MarktHalle

Patrick Berlin, German, Restaurants

Apparently an institution in Berlin for a place that does very traditional German food, Chris recommended this place over Max and Moritz as its apparently filled with more locals than tourists. We came here in a fairly nice day, so all the tables were unfortunately taken. Inside, the interior is bright and airy so it looks just as good, but we couldn’t enjoy the sunshine as a result.

I can’t really remember what else was on the menu, but seeing as it was still in the heart of asparagus season, and Beelitzer Spargel (asparagus) was all the range, who was I to argue. I ordered the schnitzel with 400g of the big beasts.

Of course, like any good place, they served some awesome great beers, and I got to indulge in Schwartzbeir (black beer) along with my food. Mmm.

The schnitzel was well cooked and accompanied by a hollandaise sauce, particularly decadent (not the dish to have every night). More than the that, you can see the giant asparagus spears and they were the true stars of this dish. Flavoursome, and just cooked so they still had some texture. Delicious. I’ll have to come back and try a few other places.

Name: Weltrestaurant-Markthalle
Found at: Pücklerstrasse 34, 10997 Berlin- Kreuzberg
Website: http://www.weltrestaurant-markthalle.de/

The Modern Pantry Visits Meza

Patrick Asian, British, Restaurants, UK

I’m very behind the times on this particular post. As you can tell from the photo below, the date of this is well out of date. In fact, it’s so late that someone else is already cooking at Meza. Fortunately we were able to get a booking for The Modern Pantry on a Saturday night there. Not only is a crazy busy place normally, but the restaurant is also very popular so combine the two and you get some good things happening.

Of course they do their normal menu, but the best value part of this short-lived pop up is the tasting menu that lets you explore a vastly unusual yet excellently delivered set of ingredients.

As you can see, we arrived quite early for our booking. We were far away enough from the bar (this is a good thing) as it started to get extremely busy later on as people arrived just for drinks, and we didn’t exactly feel like putting on a show for people just by sitting on one of the edge tables. Not our sort of thing.

At the time, the New Zealand earthquake had occurred so it was nice to see them collecting money for them, instead of the usual charity places like this might give to. It’s great they had a little placard describing where the money was going as well.

As I mentioned earlier, it started getting much busier, and they even had a DJ set up not far from the other bar (pictured below).

You’ll have to forgive the lack of detail in these posts. I am writing this almost two or three months later and I neglected to take a very good shot of the menu. These were the beetroot fritters. I remember it being mixed with some Indian-style spices and a refreshing topping of yogurt on top. Hot and cold and a great way to start.

Next up, a fresh Ceviche of sorts. Strong yuzu flavours (my favourite citrus fruit) bringing its gloriously sharp zing to the dish. I remember this having little bits of roe on top, although I remember not really enjoying the texture mixed up with all the others. It would have been perfect without this additionally decadent ingredient.

If you dine at their real restaurant, you must have this dish, a self preserved prawn omelette with spicy chilli paste. Not as large as their normal portion (it was a tasting menu of course) but just as addictive.

Next up, some snails although I can’t really remember how they served it. Not particularly offensive, nor memorable.

They soon delivered the roast pollock with a lot of accompanying seafood, some greens and strongly flavoured chorizo.

Next came the pork belly with sweet potato mash, a little bit of a disappointment to be honest. Not only was the piece rather tough and chewy, they managed to sear the top of the skin to crisp (almost burn!) but the rest stayed fatty. Probably the least impressive of the evening .

Finally on to dessert. A perfect finish with a cinder toffee affogato, sweet smoky, and the perfect hot cold sensations of mixing liquid and cream.

They almost forgot to serve the chocolate truffles although we probably didn’t need much more food at this point.

A really great dining experience and from memory, pretty good value for this many courses at just over £60 without drinks. I love the food they serve at the Modern Pantry and although not all the dishes excelled, many of them did and the experience was worth the wait.

