2012: A year in food

Yep it's that time of year again, the end of one food era and the beginning of another. This year has been marked by not only things that I never thought i'd ever do (go to China solo, sign up for a half marathon, drive a car....) but also things that I definitely would do. That is eat, a lot.

So I thought I would share with you my personal food highlights of 2012.

Best breakfast out

My two stints in Sydney have made this one difficult but I'm going to go with the place with not only the nicest food but also the best memory. Bills. My breakfast here was a simple affair, a good old British meets Aussie fry up. Except each element is delivered to perfection, the scrambled eggs are of course legendary, the heart stopping slab of butter positioned between two perfect pieces of sourdough and the delicious sausages. Washed down with a much too small cup of coffee (pyramid scheme). Additionally to the food I have great memories of that breakfast, it was a warm morning, I was sat opposite a school watching parents drop their children off, I'd just read about how interconnected we all are in the world and I was exchanging eye contact with the barista who was far too good looking for his own good.

Runners up: Greek eggs at Demitri's Kitchen (Melbourne), a classic fry up at Boston Tea Party (Exeter, UK), simple but beautiful avocado and tomato at Elizabeth Bay Cafe (Sydney) and the £10 French platter at Enoterra (Shanghai)

Breakfast fail of the year: Element Fresh (Shanghai), 4 poached eggs, sausage and sweet toast...really?

Best breakfast in

Smashed Avocado on Toast

This year i've spent a lot more time in my self-proclaimed fabulous kitchen. I've spent many a solo Saturday taking in the papers and aeropressing the hell out of my coffee. But one breakfast moment in particular stands out, that's my smashed avocado on toast.

I think this one was so significant because it was my first weekend back after Shanghai and I had dragged my weary hungry self to Sainsburys for the first post-jet lagged feast. With hunger and greed ravaging my soul, I had eagerly filled my basket with treasures, some super fancy golden yolked eggs (I'm pretty sure laid by hens that were fed exclusively with organic feed from Fortnum and Mason), a loaf of sourdough, some beautifully ripe hass avocados and some Greek feta. As I began to consume my eggy masterpiece I had one of those moments where I wished that somebody had been around to taste what a wonder I had created. The best I could do was take an arty farty hipsomatic instagram of it and as my friend TES would say, promise to 'blog the shit out of it'. So here it is:

Best Scrambled Eggs when you haven't eaten scrambled eggs or decent bread for 2 months
Serves one greedy person

Really good quality room temperature eggs (3 if you are feeling crazy)
Cubes of feta
A handful of rocket
A splash of cream
Butter (the good stuff, I like the one that's flecked with sea salt)
A nice ripe avocado
A couple of slices of good white bread
A squeeze of lemon
A scatter of chopped fresh parsley

Toast your sourdough or whatever nice thick bread you have cut. Lavishly spread with that beautiful butter. Mash some avocado in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of sea salt and some black pepper. Spread generously on your hot toast. Next melt some butter (I know, I know...) in a pan and add your eggs with your handful of parsley and splash of cream. Scramble until gooey, don't let them go too far, take off the heat and let them firm up a bit. Arrange beautifully over your bread with a scattering of feta for saltiness and a handful of rocket to make you feel better. Serve with a fresh pot of coffee, the newspaper and Etta James.

Best fancy lunch

M on the Bund Brunch (Shanghai)

Dessert Platter, China Doll (Sydney)

A tie between my hatted lunch at China Doll with blushing bride VC and Welsh hottie GPR. We were spoilt with cocktails, duck pancakes, delicate and tender sashimi and a flurry of desserts (pictured).

Another incredible lunch moment of 2012 was lunch at M on the Bund with my wonderful Shanghai ladies. Not only was the food, view and atmosphere beautiful but also this was the moment, a week before I left, that I took the moment to appreciate the incredible experiences I had, and the amazing people that I had the pleasure of meeting. The fact that this moment also involved a Swedish smorgasbord and champagne was the icing on the cake.

