A Food Lover's Journey...

Confessions of a Food Explorer @ Titisee

Titisee is a large lake, located within the Black Forest. It is about 30-40 minutes by train from Freiburg. This place is not large. It is a perfect starting point for hiking through pine forests. A hike from Titisee to the nearby village called Hinterzarten is quite easy (~5km) and pleasant.

We needed a coffee fix before the hiking trip, so we went to Restaurant Bergsee. This restaurant overlooks the lake and offers different kinds of Black Forest menu. The service was very dissapointing. The terrace was half-full; we waited for 20 minutes for a waiter to visit our table, and after another 20 minutes, a second waiter came to take our order again. Probably worth a try once (they make a fantastic cup of cappuccino...believe me, it was excellent), but only if you can tolerate such a slow and poor service (a 45-minute wait for a cup of coffee!)

We had our dinner at Seehotel Wiesler. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a waiter, who led us to a table overlooking the lake. The restaurant is quite large; the menu features Chef and local specialties, almost all dishes available in full or small portions. I ordered a small portion of Black Forest trout (or Schwarzwälder Forelle), prepared according to Müllerin Art. The side dishes were parsley potatoes and spinach. The fillet was fried in butter, served with lemon and almond flakes. It was crispy outside, and juicy inside. Loved the combination of crispy skinned fillet, almonds and lemon. In short, exceptional service and great food at an affordable price (EUR 15.50)! My Food Score : 4 1/4 stars

Note : Don't forget to grab a mini marmorkuchen from the bakery located at the Titisee train station!

Confessions of a Food Explorer @ Freiburg

Freiburg is a mini Muenster. The city is very lively, trams and bikes are almost everywhere! It is a small university town which offers small stores, cafes, and great food. Bächle (miniature streams) that run along almost every street are something particularly noticeable. Surrounded by nature, the city is filled with friendly people. This is one of my favorite cities in Germany. Some things I learned during my trip in southern regions of Germany, you probably already knew these :

Order a cappuccino with milk. They usually serve "dry cappuccinos"- without hot milk, and topped with foamed milk.
Black forest cake is often prepared with alcohol - Kirschwasser.
Food portions are large sized - suitable for sharing..or you may order a kinder meal!

Here are some cafes and restaurants which I found particularly interesting.

Kolben-Kaffee-Akademie, Kaiser-Joseph-Str. 233, Altstadt. This cafe is a small hidden jewel under the St. Martin Tower. A must visit place, especially for cake lovers! Be prepared to stand and enjoy your coffee and pastries - there are several high tables, but no seats! The interior is snug and cozy, and old Hessian sacks are used to decorate the walls. I had a cappuccino and a slice of apple pie with hazelnuts. The coffee was fantastic, the pie tasted SO goooooood! It was not too sweet, the crust was a bit crispy - loved it! A perfect meeting spot for spontaneous conversation, so don't miss it! My Food Score : 4.5 stars

Altstadt-Cafe - This café is located near Kaiser Joseph main street. It is a medium-sized café which offers breakfast buffet, a variety of cakes and coffees. This place is popular among older people. I had a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest). The price was right. I usually don't like cake and alcohol together, so it was not great, not bad. My Food Score : 3 stars

Café Schmidt - This is one of the famous cafés in town, usually packed with locals and tourists. It consists of two floors. The nice thing is it opens everyday. It offers various cakes, chocolates, cookies, and ice cream. It sells chocolates in souvenir packs. You may also purchase them online. Don't forget to check out a collection of coffee grinders in the ground floor- they are old fashioned but unique!

Sauerrahmkuchen (sour cream cake) with cherries & Schweizer Schümli Kaffee - both were good and the price was reasonable (EUR 5.10).
My Food Score : 3 3/4 stars

Kartoffelhaus - As the name implies, this restaurant offers almost everything that is made of potatoes - baked potato, potato salad, pancake and soup, mashed potato, french fries, gratin potato and so on. Meat steaks and fish fillets are also available. The menu also includes some seasonal choices. The restaurant is not in the city center, you have to walk a bit to get there.