Hartmanns

Patrick Berlin, German, Michelin Starred, Restaurants

Before Stef left our project, we decided to hit one of Berlin’s handful of Michelin-starred restaurants. Opting for the one located in one of our most favourite neighbourhoods, Kreuzburg, a number of other people couldn’t believe a Michelin-starred restaurant could exist in the neighbourhood that invited the Döner Kebab.

Everything started off wonderfully – we were shown to our tables before being offered the menu choice and an aperitif to start. The menu errs a bit more on the slightly causal side of a restaurant, though I will note that service was extremely good throughout. Our menu differed slightly from the what was on the website, a good indicator the menu changes based on availability of ingredients.

We opted for the 5 course tasting menu and instead of the matching wines, opted for two different types of bottle of wines to share for the rest of the meal.

Shortly after deciding, a small amuse bouche arrived, fishcake with fresh apple and mango sauce (or at least I think it was – my memory is getting worse as times passes). I remember everyone being very impressed by the starter – fresh ingredients, delicate textures and a strong balance of flavours that worked remarkably.

We also got two types of bread – nothing particularly to write home about, but both came along with two different spreads – a tantalising light mayonnaise with garlic and herbs, and the other, fresh cheese curds mixed with some sort of green herb. Dare I say waldmeister (woodruff) that Germans seem to enjoy.

Here’s a picture of the Poached Saint Pierre in laurel milk with calameretti, confit tomato and dry olives. I can’t really comment on the dish since I didn’t order it, but others reported it was very nice. It also came with an ink sauce.

My first dish was the crayfish with eel jelly, baby artichoke, Granny smith and pancetta. For me, this was an amazing dish – the little jelly cube packed with eel flavour, the crisp salty pancetta balancing out sweet crayfish, with neither excessively dominating and apple and a scoop of apple-infused ice cream doing wonders to balance it out. No wonder these guys got an award for great food.

Next up was our Seabass with grilled asparagus, pea and tarragon gnocchis. A hearty piece of piece served with perfectly crisp skin, in season white asparagus (it’s everywhere at the moment), and a hearty handful of the potato pasta infused with the peas and herbs. Another winner.

When our dish of Braised and pan seared venison with brioche dumplings, yellow chanterelles and spinach arrived, we all commented on how wonderful it looked. Not content to have venison one way, we had it twice – but showing off the great flavours. Being a sucker for stewed meats, I particularly savoured the deep flavours developed by the braised version but both tasted amazing. The brioche dumpling also provided a nice textural counterbalance to the dish.

Finally on to our dessert rounds. Up first was the Cheese selection from Maitre Affineur Waltmann. It was a French selection, and although I’m not the biggest fan of cheese for dessert, it impressed everyone else – good selection from strong to soft, and of different textures. They provided more bread at this stage as well.

Here’s a quick picture of the dining room.

And well laid out cutlery throughout the meal.

Our final dessert for the evening, the Baked chocolate with cherry and ice cream made out of sour cream. The cherry came in three forms (fresh, glaced, and then served in a triangle form, effectively a mousse). The sharpness of the cherries naturally provided a great complement to the rich chocolate slice, and more counter balanced by the sour cream ice cream that worked to cleanse the pallette with every mouthful.

Not to be overly done, they also served a dish of petite fours (indeed various cakes, chocolates and bites to delight).

Hartmann’s is gold. Service was particularly great throughout the evening, warm and friendly at the same time without getting in the way. It’s strange location makes it even better. I reckon it’s also one of the best valued restaurants I’ve been to for some time (for the quality of food such as this).

Name: Hartmann’s
Found at: Fichtestrasse 31, Kreuzberg, Berlin 10967
Website: http://www.hartmanns-restaurant.de/

Nom nom nom at Nopi

Patrick Restaurants, UK

Travelling for work gives you only a short amount of time to pick the activities and things you want to do when you do get back into London. Picking which places to go and eat is already a challenge even without the travel – new places constantly open up, and even ones that seem pretty good surprisingly shut down ever so frequently. A few places of recent received some good reviews, and so decided to catch up with a good friend at Nopi – the new eatery set up by famed vegetarian restauranteur Ottolenghi.

