Eat Like Ushi

I've never thought of German food as particularly exciting. It really does tend to be just lots of fried and roasted meats. Although generally quite simplistic in flavour, they do these things surprisingly well.

Thus when I saw the Tripadvisor number 1 in Heidelberg was a German cuisine place, I was curious. There isn't a lot of information out there to compare for this city, which is surprising as it is a gorgeous classic city very near the enormous transport hub of Frankfurt.

Schnitzelbank gets easy full marks for atmosphere - a rather small cosy bar with mainly communal tables. On my Tuesday night during a cold evening seating was easy to find amongst mainly Germans eating, drinking and making new friends with whoever sat near them.

The wintry special of Gluh-wein was a very sweet version and easy to drink.

Schnitzelbank had to have gotten schnitzel right or it would be laughable. Luckily the schnitzel was a really tasty 1/2 inch thick pork fried in a crispy and nicely uneven textured surface. It was a real difference from the complete uniform breadcrumb versions I've had in Austria and Slovenia. This was more like a fish'n'chip style coating with a slight taste of having been fried with some butter. The pork itself was a little chewy but the flavour especially with lemon made up for it. This came with crisp fried potato pieces which were a decadent man's fries. The healthy part was a pickled spinach in a buttery mash.

I was tempted by the Apple Strudel dessert but the barman didn't seem that excited by it, recommending instead a dessert of Stewed Raspberries in a hot wine sauce with vanilla icecream and cream. Very very sweet; a little too much for me.

Next time I would order any of the 3 schnitzels that give Schnitzelbank its name. I chose mine as it is the classic version and I particularly wanted the fried potatoes. I'd also try the Apple Strudel just to know.

German cuisine isn't particularly well regarded. Further still, Berlin isn't known to be a food town especially for what can be respected as German style cuisine. Thus searching for somewhere to eat for the only dinner on a weekend trip actually proved to be quite difficult.

Eventually (exactly how I can't recall) came across the name Dos Palillos - an Asian/Japanese-style tapas place originally based in Barcelona and relatively recently expanded into Berlin. Although it doesn't have the most universally favourable reviews online, itcertainly sounded interesting and more appealing to most of the other considerations in Berlin.

The menu is basically limited to a set course - the longest journey is about 19 courses, but you can choose shorter ones should you feel less gluttonous.

Naturally, I was glutton-full and ordered the menu Dos Palillos Festival.

- Aperitif - orange & mango sake, alcoholic & refreshing shot;
- Tsukemono (marinated vegetables) - mountain potato & yuzu and marinated spring onions;
- White Aspargus topped with miso, mayonnaise & soy sauce - really nice, clean asparagus without the powerful flavour of the common green variety;
- Namban Zuke with Red Snapper - red snapper, carrot, asparagus in a tangy rice vinegar marinade;
- Sunomono (Japanese salad) - two types of seaweed with mussels complete with rich seawater flavour;
- Crab Salad with Pomelo & Roasted Peanuts - great texture combination with nice sourness cutting into the crab (my peanut-free friend received a salad of octopus, cucumber & sesame seeds);
- Navajas (razor clam thai style) - really really delicious razor clams with curry oil;
- Kimchi cabbage, radish, salted octopus;
- Shabu shabu of octopus, enoki mushroom, squid & Wagyu beef in light soy flavoured soup;
- Anchovy Tempura filled with umeboshi topped with yuzu powder - unusual and great flavour combination of salty anchovies, sour umeboshi and citrus yuzu;
- Grilled eggplant with dark & light miso and shiso leaf - fantastic texture with strong miso similar to the well known black miso cod variations around the world;
- Prawn-Steamed Dumpling (Chinese dumplings made with potato flour & filled with fresh small prawns & Iberico pork belly) - looked great, but not particularly different to usual yumcha other than an added bacon-ish edge;
- Eel Temaki with Nori - self-wrapped, crispy nori and melting quality roasted eel;
- Baby Vegetable Wok - standard stir fry vegetables, but a good change during the course;
- Meat Gyoza (pan-fried crispy Japanese dumpling with minced pork & nira) - decent, but not as juicy inside as the best I've had;
- Japo Burger (homemade bread, beef, cucumber, ginger, topped with shiso leaf) - pattie with ketchup & shiso marinade mixed into it and lots of flavour; sadly too small;
- Grilled Pork Rib Cantonese-Style - Iberian pork rib roasting over fire all night in front of us. Not as tender as it looked but still tasted great as expected;
- Fruta Cru - Melon soaked in Chinese rice wine, pineapple soaked in sambuca, apple soaked in sake, pear eaten with spearmint; strong and refreshingly alcoholic;
- Japanese mochi cakes with strawberry filling topped with strawberry jelly, strawberry cup filled with strawberry vodka.

All-in-all a nice set course meal. €70 for 19 fusion Japanese-Spanish courses really isn't that much. Good to see the finest cuisine in the world being fused into European kitchens.

Next time I would order the same 19 course extravanganza. Even if you aren't as hungry, don't skimp on the experience. You'll regret it later when you walk around Berlin searching for something else decent that isn't a wurst.