Best absolutely mundane lunch

In my whole year my lunch highlight involves me crouching over my desk (which I made into a kitchen) in my little room in Shanghai, indulging in what might have been the best sandwich experience of my life. I think at this point I hadn't eaten decent bread, ham or cheese for a month and I had just discovered that you could get all of these things in my local supermarket just a hop, skip and a jump away. So I greedily constructed the best sandwich I've ever had, a slice of French cheese, some ham that I'm pretty sure on retrospect was a week out of date and butter all crammed in a huge crunchy and miraculously non-sweet baguette. I stuffed this with expensive salt and vinegar crisps imported all the way from the UK and for the first time in a month felt the culture shock melt away.

Best fancy dinner

Let's not beat around the bush here, my two best dinners out both involve Australia. The first, Porteno, two hatted heaven, specialising in meat but trumping with vegetarian delights such as quail egg salad with cauliflower puree. The second, one hatted happiness at Lolli Redini where I had a triple cheese soufflé foodgasm. Bravo Australia, you've done it again.

Notable mentions: The steak at Tonic (Nottingham), incredible pizza at brand new Scarpetta (Shanghai), birthday Yunnanese at Lost Heaven (Shanghai) and Duck at my beautiful friend's wedding (Corn Barn Exeter)

Best dinner in

Ronald McDonald eat your heart out

My stand out dinner also involves a solo Saturday night, for the whole week i'd had a hankering for a beautiful chicken burger. Having sneakily visited McDonalds that Tuesday for a McChicken Sandwich and still not satisfied, my attention turned to home made. I wandered around Waitrose hoping for inspiration and a few ingredients captured my attention, some beautiful fresh chicken breast strips, a packet of fresh breadcrumbs, some crunchy fresh rolls and some garlic mayonnaise. My dinner was set.

A Chicken Burger Supper for a blissful night in
Serves one girl with a hankering for a burger

A packet of chicken breast strips (you could do this yourself but I find this easier)
Either fresh breadcrumbs or a packet of panko (both are fantastic)
A crusty roll
A handful of whatever leaves make you feel better about yourself, I went for baby spinach
Half an avocado
Either homemade or really good quality garlic mayonnaise
Some mozzarella if you are feeling really naughty
An egg and some flour
Some skinny fries and Dijon mustard for dunking

Get yourself three bowls and whisk up one egg in one, some flour in another and your breadcrumbs in the final. Douse your chicken strips in flour, then egg, then roll generously in breadcrumbs. You could add some parmesan to your breadcrumbs here if you are feeling particularly mental.

Once you have coated your chicken heat some oil up in a shallow pan and fry each until golden. Pop them on a baking tray and finish off in the oven. Use your judgement depending on thickness, this should only take 15 mins max.

Prepare your lovely roll and get your chips cooked. Fill the roll with whatever you feel like. I added a strip of mozzarella, a smear of mayo and a handful of lovely peppery rocket. Add your hot chicken strips straight from the oven and serve with salad, fries and a dollop of Dijon for dunking.

Goals for next year

I have many food goals for next year, I want to visit Nottingham's very own Michelin Starred gaff. I'd love to eat a burger at Electric Diner in London. I want to try the new Scandinavian cuisine that is all the rage right now for my hopefully impending trip to Sweden and finally I'd like to bake my own bread and make some pate upon which to spread (if I can bear the sight of those livers).

So here's to an amazing year in food. I wish you all the best for 2013, may your plates be bountiful and your heart full of joy.

Lots of love and kisses
HYKAEI x

48 hours in Melbourne

I decided at the last minute to weave a trip to Melbourne into my Australian break. Partly to see friends and partly to break out my black clothes and find some new hidden cocktail bars. The best thing about having lived to the full for a year in a city is that when you return you have a comprehensive list of your favourite people and places you just have to visit and experience.

With that in mind I was staying in my old apartment with wonderful old housemate PW. We spent the first night in Fratellinos, our local pizzeria which is perpetually packed, incredibly authentic, cheap and BYO. In the haze of catching up, chatting and drinking Penfolds no photographic evidence was taken. But suffice to say if you happen to be on Malvern Road anytime soon swing by for their garlic and spicy sausage pizza, a steal at 9 bucks. You won't regret it.