Fear not, brave reader. Unlike his other self, named vegetarian outlets, this one serves meat for those that cannot go one meal without it.

This is a restaurant that earns it service. As soon as we arrived, our waitress immediately brought bread to the table. It’s cut fresh from the huge loaves of sourdough that are noticeable as you walk into the entrance.

The menu is clear and simple, with many tempting offers. Fortunately (and unfortunately) they change the menu fairly frequently. One of the very good dishes recommended by others (the beef croquettes) wasn’t on our menu, though pleased to see several others were. Vegetarians will still delight, as their choices sit centre stage along with the meat and the seafood dishes. For me, it’s a bit hard to describe where all the flavours come from. It almost seems a little confused. Mediterranean ingredients, fused with Moroccan spices, uplifted by asiatic spices and sauces.

We had a table close to the door, although well placed so that you’re out of people’s way when they walk in, and you can appreciate the rest of the dining room. The restaurant is modern and airy, though not particularly bright (my photos requiring fairly high ISO levels and definitely needing the image stabilisation). Bonus points to them for not placing tables so close that you’re literally sitting next to people at the next table and the acoustics great so that you’re not having to shout across the table.

An impressive soft napkin surrounded by a large gold ring sits on top of the plate in front of you when you arrive.

Bread served with a great tasting olive oil, and an amazingly delicious roasted beetroot dip. You can see the ginger and the yogurt on top, and I could taste elements of cinnamon and cardamom although we were told it had a “Moroccan spice blend” added to it. Unlike other places, they didn’t have any problem offering more of the soft, chewy and delightfully crunchy crusty bread to mop up the rest of the dip.

Rather than starting with a prosecco, out waitress offered a pineapple martini. Strong in flavour and a great way to clean the palette, these extremely strong cocktails provided a way to start the appetite going.

They recommend three dishes per diner, and highly recommend sharing plates between, so we did as they suggested. This was pretty easy given a number of recommendations from other reviewers. The kitchen and attendants know how to serve their dish with three dishes arriving first and just enough to fill up our table. Any more and the pressure to fill our plates and get through the food faster would have soured the dining experience. We took our time eating these three plates before the next set arrived.

The twice cooked baby chicken was a little bit of a disappointment. I heard mixed reviews when ordering it, and if given the choice again, would have tried something different. Our main problems with this dish turned out how dry the chicken ended up despite its sweet sticky soy glaze. The accompanying seasoned salt and chilli paste, whilst good additions, did little to address the dryness of the meat. This dish definitely had potential but failed when we tried it.

My dining companion appreciated the artichoke dish. Freshly cooked served with crumbled feta, some grains and freshly shucked beans turned out to be a refreshingly balanced dish.

My favourite of our first three dishes was definitely the aubergine. Served with fine slivers of chilli, pomegranate, and grilled before being split and topped with micro greens. Utterly delicious with the good balance of char, heat and sweetness working its magic.

After reading about the pork cheeks, this was one dish I had to have. Pork cheeks are naturally super soft and when they were braised as they came, turned to be one of the softest melting flesh full of flavour. They served it withs some “noodles” made out of celeriac and some other herbs.

I was a bit indifferent about the carpaccio that proved a little bit too light tasting and had a lot of things going for it. I would have preferred something with a bit of a stronger flavour. Nice though.

The other dish I’d definitely order again is the prawns. Served with a richly deep tomato broth, this dish was probably one of the best value for money with four huge prawns in a sauce desperately waiting to be mopped up by more of the sourdough bread (also offered again). It comes in a nifty little pan as well.

Here’s a picture of the prawn although I’m not sure if you get a real sense of how large it is.

Up for desserts, I went for the much raved about pineapple galette served with coconut ice-cream. It’s the perfect tropical balancing act between hot and cold, and the pineapple chunks, perhaps soaked in something with pandan essence used to bridge the two elements of this dish perfectly.

