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Chang Thaiküche @Grünwälderstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

February 11, 2018
#Dinner, #Meat, #Noodles, #Seafood, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Chili & Thai Basil, Fried Chicken, Gambas, Pad Thai, Restaurant, Roasted Duck, Satay, Thai, Uncategorized
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Sabei, sabei.

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Pad Thai

On our never-ending quest to find good value Asian food we followed the pointer of one of my food-loving colleague-friends to Chang’s on Grünwälderstraße. They had exactly two tiny round tables out front and we were lucky enough to catch one of them.

For starters, I had their satay gha, two chicken tender skewers with a dry rub spice mix and a nutty jelat peanut dip. Slightly dry but very tasty and good starting.

Satay gai.
Duck w/ chili & thai basil.

Next up were pad thai and fried duck in a savoury spicy sauce with chili, thai basil and vegetables. The duck was lovely crispy but still had a thin and jiggly fat layer sitting underneath that scrumptious skin. Sauce and vegetables were delicious with a good, yet not too unique taste to them. That pad thai though, it was, I’m not sure how to say it any other way but AWESOME! This was probably the best version of pad thai I had around here and since this is one of M.’s favorite noodle dishes we had quite a few. It had the right balance of tamarind, prawns were great and there was that certain tang. Loved it.

Get Your Grub On!

Chang Thaiküche
Grünwälderstraße 21
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany
p: +49 761 1379 684
http://chang-thaikueche.de/

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Chada Thai Nudelsuppe @Rempartstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

February 9, 2018
#Meat, #Noodles, #Seafood, *Liver, *Tongue, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Chinese Beef Noodle, Pho, Singaporean, Thai, Yong Tau Foo
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Sawadee-khrup.

[1] Beef bowl with lean beef, meatball, veal tongue and liver.

[1] Beef bowl with lean beef, meatball, veal tongue and liver.

This week’s most anticipated event for me was the opening of Chada Thai’s new noodle shop at Rempartstraße. Even after a few years in Asia, I couldn’t really make out what Thai noodle soups would be like but yesterday was the day I should find out.

We were planning to go with a bigger group but one colleague and I were held up by a spontaneous hall meeting and so the two of us followed the rest with a few minutes delay. Arriving at the shop we spotted our group with no free seats anywhere close to them or anywhere period. No choice but parking our behinds on the comfy waiting benches and hope for some fast noodle slurpers.

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Seafood and beef bowl.

Not long though and we were sitting at our table, ordering food and making ourselves familiar with the multitude of condiments on the table – chilli in vinegar, chilli flakes, sugar (??) and nuts.

My colleague ordered the seafood bowl, which was a heaty tom yam broth, filled with all sorts of water goodies like mussels, prawns, squid, salmon and fishballs. One to remember for my next visit but I just had to go for the beef bowl with all available add-ons, which meant that it was stacked generously with soft pieces of lean meat, veal liver and tongue as well as a bouncy meatball, whose texture took me back to those yong tau foo stalls in Singapore. My favourite meaty ingredient was the liver but the tongue definitely won the contest for most intriguing consistency and bite. The soup itself was tasty strong with hints of that sweet and sourness, typical for beef broth, and the noodles were just right. All in all a delicious bowl, that I’m happy to have so close by.

 

 

Lifting noodles.
Beef bowl.
Ball of glory.

So the food was great, that I didn’t even mind the ten bucks I had to leave at the counter here, and I hope that Freiburg will appreciate having such an authentic (oh gosh, I hate using that word) shop around with the friendliest of people serving up some truly great stuff.

Get Your Grub On!