Breakfast at Hobba
428 Malvern Road, Prahran
(03) 9510 8336

The next morning I decided to torture myself and visit Hobba for breakfast. This is torture because Hobba coffee is amazing and this place, situated two minutes from my old apartment, only opened a week before I left. Hobba ticks all the Melbourne boxes it is a) in a warehouse b) has exposed brick c) serves single origin coffee. The new 3rd wave coffee movement in Melbourne is something you should slip into conversation if you want to impress a Melbournian. I'm still not entirely sure what it is but it tastes amazing! 

With a belly full of fried egg, brown butter hollandaise, bubble and squeak, slow roast tomato and farmhouse slab bacon I decided to start my action packed day re-uniting myself with Melbourne.

Coffee at De Clieu

187 Gertrude Street Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia

(03) 9416 4661

The rest of my day was planned out by my favourite Gaga loving and delightfully droll amateur food critic RF. I had an hour to kill before we met so I decided to take a wander around my old stomping ground, Fitzroy.

I was already in caffeine withdrawal so a trip to De Clieu was most definitely on the cards. If you look past the painful coolness of this place the coffee is truly something amazing as are the delicious breakfasts. My favourite being the De Clieu special of cheese, ham, soft boiled egg, fresh sourdough, butter, a cold drip coffee and a pot of jam all for $15. Amazing.

Huxtaburger

106 Smith Street, Collingwood

http://www.huxtaburger.com.au/

With my stomach full of numerous cups of amazing coffee it was time for my long awaited catch up with R! We decided to begin our reunion day at Huxtaburger.

Huxtaburger is a new tiny hole in the wall on Smith Street that serves a variety of cold beers and some seriously hot meat. We grabbed a Brooklyn beer and sat in the sun enjoying the shiny bun, perfect cheese and tangy mustard. It was utter perfection

Drinking the best cocktail in the world at Cabinet
11 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne
http://www.cabinetbar.com.au/

Dumping our bags we decided to do what we do best and get a cocktail. Jumping on the 112 down Collins into the city there was only one place on the radar...Cabinet. Cabinet is home to my favourite drink of all time their signature gingerbread martini.

We chatted to the lovably camp owner Al about it's pure genius, the salt and pepper, the gingerbread sugar surrounding the outside. He said that they had all tried really hard to top it but never succeeded. We agreed. This was worth the airfare alone.

Fuelled by sugar we roamed the city for another snack, as we strolled past Flinders Lane an idea emerged. Chin Chin..of course! As with all Melbourne restaurant fads, Chin Chin didn't just open, it exploded. Lovable Masterchef judge Matt Preston claims to cross town for just one serve of the Son in Law eggs and rumour has it that it's impossible to get a table, no matter what night of the week. Well it would be rude not to give it a go!

Chin Chin
125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC

We arrived at 5pm and amazingly it was relatively quiet so we easily grabbed a table for two. Within 15 minutes of being seated the place began to fill up with queues upon queues of hungry city types standing at the door. By 5:30pm the place was positively heaving, and all on a Tuesday, Melbourne never fails to amaze me. As we weren't starving and not really in the mood for spontaneously having a $200 meal we decided to share some small serves and shockingly no alcohol to keep the bill down. RF informed me firmly that we HAD to have the Son in Law eggs and two serves because 'he's not sharing'. Oh R how I have missed you.

Son in Law Eggs

To compliment our orgasmic eggs we chose beef roti with dipping sauce and salt and pepper squid with Vietnamese mint and the chunkiest and most delectable lemon wedge I have ever seen.

As expected, each dish was executed perfectly. Far from tasting like a fishy inner wheel tube like is served at a popular UK tapas chain that will remain nameless, this squid was tender, salty and complimented perfectly by a handful of the mint. The roti was spicy and the delicate dip added a chilli tang. As we left we took a detour to the bar downstairs that by 6pm was absolutely packed. The cocktails looked delicious, the crowd were cool city types interlaced with some typical hipsters. It looked like a great place to have a drink and I'd love to go back there on my next Melbournian visit.

Little Press and Cellars
72 Flinders Street, Melbourne VIC
http://www.thepressclub.com.au/menu.html

We hadn't had a cocktail for at least an hour so it was time to remedy that. I decided to be bold and request a trip to The Press Club, just a drink, no food. Honest. The Press Club is Masterchef''s lovably chubby George's flagship 2 hatted restaurant. Sexy and moody with a delicious fine dining take on Greek flavours I had sadly never quite gotten around to visiting but I had read great things about Little Press Cellars. At 6:30pm the place was quiet with only a trickle of businessmen sipping on their whiskey. I had only one thing on my radar, a decent martini.