The other dish was a peanut butter brittle chocolate dish, much heavier though chock full of flavour. I only had a small taste of this dish, and what a dish it was.

I’ll say that dining at Nopi isn’t the cheapest dinner you’ll get in London. Our four dishes each, bottled water, 5 cocktails and 2 coffees later averaged about £80 including service. However what a great dining experience it was. Service was exactly how it should be – there when you need it, things topped up and taken away when you’re not. Even though we were booked in for two hours, we did stay a little bit longer and never felt like we were being shooed away. Not all the dishes worked perfectly, but most of the dishes did. Those that did work were pretty spectacular as well.

Name: Nopi
Found at: 21-22 Warwick Street, London W1B 5NE
Website: http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/

Different Dining at La Lavanderia Vecchia

Patrick Berlin, Italian, Restaurants

A work colleague living in Berlin put me onto this great little restaurant that I wouldn’t have found out otherwise. the who. Focused on wholly Italian cuisine, you must walkout through several courtyards before uncovering the place. As one could only imagine in Berlin, the restaurant is themed out as a laundry with tea towels hanging everywhere, and strange memorabilia hanging around the corners.

The menu is short offering great value at only €13 for an entire three course meal. Being small, and printed, I’m guessing that it changes just like any good Italian kitchen should as the season and availability of ingredients change. The format is simple – order at the small counter and then grab a table. Some people grab a table first, and of course, that makes sense considering how popular the place packed out very quickly.

Each table held a large bottle of olive oil, salt and a pepper grinder for those wanting to add extra seasoning to their meal.

Our three course meal started with a fresh bowl of tomato soup, strong in colour and rich in flavour and texture. Fresh, sharp in flavour and quite a hearty sized starter that was a good indicator these people were serious about their food.

We diverged for the main meal, where I opted for the fish, wrapped in prosciutto served with seasonal roasted vegetables. The fish, firm to the touch flaked easily, the vegetables adding the depth and the crisp, saltiness balancing out the entire dish.

My sister was extremely happy with the skirt steak as well, served with some wilted greens and quite a large mount of mashed potatoes. It would have put me to sleep, but it disappeared quickly and I’m guessing that’s not because it tasted bad.

Dessert was a simple pear slice served with fresh cream and sprinkled with demerara sugar. I didn’t really like the slice mainly because it felt like they couldn’t decide between it being a slice, or a steamed pudding and the excessively soft textures didn’t let it win any points.

A unique dining experience and I’d be interested to see how the people and the atmosphere might change in the evening times.

Name: Lavanderia Vecchia
Website: http://www.lavanderiavecchia.de/
Found at: Flughafenstr. 46, D-12053 Berlin

Mystery Dining at Maremoto

Patrick Asian, Berlin, Restaurants

My sister wanted to go along to Maremoto. Yet another one of those interesting places that offer interesting twists using modern cooking techniques made popular by the likes of El Bulli and The Fat Duck. When we tried to book, we found out that the restaurant was actually shut for the winter period (or at least for a short period) although offered an alternative – one where you could do private dinging with the chefs. My sister had organised all of this, and when we went to dinner, I hadn’t realised that what this actually meant was a visit to someone’s apartment where they chefs were preparing the dinner for a very small number of us (four people to be precise).

We found out later that the apartment was actually the friend of one of the chefs, and they had kindly lent it out. I’m not actually going to tell you where it was, although it’s not near to where their current restaurant was. I made that mistake, and we ended up catching a taxi to the restaurant after I didn’t realise that we were eating in a different place.

When we finally arrived at the apartment, the two chefs greeted us. The ratio of chef to diners being 1:2, and we met another couple who’d done this private dining extravaganza before.

Our first course, was something to behold. A stunning journey through tomatoes done many different ways. So many ways that even looking at the picture doesn’t really help me remember. We had a “tomato ravioli” stuffed with ricotta cheese, three different types of tomato seeds accompanied by three different types of salt (volcanic, pink sea salt, and British maldon). There was a “crisp” tomato, and then some sweet tomatoes served with sugar spiral. Almost overwhelming. Almost.