Chada Thai Nudelsuppe
Rempartstraße 5
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany
p:
http://www.chadathai.de/

 

Burger Chalet @Niemenstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

March 21, 2016
#BBQ, #Meat, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Burger, Fast Food, Fries, German, Himmel & Erde (Heaven & Earth), Uncategorized, Western/International/American
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What an amazingly beautiful day it has been yesterday and the city was full of locals, students, tourists, and shopaholics alike soaking up the sun and roaming the streets of Freiburg, filling them like ants. We were right in the middle of it and completely lost track of time until our stomachs started growling to let us know a lunch was way overdue. It was lunch madness and almost every place around the Bermuda Dreieck (= Bermuda Triangle; a corner area in Freiburg) was packed with customers and some fast food joints even had queues oozing out their doors. Thankfully I had done my homework so we didn’t have to go on another hangry food quest and just around the corner, nestled between a garage something and another restaurant, Burger Chalet awaited us. As the name tells it’s a popular little burger joint and luckily the queue was sort of short and two lovely ladies allowed us to join them at their table for one of the rare options to sit outside enjoying the sun today.

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Burger of the Month: Himmel & Ääd Burger (Heaven & Earth)

Beforehand I had made plans to get my grub on with that ‘Alpenfeuer’ (Fire of the Alps) burger that comes with a chili-cheese-sauce, firy jalapeños and a homemade chili powder. Well, plans are great, but then life happens and as so often I did let another menu special item distract me and lead me off my  destined path. Without even thinking I heard myself ordering a medium grilled burger of the month, the ‘Himmel & Ääd’ (Heaven & Earth). Himmel & Ääd or Himmel & Erde is a popular and regional german dish, which is mostly common in the Rhineland, Westphalia, and Lower Saxony. In it’s purest version it consists of blood pudding, mashed potatoes, fried onions and apple sauce and actually so did this burger. Together with that juicy beef patty and wedged between two appropriately sized and perfectly toasted buns this just worked. All these very different textures and flavors merged together wonderfully and created something new and delicious. My favorite, besides the remarkable standard items of the burger, was the thin slice of tangy blood pudding, that added a spicy, almost creamy component on top of the patty. The tart and sweet apple chutney gave some fruity notes and the onions, being sweetish as well convinced with a light smokiness. The only thing that didn’t do too much for the whole concept and the flavor palette was the mashed potatoes, and frankly, it made it all just a bit more difficult to eat. I do get it though, it completes the transition of the traditional plated dish to a hands-on inventive burger. Fries were good.

Additionally to the fact that they know how to cook their stuff it’s worthy to mention that they are sourcing most of their ingredients locally, aren’t using any additives, the meat is freshly ground every day and they are making all their sauces themselves and from scratch as well. A lot of craft and thought goes into every burger here and the entire menu is also available with an in-house made vegetable patty for the vegetarians out there. The shop is small and cozily set up for a quick meal in a relaxing atmosphere, however, the glass barrier in front of the grill can’t save you entirely from all the food smell, so don’t mind taking a bit of burger scent home with you. The staff seems to enjoy themselves, is friendly and the guy  behind the counter was particularly fun to chat to. I was super full and happily content when we left and already have the next visit scheduled in my head. This time hopefully trying my original choice of burger and those fabulous looking rosemary potatoes. Thanks for the great grub.

Get Your Grub On!

Burger Chalet (closed on Sundays and public holidays)
Niemenstraße 9
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany
p: +49 761 278 382
http://www.burger-chalet.de/

Yepa Yepa @Merianstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

March 16, 2016
#Meat, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Mexican, Quesadillas, Tacos
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A cheesy update.

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What’s your favorite day of the week?

I had a bit of a rough day yesterday so since I was in town for Japanese class and needed something to cheer me up, and because it was ‘Taco Tuesday’ I went back to Yepa Yepa to load up on some heartwarming tacos.

Quesadillas (left: Birria w/ Salsa Verde | Right: Al Pastor w/ Salsa Taquera)
A full slap of tacos (+1 extra ‘Al Pastor’)

After I did – four, I ate four tacos – I still felt some emptiness deep inside and was planning to fill it with some loving gooey cheese so nothing seemed better than finally giving their quesadillas a shot. They’re pretty much the same as a standard taco just with some salty cheese melted to the tortilla over a hot plate. This was just the stuff I needed. The delicious filling of the taco was already amazing on it’s own ‘but that cheese tho’, a great combination. I still prefer my tacos non-cheesy but what a great possibility to change things up a little bit. Thanks, this was soul healing.

