Hofbräuhaus

I was starting to sense a little self sabotage. Why is it after a day of feasting that I chose to eat German cuisine, which have such meaty substantial portions. I didn’t think that I was that full after our late lunch reservation at Dinner By Heston Blumenthal but after ordering all the bread/crumbed starters that I wanted to try at Hofbräuhaus, I was starting to test the limits of my stomach trying to fit in my main.

Like all good things in Melbourne, Hofbräuhaus is tucked down a little laneway near China town.Inside the Hofbrahaus is warm and inviting. Lots of large tables celebrating occasions or just indulging in the enormous sizes of beer that they serve, while a live band plays in the background which adds to the European tavern feel.

My friend ordered one litre of beer, that is possibly why he struggled to finish his main.Langosch Haus-made freshly baked and fried garlic bread, sprinkled with sea salt ($9.50). I would have loved some cheese sprinkled on top but they were still very moreish and were quickly devoured.Gebackener camembert crumbed baked Camembert cheese served with lingonberry compote ($14.50). You have to enjoy this while it is hot.Bretzel freshly baked Bavarian pretzel served with butter ($5.50).Kasekrainer traditional kranksy filled with cheese ($25.50). I love cheese kranksy and this was a good one! Even though I was very full, it didn’t stop me from finishing it with the help of TimmyC.Rindergoulasch traditional Hungarian-style beef stew on haus-made German egg noodles served in an iron pan ($29.50). My friend really enjoyed this, I think if you want a hearty meal without the huge chunks of meat, this is the meal for you.Knuspriger schweinbauch oven roasted crispy pork belly on braised red cabbage, served with bread dumpling, bier jus and apple compote ($39.50).Schweinshax’n huge Bavarian pickled roasted pork knuckle on a bed of sauerkraut and mashed potatoes with haus-made pork jus and German mustard ($43.50). A gigantic pork knuckle with all the trimmings. My friend didn’t finish this but he made a large dent.Bratwurst the classic world famous German pork sausage ($25.50).I really enjoyed the casual warm atmosphere of Hofbräuhaus and it was conveniently located in the city. There are a lot of places in eat in Melbourne but if you feel like German food, I would recommend coming here.

Venue: Hofbräuhaus

Address: 18-28 Market Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9663 3361

Website: www.hofbrauhaus.com.au

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Munich Brauhaus – The Rocks

Continuing on with the European theme even though we had literally been eaten all day, my friends and I were still excited to try Munich Brauhaus on The Rocks.

We were very lucky with our timing and were able to catch Vivid on Australia’s iconic landmarks. To aid with digestion, we happily walked around Circular Quay to make our way to the Rocks. The area was buzzing and Munich Brauhaus was not immune, in fact there was a line up at the front and we didn’t know how long the wait was going to be but I optimistically joined the line and within 10 minutes we were seated with another group on a long table.

Inside had a great warm atmosphere and it transported us away to another country. Despite being ridiculously busy, service was prompt and so were the food and drinks. I think it is a great testament to an establishment when they have enough staff and are not overwhelmed when packed to the brim.

Drinks~

Lowie (500mL $12.90).

Good pickins apple cider (500mL $12.50).

Starters~

Brez’n Bavarian pretzel Haus made with cultured butter ($4.50). Oh my goodness, a warm pretzel with a good butter is hard to beat. I was in love.

Knoblauchbrot garlic rye bread with radish cream ($8.50). It was ridiculous how saturated the bread was with garlic butter but the richness is balanced out by the radish cream. A good starter to share with friends.Mains~

Hühnerbrust Vienna style crumbed chicken breast ($29.00).Oktoberfest teller Bavarian tasting platter. A showcase of our handmade products crafted to perfection with original Bavarian recipes. The best offer for a Bavarian sized appetite for one. Crispy pork belly, Haus sausages, schnitzel, sauerkraut, red cabbage, creamy mash, granny smith apple compote, bier jus ($34.00). It is true, two of us shared this and could not finish the plate but to be fair, we had been eating almost non stop for the whole day during our Gourmet Safari. I enjoyed everything on this plate, everything was really well done and  superb. The surprising element that I loved was the bier jus, I could smother that on everything! This was a lovely way to experience a bit of everything.Sides~

Sauerkraut ($7.00). Because you can never have too much sauerkraut on the table.

