Tag Archives: Germany

Hanok in Berlin, Germany

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Hanok
Kurfurstendamm 134, 10711 Berlin, 10711 Berlin, Germany

Located in the west side of Berlin. It had a very modern decor and tranquil atmosphere. I was kind of surprised to see the restaurant completely empty which was on the very busy street of Kurfürstendamm. There was quite a bit of pedestrians walking by, so I wondered if the service or food was bad, or that Germans weren’t accustom to Korean cuisine.

Having grown up where you’re surrounded by Asians who spoke their native tongue (be it their Asian language or English), but never German, it was an interesting experience. I tried my best to say some things in Korean…at least I was able to order my dish saying 이것　주세요 (This please.) as I pointed to the menu. LOL…hahaha…

The dishes’ portions were small, but good. The banchan (side dishes – typically you get small 4-5 side dishes with kimchi, potato, salad, cooked yam, etc that you can eat with your meal) which are usually free to refill in Vancouver, were extra in Hanok – or perhaps in Germany…

The server could tell I was a foreigner, and gave us two refills for 2 banchan at no extra cost :) heehee

It was interesting to go to an Asian restaurant in Germany. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s craving Korean cuisine to those craving some Asian taste.

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Bare restaurant, but decorated really nicely

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Asian food in Germany! :D

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Food Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot  Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

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IKEA in Germany (near Leipzig)

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We happen to stop by in a market area to our drive from Nurnberg to Berlin. I wanted to check out what IKEA in Germany looked like. Well, as you can expect, it was exactly the same as here in Canada except for everything being in German and in Euros.

The layout was the same, the products, etc. It was quite deserted and the cafe looked much bigger than the Richmond one. I wondered how they made any profit.

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Barely any customers…

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Tried their 1 Euro coffee

But then again, we had just gone to a mall which was literally empty – Nova Eventis. It was one of those odd modern mall you’d expect from a movie, so huge with big brands inside, kept sparkling clean, but no people. It could be because it was on a Monday, but I was told this is how it usually is.

I wouldn’t recommend going to IKEA unless you’re wanting to buy furniture. In Europe, IKEA is seen as the ‘cheap’ furniture, for students and low-income. It still has that branding here, but I feel it’s a bit more accepted as the ‘modern, clean, middle-income’ customers. And it’s true that you can make some pretty stylish rooms with their furniture and decor.

Panorama-Gasthof Burgschänke

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Panorama-Gasthof Burgschänke
Burgbergweg 4 90559 Burgthann, Germany

This restaurant is party of a hotel very close to the Thann castle, located in the heart of the Franconian countryside, about 20 km south-east of Nuremberg. Here you can try Franconian dishes, typical German cuisinedishes, or international specialities in  On hotel.info, it showcases that in 2007 the restaurant was awarded with a silver medal to honour its excellent Bavarian cuisine. Parking out in front is sometimes a bit of a challenge, not to mention it’s on a hill.
It was my first dining out experience in Germany.

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The servers were all dressed in the traditional dirndls. The restaurant was quite spacious and bright with lots of natural sun light. It was a very nice atmosphere so it was not surprising that it was full for lunch.

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Schnitzel with fries

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Roast pork with potato

I ordered the bratwurst with spargel (white-coloured huge asparagus) – which I really loved! I wish they sold them here in Canada! It came with potatoes and a bowl of salad. For drink, I ordered the apfelschorle – a popular soft drink in Germany which consists of carbonated mineral water and apple juice. This also became my favourite carbonated drink and would often order it at restaurants or buy them bottled.

My company ordered the Schnitzel, which is a boneless meat, thinned with a hammer and covered with gravy-like sauce. Unlike other European countries, schnitzel in Germany is always pork, and often deep fried covered in bread crumbs. This is probably why he would complain at the Deutches Haus and tell them that they are not suppose to be breaded.

The portions were big, way too much for me, so I had some help. But it was REALLY good. Everything was, plus I liked the touch of real flowers in the dish that made it even prettier.I really liked the restaurant.

Not sure about the communication with English with any of the servers. Since all the talk was done by my the German family I was staying with, I can’t comment if foreingers would have a tough time. I would guess you might since it was on the countryside. However, I have seen this hotel posted on English hotel reviews so I would imagine you’d be at least be able to order your food. But there are no English translations on the menu, so unless you know what the dishes are called, it’ll be difficult to know what you’re ordering. I guess you have to be adventurous ;)

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