Knuckle. Sausage. Beer. (1)

Pork knuckles, sausages and beer.

All three of the above, you could have guessed where I have been for the past week.

Everyone that I have asked, who has been to that country, said that I must try sausages, pork knuckles and beer there!

The beautiful country of Germany! We visited Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne during this trip. All three cities are very beautiful and unique with their own characteristics and identities.

However, all three cities offer very similar food with the common ones being the various '-wurst' (sausages), beers and pork knuckles.

In all German cities you go to, you will most definitely find shops or cafe selling various kinds of breads with different fillings. 

I am going to introduce the food we tried according to the cities we visited. 

Berlin:

Cafe-shop

The above photo shows a shop selling breads and wine in Berlin, called Lindner, situated right outside a shopping arcade in Postdamer Platz. This shop looks more posh compared to other shops selling similar products, therefore pricier, although the food is worth every euro we spent.

The above photo shows our daily breakfast or lunch consisting of bread filled with salami, lettuce, boiled egg and sun-dried tomato. In some days we also had different types of breads with different fillings! Very lovely and crunchy bread with very healthy fillings that included lots and lots of vegetables!

I noticed from several travel guidebooks about Germany that most of the restaurants there offer international food. I could not believe it until I saw it for myself when we arrived in Berlin!

We found a place called Asian Snack in Alexanderplatz train station and decided to have a quick dinner there as it was getting late, and more importantly, we were very hungry!

Vietnamese style deep fried duck with noodles

The deep fried duck was absolutely delicious. Perfectly deep fried producing very crispy skin and juicy meat! Not bad at all for a snack bar and I must commend the generous portion they serve!

Sesame Pork Rice

The sesame pork rice was also nicely cooked and tasted very homely! A very balanced diet with pork meat, long beans, green vegetable, bamboo shoots and some mushrooms, very nice served with lovely rice.


For lunch the next day, we decided to search for this particular restaurant recommended by DK's travel guidebook to Germany. The book recommended this restaurant for its traditional German dishes in a nice atmosphere.

We walked several blocks in search of it, and believe me, do not always trust what the book recommends!

Grilled fish with potatoes

First of all, the fish I ordered was very expensive and very over-cooked! The fish meat was so soft that it crumbled as soon as the fork touched it, moreover, the fried bacon on top was way too salty!

Californian pineapple chicken rice

Secondly, does Californian pineapple chicken rice sound German to you? Even though this dish was served with asparagus soup and were not that expensive as it was part of a 3-course lunch offer, I was expecting better value for money!

So, lesson learnt - do not always trust the guidebooks and go where the local goes. (Hint: when you see lots of local people in the restaurant, get in there!)


However, all was not lost when we found this lovely pub-restaurant by the River Spree (where we saw many locals!).

German  Beer and Spirit

The refreshing beer and strong spirit came with the boiled pork knuckle dish! Looking at the thick layer of fatty skin, I guess that's why they included the spirit in the meal.

Boiled pork knuckle, Berlin style, only found in Berlin. The knuckle had quite a heavy 'porky' taste as it was boiled, hence dollops of mustard sauce was served with it. Quite a nice dish!

Boiled Pork Knuckle

The first sausage that I had in Berlin was a Currywurst - sausage with curry ketchup, in a bun. Very delicious, so delicious that I forgotten to take a photo!

In the photo below, was the traditional Bratwurst with sauerkraut and potatoes I ordered at the pub. A rather delightful meal with tasty sausage, nice soft potatoes and perfectly pickled sauerkraut!

Bratwurst

Because we had so much meat, we decided to be a bit healthier and went to the supermarket to buy some yoghurt! What better brand to buy if not German's very own Muller yoghurt? We can get Muller yoghurt in the UK, but I must say, there are more varieties and flavours of Muller's in Germany and they do taste much better!

Muller Strawberry Yoghurt

Muller Hazelnut Yoghurt

Yoghurt is readily available in most supermarkets. Different brands, flavours and types of yoghurt can be found there!

We found this very nice and fragrant hazelnut flavoured yoghurt which tasted almost like you were having hazelnut chocolate!

Muller Passion Fruit and Mango Yoghurt

We also had these yoghurt with passion fruit or mango jelly on top and they tasted very refreshing when mixed together!

Not a very good start with food in Berlin, but it did become better and better.


Next stop, Frankfurt am Main - German financial district.

As soon as we exited Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (train station), we walked right into the Thursday market on a street not far away. We checked into our hotel then made a beeline to the store selling bratwurst and currywurst!

I suppose not all sausages in German are nice?! We bought a chicken and a pork sausage and they both had a very strong 'porky' taste to it! Maybe it was the way these sausages were processed or they just lacked proper sauces?!

After that experience, we decided to play it a little bit safer and went into another local pub next to our hotel.

Pork Escalope with various mushrooms

The pork escalope cooked with a sauce made of many types of mushrooms was absolutely delicious! The meat was cooked just nice and tender and of course the skinny fries were very crispy and delicious!

Grilled pork knuckle

And of course we ordered a pork knuckle, and this time it was grilled. Grilled pork knuckle is even more delicious than the boiled one we had in Berlin! It was filled with flavours and went really well with the sauerkraut and mashed potatoes!

Yes, oh yes, we went to another Asian restaurant. This one in Frankfurt is opened by a Malaysian! So we thought we would give it a try since we felt we had too much meat (pork)!

Thai Iced Lemon Tea

I thought that the Thai iced lemon tea was worth a mention as it was really refreshing and very authentic, just like the one we have back in Asia!

Cantonese style fried meehoon

The Cantonese style fried meehoon was very tasty and had my favourite roasted pork belly! Nicely done with lots of shredded vegetables and prawns. Thumbs up for authentic Asian food in Frankfurt!

Wantan and fishball soup

We also had the wantan and home-made fish balls noodle soup. The fish balls were really well made and chewy although we would have like a bit more of them in the bowl!

Sweet potato dessert

The complimentary sweet potato dessert with coconut milk was really nice. Therefore a very nice end to a meal!

Below are several more examples of German bakery we had during our trip in Frankfurt. All delicious and healthy, just nice for lunch!

Chicken nugget in bread

Football Bun

Pork rib meat in bun

On the bus tour, the audio guide mentioned a local speciality namely the apple wine. This alcohol beverage has a lower tax than other alcohol beverages at is was more popular due to its lower caloric count compared to other drinks.  It tastes like a lighter version of normal beers and was supposed to taste sweeter after your first glass.

Apple wine

Before we headed to Cologne, we had to give the Frankfurt sausage another go, and this time, we were not disappointed!

Bratwurst

The bratwurst (sausage) we ordered was indeed like the frankfurters you can find in the supermarkets in the UK! Very nice with a big dollop of tomato ketchup.

Frankfurters?

Off to Cologne, the fourth largest city in Germany. (In Part 2)