Mashed potato ($7.00). Really smooth and the perfect accompaniment to all the meat.

Mushroom sauce ($3.00). I didn’t know if I’d like the bier jus so I ordered this but I really didn’t need to.
By this point, we knew there was no room for dessert (for now) as we couldn’t  finish our mains. I think I would have been fine if I didn’t go on a food tour all day but the portions are very generous and satisfying. There was traditional live music, the staff were dressed in costume and if you order schnapps, a really skilled waitress manoeuvres her way through the crowd with a really long paddle. I would happily come here again, I really loved the food, the service and atmosphere.

Venue: Munich Brauhaus

Address: Cnr / Playfair & Argyle St, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9247 7785

The only good type of mouse is a chocolate one. #food #foodie #foodblog #canberra #chocolate #german #snack

Has anyone tried these before? #food #foodies #foodblog #aldi #german #snack

Zierholz re-run

——-10/02/2012——-

Ok, yes yes, I have been to and posted about Zierholz several times so I’ll make this quick. I really wanted to try their pork knuckle (only available Fri-Sun), although I was still hesitant to order it because I didn’t want to be disappointed just in case it wasn’t as delicious as the mixed platter, which I’ve enjoyed multiple times before.

Kids menu~

Chicken Schnitzel with your choice of either mash potato, garden salad or potato wedges ($12.50). A nice small portions for children, although he still didn’t finish it, I was tempted to help him out. 

Mains~

Slow Cooked Pork Belly – pork belly oven roasted in porter served with red cabbage, mash & jus ($23.00). This was a bit disappointing considering it’s my favourite part of the mixed platter. It looks like ordering just the pork belly, it doesn’t come out as crispy and delicious as the smaller pieces on the platter. The skin was more fatty and chewy rather than crispy.

Zierholz Sharing Platter (min.2 people) Chef’s selection of sausages, pork belly & schnitzel, accompanied by salad & mash ($22.00 p.p) Everyone’s favourites all on one platter, the hard part is trying to get your ‘even’ share when it’s a free-for-all, one platter and one pair of tongs situation.

Pork Knuckle served with sauerkraut, braised cabbage, mash ($26.00). No regrets! So yes, since I’ve had the platter every time I’ve been here I convinced myself ‘this is what I was here for’- oh and the good company . The skin was sooooo crispy that I had to hold my steak knife like a murder weapon and stab it several times before I could penetrate through the top layer. A lot of people told me this was big, but I found myself still a little hungry even after salvaging all the meat from the bone. 

Dessert~

Because I am behind in some of my posts and I forgot my blogging notebook on this particular night, I’m not exactly sure what this was. I think it was a sticky date pudding but instead of the traditional butterscotch sauce, it was served with chocolate sauce with some sort of alcohol… It was ok but I preferred the traditional butterscotch sauce or the apple strudel that I had previously.

The food comes out in a timely manner and the staff is friendly. I can imagine this doing very well at its new location @ University of Canberra.

Zierholz At The Brewery Opening Hours:

Monday- Tuesday Closed

Wednesday 11:30am – 3:00pm

Thursday 11:30am – 6:00pm

Friday – Saturday 11:30am – 9:30pm

Sunday 11:30am – 3:00pm

Zierholz At UC Opening Hours:

Monday 10:00am – 6:00pm

Tuesday 10:00am – 9:00pm

Wednesday – Friday 10:00am – Late

Saturday 12:00am – Late

Sunday Closed

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

In keeping with all things German and delicious, I thought it was fitting to post this next (several months late- sorry!). A lovely German scientist bought in an awesome cheese cake for his birthday. When he cut me a piece, I spent the next 15 minutes sniffing it, it smelt oh so amazing! It was only when my office room mate threatened to eat it if I didn’t did I start digging my fork in! 

