Since we’ve now got a car, it’s possible to go a bit further afield for our entertainment. So on Friday night, we drove to a German restaurant near Steve’s school (not very far, but too far to walk, and it’s way too cold to ride our bikes at 8pm). Schindler’s has another branch downtown (called Schindler’s Tankstelle) and the Haltestelle is a more recent addition to the Beijing eating scene – luckily for us!
Many ‘Western’ style ventures here in Beijing look like the real thing, but then often fail some how or have a certain Chinese-ness to them, which shows they’ve kind of missed the point. Obviously, ‘Chinese-ness’ is a good thing in a Chinese restaurant, but we were hoping for some authentic German-ness tonight.
We were presently surprised by the decor (we almost thought we were back in Germany) and the range of food on the menu. Unfortunately, the waitstaff did not speak German, but other than that it felt quite authentic.
We had some of our favourites to eat: deep-fried Camembert for entree, a roast pork knuckle for Steve and beef olives for me. They all stacked up very favourably and tasted just like ‘the real thing’. Steve couldn’t finish the pork knuckle as it was so large, and the sides of sauerkraut, potato puree and rot-kohl were also generous.
The price came out at €27 for 2 mains, one entree, a large bier and an apple juice. So not cheap as chips, but certainly cheaper than at a similar joint in Düsseldorf. And, except for not being able to order in German, it really did feel like quite the authentic experience!
Comments (5)
Is that a small plate or a large portion, by the happy smiling smug face I would say it’s a very big portion.
One worry is I can’t help but think the photo of the bearded one borders on canabalism.
Comment by Pop — February 8, 2010 @ 2:19 pm
Wow did they have to whack that thing with a stick a few times before they served it to you ?
Comment by Dennis — February 8, 2010 @ 11:44 pm
Looks almost as good as a Schweinebrötchen in Düsseldorf
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Comment by Stefan — February 9, 2010 @ 6:06 am
I´m sure they will be good at copying our precious food… did you have 12 Weizen with it?
Comment by van Trinkmeister — February 9, 2010 @ 6:17 pm
It was a bloody huge meal that I was unable to finish and the quality was fantastic; almost as good as Fucshcen. Unfortunately though I only had one beer and it wasn’t a Weizen, but it was a Krombacher so it was good. Anti drinking and driving laws here are harsher than anywhere else I hasve ever noticed before.
Comment by Steve — February 10, 2010 @ 7:13 am