Get Your Grub On!

Yepa Yepa Mexican Taqueria (closed Sundays)
Merianstraße 30
79104 Freiburg
Germany
http://www.mexikanisch-essen-freiburg.de/

Mai Wok @Bertoldstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

January 5, 2016
#Noodles, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Pho, Soup, Vietnamese
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Phontastic!

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Pho Ga (Update March ’16)

We came here tonight prior to catching a movie at the Cinemaxx on the others side of the road. My brother in law originally intended to bring us to the running sushi place next door but that joint was bursting with people and no free seats were to be seen. Not having much time before the movie started we improvised and swiftly opted for their sister restaurant that cooks up a variety of Asian inspired wok stir fries, that were my definition of Asian cuisine about 8 years ago.

In the tradition of good germanized Asian food, I set my mind on ‘Ente Kross’ (crispy duck), a friend’s fitting name for a common fried-to-the-death-duck dish (not literally of course). Other than in Asia, where people love their fatty and chewy bits, Germans, in general, are not too fond of excessive fats and wobbly textures so those duck dishes are crisper than crisp, probably a bit dry yet still kinda delicious. Almost decided, I browsed my the pho bo on the menu and got indecisive again. When I am confused at a restaurant nowadays I tend to ask the staff for their recommendation given my shortlist of dishes. The lovely waitress was pretty quick in swaying me into the direction of the big bowl of piping hot Vietnamese soup, filled with lots of goodies; there were lime wedges, loads of those flat rice noodles, greens like herbs and scallions and deliciously tender beef slices. I was only missing some chili padi but they were also just one request to the waitress away.

As far as the broth goes I was pretty impressed. As always I would have wished for some more cinnamon flavor but since I mention that every single time that I am eating pho, I’m not even sure anymore if it’s actually supposed to have such a strong flavor or if it’s just in my head. The sriracha added a ubiquitous and intensifying heat to it all but the fresh chili just gave out free right hooks for my taste buds. It almost gave me the hiccups, which in my case stands for a proper chili experience and at the same time signals that I’m very close to crossing my line of tolerance. I was slurping and sweating away and felt quite happy to see such a decent bowl of pho in a place that I wouldn’t have expected it.

Pho Ga (Chicken)
Pho Bo (Beef)

Dish Update March: I recently came here again during a shopping spree in town, and this time, I ordered the pho ga with chicken. I’m not 100% sure if it was the same broth, I would maybe say it was a little less intense but the chicken was just delicious; white meat that was somewhat tenderized, lightly panfried and kicking out some proper chicken aromas. A nice changeup and still healthy enough.

The place is no thrills, functional and clean but because of the open kitchen you might take a nice little food scent home with you depending where you were seated. There are tables for couples and groups with benches, meant for quick meals and not for lounging around for hours. Service is mostly nice, especially our waitress was super attentive and later even checked if I was actaually happy with my final choice. As a result of the streamlined menu, the kitchen runs very efficiently and fast and the food we had was great and cheap. You can never go wrong with an affordable delicious pho now can you? Nice one.

Get Your Grub On!

Mai Wok (open everyday)
Bertoldstr. 53
79098 Freiburg
Germany
http://www.maiwok-freiburg.de/

Yepa Yepa @Merianstraße (Freiburg, Germany)

December 12, 2015
@Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, @Neuburg, Mexican, Tacos, Uncategorized
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Too many tacos? No such thing.

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Trio of Tacos: Al Pastor, Pollo Ranchero, Birria

Freiburg seems to be secretly working on becoming the Mexican food capital of Germany as yet another taqueria has opened its’ doors very recently at Merianstraße just outside the border of the old town. Yepa Yepa is a cozy little mission style food place offering standing or bar table seating only. They carry a small selection of tacos and quesadillas on their standing menu plus some special items once in a while. Unfortunately, we just missed Tamales Week, which I didn’t have since Casa Latina closed its’ doors in Singapore a couple of years back.

