Berlin: A Local Favourite @ Hacketals, Gaststätte

Germany is a country known for its beer, football, precision engineering and really tall people.  But there is more to Germany than what meets the eyes.  A rich cultural heritage paired with modern influence has resulted in a diverse European landscape.  In the next few posts, I re-visit the sights and feeds that made me love this systematic country.
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My first night in Germany was at Berlin and I kicked off with a traditional German meal at a family owned gastro-pub called the Hackethal`s in Gaststätte.  Its small sitting area means its slight cramped, and its location was rather secluded made it hard to find.  However, the promise of a good meal was all the mattered to me.  The staff speaks English and ordering was a bliss.  But as they were understaffed, the service was also slow but bearable.  At this point, the food had to be really good.

Veal Schnitzel - Crisp, well battered and fried golden brown. A faultless classic! But wait? Was this German?

Eisbein - Smokey ham hock cooked till tender and served with mash and sauerkraut.  Likeable but the amount of skin and fat on there means it was quite literally not worth the buck!

Bratwurst - Much skinnier and longer than I expected.  Each bite is a sensation of meatiness that speaks homemade.  Not juicy bites filled with creamy-lardy flesh.  It was nice but was it the ideal sausage?  Not quite unfortunately!

rote Grütze or simply red berries with custard is a Berlin classic.  Its taste was a reminisce of a childhood imagination from the cartoon classics!  Cooked berries doused with generous amounts of custard.  Really simple and hearty. 

The result? I found the food was decent but it did not really hit the sweet spot I was looking for.  The imagine imprinted in my mind was one of crispy skin knuckles, jumbo size meaty bratwursts and pretzels.  In saying that though, the food was inviting and would I come back?  Most definitely only if I am in the area because Hackethals is quite secluded!  But would I go for the Eisbein?  Definitely no.  However, with so much more on offer at Hackethal, I am pretty sure that there is something that would tickle my fancy better!

WenY

London: The full Monty @ the Breakfast Club, Hoxton

On every trip I go to,  the morning before fly out always goes in a flash.  By the time I get on the plane, settle in and finally arrived at my home destination, more often than not I feel as though I have just ran a marathon.  Whether its that shitty budget airline Easyjet or the 1 hour train ride from the airport to my apartment, I always end up feeling pretty spent and dinner-less.  So on my last day in London it was time to build the reserves.  This time, I was at the Breakfast Club in Hoxton.

The venue serves the American/English for breakfast in an pub-styled cafe with familiar music in the background.  To start up the morning (which I woke up feeling super hungry), was a Peanut Butter Milkshake.

Good old Peanut Butter Milkshake £5.  Just the month before when Shake Shack in Convent Garden ran out of their special “peanut butter” for my shake, I left London feeling defeated. So when the Breakfast Club had it on their menu, I was sold.  The milkshake was spot on when it came to its consistency.  Unfortunately the sweet-salty balance was hanging a little on the sweet side.  I needed perhaps one more generous scoop of peanut butter. A satisfying drink nonetheless.

The full Monty w/ fried eggs  £11

Its all your usual suspects gathering on a plate this morning.  You have the toast, eggs, crisp bacon, meaty sausages, sauteed shrooms, pan fried potatoes, beans and of course, baked beans.  The full Monty was hard to go wrong with and yes, nothing went wrong.  The big breakfast was a great morning fuel for a long day but then again, it was also a very average breakfast that you could find anywhere in London but it was something you had to have in London.

The Breakfast Club in Hoxton had no queue when we were there at 9.45am and that is exactly what I look for where possible.  Fuss free diners to kickstart my mornings.  Pair that with good service  and a decent food experience to get the Breakfast Club Hoxton.  The food I had was not the healthiest for sure but it was rather comforting.  However, comforting while good can also be bad when you eat what I eat.  In this case, it was safe to say that the only thing I will not be doing after the meal was a medical check up.  

WenY

London: Chicken Briyani @ Masala Zone, SOHO

Our cravings for Indian deepened as we finished our breakfast.  As day turned to the night, we finally succumbed to our cravings and decided once more to have an Indian meal.  After a good hour of painstaking search and trying to make bookings, we ended up at a food chain called Masala Zone in SOHO.  Despite coming at 8pm, there was still a queue to be seated which tells a lot about the love affair between the English people and Indian food.  Speaking to the ladies queuing ahead of us, they spoke of how the really enjoyed Masala Zone and found its price to be relatively cheap for London standards.  I was sold. The turnover is quick and it took no longer than 20 minutes to clear the crowd of 15 people in front of us.

Tonight, the whole table ordered Chicken Briyani with a Curry Vegetable to share.

The Chicken Briyani (£12.50)

The meticulously cooked grains of rice with perfectly spiced chicken curry was lovely to look at.  Served with two little “bowls” of sauces, I was ready to dig in.  Masala Zone’s approach to the traditional Briyani was different as the curry chicken was not mixed in consistently through the rice.  But flavour wise, the curry definitely had the right heat, spices and seasoning to match.  However, one thing I would definitely put forward is that the Chicken Briyani definitely did not fill me up!  It was small as lol.  Its rare that I say food serves are small and this is one of those instances.

The curry vegetable (£10) 

This dish was decent, but the sauce could be richer.  It felt as though the vegetables were bleeding its liquid into the sauce.  In essence, nothing special.

Over all, Masala Zone was a decent Indian experience.  Would I come back on a normal day?  Probably not without a huge craving for Indian food as I have access to amazing Indian food in the Hague, Australia and Malaysia.  The food served to us was not bad and definitely above average.  But the whole experience including Masala Zone’s rather petite serves of food made it rather undesirable.  When I think Indian I am more used to home generous servings where you eat till you drop.  Unfortunately this was not one of those instances.  Also note that my visit to Masala Zone stretches awhile back so the prices indicated might be a little off.

WenY