A good straight up martini has become my guilty pleasure. Now that I am not a student and can afford to elevate myself from tesco value vodka I can fully appreciate the beauty of a simple ice cold vodka with a twist, shaken not stirred. Who would stir it...please!

To my friend R's amusement and horror I decided to go along with the fancy table service and allow my over accommodating bar tender to select my vodka to compliment my twist of lime. The beautiful article arrived (it was consumed way too quickly to take a photo) and alarmingly tasted like delicious, smooth, warming water (the type of water that makes you giggle for 5 blocks). It was an expensive treat. Suitably buzzed from good food and an extortionate drink we meandered to our final destination for some camp comedy and retired to Rooftop for some blurry skyline hot cider. Knowing that a hangover and an early start was on the horizon it was time to stumble home. Good night for now you sexy city.

Belated Greek breakfast feast

Demitris Feast, 141 Swan Street Richmond
http://www.demitrisfeast.com.au/


Not a cloud in the sky

I awoke bright and early which in reality means I woke up late with a pounding head and some directions to Richmond. It was time to have breakfast with my lovely Melbournite SH. S and I had met through a friend when I used to live in Wollongong and she took me under her Melbourne wing and introduced me to some of my now favourite cocktail bars, most noteworthy Berlin Bar in Chinatown. For that, and so many other things I will always owe her a debt of gratitude. So in my usual calamitous way I stumbled to Richmond.

We decided to dine at Demitris Feast, a beautiful Greek cafe that had won breakfast of the year a few years previously. In it's hype-filled hay day I had read mixed reviews of plates adorned with weird dried oregano and poor seating. But things seemed to have changed, it was a perfect sunny Melbourne morning and we snagged a quiet seat in the courtyard.

The breakfast was just what the doctor ordered, beautiful coffee with some house made beans, chorizo and olive oil soaked sourdough. S had the tomato and feta stack which looked utterly delectable too. With vows of friendship renewed and amusing anecdotes told it was time to say goodbye to S and to Melbourne for a little while. True to form as I waited for the flight, the sun bounced off the Qantas planes making my heart hurt a little with sadness.

But it's ok, you'll always have a place in my heart Melbourne. Goodbye for now old friend.

Shall we go to a trendy cafe?

Darlinghurst leafy love

Every morning of my holiday I was woken by my wonderful bundle of gay energy SS asking me the following magical question 'shall we go to a trendy cafe?'. He vowed to show me all that Kings Cross, Potts Point, Darlinghurst and Elizabeth Bay had to offer and my eager stomach was powerless to resist (besides it's all in the name of research right?).

Uliveto
33 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross
Sydney NSW 2011

Our journey starts at our first brunch together at Uliveto full of giggles, incessant picture taking and watching toned, tanned body builders tuck into their egg white omelettes with far too much enthusiasm (seriously guys, the yolk is the best bit!).

After inhaling my first decent coffee in 7 months we decided to order some food, my lovely companion ordered a chicken salad adorned with that beautiful Australian avocado and olives and I opted for a tuna melt slathered with cheese, tomatoes and lovingly scattered with herbs. It was simple and delicious, highly recommended.

Elizabeth Bay Cafe

Shop 2 & 3, 45 Elizabeth Bay Road

Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011 (I wish British postcodes were this straightforward)

Our next adventure took the birthday boy and I to Elizabeth Bay nursing a Beresford hangover and seriously craving ricotta. 

Elizabeth Bay Cafe is small and perfectly formed. The lunches are made with love and some really fresh ingredients, the best being these beautiful sweet tomatoes. The fresh sourdough was spread with olive oil, scattered with sea salt and toasted with a squeeze of lemon providing the icing on the hypothetical cake. It was a perfect start to a perfect Sydney day.

Birthday ricotta

Gelato Messina

Shop 1/241 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Sydney, NSW 2010

After our ricotta feed I had an epiphany, a birthday wouldn't be a birthday without a delicious dollop of beautifully made ice cream from Gelato Messina. When I was an Australian newbie S and I used to be flatmates. Our secret shame was our late night ice cream run to Cold Rock to order family sized tubs of cookies and cream ice cream with crushed chocolatey goodness. Gelato Messina takes this to a new level (the level that wins you best gelato in Australia).

