It is quite thrilling for me when I experience new things, especially food. Asia Live, Avari Towers. Karachi has initiated monthly food festivals; every month a new treat, a different country, the recent one being Germany. German food without going to Germany, oh well, let's do this!
When I was browsing through the array of food that was presented at the venue I couldn't stop thinking, "wow, there is a lot of meat!". Germans are known for their bread and sausages, their undying love for meat dishes is no secret. The flavours may be basic but the cuisine is quite diverse due to influences and adaptation from their European neighbours.
German food may be rich, almost heavy, but in no way will you find it adventurous in terms of spices. There is barely any spice used in their cooking, therefore, hot and spicy is not something you will find in German cuisine. If you have a palate that wont settle for less than that, German food is not for you. Fresh produce is preferred so whatever is seasonal, it is the most cooked. German food is that it's always cooked with fresh locally available ingredients. Two main item that kept popping up other than meat were cabbages and potatoes, they must be a favorite side dish I am assuming.
After seeing so much meat I thought they would create salad just out of meat if they had a choice, and they actually did because I discovered Wurstsalat (Cold Cut Salad). It was very obviously salty but also pleasant and appetizing.
Slices of salami and cold cuts were present in almost every salad unless it was just potatoes or cabbage. Even though there was no salad that I considered unique, I was very impressed at how the chef kept the taste authentic and didn't add any unnecessary foreign element like mustard, thousand island dressing, and so forth just to make it appealing to the masses. Most of the meat was either cured, boiled or pickled. I did enjoy the pickled meat more than the bland one, who wouldn't.
So Aufschnitt was the dominating item in most salads. Aufschnitt - refers to cold cuts, sliced sausage, salami, Food can be a great excuse to polish your foreign language, no?
There was a lot of food so it was almost impossible to relish any one particular dish. After a few bites and much contemplation, I realized that most German dishes are either salty, piquant (due to the pickled vegetables and meat) or mild. Nonetheless, I still ended up enjoying two dishes which are also supposed to be the most consumed in German Cuisine itself, coincidence much?
There was a lot they had to offer, from Orange and Honey Glazed Duck to Breaded Beef chops, from Stuffed Breaded Chicken to Beef Stroganoff but I ended up with sausages and potatoes, how exciting.
There are more than 1500 different types of Wurst (sausage) made in Germany and you’ll find street stalls selling them everywhere. I love sausages as much as Germans do so it was not a surprise I ended up enjoying Sauerkraut and Sausages. Saurkraut is finely cut fermented cabbages. Extremely tangy in flavour which was subdued by the subtlety of the braised sausages and green peas. The union of the bland and tangy created an equilibrium leading to pleasant bites. The sausages were tender yet cooked through.
The next dish, also a very obvious one, that I enjoyed was Kartoffelknödel (Potato dumplings) preferably served as side dish with braised meat. Yes, dumplings are not restricted to Japan, news flash. Many of my fellow bloggers pointed out a certain dry after taste which I later figured out to be potato starch, an essential ingredient. The after taste did not disrupt the experience for me. These are made by mixing raw and cooked potatoes together which adds texture. The dumplings were lightly buttered and garnished with sauteed onions. The soft and savoury potatoes served as great support with the tangy sauerkraut and sausages.
The three-layer pastry, inspired by the German flag (so cute) is also a great combination of light and intense sweets consisting of layers of caramel, chocolate and red velvet cake, should I say more?
I was told that Asia Live has just hired a new pastry chef. I advise them not to let him go anywhere, he is definitely doing something right if a person like me who doesn't have sweet cravings ended up stuffing herself silly with desserts.
I must conclude by stating that sometimes food is more about experience rather than going with the familiar and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering how even salty food can be so diverse.
German Food Festival is on till the 28th of October at Asia Live, Avari Towers Karachi, so go and try out some new food as a refresher for your palate.
When I was browsing through the array of food that was presented at the venue I couldn't stop thinking, "wow, there is a lot of meat!". Germans are known for their bread and sausages, their undying love for meat dishes is no secret. The flavours may be basic but the cuisine is quite diverse due to influences and adaptation from their European neighbours.
