The Quest Continues

Miss Saigon, Vietnamese owned restaurant serving Asian type noodle and stir fry dishes. Not bad although not one Vietnamese item on their menu.

Sezchuan beef stir fry came with too much salty gravy and a small wonton soup.

Can't tell what's what at this point, both dishes look alike.

Sushi Gin, good atmosphere but über slow service and sushi that was on par with a more casual sushi restaurant in San Diego, but the prices were far steeper.

The haystack uni to the left was dry, never thought I'd ever eat dry uni but I was desperate! The rest was good, in particular the salmon, butterfish and the scallop sushi.

Mikado, an Asian buffet restaurant that is far too nice for an Asian buffet restaurant. I mean, people go on dates here and order wine with their meal!

Mario raiding the salad buffet first, a decidedly very non-Asian thing to do.

Sushi part of the buffet, the salmon was smoked but that made it safer to eat in my opinion.

Stir fried lamb. Delish!

Stir fried shrimp in garlic sauce.

Stir fried chicken.

Veggie stir fry with tofu.

More chicken stir fry.

The fried food section had some great fried duck in it! Also had that one sweet and sour pork dish that us kids love to order at Chinese food restaurants in the States, the kind with the really red sauce--mmmmmm!

My first plate.

Yes, we ordered two bottles of wine with our fancy buffet dinner and they came in a chilled bucket.

Mario raiding the amazing seafood selection of the fresh wokked kiosk at the buffet.

Notice the generous helping Mario took of the scallops and shrimp, I'm so proud! *tear*

The non-seafood protein section had some pretty exotic fare, including kangaroo meat in the lower left corner.

Ostrich meat to the lower right. The rest is beef, pork, chicken, and turkey.

The veggie section of the fresh wokked kiosk. After helping yourself to both meat and veggies you hand your plate over to the chef and tell him which sauce you'd like him to wok everything with.

Mario chose wisely for his seafood fresh wokked experience and picked a ginger garlic sauce that went nicely with everything.

I went a little bolder/stranger with a spicy Mongolian bbq sauce to go with my kangaroo and mushroom feast. Ended up being not as tasty as Mario's but the kangaroo was surprisingly good! Tasted like a cross between beef and venison. I'd had ostrich before so didn't have any at this time.

The Phat Thai, or Pad Thai, from Noosou in the main train station of Hannover. Great presentation, tasted good but was not Pad Thai, even after I squeezed a lime over everything. Ran about 9.90 in Euros.

Mario's highly disappointing Pho, good for a beef and rice noodle soup but again was not actually Pho. About 8 Euros.

Lychees whaaaaaaat?

Comes out to about 4.90 Euros for two pounds of lychees.

The Thai dinner from last night, bad Pad Thai, good Panang curry.

After our Noosou meal at the train station, Mario and I capped off the lunch with gelatos in the veritably tropical 50 degree F weather outside. Seriously, everybody was out and about and happy! :)

Upon our frequent trips to the grocery stores in Hannover, I have actually been pleasantly surprised by the abundance of relatively exotic ingredients that are not local, albeit they are slightly more expensive but not by Whole Foods' standards: lemongrass, lychees, persimmon, ginger, even bamboo shoots! Mario and I have since been directed to an Asian specialty foods market with a not-so-specialty name of I-Shop. They have a wish granting selection of ingredients and foods there but of course as with any magical source, be it benevolent genie or entrepreneurial Asian refugee, there is a limit to what you can wish for. Unfortunately I did not take pictures inside this store as I was just so blown away by what they had that I acted like a kid in a candy shop for the rest of my visit, skipping through aisles and regaling over their sauce selection. But I can tell you to start that the store is separated by country and you can browse the availability of products based on what you are trying to make. There is also a frozen food section--where they have frozen steamed red bean buns and stuff like that, oh joy!!--and a fresh produce section in which you can find Asian greens like baby bok choy and lemon leaves. I ended up purchasing just a few of the basic building blocks of Chinese cooking, that being oyster sauce, a gigantic-by-German-standards 500 ml bottle of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, Sriracha hot sauce, and a bag of star anise. After acquiring a bag of jasmine rice at the local grocery store some days later, I proceeded to make my first batch of fried rice with peas, green onions, egg, and carrots accompanied by a salad dressed with sweetened white vinegar, salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Home sweet home in a flash of a pan!