What I love most about this place, apart from it being filled with lovely memories, is that you get to try whatever flavour you like before your buy, the hardest bit is deciding.

Fondante

Simple...delicious.

Petrol

9 Springfield Ave, Potts Point

Sydney NSW 2011

After already eating my body weight in delicious food, S announced excitedly one morning that he would take me to not one, not two but three cafes in one day. While this sounded excessive who was I to stand down from such a foodie challenge!

Starting the day with a coffee in a tiny hole in the wall (the name escapes me) and celebrity spotting Lara Bingle we decided to retire to one of our favourite little haunts, Petrol.

I really love Petrol, on a sunny day (and let's face it, in Sydney that's most days), sitting on the terrace is a dream. On a rainy day couches full to the brim with pillows provide a port in the storm. But the best thing about Petrol is it's beautifully crafted food. A favourite is the smoked salmon and sourdough platter but today I went for the Greek breakfast, olives n all complete with a poached egg, Persian feta and honey soaked sourdough. Absolutely incredible.

My handsome companion always loves to put me to shame and ordered a salad, although this was not just any salad it was speckled with slightly squidgy, slightly crunchy, squeaky and salty pieces of haloumi fried within an inch of their life. It was perfectly accompanied by soft juicy raisins and peppery balsamic rocket. Slightly warm, it was heaven on a plate.

By this point well and truly buzzing and completely stuffed we staggered our way to our final destination.

11 Cafe

It's so cool it apparently doesn't have an address

11 is a brand new cafe located on a Melbourne style lane way strip just around the corner from the debauchery of Kings Cross. The tiny little space is cool and enriched by the beautiful smell of freshly ground coffee. Swearing off food forever I took a glance at a wooden box full of desserts and suddenly was sold, there is always room for a Portuguese Tart.

Portuguese Tarts are a little pleasure of mine, apparently very easy to make I occasionally indulge in some eggy, buttery goodness. Today the perfect accompaniment to my treat was a spicy chai latte covered in cinnamon.

So we took the challenge, and we won. Now if you will excuse me I need to lie down.

La Buvette

35 Challis Avenue, Potts Point

NSW, 2011

Our cafe journey had to come to and end soon (are you hungry yet?) and our journey ends here at my favourite end of Potts Point. Delis are interlaced with bookshops which hide little espresso joints, everybody seems to know each other, passers by beam with happiness as if they can't believe their luck to live around the corner. I don't blame them.

We decided to settle at La Buvette, it was 32 in the shade so juices were mandatory, with our coffees of course. Then, heady from the heat I decided to do something shocking....order a salad.

Whenever I scan a menu I am somewhat predictable, if it has a high cheese or butter content I generally order it. Less concerned with someday getting chunky thighs i'm more concerned about cardiac events so now and again I reluctantly look over the croque monsieur and get something fresh and healthy. Today I opted for a grilled chicken caesar with extra bacon and poached egg (ok so this health thing is a work in progress).

I particularly enjoyed the salty chicken and the delicious parmesan set off with crispy garlic toast. Totally delicious, totally unhealthy. I very much enjoyed my salad, although I do sometimes lie awake at night wondering what that croque monsieur would have tasted like, how thick the layer of cheese and how crispy the buttery bread....

So goodbye for now beautiful suburb cafes, i'll be back to overindulge in you soon.

From Deli with Love: Part 1

It's no secret that I'm a little bit in love with delis. They are wonderful places, even during my student poverty days in Mumbles I still saved a few coins to buy two slices of imported Italian thickly cut ham stuffed with basil and rosemary to wedge between two slices of freshly baked white bread with a much-too-thick layer of salted butter.

So being still relatively new to Nottingham I am determined to scope out some lovely delis to while away some hours with the paper and a frothy coffee. My journey starts with one that is in it's infancy, a mere one month old and conveniently located close to work.