Our next dish would be a freshly cold smoked oyster. Done at the table, the whole experience was simply stunning. Here’s the picture absorbing all the smoke.

And then the unraveling of the oyster. As much as I don’t normally like oysters, this one went down a treat.

Next up was a piece of fish, local to the region and I don’t really remember what it was. Accompanying it was an olive oil ice cream (it’s in the spoon) though I’m not really sure it worked.

It also came with some other stuff that my memory is failing to bring to light. The fish was nicely cooked, firm and flaked well. another pretty good dish executed nicely, though not quite perfect.

Next up, we had a piece of steak. Cooked really rare, accompanied by micro greens, and a miso sauce/soup gel on two different spoons. The beef here literally melted in the mouth, had deep flavours indicating a good hanging, and hopefully a happy cow.

The gel is definitely one of the “modern cooking” techniques chefs love to draw from, and given the beef, miso proved a good choice to add the salty dimension through this unusual vehicle.

Next up, desserts. A tart lime ice cream block, accompanied by a bitter dark chocolate powder and a caramel tuile. A good combination and a good dish on our way to finishing our meal.

We finished with this final dish. We were asked whether or not we wanted it full impact or not, and not really knowing any better went for the full one. Why bother going somewhere and not trying the full experience. My mistake. What arrived looked innocent enough. A raspberry cream, topped with another scoop of ice cream, and what looked like a pepper tuile. What I didn’t realise until it was far too late were the really fresh sichuan peppers that laid around the plate. Sichuan provides an interesting numbing effect to the palate however these were really fresh ones, and, as a result, also have a huge kick to them. Whilst I enjoyed this dish, I definitely struggled as the heat and numbing effect from the fresh peppercorns held my mouth hostage for a while.

The chef, after liberally pouring much wine throughout the meal, and continuously topping up the glasses, then decided to conclude the meal with a moutai. I declined at first because my head was starting to spin, and this thing definitely put me over the edge of a place I really shouldn’t have been. Not that anything bad happened. It just made me extra sleepy on the way home.

I did manage the stairs.

And could still hold the camera still to take this photo. The evening went down really well and I’d love to go back and enjoy more of it.

Name: Maremoto
Website: http://www.maremotoberlin.de/
Found at: This experience, not to be disclosed.

Brunching at Schneeweiss

Patrick Berlin, German, Restaurants

Schneeweiss, literally translated as ‘Snow White’ sits in the heart of Friedrichshain, the more edgy and upcoming part of Berlin. Situated in a neighbourhood with plenty of other cafes and interesting looking bars, it hints at the resentful gentrification settling upon Berlin. It’s clean, white interiors (hence it’s name) provide a stark contrast to those buildings around them.

We went along for their Sunday brunch, where they have a buffet offering pretty much everything on their normal menu, that focuses on atypical Austrian cuisine, although without the wiener schnitzel. Drinks are excluded from the menu, although they offer you a menu so that you can pick.

The restaurant seats large groups, and until I went to the restroom, didn’t really how extensive the entire place would be. I could only imagine how this place might evolve on a late Friday and Saturday night, when the bar area opens up and the back room fills up. This morning probably represented a much more sedate and the average Berlin crowd on a weekend – young hipsters and groups of people catching up. Several people bringing dogs into the restaurant as well (not just the small ones).

Although doing several different types of coffee, the nearest to a reasonable ratio of milk and coffee they offered was the cappuccino. I have learned hard the lesson about ordering a latte macchiato, the drink where Germans let milk dominate the coffee.

They had plenty of stuff on offer on the buffet – many types of salads (half of which contained meat), cold meats and cheese and different types of breads. They even had a whole pretzel stand (the large variety) that seemed popular with the crowd.

Further down stood plenty of micro salads including the many traditional German ones (potato! beetroot!) and good portions that let you try them all without getting too stuffed.

