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

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Noites de Lisboa

I have been craving for good seafood lately, so I decided to visit a Portuguese restaurant called Noites de Lisboa . I am glad we found it ! This restaurant is not very appealing from the outside, but it has a great atmosphere inside. With traditional and contemporary decor, friendly staff, quiet atmosphere, it offers a great sense of warmth and coziness. Here are a few things I have tried :

(a) Bread with olive oil and creamy garlic dip - appetizer while waiting for my meal!

(b) Main courses are served with a choice of side dish - rice, salad or potato slices. I had the "Bacalhau Grelhado" - A grilled cod fish served with zucchini, mushroom and paprika, and accompanied by green salsa sauce (Salsa Verde). The fish was tasted good, moderately tender and not over-grilled - it was grilled just right so that the edges are not too charred, loved it! The 'zucchini+mushroom' was brilliant, loved it even more!! Suggestion : You may opt for rice or potato instead of salad..

(c) My dessert : A Portuguese Custard Tart. The crust was little bit dry and the custard filling was far too sweet for me. It was served cold and didnt enjoy it much.. I prefer the one at room temperature or warm from the oven ;)

• [service] Service was slow, but tolerable..
• [price] Grilled fish + Apple Juice + Tart + Tips ~ 20.00 EUR
• [Rating] Grilled Fish - 4 1/4 stars ; Dessert - 3 stars

For seafood lovers...the verdict is simple: go for it!!

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Indian Curry House

Indian Curry House is more like a takeaway restaurant. The place is quite small; there is indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant also offers a delivery service. The menu is extensive (soup, starters, varieties of paratha & pita , vegetarian, chicken, biryani, fish, lamb, beef and dessert).

I ordered a chapati with chicken tikka masala (grilled chicken marinated in yogurt and spices). The flatbread was a little bit hard and cold. The grilled chicken was good. The tomato cream sauce went well with the chicken. The dish was served with a mixed salad. The salad dressing needs some improvements - a large amount of spices was added to the yogurt sauce! The plain lassi was smooth, slightly creamy but too sweet. The owner was kind enough to replace it with a new salty lassi (at no additonal cost!)

Few reasons to visit Indian Curry House...

• A cheap stomach filling food : Plain lassi + Chicken Tikka with Chapati ~ 7 EUR
• Good food and service! It was way better than a fancy Indian ready-made meal..
• The menu has many options to choose from...
  

A few things to take note about...

• It's not a great place to go for special occasions...
• The restaurant is quite small and congested...
  
• Your clothes end up smelling like curry...
  

[Rating] Chicken Tikka with Chapati - 3 1/4 stars . Fine dining is exciting, soul-satisfying! but, sometimes all you want is a decent daily food at a very reasonable price. If you agree, give this place a go..;)

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Sushi Bar

It's my sushi day, again! We went to the SushiBar, which is located not so far from the main station. This fast-food restaurant includes a bar with *sushi train* that is attached to a large open kitchen; there are few regular table seating and the traditional Japanese floor seating. The restaurant is subtly decorated with some japanese artifacts and plants.

I had the (a) "Grosse Portion" sushi menu which includes 8 nigiris (Tuna, 2 x Salmon, Prawn, Octopus, Mackerel, Tamago and Squid) and 8 maki sushi... (b) unagi sushi (ordered separately).

Here are the good points...

• Incredibly low prices! Sushi Menu + Unagi Sushi + Green Tea (pot) ~ 21.00 eur
• The service was F2 - fast and friendly!
• Home delivery service is available!
• *All you can eat - 16.99 EUR* - only on tuesdays, thursdays, sundays from 6pm!

Here are the bad points..

• The serving size was small..
• The quality was..hmmm...below average! The rice was not sticky as I expected..the seafood was not fresh...(except the unagi sushi which was slightly above average)..the soy sauce was too salty! overall, I was not happy :(

[Rating] Sushi set - 2.5 stars ; Unagi - 3.0 stars

Conclusions : This is my first (and most likely the last) visit to SushiBar...I agree that it is hard to find a good sushi bar with low prices...but, in my opinion the sushi was not satisfying at all...! If you just want to fill up your stomach with tons of sushi, this is the place to go...

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Issel Konditorei Cafe

Cafe Issel - an absolute treasure! Luv it ALOT!!! The cafe, located at 42 Hammer Str., has a pleasant seating area inside as well as an outdoor patio with several tables. It offers a selection of cakes, tarts, cookies, handmade chocolates and pralines (to eat in or take away).

Various hand-made dark and milk chocolate bars... Some unique flavours of chocolate: (a) Tomato (perhaps, sweet and tangy?), (b) Nutmeg (c) Rosemary (both are interesting!) (d) Ginger (I prefer ginger snaps to ginger chocolates...), finally (d) Pumpernickel ?!! - very unusual, for me!

The cakes range from classic to innovative...they are SO tempting ^O^...

Yummy pastries - I will give them a try on my next visit ;)

Bicycle-powered delivery service is available...

Here are the slices of cakes we tried (each slice costs 3 euros) :

• Schokoladen Trüffel Torte or Chocolate Truffle Cake (4 1/2 stars) : A moist layered cake with bittersweet filling, topped with chocolate ganache and decorated with fine chocolate crumbs. Unlike other truffle cakes, it is not overly sweet and not too buttery. A perfect indulgence for the chocoholics! Well, to put it in a nutshell, the slice you should not miss!

• Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte or Black Forest Cake (3 3/4 stars) : Thin layers of chocolate cake and very thick layers of cream filling, and some cherries between them. A slightly dry bottom layer, but it's no big deal!
  

• Champagne Truffle Torte or Champagne Truffle Cake (4 stars) : This is pretty much the same as the chocolate truffle cake but with champagne ganache filling. It has strong alcohol taste (at least for me) ... If you are a boozy cake fan, this is worth a try ;)
  

Summary : If you have a sweet tooth, then Issel is the perfect place for you :)

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Maredo

Maredo is an American-style steakhouse with over 50 restaurants in Germany. Although it is best known for its steaks, the restaurant menu includes several appetizers, salads, chicken, seafood and desserts. The place looks like it has just been recently refurbished with the emphasis on casual atmosphere (comfy booth seating, exposed brick walls, live plants, etc.).

• [food] I had the Spring special dish- 220gram New Zealand's lamb rump steak (medium doneness) served with creamy mustard sauce, papa asada (a baked potato with sour cream) and fried vegetables. The steak was very tender and juicy. The mustard sauce went well with the meat. The fried vegetables were really good, but it had way too much onion. My only dissatisfaction with the dish was the sour cream - it was too creamy and a bit too sour. I prefer the one with a mild flavour.
• [service] Fast and pleasant!
• [price] Spring special - EUR16.90 (free warm water, danke!)
• [rating] Steak - 4.0 stars ; Baked potato with sour cream - 3.0 stars

Summary: Good food, nice setting and decent portions... recommended! (although, my personal preference would definitely be ScharferZahn over Maredo...)