I chose the "trio" option (EUR 12.50) which includes two fairly large baked potatoes, three types of dips (avocado, tomato-olive dip, and creamy dill sauce with shrimps), and a large plate of mixed salad. The salad was fresh and filling. The avocado and tomato dips were flavorful, but the dill sauce needs some improvement! The baked potatoes were really large. I only managed to eat half of one as I was too consumed by the salad. Overall, decent food at a great price! If you are a potato lover, this would be a good option!

My Food Score: salad - 4 stars; trio dish - 3 stars

Martin's Brau is a brewery that also serves good regional food. This is the first wifi-free brew pub I have ever been in my life. It is located in the basement of the Freiburger Markthalle. There is an open kitchen on the right side of the brewery. There are also two copper vats at the other corner of the brewery. The menu comprises daily specials and local food, which are heavy on meat and fat - breaded pork steaks, Ox tongue salad, homemade Bratwurst, knöpfle, and roast knuckle of pork with sauerkraut.

I found something that fits my dietary needs- "Black Forest style" knöpfle with creamy mushroom sauce. The food portion was so humongous. I felt sluggish and heavy after eating half of it. Nevertheless, the food tasted very good. It was a nice experience to try out a Swabian food.
My Food Score : 4 stars

Markthalle is a food hall where you can discover a wide options of cuisines from around the world - German, French, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Mexican. It includes several stand-up tables and bar stools. This is an ideal place to find cheap and decent food.

I had a simple but tasty salmon crepe (EUR 5.90). Again, the portion was very generous!

My Food Score : 3 1/2 stars

Confessions of a Food Explorer @ Heidelberg

The second city I visited was Heidelberg, it is best known for its castle. It was Sunday; most stores and cafes were closed, except restaurants. I tried a schneeball from a local store and visited one of the highly recommended restaurants, the Weisser Bock.

Weisser Bock is a hotel and restaurant located in the city centre. It consists of two floors. The first floor is exquisitely decorated with old furnishing and paintings. There is an internal stair connecting the ground floor to the second floor balcony. The restaurant also includes a large private dining room.

Complimentary assorted breads with scrumptious dip that will put a smile on your face!

My starter@ fish soup with fried bread and rouille sauce. Loved it! The soup was mild-flavoured and well prepared using fresh seafood and meticulously carved vegetables.
My Food Score : 4 stars

The main dish @ homemade Ravioli stuffed with William pear and Brillat-Savarin cheese, accompanied with onion chutney, walnuts and steamed leeks. The food presentation was really great but the taste didn't blow me away. The ravioli was over cooked and the onion chutney was a bit bitter for my taste.
My Food Score : 3 stars

At the end, I consoled myself with a cup of good cappuccino;)

To conclude, it was a great start but less impressive end. The service was top-notch, the ambiance was classy; a pricey restaurant (Aqua+Starter+Main Dish+Cappuccino+Trinkgeld~EUR45)

Schneeball or snowball is a deep-fried pastry. It is made of egg, flour, butter and sugar. The pastry is first cut into random lengths, these are bundled together to make a snowball, and then deep fried. I bought a schneeball coated with chocolate and nuts (EUR 2.90) from Diller Schneeballenträume. This shop is originally from Rothenburg ob der Tauber and has branches in several places in southwestern Germany. It offers schneeballs coated with various toppings such as sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, nuts and caramel. Schneeballs can last up to a few weeks and are suitable as gifts. For me, they are very sweet, but if you have a sweet tooth, you will love them.

Confessions of a Food Explorer @ Saarbrücken

Some people might be surprised to learn about my trip to Saarbrücken. Nothing so special or spectacular here. But, food matters! The city offers an incomparable blend of French and German cuisine. Here are the places I have visited.