It was so delicious and had the perfect texture for a cheesecake, I just had to ask him for the recipe. He has kindly translated it and let me share it with you. He has also substituted the traditional quark for low fat Philadelphia (the version which I ate) as it is more readily available here.

I told him that he should have his birthday more often! 

  Russischer Zupfkuchen or “Russian pulling cake”                                                                             for a spring form with a diameter of 28 cm

Dough:
375 g Wheat Flour
40 g Cocoa Powder
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
200 g Sugar
Vanilla Essence
1 Egg
200 g Soft Butter

Filling:
250 g Butter
500 g Low Fat Quark/Curd Cheese (in Australia we use Low Fat Philadelphia)
200 g Sugar
Vanilla Essence
3 Eggs
40 g Vanilla Custard Powder

Preparation of dough:
Mix flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl. Then add all other ingredients and mix with dough hook, first on low setting, later on higher. (If it is way too dry and powdery, add just a teeny bit of water, but take care that it does not get moist either.) Form the dough to a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for 30 min. Grease the bottom of the spring form with some butter. Use nearly half of the dough ball for the base of the cake and another quarter to make a wall around the sides of the spring form approximately 2 cm high.

Preparation of filling:
Warm the butter so that it is soft but not hot. Homogenize all ingredients with an egg beater in a bowl. Put the filling onto the cake base and smooth it on top.

Pluck pieces out of the remaining quarter of the dough and place them on top of the filling. Put the cake into a pre-heated oven for approximately 65 minutes, at 180°C no fan/160°C fan forced.

Thanks Alexander!  Happy belated birthday! 

Guten Appetit!

People have been talking about Zierholz premium brewery for a long time which I didn’t really take much interest as I don’t drink beer, but once they started talking about delicious German food my ears pricked up! Located out in Fyshwick, this brewery has a variety of beers on tap, locally sourced wines and best of all- pork belly!

You can get a sample paddle where there is a taster of 7x 60ml beer samples and afterwards get a half pint of your choice.

Zierholz Sharing Platter (min. 2 people) Chef’s selection of sausages, pork belly & schnitzel, accompanied by salad & mash ($22.00 p.p) Everything is delicious on this platter but the pork belly crispness seems to vary from visit to visit.
 

Fried Garlic Mushrooms with spinach & quark cheese on toasted foccacia ($14.90). I had heard about quark cheese from a German scientist at work so I wanted to try it (it’s ok, I’ve had the tasting platter before  ). It had the texture of a smooth ricotta cheese and it went really well with the balsamic, mushrooms and spinach. A great alternative if you don’t like pork or copious amounts of meat.

Sticky date pudding served warm, sticky and gooey, delicious!

Apple strudel served warm with icecream. I’m glad that we made room for dessert!

Another time we came we were able to get the ‘Banquet 1’  ( min. of 6 guest ) ($25.00 p.p) which came with garlic bread (so delicious- I know it’s just garlic bread), wedges, sausages, pork belly, schnitzel, salad and sauerkraut.

You don’t have to get the platter or mushrooms to be impressed, friends have also tried the pie of the day, steak sandwich & wedges and trio of sausages and no one has been disappointed.

Although I have been here several times, I’ve never had a pork knuckle here-next time definitely!

Pork Knuckle serve with sauerkraut, braised cabbage, mash ($26.00). Available Friday, Saturday & Sunday (subject to availability)

Opening hours:

Monday Closed

Tuesday -Wednesday 11:30am – 3:30pm (or later)

Thursday – Sunday 11:30am – 9:30pm (or later)