Foodie Berlin: Bamboo Asian Restaurant in Zehlendorf

Out of all Berlin's neighbourhoods, besides Dahlem, Zehlendorf is one of my favourite destinations where I like to go as often as possible. Its classical architecture and slow life in the middle of the many green areas were one of the top reasons I chosed to relocate to Berlin. There are many restaurants in the area, but many of them Italian style, so when I discovered, at the ground level of a white classical house, Bamboo, on a side street close to the Zehlendorf S-Bahn, I just followed my love for Asian food and took a seat.

It serves Vietnamese-Japanese food, with a smile, although I found the service a bit too slow. But the friendliness can help excusing this downside. The interior is again not their strong point, with so much kitsch for the educated eye and very cheap furniture. It also has a lot of bamboo and many flowers which bring more warm to the ambiance. But this is maybe the disadvatage of the slow service, it gives you too much time to notice inconveniences. 
My first part of the order was simple, but relatively new for my usual menu in an Asian restaurant: An energizing matcha shake and yasai tempura, veggie tempura. The matcha shake was the star of the menu. Made from an apparently easy combination of milk and matcha tea, and some ice, it has the right portioning of matcha with that specific taste that I always love. It is energizing enough to not need to order any coffee or tea. Not even the Vietnamese coffee that I otherwise love so much.

The tempura was tasty, with a lot of Chinese cabbage include, but also cauliflower and other autumn vegetables like tomatoes or eggplant. Moderately fried, without too much oil and accompanied by a good soy sauce it makes you feel full and happy for new discovery tour of Zehlendorf. The seeds of black and white sesame bring even more taste to the plate. The other veggie choice I wanted was yaki veggie, tofu veggie skews with teryaki sauce, but my love for tempura won over.

The second part of the order was the unusual for me Philadelphia rolls: salmon sushi with Philladelphia cheese. As in the case of the tempura, all the ingredients were fresh and good looking, maybe the sushi was too stuffed with so many things and was looking a bit like blown up, but it was tasty and if you ignore the weirdness of the combination, it was really good. Plus, the slices of orange were a good add to the salmon taste so, besides a good meal and additional free wi-fi, I was also offered inspiration for my foodie wanderings.

The prices are moderate, with various lunch offers during the week. It is a great choice for families, as it have enough big tables and spaces as well as an aquarium that can keep children entertained for a couple of minutes. 

Foodie Berlin: Koshary Lux, Oriental Street Food

There is rarely something that can surprise me in terms of food in the Western part of Berlin, but this summer offered me many reasons to think that there are so many things on the move here too. As one day in August I was slowly walking around Savigny Platz, a colourful place with spicy smells caught my eyes and called my foodie curiosity: Koshary Lux on Grolmanstrasse 27. 

In a friendly ambiance with an even friendlier service, here it is served 'Oriental Street Food', trying to mix the shuk - market traditions - from Marrakesh, Beiruth, Algier or Cairo. The menu has one of success dishes on Friday evening - the Moroccan carot salad (with chilli and cumin), dates salad with goat cheese and celery, walnuts and baby spinach, meaty sandwiches and tomato soup. Many choices for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. For the beginning, I ordered a fresh Egyptian lime lemonade with mint that was so fresh and delicious - moderately sugarly - that I wanted one more time and the recipe too. Do not expect shawarma or falafel or humus and it is good this way.

The portions are available in both small and big portions, offered at affordable prices. Although hungry, the Koshary mix fed me enough although if not that spicy - introduced to me as moderately - I would have been tempted for one more try. It has lentils, rice and maccaroni with tangy tomato sauce, topped with caramelized onions, chickpeas and a pistachio-spice blend. Brought in a very simple metal bowl it has an interesting mixture of tastes and aromas that makes you think to busy shuks and unknown worlds.

For the end of my short first stay, I took a dessert too: a muhallabiya - milk pudding with rose water sirup, almonds and pistachios. A natural sweetness of the pudding meeting successfully the springles pistachios and almonds which offer a good balance. 

This order was enough to open the appetite for more. Maby they introduced some more meals for the autumn season. If not, still there are some things on the menu that would love to test anyway. 

