The Main Course

And now to the meat and potatoes of our new life here--no pun intended as the diet here really is around these two main staples. Since our arrival we have eaten at a few establishments here, all excellent, and all with menus that serve rubix-cube variations of meat and spuds. There is usually a salad thrown in there somewhere but often times not. One of these dishes that happens to be one of my favorites and also the most reproduction friendly is a dish called Currywurst. A delicious concoction of curry powdered sweet ketchup sauce on sausage and a side of french fries for mandatory dipping in the ketchup. Simple but awesome in its magical tasty powers and the sauce is easily made by adding a little water, curry powder and sugar to ketchup. Buy some wurst and cook up some pomme frites and my new brother in law, Vincent, will come knocking at your door since it's one of his favorite dishes. Another delicious German food group here is meatballs, called Frikadellen because I'd like to think it's German for "fricking delicious." Mario's German mother, Jenneke, is a pro at making these orbs of beefy-porky delight and it seems like love really is the special ingredient because I haven't had any better ones in the states and on the streets. Lastly I would like to pay special tribute to a Bavarian dish called Schweinshaxe, a roasted pork shank or 'knuckle' if you will that is served with any variation of potato but almost always has to have at least a side of sauerkraut or red cabbage to cut the meatiness. We just went to a restaurant called the Bavarium here in Hannover that makes a particularly exceptional plate of Schweinshaxe with perfectly pan fried potatoes and fresh sauerkraut, yodeling not included but highly encouraged. Topping all of these dishes with a generous helping of cold brews ensures a perfect recipe for a happy totter home through the cold temperatures.

Other than German food, the second three most popular ethnic food options that I can see here is Turkish, Greek, and Italian. All three are the most requested and therefore the most perfected and delicious. There are also new crops of Asian food joints popping up all over the place to satisfy an apparent affinity for far east flavors here but with that said, as with every country's absorption of new cultures and their accompanying attributes and customs, the adoptive country tends to put their own spin on things and this is true for all the ethnic foods. The Turkish döner--a gyro type flatbread sandwich sold everywhere here in Germany it seems--is a very good example of this. Every neon signed 'döner' place in the states that Mario and I have journeyed to in hopes of finding the same type of döner has inevitably ended like hungry moths to an acrylic sweater--where was the mouth watering cabbage salad that topped the lamb meat filled flatbreads in Germany? It took me about seven years before I found out after talking to newfound Turkish acquaintances and online research afterward that an authentic Turkish döner did not get topped with the mayo-vinegar infused cabbage salad sold with the sandwiches here in Hannover.

Similarly, the Germans favor the pastas and pizzas out of the Italian repertoire but none of the seafood dishes due to availability of ingredients as well as taste and the Greek restaurant menus contain more roasted shashliks, potatoes, and yogurt than usual. I have yet to see moussaka or baba ganoush but it is still early in my Greek restaurants exploration here in Hannover.

The furthest stone throw has to be the Asian food though. So far it's been for the most part unrecognizable but there are some encouraging signs of authentic fare. The usual Asian 'express' restaurants here feature detailed printed signage with pictures of all the different plates they offer and almost everything is a fillet of some sort of fried meat sliced over a bed of Panda Express type thick egg noodles stir fried in a soy based sauce and veggies. I realized after talking to some friends here that Germans are not fond of eating meat on the bone, with the exception being a traditional roasted pig but even that is not particularly appetizing especially to the younger generation. Therefore all the Asian food here contains mostly fillets or thinly cut strips or chunks of meat but never meat on the bone--say bye-bye to Korean galbi ribs! There have been some Asian highlights, however, and that includes a very special trip to a Korean Tofu Haus in Hannover and a take-out meal from a restaurant named Miss Saigon but has no other Vietnamese dish on their extensive menu other than Pho and even that is suspect. The Tofu Haus started us off with little plates of the familiar Korean appetizers like kimchi and sweet pickled daikon that Mario and I missed and then offered us a flavorful bim bim bop that was almost as good as the ones from the Tofu House in San Diego. The take-out trip from Miss Saigon unearthed a red curry reminiscent of Thai panang except that it was missing the integral Thai basil needed to complete the flavor profile. We are still hopeful that we will stumble upon a restaurant that will recreate one dish to its full potential and haven't given up on our search, but we realize that we will just have to relish the equally amazing local tastes, making most of our missed favorites at home.