The following week Mario and I ventured out to try our first sushi in Hannover. Mario did his research and Qyped (just think European Yelped) the restaurants in the area and found two with 'best of Hannover' type glowing reviews (mind you the average number of reviews for each restaurant was around 20). Of the two, Sushi Gin which was the first sushi date here for us, was the lesser favorite just because they had higher prices, slower than slow service, and sold us uni that was...not fresh. The local winner is Sushi-Do, which is reminiscent of San Diego's Sushi Fix of old in the Little Italy area since they had the same quality sushi that we received from Sushi Gin but with less flair and a friendlier out of pocket price and it was served in a cozy little setup that is better for to-go and lunch orders. They also didn't bother trying to sell anything too far fetched for local eaters so everything was fresh.

What we have learned about the sushi in Hannover from visiting these two establishments is that:
1. The Germans love their salmon so if you want the freshest turnaround possible this one is always a winner! 2. Do not order more exotic selections (see number one) 3. Tempura is also a safe choice because fried food is popular here although the fried sweet potato variation, my fave, is as of yet not to be seen as that particular tuber is not consumed very often in the German diet. 4. Don't expect the same crazy roll availability as in the States--Monkey Stick or Lobster Sunrise anyone?--because since it has  occurred only relatively recently to people in Germany that it is okay to eat raw fish, they are still not kinky enough to do a menage a trois with fish in rolls anytime soon, but I'm guessing it will happen sooner than I think!

And so we go onward to the--thank you Vincent Von Kries--Mikado, an Asian buffet restaurant. This pleasant surprise in Hannover is in almost every aspect like the ever popular Asian buffet restaurants found a dime a dozen in Southern California but with one noteworthy specialty and that is that they have an in-house chef fresh wok the protein and vegetables of your choice, as much as you want, with any of a number of pre-made sauces. Plus they had plenty of a la carte items that I actually recognize on top of the buffet option, such as Peking Duck, and there are pictures to accompany each dish so there is no mistake in what you are going to get, something I am beginning to realize is very important to the locals here when ordering anything foreign. In fact,  I've now come to rely on pictures just as much in the search for the food my taste buds so sorely miss since the first thing it has to do is at least look like the dish. The ingredients at the Mikado ended up being top notch and the food made me smile all evening, appreciative of the familiarity in looks as well as flavors. Confidentially, I don't think the fresh wokked portion of the restaurant would work in America because German restraint doesn't translate well in a country where the ketchup flows like wine. It took a large amount of surreptitious self-discipline to prevent me from emptying the entire plate of scallops from the meat selection onto my own plate--go America, you can do it!

Since then Mario and I have continued with our quest and tried a noodle chain called Noosou that is in the Hannover train station. They advertise all sorts of noodle dishes made to order and we spotted a picture in the ubiquitous menu photo collage outside with a caption that said 'Pho' so that peaked our interest. We immediately ordered that along with a 'Phat Thai' and seated ourselves in anticipation. What arrived in about twenty minutes time were shadows of their actual greatness, the Pho being of course the worse for wear since real beef broth used in Pho takes one day to cook to perfection and no self respecting chain selling a hundred different noodle dishes could ever want to attempt that. The Phat Thai from Noosou, at the time mildly disappointing because the presentation was spot-on but the taste was a little off, ended up being the better of two attempts at ordering Pad Thai here in Hannover since we just went to our first Thai restaurant yesterday and their version was even further from the true dish, although the Thai restaurant's Panang curry was quite good. It took me this last trip to the restaurant to realize that the main fault with the Pad Thai here, along with the fact that neither of the restaurants served the noodle dish with lime, is the perceptible omission of fish sauce to cater to the German palate.

On a side note, I want to remind my readers that this is simply a scavenger hunt for food although I can't deny that I do miss what I like to eat and it shows. I am not trying to change the house the Germans live in, but rather like all the other immigrants in this beautiful country I am only trying to bring something new to the potluck and share with my readers what I have found to be true here in Germany also--people are pioneers and continue to seek out adventure. It will be fun to see where this culinary exploration in Germany will lead us next!

Bombs Away!

The table is set and ready for us at Georg and Vincent's place! How cool are they??

The raclette spread.

Georg making his rounds.

Almost everybody has one of these weather stations in the house but this one is extra cool cuz the little guy dresses appropriately for the weather outside and on hot days he wears nothing but a pair of swim trunks!

'Raclette' is originally a French word meaning 'to scrape' and that is exactly what you do with these little hot plates once the food is cooked.

