Culture tales from Berlin: short and awesome
This year, in June, we were in Berlin for the concert of one of my favorite artists. So we took a short city break, from Wednesday to Friday. It was just me, my husband, and my brother. So here are our culture tales from Berlin.
NOTE: The hotel and restaurants presented below are the ones we visited this year. I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by them. Me and my family have chosen them based on availability, reviews both on Google and TripAdvisor, and what we have seen on their menu from their website (if they have one).
1. Culture tales from Berlin, on the street: Asude
We took our room key, left all our stuff in the hotel, and started walking around. As we were checking for the location of the concert, my husband saw Asude, a Turkish restaurant across the street. We stopped because the air around the restaurant smelled full of spices and deliciousness. I sat at a table right outside, and my husband and brother went in to check the menu.
They decided as follows: one lentil soup (for my brother and me), one cheese pide (for my brother and me), and beef and lamb skewers for my husband… and me. We were hungry, but apparently I was the hungriest of all because I ate from all the dishes.
My new standard for Turkish flavors
I don’t have experience with authentic Turkish cuisine, but Asude is now my standard. The lentil soup was creamy and a bit spicy. It was not spicy as in hot, but spicy as in I could tell that it had a lot of spices, I just did not know all of them. The pide was cheesy; there wasn’t a big cheese pull, and I don’t know if it should have one. But it was so balanced: a bit greasy, a bit chewy, and the dough was so soft and delicious. Last but not least were the skewers – my favorite part! The rice was cooked so that you could count each grain. It was fluffy and light, and the slightly greasy meat completed the dish perfectly. The skewers also came with a fresh salad (tomatoes, red onion, and bell peppers) and one slightly charred grilled tomato.
Asude Restaurant has a 4.4 rating on Google out of 1292 reviews. Almost all the people agree that the food is absolutely amazing and the place deserves a visit. You can check out some photos yourself on Google. We paid 24 euros for our meal (8 euro/person).
Here is their website if you want to visit: https://asude.de/
2. Where we stayed
As the concert was held in a club nearby, we decided to check in at the Ibis Hotel City Süd. We also chose breakfast included, as it was a short trip. We had a triple room with a double bed and a single bed layout. The room was on the ground floor, and it was very clean.
What impressed us most was their breakfast. The hotel includes a breakfast buffet. This means we chose what we wanted to eat, as much as we wanted to eat. They had a variety to choose from: eggs (fried, scrambled, boiled), deli meats (salami, pastrami, sausages), fresh veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers), dairy products (plain yogurt, fruit yogurt, milk, cheeses), cereals, and of course, coffee, tea, still, and sparkling water.
As we normally like to explore and walk around a lot, we all had scrambled eggs. The scramble was fluffy and silky, one of my favorites. My husband tested the sausages and salamis and enjoyed the flavors. Compared to the types we have in Romania, he was impressed. Me and my brother tested the yogurts, which were fresh and tasted delicious.
All in all, this hotel was definitely worth it’s value. For a three-star hotel, we were very pleased. We paid 303 euros for 2 nights, 101 euros/person. Unfortunately, we did not take any pictures because we were eager to go out and explore a small piece of Berlin.
If you’re planning a trip in that area, here is a booking link if you need it: https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/hotelbritzerhof.html
3. Pho Phan: a Vietnamese delight
Growing up, we never had Asian food. Me and my husband started dating in 2008 and slowly tried to discover more cuisines. And in the last two years, wonton soup has become a staple in our household.
This is why, as soon as I saw an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, I insisted we try the food. The restaurant turned out to be Pho Phan. After just a quick peek at the menu, we all knew what we wanted. Our dishes were: one Wan-Tan soup, one Pho soup with tofu, one red curry with coconut milk and tofu, and one Massaman curry with fried chicken.
The most magical of soups, Wan-Tan
I know the wonton soup we make is absolutely delicious, but it can’t hold a candle to the Wan-Tan soup from Pho Phan. It was a clear soup with fresh cucumbers, bok choy, coriander, and green onions. And the wontons were crispy. So, so very crispy! The entire experience was mind-blowing. I think about that soup very fondly every now and then and wish I could learn the recipe. My brother had the Pho soup with tofu, and he was not disappointed either. It’s like we were taking turns surprising our taste buds. You could see the eyebrows at our table just making waves.
The second course was the curries. The red curry with tofu was really good. It’s the right amount of spiciness for me: enough that you feel it, but not so overpowering that you don’t taste anything else. And to my surprise, our curry recipe was exactly how the Massaman curry tasted. It was creamy, delicious, a little spicier, but amazing nonetheless.
This was our meal right before the concert, and it was a slam dunk! An amazing addition to the culture tales from Berlin!
The Pho Phan restaurant has a 4.5 rating on Google out of 1137 reviews. I would recommend you visit the place with an empty stomach so you can taste as many of their creations as you can. We left the restaurant smiling and absolutely full, having paid 35 euros total (about 12 euros/person).
Here is their website if you want to visit: https://phophanberlin.de/.
Final thoughts on the Culture tales from Berlin
Although we had a very short stay in Berlin, we had a great time. We were happy with the accommodation we chose, but very impressed with the food. Not to mention, the concert was a banger! I hope we can visit Berlin again, to test more cuisines there. Oh boy, what an amazing combination of flavors we’ve tasted!
Read more of our culture tales from around the world by clicking here or by clicking the “culture tales” tag below. And if you have any suggestions of restaurants to visit in Berlin, please let me know and I will take them into consideration for future holidays!
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