Oh but I almost forgot to tell you about the cake and tea afternoons! Around birthdays and specials occasions but especially around the holidays, you can almost always guarantee yourself an afternoon spent sipping tea, coffee, and having a little slice of something sweet. I was lucky enough to come around all three of these events: our arrival to Germany, Mario's sister's birthday, and of course the holidays! Needless to say there has been plenty of slices passed around of late. I've included just a few pictures from Sarah's birthday for you to enjoy.

These are plates of quince that our friend's mother made for our arrival as a married couple. They taste like fruit roll ups and I've had quince in the states predominantly in cheese platters. We all picked through these two plates over the course of a week. So super awesome!

Georg and his Alpen feuer--that's Alpen fire to you!

It was a straight downhill ride on the Alps and into my intestinal tract with this fiery shot.

Schweinshaxe at the Bavarium! Delish.

Did I mention dogs are allowed in bars here?

A currywurst at the local fave bar, the Pindopp. Around five Euros and oh so good with a bit of mayo for the fries! 

Tofu Haus apps.

Mario's mom made this awesome looking cake for Sarah's b-day.

Sarah and her gifts.

A German cheesecake and butter cake. Cheesecake here is light and fluffy compared to our dense American version. I like them equally.

The table set with five cakes, each one different.

Passing a slice.

Girlfriend Christina flew in from Nice, France to enjoy some tasty brews and brats!

What a spread! Also at the Bavarium, a sausage and schnitzel feast. Oh and there's some salad.

Happy and warm, us three. :3

The Appetizer

Nut and fruit kiosk at the Hannover Christmas market.

Enjoying our spiced wine and other warm and merry drinks.

Treats galore!

One of the coolest kiosks here--chocolate made to look like rusty tools etc.

Schmalzkuchen are little 'donut holes' topped with powdered sugar.

Truffles on her way to a potty break. She loves the snow even though she shivers after 20 min. She doesn't seem to register that it's cold and keeps sniffing or doing whatever it is she needs to do.

A very effective lesson in German on our way to the immigration office downtown.

A bombed church from WW2 that now serves as a memorial downtown in Hannover.

View to my left in the candy aisle...

...and to my right but one aisle over.

Closer shot of the selection.

Ooooooh yeah!

My new Haflingers! All wool, washable, and made in a town not far from where we live. These are a necessity here as I soon learned! I really haven't bought much so far except for these, converter outlets and a pair of leather gloves, also a necessity.

Now, you might wonder why I chose "Le Asia Snack" as the name of my blog. It just so happens this rather campy name covers every aspect of my wonderfully fortuitous journey that I would like to convey--my life as a snack to be read and consumed by readers in short narrated bites, the food that I am bound to write about as I begin my gastronomic adventure abroad, as well as the candid notion on my part that I as a foreigner am probably quite the snack and/or spectacle to all the locals here. The 'Le' part of the name is neither Asian nor German as it is a French article which seems to further illustrate the point that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to why some people do things the way they do in the United States or across the pond except that it is just to their liking for one reason or another. "Grape-Nuts - it contains neither grapes, nor nuts. Discuss." Actually, "Le Asia Snack" originally hails from a Panda Express-like restaurant in a nondescript plaza food court here in Hannover, Germany. It is here that only a few years ago Mario and I were snickering with childish glee over the name while digging into a generous plate of hot Asian style noodles from the establishment, waiting for Mario's dad to finish up with a shopping trip to a store within the strip mall. Who knew that the name would later pop up over and over in our everyday lingo to describe a number of things in the States such as the Asian girls running rampant around Southern California and the Chinese proverbs my parents occasionally dropped on us. I definitely had no clue that it would ultimately be used to brand a blog that details my move as a Chinese-American to the land of wieners and brats.