Korean Food Stories at Gong Gan

I am an admirer of the fine selection of Asian restaurants from the Western side of the city, especially Kantstrasse, but when it comes to genuine Korean restaurant I was told to rather go on the other side of the Berlin. And, as usual, I take the recommendations of my friends very seriously, but for various reasons, I delayed with putting it into pratice. Only the rain and hunger brought me a couple of days ago at one of the outdoor wooden lego-like tables of the Gong Gan restaurant on Schwedter Str. 2. 

The menu choices are relatively limited with medium prices. It has a breakfast option for around 6 EUR. which includes various European toasts. 

Too late for a toast, I wanted to seriously start the investigation of the state of the art of the Korean food in Berlin with something original. Like the famous Bibimbap, that was brought to me relatively fast, but with metal chopsticks which is not necessarily my choice no.1 in hygienic terms. Warned to 'mix up' the content, I had a look at the ingredients: rice, tofu, shreds of carrots, finely sliced onions, salad, hot sauce, some crest, ruccola (ingredient which I bet is not part of the original recipe). It went out good, with the green leaves balancing the hotness of the sauce. The original bibimbap also has an egg on the top, and various sorts of bean pasta too, and used to be served on the eve of the lunar new year as a mixture of all the leftover found in the house. It is mostly known in the meaty variant. The overall impression was good and healty, but not unforgettable.

What left unforgettable memories to my palate was the gree hot macha tea. Original green tea, served moderatelly hot, sugarless and with that original taste that I only remember from my genuine foodie Japanese adventures. Most probably, from now on I will look for a long time for this taste. 

Design-wise, the place looks from inside as a crowded antiquities shop, but looking for my outdoor bench seems like an interesting place to explore. There is also a lego corner, where I assume is enjoyable for everyone's inner child. The ambiance was pleasant, with nice service and jazz musical background from the 1920s. 

Gong Gan is open daily between 9 and 19 from Monday to Thursday and between 9 and 22 from Friday to Saturday. Although not sure if I will be back soon, at least this restaurant opened the series of what I hope to be many other tasty reviews of Korean food in Berlin.

Foodie Berlin: Lemon Leaf Indochine cuisine in Friedrichshain

If I want a genuine Indochinese menu, it is very easy to find a good restaurant in France, but till now never was desperate enough to have a look at the German offer. I did not see too many restaurants with such an offer either. When one week ago I finished some meetings in Friedrichshain and was left with a bit more time for myself and seen the Lemon Leef inviting menu, I decided - after another tour of the streets around and some deep thinking about what I really want to eat - to give it a try. 

There are outside tables the type you will find in any beergarden, the best place to observe the coming and going in Friedrichshain, but the indoors is decorated pleasantly, with many colours and colourful umbrellas. Everything looks clean, with the toilets modestely clean. If you are on your own, you can find some newspapers and reviews to fill your time while waiting. As each of the dishes is prepared in the wok, the guests are warned to be ready to wait a bit longer. 

However, take this mention as a sample of good Asian politeness, as I did not feel that I had to wait more than 15 minutes, and the drinks are usually brought within minutes. My drinking choice for a hot day was Mekong River, home made ice tea with fresh limes and brown sugar and as requested, many ice cubes: slightly aromated and refreshing enough to make me forget about my usual choice of Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk.  

Not a bit soup fan, but this time, really wanted something completely different and ordered Canh Khoai Mon: taro coconut milk with chilli, celery, zucchini, leak, coriander and roasted peanuts. Served and preferably eaten hot, it is unexpectedly sweet, with some spicey balances brought by the chilli and beautified by the coriander smell and aromas. After more spoons, you will discover how spicey it can be. Indochinese cuisine summarizes the Laos and Cambodian food, which usually keeps up with the rich vegetable menu of the Vietnamese, to which many spices are added. 

I got to know the real strength of spices in my next meal: Phad Indochne. A rice noodles dish, with eggs, curry, Cambodian green onions, tofu, chillies, pak choi, soy bean sprouts, paprika, carrots and cashew nuts. It loooks as an innocent combination but it hot, hot hot. That hot that you may really lose any sense of other specific taste. The solution is just give your full attention to the sprouts and eat them in bunches as a balance to the sauce and chilli. 

The meals do have meat as well, but can be prepared with tofu as well. The prices are moderate and the menu rich enough to give a second try.

