Stef had another suggestion about eating out in Neukoln, yet another part of Berlin I was yet to venture to. Just a little bit south of Kreuzberg, it’s supposed to be a bit edgier, and a little bit less developed. Based on his reading, he suggested we try this place called Jimmy Woo, a Laotian restaurant.

Fortunately Stef thought to book ahead, and it proved to be a good decision with plenty of people coming and going throughout the evening, even as we departed after finishing our meal. It seemed like plenty of local people as well, so that’s always a good sign (even if they’re not exactly going to be experts on Laotian food).

Lao, being very close to Thailand shares a very similar style of cooking, so expect similar dishes though not exclusively the same Thai dishes. Our mixed appetisers make a good example with things like chicken satay, prawn balls, prawn crackers, vegetable spring rolls served with four different dipping sauces.

I ordered the Pad Lao (think of Pad Thai), so rice noodles stir fried with a number of other ingredients. They lavished mixed in some fried onions giving that perfectly crisp texture with each mouthful and I added plenty of spicy chilli flakes they had at the table. I like how I could add as much chilli as I wanted to this, rather sweet derivation. Spice doesn’t seem to sit well with the German palette, with our waitress checking to make sure our dish wasn’t too hot.

Stef reported his duck curry had plenty of kick and Alex opted for a sweet sour dish whose sourness might be the only thing capable of raising a slight sweat. Both dishes went down a treat. I would make sure on ordering to tell them to not hold back on the chilli.

The interior was pretty cosy with tables much closer together than many other Berlin restaurants I’ve eaten in. However the whole place is worth coming to just for the decorations adorning the room.

Name: Jimmy Woo
Found at: Friedelstraße 24, 12047 Berlin (nearest UBahn Schönleinstraße)
Website: http://www.jimmy-woo.de/