Brauereigasthof "Stiefel Bräu" : This is an old brewery (nearly 300 years) that serves local cuisine and different types of beers. The restaurant has two floors and built in an old fashion. There are two giant brewing vessels in the middle of the restaurant. The ground floor includes an open kitchen where you can see the chefs preparing dishes.

I had salmon fillets served with beer-mustard sauce, potato dumplings and green salad. The salad itself was a large portion. I felt like eating one kilo of salad, but it was fantabulous. I didn't enjoy the main dish though. The dumplings were quite thick and rich, and the sauce was very creamy...it was almost too much for me to handle...
Some good points : nice atmosphere, huge portions at a very affordable price, a good option if you want to try a bit of local cuisine and beers..
My Food Score : 3 stars

Street food Italian Style @ Baked Rigatoni : If you wander around the city, you will find several fast-food restaurants serving baked rigatoni and some people just queued in front of these restaurants. I would highly recommend you to give this a shot.

It tastes good, a *healthy* alternative for fast-food junkies, cheaper, and filling. Don't forget to add some Tabasco on top of your pasta, just for kicks!
My Food Score : 3 3/4 stars

Zum Adler : A must visit restaurant! This restaurant mainly serves French cuisine. On entering the restaurant, I was taken back by its dining area decorated with framed vintage posters and hanging lamps. There is also a small side dining room for private parties.

The entrée "scampipfaennchen" - grilled prawns served with olive oil, garlic, and parsley, was a good start! I opted for the daily menu; it includes a salt grilled fish served with white sauce, rice and vegetables. The fish was very fresh and perfectly grilled. I wish there were more vegetables included. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the food. I also recommend the flammkuchen - you may ask the waiter to exclude meat if you want to.
My remarks : a great escape from the busy city, a cozy and inviting atmosphere, delicious food but a little bit pricey (entrée+ grilled fish : ~25 EUR) The restaurant is located on the main street, so you may want to find information about the parking spot before your visit. Dinner reservations are highly recommended!
My Food Score : 4 1/4 stars

Confessions of a Food Explorer @ Southern Germany

I have always wanted to visit southern Germany and explore traditional German food. Finally my dreams came true.. For the next two weeks, I will be on my trip to the following cities (see map below). I will be posting here once two days, so keep following my blog ;)

Here are my travel kits. They are quite helpful!

Celebrating my 50th blog entry at ScharferZahn, Muenster

My 50th blog entry!!! wu-hoo!!! Can't believe that I have been blogging for almost 14 months!! Thanks to the (visible and invisible) readers who have been following my posts :) There are still many things that need improvements- I am working on those skills ;) To celebrate the occasion, we went to ScharferZahn, one of the top-ranked restaurants listed in my blog. I was SO surprised when the owner (Frau Gaby Gausepohl) recognized me and my blog entry about the restaurant. Seriously guys, it means a lot to me, especially to receive appreciation for my blogging efforts from someone I hardly knew.. We were rewarded with free starters; everyone was super duper happy, yay!

The sincere tokens of appreciation from the owner, danke Gaby ^O^. They were stupendo fantabulously fantastic! My favourite was the mini-bread!
[Minibread and Chicken Salad - 4 1/4 stars]

I opted for pasta since I have tried the chicken 'steak' before. The pasta served with slices of roasted chicken breast and the pepper cream sauce. I was not SO excited with the pasta as compared to the steak. There were a lot of black pepper seeds and I wish there were some vegetables included in the dish. .however, it was still good!
[My Rating - 3 1/2 stars]

To sum up, 5 reasons to visit ScharferZahn : (1) Excellent steak, yummmy! (2) A large portion at an affordable price ;) (3) Service in restaurant - Top Class! (4) A casual dining atmosphere and finally (5) I can't think of anything to complain about ^O^

Note : My previous entry about this restaurant is available here.