Foodie review: Ishin Udon Kobo Restaurant

Out of many Japanese restaurants in Berlin, Ishin sounds and tastes for me the most genuine, not only because the food is affordable and the service is always smiling, but because it looks and offers the same kind of menu that I was used with in Japan. This was available in the case of sushi that I intensively tested and tasted in the last years. But a couple of months ago, a new restaurant was open, serving the famous udon, that is so hard to find in Berlin restaurants in the classical delicious form. 

It Thursday, middle of the day and the business lunch offers is running, but the place is relatively empty. For the weekend, there are other special offers, with children offers included. Compared to the other Ishin restaurants, it is not only open on Sunday but also accepts credit cards. If you are living in America or other big European countries this detail may sound irrelevant, but if you are living in Berlin it matters a lot. 

Design-wise, it seems that this restaurant allowed more interest for creating a special ambiance, with typical Japanese drawings on the wall and half-wooden walls. In addition, the natural green decorations are creating a friendly space complimenting the always smiling and ready to help service. I also liked the pastel mild colours of the Japanese looking dishware I was served in.

Shortly after taking my order, the Japanese lady brought me a mug of cold mugicha tea, a coffeine free roasted grain based infusion. Popular not only in Japan, China and Korea, but also in the UK it seems to change the taste depending of the accompanying bits of food I had before. They do not use the green tea refill system from the other restaurants, but this cup is refreshing enough for not wanting another one. 

Shortly after ordering, my meals are coming. First, the pumpkin croquettes of Korokke, oil-free and with the fresh sweet taste of pumpkin, with a good freshness added by the salad leaves. The plum based sauce makes the pumpkin taste, with a bread consistency, more fruity. I savored it bit by bit, as every time I was expecting to find something new or extraordinary. Nothing happened by far but the gourmet experience was good. 

Then, the star of the meal arrived: the udon soup, with Japanese scallions, shiitake mushrooms, radiches and fish. To be eaten by using the chopsticks - for the udon noodles and the other ingredients and with the big spoon for the liquid. If you want to do it native way, don't forget to sip the noodles as noisous as possible. 'People don't do it like this here' noticed the Japanese lady serving me and I acquiesce, but to be honest I am reluctant to do it myself. Ok, I did it once, but shortly thereafter I was looking around embarassed. No social risks, everyone was looking either in their smart phone or in their bowl of udon so no danger of being disqualified. 

As for the content of my soup, I was delighted to rediscover the original taste of udon, with the fresh pasta and delicate composure of the noodles that finely goes together with the other ingredients. Not too spicey and not too tasteless, that balance that helps us to go successfully through days and life. 

When it was about time to leave, I realized how much I missed the good old udon and how keen I am to return there as soon as I will be again in this part of Mitte.

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: Nea Knosso

I am rarely eating Greek food, but given my love for cheese, once in a while I feel the need to have the delicious experience of the special milk-based products from this country. Greece's culinary diversity made it for a long food story in itself with each area sharing a specific menu. Thus, the curious foodie can taste more regions at once, just on one big plate. A couple of days ago, I set for a Cretan cuisine meal, at the Nea Knosso restaurant in the Western part of Berlin, on Güntzelstraße 48. It is very close from Spichernstrasse U-Bahn or around 15 minutes of walking from Fehrbelliner Platz U-Bahn. 

I arrived at the lunch time, and the tables covered by the Greek classical squared-black and white- patterned table covers were ready for customers. The menu was brought fast and so was the meal. Only taking a decision was not easy, with so many offers of souvlakis, halvas, honey Greek yoghurt or gyros. I decided a classical plate Feta Fournou, with goat cheese, tomatoes, olives, pepperoni, with some healthy drops of classical Cretan olive oil. A heavy combination, maybe a bit salty too, but the vegetables and the olive oil succeeded to cut shortly the over-saturation of the cheese. 

The ambiance was pleasant, a classical Greek quietness and relaxation, and very low sound Greek disco music.

In order to keep the visitor's brain entertained, napkins with basic Greek words translated into German were brought. As a did some Modern Greek classes back in my university years, it was nice to remember some words and think that maybe when will have more time will try to start learning the language again. 