Smythsons Deli
361 Derby Road, Lenton NG7 2DZ
Tel: 07403 771491 Website: http://www.smythsonsdeli.co.uk/
At the moment cash only (just like all the trendy places)

Spot the fridge of beautifully made lavender ice cream

I first heard about Smythsons when an Australian colleague recommended it as having half decent coffee and some good sandwiches. With my desire for a coffee that comes somewhere close to a De Cleiu (sigh) I headed down for a spot of lunch.

What I love about this place is how great the staff are, from the looks of the 'good luck' cards that adorn every piece of spare space this is a cafe that has a whole lot of love. My coffee was great, and takeaways are good value at £2 for a small (a nice change from the long queue at Costa).

Creamy coffee and the Good Food Magazine..perfect

The owners are savvy with food and offer a lunchtime deal of a sandwich, some Yorkshire crisps (of course, this is Britain) or a bag of nuts and seeds and a coffee for £5. Interestingly last time I was there I noticed that they now deliver to offices within a 1 mile radius! Amazing.

The focus is on good local produce as it always is these days, an assortment of hams and cheeses adorn the counter and you can select any weird and wonderful combination to put in your sandwich or panini. I opted for the salami, comte cheese and chilli jam (a favourite combo at Number 8 Deli in Bridgford). The panini was pretty good, not amazing and the doorstep sandwiches are better. They have a hot and healthy lunch special every day and the day I visisted they had a hearty warming veggie chilli, a steal at £4 (50p extra for a wedge of that great bread).

Giant doorstep sandwich packed with love and a posh ploughmans

The current crowd seem to be intrigued passers by and academics. Due to it's location next door to Subway I suspect they may gather some customers that fancy some decent, non mass produced food for their lunch.

The highlight for me is the coffee, the cappuccino is frothy and delicious and becoming my favourite morning pick me up on the way to work.

I will return over and over again and look forward to trying a posh ploughmans for lunch (I had stilton food envy) or even stretching to buying some of their great looking handmade pastas and sauces for an easy dinner. Well done Smythsons, you are a welcome dot on my horizon.

Ein tisch fur eine person, bitte: Flying solo in Berlin

One of the things I love about my profession is that you never know what is around the corner, there I was innocently minding my own business watching X Factor and stuffing my face with M&S food on a quiet Saturday night when I received an e-mail, I had been selected as a scholar to attend a very prestigious conference in Berlin. Before you could say EasyJet, I had booked my flights and planned my food itinerary.

Berlin streets in autumn

After all of my work commitments had finished I took the train to Alexanderplatz and wandered around Mitte to find somewhere for dinner. My trusty lonely planet app had raved about ‘Zoe’ a hearty but classy eatery hidden on Rochstrasse in Mitte. However, as I wandered aimlessly up and down Muntstrasse with my stomach growling beginning to get impatient. Considering grabbing a pizza in the station a glitter of tea lights and canopies caught my eye down a side street. First of all I was impressed that they thought that anybody would ask ‘konnten wir einen tisch draussen?’ on a crisp German winter’s night and second of all the menu had been scrawled in German on a chalkboard. Having no idea how much this restaurant cost, I decided to try my luck and grab a tisch fur eine person. The waitress was obliging. Success!

Dinner at Lebensmittel in Mitte

Rochstrasse 2, 10178 Berlin Germany

Tel: 03027596130, Website: http://www.infoseek.de/lebensmittel-lieferservice.html

Sometimes there is nothing more wonderful than eating alone, I do concede that a handsome partner or giggly friend is the ideal but sometimes I really relish eating alone. The place was packed with loving couples and old friends, candles adorned each table (hence the poor quality photos) and there was an oak table full of Riesling, I may have accidentally stumbled upon my idea of seventh heaven. By day the ‘restaurant’ is a fresh produce supermarket/deli with market fresh vegetables, good bread and a selection of wonderful cheeses, beer and wine. By night it is transformed into a cosy eatery, wonderful let’s eat.

Fresh bread and butter yum

I started with some beautiful bread that I had spotted behind the bar slathered liberally with salted butter and washed down with a crisp glass of German Riesling and studied the menu. There appeared to be no staple menu which always pleases me, the seasonal specials of the day were smudged in ink on page and all, obviously, in German. The only word I recognised was the organisch pork loin served with cabbage wrapped dumplings. Yum, ja bitte!