Happy New Year Hannover!

In front of the Hannover Hauptbahnhof.

Mario fortifying.

Helping out the cause.

Rafaela making a wish?

I've never played with colored sparklers before so this was pretty exciting for me.

After stumbling home we sweeten the deal with some more champagne and some Berliners--the Germans swear they're not but they taste just like jelly filled donuts. Vincent bought me a German pastry that looks like a little Chinese guy with a straw hat!

The next morning we resume our daily ritual of an everyday German breakfast: toast or bread, coffee, juice, soft boiled eggs and an assortment of jams and spreads.

Despite the warnings of our elders and even naysayers our own age, Mario and I planned our New Years around heading downtown here in Hannover to scope out the public fireworks scene on the 31st since setting off fireworks is legal here on new years eve. For the two days leading up to our proclaimed program, people joked as well as pantomimed scenarios for us simulating body parts getting blown up, shield wielding to avoid falling debris, and war zone evading Call of Duty style.

My mom always has this saying in Chinese that "You're unafraid of death because you haven't seen your own casket yet," and I suppose it's true to some extent for me. I haven't yet broken any bones in my body, haven't yet had any sort of major surgery or trauma either--knock on wood! The only thing I think that could possibly come close would be when my surfboard's nose hit me on the side of my head in 2004 and I had to get seven stitches next to my ear. That and I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was fifteen, but that's about it I think. So yeah, I can understand the concern but I have to do it anyway, especially if it's the first time.

With the help of some willing and super cooperative friends of ours, we started off New Years Eve with an amazing meal that helped fortify us for setting off our own sparks later. Like the yearly resuscitation of "It's a Wonderful Life" on television and fruitcake gifting during Christmas for the Americans, the Germans have their own New Year's Eve rituals that are characteristic and much anticipated. The first of these is the breaking out of the raclette oven. This is essentially a tableside broiler that is used communally like a Korean BBQ hotplate by the entire table, usually accommodating up to six people but sometimes eight per oven--I imagine my family gatherings alone would probably start a small electrical fire with the amount of ovens we would need to operate at the same time! A spread of boiled potatoes, assorted veggies, meats, butter, raw eggs, sauces and the appropriately named raclette cheese--a lot like a softer gouda--used for melting over everything is laid out. Then it's a free for all and everybody musters their best creative efforts in making the perfect raclette dish of the evening for themselves. Beers are poured, bread is passed, and shots of some stronger stuff are taken by the more stoic ones in need of a little bit more loosening up in between bouts of broiling food. You usually only stop when you realize your pants are getting extremely uncomfortable.

The second of these yearly traditions is the watching of "Dinner for One." If you have no idea what this is, just look it up on Wikipedia. It is at this very moment the Guinness record holder for most repeated TV program ever and you can start this very German, Swedish, as well as Danish tradition yourself by accessing the video via YouTube. I can still remember coming over for my first German new years in 2007 with my brother, Brian, and we gathered around the Lau's family television with a roomful of people to see this eighteen minute comedy production about an elder woman and her butler serving her a meal that takes place each year at the same time. Needless to say we were pretty impressed with what we saw. With its perfect comic timing, dry British humor and vintage appeal, I can't see why this isn't just as well loved as Monty Python is in the U.S.

Afterward, champagne and fireworks in tow, we bundle up for a fifteen minute walk from our friend's apartment to the main train station in Hannover to stake our claim on the new year's celebrations. We enter in on an enthusiastic display of sounds and sparks in front of the station and after finding a clear area to stand around we proceed to burn a few sticks of lightning ourselves from a six Euro bag of tricks we bought at the local grocery store that included seven small rockets, a bunch of assorted firecrackers, sparklers and little fire devils that spun around on the ground like the Tasmanian animal. It's an awesome feeling to be out and about with the locals taking part in what is essentially a consensual evening of possible danger but with great rewards if survived. We witnessed a larger firework accidentally launched from afar toward a small group of guys gathered around a phone booth not more than ten yards away from us, large green and gold confetti flew around and lit their bewildered faces but none were hurt. Lucky for us the night remained mercifully lighthearted, dismemberment-free, and full of good memories made with friends old and new. We saw everything while wearing our childish hearts on our sleeves and were not denied the unfettered pleasure of pure wonderment, something I am always grateful for.

Thank you to everyone here who have read thus far, we thought of each of you on our escapade into a new land to celebrate an event as old as time itself and wish you all a happy and healthy new year!