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Cooky's Maikotten

It was my first time to dine at Cooky's Maikotten, a restaurant which is located at outside the city centre. This is the place to go for an exclusive dinner with a great ambiance. I really liked the atmosphere and decor - a large dining area with high ceilings, wooden tables and wicker chairs, potted plants including cacti, large glass windows decorated with cream curtains, overlooking the corn field. Our table was decorated with candles and rose petals which added a nice romantic touch - it was funny, though..we were three women who try to immerse ourselves in a literally romantic environment, hehe..The restaurant bring Mediterranian flavours combined with the Westphalian cuisine. It also offers breakfast buffet on Sundays and a special menu on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The restaurant has a special menu for dogs - some of them are gluten-free! In fact, you can make a reservation for your dog birthday party!!!

Bread with creamy spread while waiting for our food ;)

I had one of the main dishes - a large salmon steak with lime-ginger sauce and served with homemade white pasta and vegetables. It was supposed to be the black pasta, but it was not available on that day. So I chose the white pasta instead. The salmon was grilled well, but it was a bit oily. The vegetables were ordinary, not as good as the one I had at Noites de Lisboa. For me, the pasta was probably the best part of the dish ;) I ordered two glasses of pineapple juice. The first one tasted good, but the second one was actually more watery! [Rating] Grilled Salmon with white pasta - 3 3/4 stars ; Pineapple juice (for the second one) - 3 stars

To sum up, this is the place to go for a great atmosphere - especially if you want to have a decent food at a *romantic* spot! - I am not really an expert in romantic dining, so this is solely based on my intuition...However, I believe that a bike-dinner trip to Maikotten is a good way to escape from the busy city ;) If you have the Schlemmerreise mit Gutscheinbuch, don't forget to use the Maikotten's coupon.

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Pier House

Last night, I went out with my friends to celebrate my birthday. We went to the Pier House, a Texan-Mexican restaurant located along the canal. The first thing one notice on entering the restaurant is the large space - a huge bar, spacious indoor and patio dining areas with stunning views of the canal. Further, the decor is well set with soft and mood lighting with candles on every table! The menu selection is almost overwhelming with choices ranging from salads, soups, ensaladas, empanaditas, quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, steak, texan specialties, several house specialties and many more. I ended up choosing the Pollo California - a grilled chicken breast served with grilled pineapple, salads, BBQ sauce, Mexican rice, sour cream and salsa roja (red sauce). The grilled fillet was ok, but it seemed as if something was missing. I found it a little bland. The rest were good, especially the Mexican rice.

The cocktails were little bit expensive. But, there was a late night rewards (from 10pm) featuring half price on selected cocktails (like margaritas) .. I had the "Biker", a non-alcoholic cocktail - combination of pineapple, orange, passion fruit, lime, lemon - liked it a lot!!

[service] The restaurant was very crowded, even on the weekday evening. Reservation is recommended especially for large group. It took a while for the waitress to get our orders, but once we placed our orders, the food was served very fast.

[rating] Pollo California : 3 1/2 stars ; Biker cocktail : 4 stars

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Die Bohne - Kaffeerösterei

Are you addicted to coffee? Looking for the best cappuccino in town? Die Bohne is probably the cafe you are looking for.. It's a very small place and primarily in the business of selling coffee beans. However, it also offers a wide selection of coffee, light snack, homemade cakes and smoothies. It's a little tricky to find the cafe, the entrance to the restaurant is quite narrow. It's nearby the wineshop on LudgeriStr. Here is the google map link .
I have to admit that I am not a big fan of coffee of any kind, but based on my personal experience, Die Bohne is a great place for a cup of coffee(especially cappuccino). It reminds me of my 'cappuccino days' in Florence..The only two drawbacks are (a) the cafe is VERY small and probably not suitable for a large group (b) I like the presentation of the cakes more than the actual taste of the cakes. They were not too sweet (Das ist OK für mich), but they were just not moist enough to be considered as great as the coffee! To sum up, if you want to have your 'cappuccino day', this place is an option to visit. Perhaps, you may want to take home some grams of coffee.. [Rating] Coffee - 4 1/2 stars ; Cake - 3 stars