Organic pork loin and dumplings (and more wine)

The pork was beautiful and falling off the bone, it was slathered in some rich jus on a bed of..I want to say white asparagus but I’m probably wrong. The dumplings were everything I wanted them to be. Sometimes there is nothing better than a plate of dumplings, perfect for a cold night. I sat for longer and ordered another glass of Riesling. My fears that this meal was going to cost my airfare home were unfounded as the whole experience came to a modest 30 euro including drinks and tip. I left wondering whether I had stumbled across a lovely local haunt and everyone there thought that I was a true Berliner, I guess the complete inability to speak German may have given it away. Nevermind, big day ahead…time to plan breakfast in the East.

Breakfast at Café Hilde

Metzer Strasse 22 10405 Berlin

Tel: 03040504172 Website: http://www.hilde-berlin.com/

I was staying in the wonderful East side so started my morning with a little wander around some of the back streets by my hotel. It was autumn and a crisp -2, the trees had just began to colour and had not lost all of their leaves, it was beautiful. I wandered around for a while before deciding it was time for a pit stop



East side building with autumn leaves



Street art and culture

I had read about Café Hilde in my search of ‘the best breakfasts in Berlin’, it had come highly recommended as a good stop for fantastic coffee and beautifully constructed cheap breakfasts. I certainly was not disappointed. The breakfast menu is predominantly divided into small eats such as cheese stuffed croissants and other pastries or beautiful sounding platters including gravlax with salad and eggs. I opted for the cheese and meat plate and was presented with such a wonderful plate of food that it may be my favourite picture of all time. An array of salamis and smoky German Black Forest ham was lovingly presented with fruit, salad and chunks of goats cheese, cheddar and soft fresh bread.

Cheese and meat platter

The atmosphere was soft and calm with soul playing quietly on the radio, young people tapping away on their various apple products and antique furniture arranged sporadically but beautifully.

If I lived in Berlin (a girl can dream), I would come here every morning. After my feed was over the waitress asked if I had enjoyed it, I couldn’t describe to her how much I had as I gloved up and prepared to test my spatial awareness and map reading to see the heart of Berlin and importantly pieces of the wall!

Lunch at Kafer

Deutscher Bundestag, Platz der Republique 1, 11011 Berlin

Website: http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/dt_bundestag/ Entry by reservation only, passport clearance checks required

A visit to the Reichstag building was top of my priority list when I first found out I was going to Berlin, not only was it steeped in history but it also boasted one of the best views of the city and an architectural masterpiece by way of its impressive space age glass dome. You have to book this visit in advance or prepare to queue up and passport checks are mandatory. I decided to make my visit extra special by concluding my tour with lunch in Kafer adjacent to the glass dome.



View from the ground Reichstag Building

 

View inside the magnificent dome




My understanding before I visited was that Kafer was not cheap, however I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere is formal, when I arrived tables of artistic looking crinkly eyed smiley Germans were arriving with their wives dressed in their finery and nearly all sporting some trendy pair of thick rimmed black specs. There were a few shifty tourists lurking around sneaking a glance at their maps and enjoying the atmosphere. I was seated in the atrium by the window so I could see the glorious view over Berlin.

The menu is well constructed, you have the option to eat light and not spend too much (my main course was 16 euro) or eat a pile of schnitzel which will set you back a whopping 30 euro. I opted for the pork meatballs with a potato and gherkin stack and shaved truffles, washed down with a local glass of fizz (6 euro per glass). Had I been entertaining a friend or German lover I would have liked to pick from the impressed encyclopaedic wine list. However, drinking a bottle of wine alone at the top of a building a mere 3 hours before ones flight is not recommended so a glass suited me just fine.

The food was wonderful, rich and heart stopping. I was presented with another lovely basket of bread and salty butter (I love a good bread basket) and had friendly attentive service despite sitting solo. Wishing I could speak German I loved observing the tables of elderly hipsters toasting their day with bottles of German sparkling and tucking into their perfectly crafted starters of poached eggs and salmon.

Pork meatballs, shaved truffles and potato stack at Kafer

Unfortunately for me it was time to leave Berlin with a belly of good food, an artery full of good butter and some new friends. Auf Wiedersehen Berlin, I hope to party in you soon.