Pretty much a freaking bummer, but trying not to be too devastated I swiftly ordered a trio of their tacos with corn tortillas, filled with all the different meats and every available salsa on the menu. I always try to build up to the part of the dish, which I reckon will be the most amazing, so I went with the Pollo Ranchero first. Not because it didn’t look good, but because I thought it would have the lightest flavors. The tortillas were nicely crisp on the edges and held up all the way but the chicken, even though soft and moist, tasted a bit bland together with the corn rice. Thankfully the pico de gallo was here to save the day and add some smack to it all. Great filling for a light lunch burrito, I thought. Second in line was the Al Pastor with the Salsa Taquera, which overall was my favorite flavor combo of them all, with that delicious pork in a slightly cinnamony gravy, some fresh coriander, a pungent pineapple relish as well as that fantastic smokey salsa. This worked outstandingly well together and danced right to my taste buds. Last up was the Birria, a, in chili broth slow cooked and pulled beef filling with beans, fresh onions and coriander topped with a lovely fruity-ish tomatillo salsa verde. This was the most delicate of the meats here for sure, but flavorwise Al Pastor was still my top 1 hands down.

Except the cheese and soft drinks, they make everything themselves here, from the crispy tortillas to the last tangy salsa and the ingredients are mainly regionally sourced. Yepa Yepa is a nice place, where nice people, service you delicious food. Due to the setup, though, it’s not a place to spend too much time in, relax and maybe have a nice evening and drinks with your friends. However I think that’s not their mission anyway, so I’m just happy we are getting more and more options for tasty, authentic (I actually don’t like that word) Mexican food in the area.

Get Your Grub On!

Yepa Yepa (closed Sundays)
Merianstraße 30
79104 Freiburg
Germany
http://www.mexikanisch-essen-freiburg.de/

derfreiBurger @Altstadt (Freiburg, Germany)

November 2, 2015
#Meat, @Altstadt (FR), @Freiburg, @Germany, Burger, Fast Food, Western/International/American
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FreiBurgern.

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BBQ Bacon Burger

Okay, so I am actually gonna take up writing again. The great thing is I have a lot of material to practice on as I still took loads of pictures during my year off, made notes about almost every mentionable meal and also have collected a big library of audio reviews, that I’ll try to transfer piece by piece onto digital paper. So don’t be surprised if there are some backdated reviews popping up in between. This one’s a rather recent one and a place I wanted to try for a while now. derfreiBurger was one of the places leading the rise of burger joints (the newer ones are mainly food trucks) in Freiburg and is located conveniently in a side street along Schwarzwald City. It’s a pretty tiny place with only few seating options; some bar kinda seating, a big shared table or if you’re lucky enough a little booth area for 4-5 people. It’s like a little fast food restaurant, where someone put some extra effort in, giving it a bit of a more homely feel.

Against my instincts, I went for the BBQ-Bacon-Burger (EUR5.80), that comes with a fried onion ring and loads of bbq sauce. When it flew out the open kitchen my first impression was, that there’s something off with that patty to bun ratio. Don’t get me wrong the meat is definitely big enough for that price, it just gets a little lost in that huge roll, which doesn’t do it actual justice. They get the freshly baked buns from a local bakery and use only fresh, well-seasoned beef for their burgers and you can actually taste that extra bit of craftsmanship. I also enjoyed that sweet and crispy onion ring very much and absolutely loved their homemade smokey bbq sauce. That last one was important because there was loads of it, like close to sloppy joe’s kinda loads (so you better like it saucy). For me, the bacon strips could’ve used a couple more seconds on the flat pan to crisp up but were nice and salty anyway. Pretty good.

So the place is tiny but also not meant for you to spend hours in it, the people working behind the counter are genuinely nice and the food is mostly homemade, pretty tasty and for that very very reasonably priced. So to sum things up, I maybe would have wished for a thicker and juicier patty in general but in that price range this is a great burger overall and I’ll probably come back and check out some other menu items, like that Chilli-Cheese-Dog that caught my eye. Thanks for the delicious burger and all the best.

Get Your Grub On!

derfreiBurger (closed on Sundays and public holidays)
Schiffstraße 16
79098 Freiburg
Germany
http://www.derfreiburger.de/