And so Mario and I both made it to Germany to start a few years of an unplanned exploration of life and I must say it is off to a sweet start. By this I mean that Germans have found a way to healthily and happily incorporate sugar and fat infused confections into their daily routines--an integral part of a balanced lifestyle and mindset I think. Lately my breakfast has included no less than one serving of chocolate: Nutella on bread, chocolate croissants, chocolate sprinkles with butter on bread, and chocolate muesli where there are actually square flakes of real chocolate incorporated into a mixture of grains and chocolate crispies. Not to mention the fact that my day is sprinkled with treats between meals such as chocolate covered marzipan (sweet almond paste),  chocolate covered wafers--heck! chocolate covered everything! You might think it's just because of the proximity to the holidays but I assure you this does not change the German intake of these fine substances in the least. Just realizing the massive candy section in any supermarket around here is a year round thing is enough to put every candy aisle in the biggest of American grocery chains to sugary shame. With that much store space allocated towards sweets, this is obviously a need and not a want, folks! If that doesn't churn your butter, there's also the fact that most items boast health benefits such as "Contains at LEAST 30% fat!" on the packaging. Definitely a shock to any treadmill loving American who sees it for the first time, me admittedly being one of them in 2002. By now, however--now being the fifth trip--I have incorporated a fair amount of this new dietary pattern into my own eating habits even if sparingly by all German accounts. I have yet to slather my butter as generously and my cheese intake has stayed roughly the same as back in the states, but this may all change as more time goes by, you never know!

To offset the carb footprints we are undoubtedly making, Mario and I have taken to going for runs outside together as often and as long as weather and schedule permits which is about three times a week for roughly half an hour each time as well as riding the bikes around to wherever we need to go--this is considered by the Germans as a crazy American trait because nobody here feels guilty about consuming anything and you sure don't slush around in your tennis shoes outside when there is any sort of downpour.

That is of course unless you are talking about the Christmas markets.

If I were a giant monster of the people-eating variety I would beyond question make a culinary stop at  the world re-knowned German Christmas markets since they are guaranteed to be filled with tasty people stuffed with spiced cakes, sausages of all types, and copious amounts of glühwein (spiced and hot sweetened red wine)--better be careful with biting the heads off the wine filled ones as it can get messy! But yes, people here have no problem trudging along in the muck and mire outside when they can dock at the many different ports of call at the warmly lit island-like kiosks selling anything from schmalz kuchen (mini-beignets dusted with powdered sugar), hot mead, warm sausages, and pretzels.  There's even a hot version of a Brazilian caipirinha here that I have yet to try! The nostalgic aromas of fried, sweet and spiced food dance together in canal-like walkways warmed by bodies bustling to and fro Christmasing. I am still looking to buy one of these totally German handcrafted wooden Christmas pyramids that rotate with the heat from candles you place on the bottom tier but a good one is not cheap. They usually start at about 300 euros for a nice one that actually comes from Germany but they sell them in abundance at the Christmas markets. I will let you know how I do with that little pot of gold soon enough!

My progress with the German language is like your Grandpa Joe and a football game--slow, but definitely coming along. My German ears are definitely on and I've already learned a stew of new and random words like "geheime Beichten" which means "Secret Confessions" as well as "Bohrer" which means "drill,"  and "selbst unterhalten" which means "self entertaining." See attached pictures for the real life applications of the first two sets of said words. I tend to remember words really well when I have something to remind me of their meanings and these are memorable for sure! They call these associations "donkey bridges" in German, or "Eselsbrücke." The more bridges the better I say, but there's always the fear that my language landscape of bridges might start looking like an M.C. Escher piece over time.

Sweets, cold weather lifestyle and language inclusive, I am having a great time learning something new about this country each day. I've just bundled up and am waiting to head out to my second ever Hannover 96 soccer game and I can't wait to tuck into a huge wiener and glühwein dinner at the stadium. Yeah! The game ticket includes an all day bus pass for three hours before the game and the rest of the evening thereafter--take that San Diego Charger's and trolley/transportation mess! Stay tuned for your next snack!