German food may be rich, almost heavy, but in no way will you find it adventurous in terms of spices. There is barely any spice used in their cooking, therefore, hot and spicy is not something you will find in German cuisine. If you have a palate that wont settle for less than that, German food is not for you. Fresh produce is preferred so whatever is seasonal, it is the most cooked. German food is that it's always cooked with fresh locally available ingredients. Two main item that kept popping up other than meat were cabbages and potatoes, they must be a favorite side dish I am assuming.
SALADS
Slices of salami and cold cuts were present in almost every salad unless it was just potatoes or cabbage. Even though there was no salad that I considered unique, I was very impressed at how the chef kept the taste authentic and didn't add any unnecessary foreign element like mustard, thousand island dressing, and so forth just to make it appealing to the masses. Most of the meat was either cured, boiled or pickled. I did enjoy the pickled meat more than the bland one, who wouldn't.
So Aufschnitt was the dominating item in most salads. Aufschnitt - refers to cold cuts, sliced sausage, salami, Food can be a great excuse to polish your foreign language, no?
Main Course
There was a lot they had to offer, from Orange and Honey Glazed Duck to Breaded Beef chops, from Stuffed Breaded Chicken to Beef Stroganoff but I ended up with sausages and potatoes, how exciting.
There are more than 1500 different types of Wurst (sausage) made in Germany and you’ll find street stalls selling them everywhere. I love sausages as much as Germans do so it was not a surprise I ended up enjoying Sauerkraut and Sausages. Saurkraut is finely cut fermented cabbages. Extremely tangy in flavour which was subdued by the subtlety of the braised sausages and green peas. The union of the bland and tangy created an equilibrium leading to pleasant bites. The sausages were tender yet cooked through.
The next dish, also a very obvious one, that I enjoyed was Kartoffelknödel (Potato dumplings) preferably served as side dish with braised meat. Yes, dumplings are not restricted to Japan, news flash. Many of my fellow bloggers pointed out a certain dry after taste which I later figured out to be potato starch, an essential ingredient. The after taste did not disrupt the experience for me. These are made by mixing raw and cooked potatoes together which adds texture. The dumplings were lightly buttered and garnished with sauteed onions. The soft and savoury potatoes served as great support with the tangy sauerkraut and sausages.
I was looking forward to the Glazed Duck which ended up being a bit hard and dry, don't know where the glazing went. Another dish with potential were the sea scallops which ended up being a bit overcooked. Overall, if you enjoy less spice then you are going to the right place. I also found the flavours very similar to the dishes preferred in northern areas like Swat and Gilgit because fat serves as a medium for cooking there as well.
Unfortunately, there were no German desserts available. That disappointed me out a little considering cake, especially black forest, are raved about in German cuisine. However, I must point out that the variety present was supremely mouth-watering. I don't have a sweet tooth and I still ended up devouring quite a few of the desserts on the table.
I highly recommend you try their pineapple cake which literally is so soft and moist your brain will melt with delight.
Dessert
I highly recommend you try their pineapple cake which literally is so soft and moist your brain will melt with delight.
The three-layer pastry, inspired by the German flag (so cute) is also a great combination of light and intense sweets consisting of layers of caramel, chocolate and red velvet cake, should I say more?
I was told that Asia Live has just hired a new pastry chef. I advise them not to let him go anywhere, he is definitely doing something right if a person like me who doesn't have sweet cravings ended up stuffing herself silly with desserts.
I must conclude by stating that sometimes food is more about experience rather than going with the familiar and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering how even salty food can be so diverse.
German Food Festival is on till the 28th of October at Asia Live, Avari Towers Karachi, so go and try out some new food as a refresher for your palate.
3 Comments
Yummy food coverage Maliha. And I agree that it's all about the experience sometimes. Enjoyed reading the post ☺
ReplyDeleteAs a German I can assure you that there is nothing like a german cuisine. Every region has it's own unique food. Also there are a lot of vegetarian options but seems that they have been missed out, maybe due to Pakistani preferences ;) I guess cooking those dishes was hard has the meat is rarely something else than pork and alcohol is used widely. Especially in Black Forest Cakes which are mostly cream and liquor.
ReplyDeleteI am sure. Pakistani eateries also localize foreign food even though they say they dont. I think Pork may be one of the only few things I dont consume but black forest cake with liquor sounds divine just like steak in red wine.
DeleteThank you for commenting, have a nice day!