The interior design is of a classical Greek taverna, with lots of classical landscape paintings on the wall, not all of them the perfect classical taste, but colourful enough to make you feel the easy going life. The prices are acceptable, with regular lunch offers.

The rich menu and the many interesting local Cretan meals are definitely call me back soon, and who knows, maybe I will finally be able to come back soon to Greece for a serious country exploration. 

Foodie Berlin: Persepolis, probably the best Persian food in town

There is no secret that I love very much the Persian food, and although I took some cooking classes trying to learn its secrets, I am still (very) far away from preparing completely on my own a full delicious successful menu. For people like me, there are restaurants that could offer me not only inspiration, but also a traditional good meal. Recently, I had a long evening stop at Persepolis, situated mid-way to U-Bahn stations Nollendorfplatz and Kurfurstenstrasse. The place has many big tables, and also a separate place for smokers so theoretically you don't need a reservation in advance. The menu, extended on a couple of pages, is traditional, with an addition of Shiraz wines - but from California. The service is very fast and welcoming, ready to help you with information in case you don't know what you can expect on your dish.

As a started, it was not difficult to make a choice: dolmah berg, stuffed grape leaves with rice and herbs, on a plate with cucumber pickles, fresh tomatoes and olives covered in spices. Tasted together, it was an aromated combination, with fresh taste brought by the tomatoes at the room temperature, but found the stuffed grape leaves a bit too sour. 

Luckily, I was able to cut the sourness with the help of the special yoghurt brought from the house. And it was not the usual plain yoghurt, but with added spices, pistachio and raisins. The flat bread was brought a bit warm, a very inspired choice. Dipping the dolmah into the yoghurt and tasting every bit with the force of all senses was a pleasant hobby for the following minutes.

As a drink, I decided for a very unusual saffron tea, which kept the perfume of my favourite spice, but with a very neutral taste, a good help for my next meal choice. The very quiet traditional music and the colourful walls, representing various historical episodes created a quiet ambiance for continuing the late dinner.

The traditional Persian cuisine uses a lot of meat, including lamb, but I was set for something exclusively vegetarian. One of my big disappointments in the kitchen by now is the failure to prepare a genuine Persian rice and thus, every time I am in a Persian restaurant, I know I should order it just hoping that by tasting it the knowledge of preparing it can be also transmitted. 

This time, my choice was very generous and complex: green peek, saffron, raisins, onions, dates, on a bed of spicy tomato sauce and fried slices of eggplant. The oil was there too, although in moderate proportions. The diversity of tasted and the switch between sweet - or very sweet in the case of dates - and salty - like for the eggplant was sometimes surprising. When everything was too sweet, I had the spiced tomatoes to cut it. When I wanted something more nutritious, I had the peek. 

But the portion was anyway huge - so no sweets this time for me - but was offered the possibility to take away the rests, for more enjoyment of the secrets of the Persian rice. Take-away is also possible for full menus at Persepolis. 

With so many delicious moments spent there, I left trying to figure out when I will be able to offer myself another pleasant Persian meal. Most probably, a new review will come up soon!

Foodie Berlin: Nusantara Indonesian restaurant

Berlin charmed me, among many other things, with the diversity of its restaurants. When not possible to travel, only a short trip around the corner will reveal some country whose cuisine I never tried before. Like, for instance, the Indonesian one. During some long explorations of Moabit - post coming up very soon - I spotted a green patch of colour on Turmstrasse and some pictures of big dishes and promise to come back as soon as possible for a luxurious lunch. Nusantara means archipelago in old Javanese and the name sends a lot of spicy waves in my imagination. Arrived around lunch time, the place was quite busy, but decided to take a seat outside, on some camping big chairs, too big to be comfy. Everything looked a bit unkept and a bit dirty, but the service, although slow, was friendly and welcoming and ready to bring without additional costs a new dish if the wrong one was brought by mistake. 

I started my Indonesian culinary trip with an Es teh, fresh Indonesian ice tea, with an aromatic smell and taste, sweetened with white sugar and brought with big ice cubes. 

Indonesian coffee is famous, and tried it several times. It's a bit sprinkling, sour stronger and goes very well with lemon cakes. While waiting for my meals, I was sipping my Kopi Jahe, a special ginger coffee that I instantly liked it, and which is very perfumed too. Although it can be drink with milk too, I preferred the raw strong version. 