On another table opposite the bar, they offered the hot stuff that included a number of dumplings, some hot stews and some roast pork. I tried a small bowl just to sample them all but was filling up fast.

Germans like their desserts, particularly their “kuchen” (cake) and Schneeweiss offered many including several sweet slices, and other lovely tasting morsels like a creme brulee.

It’s hard not to enjoy the vibe of a restaurant like this. One that is obviously popular with locals (I only heard German speaking tongue). One where you can enjoy the local delights, and take your time doing so.

Name: Schneeweiß
Website: http://www.schneeweiss-berlin.de/
Found at: Simplonstraße 16, 10245 Berlin, Germany

Good Eating at Horvath

Patrick Berlin, German, Restaurants

Horvath owns two restaurants in Berlin, one of which we’d already eaten at for a team outing. This one, more distinguished restaurant is located in the heart of Kreuzberg, by a canal and offers the tastebuds interesting takes on German cuisine.

You have the option of ordering a la carte, or with a variety of set menus. I felt like we could have a three course meal when we went, just not the five or seven course ones also on offer. Frankly I feel like I’ve been eating too much since arriving in Berlin, and with so much variety, there’s always something new to discover.

Their bread offering soon arrived after the offer of an aperitif. LIke many restaurants trying to impress (which they most certainly did!), we had three breads on offer – a black pudding bread (the round one), a pumpkin seed bread, and a hearty sourdough, all perfectly warm and well made.

Two types of spreads accompanied the bread, a plain butter (but pretty good butter with flavour for Germany) and, another mayonnaise concoction, though this time topped with toasted pumpkin seed oil. Yum.

To our surprise, an amuse bouche arrived after our hearty bread, turning the intended three course into a much more filling meal than intended. It wasn’t simply just a bite either, this being a reasonable sized plate, smeared with mashed turnip, earthy mushrooms and brought to life with pickled carrots.

My sister had a vegetarian starter, not that interested in the terraine. I have no idea how it was.

I opted for the “old vienna style beef jelly” that had the perfect combination of textures (soft and crunchy contrasts) with refreshing slices of turnip, sourness of pickled onions and a fresh zing of some sort of vinegar dressing.

We both then went for the “baked spring chicken with a potato cucumber salad”. What arrived was the juiciest, tenderest chicken that seemed like it had been fried with an unbelievably crisp crumb. I guess it was their take on “wienerschnitzel” and I can’t rave about how good it tasted. Each small slice burst with flavour – this was once a happy chicken, or one that grazed on a flavoursome herb diet. As you can see, everything was thought out with the muslin cloth wrapped lemon preventing pips from entering the food.

Like most recipes, the potato salad also burst with flavour – that perfect combination of soft, yet textured potatoes in a delicious dressing.

We finished our course with the apple fritter – and served with a sour cream ice cream provided a delightful finish – the sourness helping bring out the sweetness in the apple. A mound of caramel sat in the middle of the plate, providing yet another type of sweetness that was probably not really needed considering the whole plate had been dusted with icing sugar.

Funnily enough, our meal still wasn’t finished when they brought the bill also bringing along a pumpkinseed truffle. The truffle had a really interesting taste, the oil slightly taking out the richness, though adding another dimension to the dish, almost lengthening the flavours on the tongue.

The restaurant had some really great food and service, and it was such a shame that we couldn’t indulge just that little more. You’ll definitely pay a lot more for the meal compared to other places in Berlin, but the equivalent of this sort of food in Berlin, you’d be paying even more in places outside of Berlin.

Name: Horvath
Website: www.restaurant-horvath.de
Found at: Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44A, 10999 Berlin, Germany

Neu

Patrick Berlin, Restaurants, Steak

One of the many restaurants, on my ever-growing list of places to eat in Berlin was Neu. Selected by Michelin for their Bib Gourmand award, meaning a place with good value, I finally got to try it one evening I was in Berlin. My first attempt failed by attempting to go eat there on an evening they were shut, we walked down through the courtyard, fingers crossed that they would be open.

