Le Asia Snack: 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!