Finally, it was about time to have my first impression of Indonesian food. Out of a long list of menu - in English and German - without too many hints about the ingredients, I went for two. The first was Tempe Mendoan. Tempe means fermented soybeans. It was accompanied by a very creamy peanut sauce. It looked and tasted very meaty, although not deeply fried. The peanut sauce was taking all the possible tastes around and thus, did not left anything for any other special flavours. 

The main star of my Indonesian lunch was Gado Gado: a combination of various veggies, eggs, cubes of peanuts with sesame seeds and broccoli. As in the previous case, the peanut taste took all the other special tastes. The balance was brought surprisingly by the soy sprouts. 

The prices are more than affordable.

I left the restaurant moving slowly as a penguin, and with some new hints about an unknown cuisine. Maybe I did not get the best samples of food, but at least if it will be a next time, I will make my homeworks better and will know for sure what specific meal would love to taste first and foremost.

Foodie Berlin: Hanage Okonomiyaki

Shortly after the long summer vacation of wandering in Europe, I was told that a new Japanese restaurant was opened in Berlin. Longing for a long time for some original Japanese food and ambiance, I almost run there to discover the place on my own and since then, I've been at least two more times. Hanage Okonomiyaki is situated on Pappelallee 19, near the corner with Raumerstrasse, in a foodie area in the Eastern side of Berlin. The website is not very helpful, except for the directions and some suggestions of the menu, but the restaurant is just at the beginning and many already heard about it from word-of-mouth or other online media reviews. 

The personnel is very welcoming, Japanese style, with German and English and, of course, Japanese used regularly. The menu is also bilingual which helps a lot the diverse audience that I spotted during the various visits to the place. Another advantage of the menu is that it lists the ingredients which may help a lot those not familiar with the various Japanese names.

Especially late in the afternoons, the place can be quite crowded and previous reservations are recommended. I tested both the outdoors and indoors and rather preferred to stay inside, where I was also able to spy the fast movements of the Japanese chef beyond the transparent walls of the small kitchen counter.  

Many of the Japanese products I can hardly find in Europe are on their menu and this is a very good news. For instance, the Pokka green tea, serving brewed cold tea in the bottle. 

My pleasant addiction is the homemade ginger lemon tea, a bit surprisingly spicy, delicately perfumed and very fresh. It keeps a good company to the salty foods. The list of drinks on the menu includes Kirin beer, cider, Ozekihana Awaka Sake and other traditional beverages, mostly alcoholic.

Indoors, there are alternative long wooden tables with 'normal' chairs and a typical Japanese corner, with tatami where one stays without shoes. The orders are made directly at the counter, but it doesn't take too long till you have them on your table. The furniture is simple and everything looks small and crowded, the original Japanese space feeling after all. Unfortunately, it does not have wlan, but the food gives enough inspiration to survive a short Internet detox, at least during the lunch break.

The bowl of edamame was a bit of a disappointment - till now, Ishin is still the best in terms of proper preparation and good balance between quantity and price - as there were a bit too salty and not very well boiled. 

My disappointment was immediately forgotten after having the first bit of my onigiri tamago (mouth watering while writing): corn taste, moderately salted, with warm special rice. Ate it every little bit at once, savouring the combination of flavours.

The biggest hit of the restaurant is the famous okonomiyaki, a typical savory pancake with shredded cabbage, and sauce topic. Mine had a strong cheese taste, matched by the sweet cabbage and corn and spiced by the BBQ sauce. In Japanese 'okonomi' means 'what you want/like', while 'yaki' means 'grilled'. The menu has three different sorts of okonomiyaki that can't wait to test and maybe learn how to prepare too, hopefully soon.

In the usual Japanese ironical note, the restrooms are small enough - but not musical like the ones in their mother -country - with some funny insights that are giving some basic directions without in an universal language. 

After so many searches, I finally found an original Japanese corner in Berlin too, serving not only the stereotypical sushi, but genuine Japanese meals that you hardly heard about in Europe but once you discover, you would instantly fell in love with.
All being said, it is about time to plan a new foodie adventure at Hanage Okonomiyaki.