowers are the queens of the table. The furniture looks a bit unmatched and not that modern, but the glassware looks authentic, with some beige variations and bamboo chopsticks. The prices are moderated and regularly there are special lunch offers.

I started my lavish lunch with a Mekong Mystery drink - a delicate smooth combination of mango, coconut milk and mint. Naturally sweet, creamy and brought cold, made on the spot. The mint brings some sparkling accents, while the mango fits perfectly with the coconut to whom it brings discrete sweetness.

 My favourite choice were the summer rolls, with tofu, coriander and many vermicelli, accompanied by soy sauce. The tasted are coming along together very well, and the light fried tofu makes a difference among the many fresh vegetables and the neutral vermicelli.

Curious to taste as many meals as possible - although there are at least two more choices, plus some tempting desserts that I would love to try a next time - I continued with dau phu sot lac: a mountain of veggies soaked in peanut sauce accompanied by a pyramid of rice. The rice was very good, but somehow found that some of the veggies were not well cooked - the carrots - or not necessarily at their place there - the tomatoes, for instance. The slices of tofu were welcomed, but did not always complement the abundant cooked and fresh vegetables.

At the end of the meal, the traditional cold Vietnamese coffee. The long spoon is for mixing hard the milk and sugar.

The overall impression was good - except the last minutes spent there when I felt some cigarettes smoke coming from the direction of the kitchen and did not enjoy it - with good prices and enough interesting meals on the menu that may bring me back very soon.

Foodie Berlin: Lon Men's Noodle House

When all the foodie options fail or when I am lazy enough to refuse to read any of the many cookbooks resting on the shelves, Kanstrasse is always the best alternative for an affordable tasty dinner or lunch. After a couple of hours of walking in the woods near Teufelsee, we ended up wandering on the above mentioned street for some special yet healthy lunch. Was a kind of sad to notice that I checked almost all the pubs and restaurants on both sides of the streets. Except one: Lon Men's Noodle House, a Taiwanese noodle parlour situated on no. 33. 

Although busy, we succeeded to find some free places outside, courageous enough to cope with the invasion of wasps. There were a couple of places inside too, small traditional tables crowded near pictures from Taiwan or the owner near various personalities that visited the eatery, among which the former chancellor Helmut Kohl. The owners did not invest too much in the interior design, but at least the food is served in Asian-looking bowls which brings a little note of authenticity to the experience. 

I ordered some peanut and sesame noodles, brought relatively fast. The noodles were different of what I tasted before: smooth, consistent, kind of silky, with a special consistency probably given by the eggs. The veggies - fine slices of carrots, cucumber and salad - added a lot of freshness that diminished in a welcoming way the satiety of the peanut sauce. As for the sesame, I did not feel it too much, maybe I should give a new try to this dish for a better understanding of the recipe. 

And even not for the dish, I am still decided to give a new try to this place, just because I am sure it will inspire me for more Asian trips soon!