Surprisingly, they weren’t particularly busy on the evening we went. Admittedly I think it was a fairly dinner by Berlin standards, around 7pm and about one third of the dining tables had been filled by the time we ate and left. Neu’s interior reminded my a lot of Alpenstueck – clean white lines and very modern furnishings. The food soon to follow would reflect that.

My dining companion was in a bit of a rush, so we skipped starters and both succumbed to the tempting steak on the menu. Although we were surprised when an amuse bouche arrived at the table. I can’t remember all the details exactly, however I believe it was a light tomato mousse, served with a crisp bread and freshly chopped tomatoes. Despite being worried about the tartness the tomatoes might have – after all, we weren’t in Italy or Spain of all places, each bite brought a bit of surprise with plenty of flavour and sweetness throughout.

I heartily approve of all of their bread selections. Served with your typical mayonnaise side dressing (people don’t seem to like butter as much here), we had two or three different fresh breads to choose from. Delicious!

Our steak finally arrived, and what a huge dish it proved to be. The steak sat atop a crunchy piece of sourdough bread, smothered with a salty goats cheese layer, topped with a lavish and generously dressed salad and a couple of poached tomatoes on the side. Although slightly fatty, my steak had been perfectly cooked to my rare request and literally melted in my mouth. Let’s just say it didn’t last long.

I really want to come back here and try all the different courses they have to offer. Although not an extensive dinner offering, everything we had they executed perfectly well. I’ll also have to come back here for the breakfast/brunches they do on the weekends.

Name: Cafe Restaurant Neu
Website: http://www.restaurant-neu.de/
Found at: In den Heckmannhöfen, II. Innenhof , Oranienburger Str. 32, 10117 Berlin

Hot Spot

Patrick Asian, Berlin, Restaurants

Apparently good Chinese food is hard to find in Berlin however that doesn’t really stop me from trying to find a good place that serves it. In reading the Berlin & I book in the hotels I’ve stayed at, and some reviews on the net, I set up a dinner outing to Hot Spot. Located on the west side of Germany, we took the U-Bahn all the way over to a new district, and emerged into a completely different looking part of Berlin. Streets seemed wider, and definitely much more gentrified than the area where our work is just now.

Hot Spot is located close to the Adenauerplatz U-Bahn stop, just off a side street from the main street, Kurfürstendamm. There were a few things different about this particular Chinese restaurant. Firstly, they focused not just on classical Chinese (typically Cantonese food), including a number of Hunanese and Szechuan cuisine that tend to be spicier. It’s other interesting difference was a huge wine list, the reflection of the owner’s passion for wines. They had plenty to choose from, many nice organic ones, and many demonstrating the local German varieties. Great to see!

We ordered a small set of starters to share, a numer of main dishes and vegetables that our waitress told us to stop because there may have been too much food. Here’s what we ordered:

Tea Smoked Duck – Wonderfully scented and with flesh that literally fell of the bone. This was highly recommended by some of the blogs I’d read before and definitely didn’t disappoint.

Aubergine – Served with a lovely sauce, everyone marvelled at the succulent flesh extremely tender and addictively good.

Green beans – This is your fairly standard green beans, though extremely well cooked. Crisp on the outside, soft and chewy and slightly charred with the intensity from the wok grill.

Chilli chicken – This was supposed to have three chillis on the menu, and whilst it had some kick, wasn’t the palate numbing, mouth watering variety I had been hoping for. Definitely toned done for German tastes.

Chilli duck – This didn’t fare any better than the chicken in terms of heat levels, though both were still flavoursome dishes.

The extensive menu – Impressive wine list contained in the back.

The service was actually pretty good for a Chinese restaurant although I’m not sure if that’s just because it reflects your average Berlin service. We managed to get by okay considering the waitresses didn’t really speak English very well as we inflicted our slow, and no doubt mangled German on them.

Name: Restaurant HotSpot
Website: http://www.restaurant-hotspot.de/
Found at: Eisenzahnstraße 66, 10709 Berlin, Germany