Germany's Basic Cuisine

This crispy pork knuckle in Munich was so good! The skin really was crunchy

When you think of German food, the first things that come to mind are sausages, pork knuckles, schnitzels and sauerkraut. Oktoberfest food!

A disappointing currywurst that was hardly fiery hot

You would be correct. Most of the restaurants serving German fare in touristy spots serve the above items. In big portions.

First we tried the currywurst and they are advertised on signs with flames to indicate how spicy they are, but it's a pathetic sham. Even eaters who can't stand a piece of chilli on their food can eat the currywurst because it's basically a boiled sausage with a kind of ketchup sauce with curry powder sprinkled on top of it.

Seriously it was really disappointing.

Then we tried roasted pork knuckle in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The one in Berlin was tender but the skin was very tough and hardly crispy. We thought perhaps the Germans could learn a thing or two from the Chinese when it comes to roasting pigs to ensure a crispy skin.

A pretty bland sandwich of pickled herring with onion rings

In Frankfurt, the situation improved a bit, with the meat from the pork knuckle meat very tender, though the skin was less tough, but again not very crispy.

However, by the time we made it to Munich, at a German restaurant near our hotel called Munchner Stubn, we were surprised and impressed that the menu item "crispy pork knuckle" really was crunchy! It was probably deep fried, but the skin delicious and the meat was not salty either.

The schnitzels I tried were good, hardly tough, even though they were breaded and fried. The meat was very tender and the flavour was helped along by some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Meanwhile I tried eat as much sauerkraut as I could as it's not often found in Hong Kong and I basically eat it once a year during Oktoberfest. We also liked the braised red cabbage, more on the sweeter side though equally delicious.

A hearty portion of schnitzel in Dresden

The potatoes are either boiled, made into a potato salad with a tangy mayonnaise, French fries, or potato dumplings, which are chewy in texture, but not very palatable!

My friend YTSL asked if I had tried pickled herring, but I didn't see it on any menus. However at a rest stop along the autobahn from Frankfurt to Munich, I did try a pickled herring sandwich for 4 euros, garnished with onion rings and pickles. It was on the bland side, but oh well. At least I tried some seafood!

Perhaps the bonus of coming to Germany in the late spring is white asparagus season! I sometimes get to try it at fine dining restaurants in Hong Kong (at inflated prices because they are shipped over), but in Germany they were very fresh and meaty, and not too expensive.

Some restaurants offered several white asparagus spears with a side order of say schnitzel or smoked salmon or beef. It was the perfect combination with schnitzel. However, in Dresden I tried the white asparagus soup and it tasted way too salty.

Fantastic white asparagus in season wit boiled potatoes

We had dessert only a few times. Once was at a cafe in the Palmengarten, or Botannical Garden in Frankfurt, where we each tried different desserts. My apple pie was pretty good, a hearty slice. However, we had a fantastic apple strudel in Munich (the same restaurant as the crispy pork knuckle!) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The strudel wasn't saccharine sweet, and was choc full of thinly sliced apples marinated in sugar and cinnamon and wrapped in several layers of pastry. Oh so good!

In terms of drinks we did try apple wine that was quite sour so it had to be paired with something sweet to eat, though the draft beers were refreshing, even the dark beer brewed with malt made from at least 50 percent wheat. It's easy drinking and doesn't have much of a bitter aftertaste.

Absolutely divine apple strudel with vanilla ice cream

We didn't just eat German food -- we did eat quite a bit of pasta thanks to a casual Italian cafeteria-style restaurant called Vapiano that seems to be a chain all over the country. It's relatively fast and good value for money.

In Dresden we saw a Vietnamese restaurant and decided to give it a try. The pho ga or chicken pho was basically rice noodles in a delicious broth, but with thin slices of chicken that probably came from a deli. There was way too much chicken meat in the bowl. That was the only Asian food we had the entire trip. And what was I craving as soon as I came back to Hong Kong? Soup noodles with vegetables!