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Metro Manila / Dining / German, Swiss & Austrian cuisine / Restaurants

Old Heidelberg (47)
494 Soldado St, Ermita, Tel 521-18-23
8:30-2:00; very German atmosphere with German music; the German husband of the Filipina owner comes from Heidelberg; the restaurant is nicely decorated with so many Rizal memorabilia that it's almost a small museum; Rizal lived, studied, and wrote in Heidelberg and he is not only the Philippine national hero but also a local hero of Heidelberg; it is no surprise therefore that the German husband of the Filipina owner of this restaurant is also an active member of the "Knights of Rizal"; the author recommends eating a la carte but there are also daily set menus; good selection of wines from Baden; nice veranda to sit outside, espe-cially in the months of November to February (cool season in the Philippines)

Cafe Vienna (94)
Holiday Inn, Roxas Blvd, Tel 59-79-61
6:00-2:00
Swiss dinner buffet Mo 18:00-22:00 (with Raclette); Bavarian dinner buffet Th 18:00-22:00 (many kinds of sausages); each 175 P ++; desserts and coffee or tea in-cluded

Edelweiss (36)
1335 Del Pilar St, Ermita, Tel 522-39-55
10:00-2:00; downstairs pub, upstairs restaurant; best established German pub and restaurant in the tourist belt; set lunch for 55 pesos; also good value speciality dinner; popular Goulash (beef) soup; excellent grilled pig knuckles; many German newspapers and magazines

Muenchen Grill Pub (33)
Mabini St cor Padre Faura St, Ermita
8:00-24:00; newly opened; offers Bavarian specialities like grilled pig knuckles (Schweinshax'n), meat loaf (Fleischkaes'), German beer; Wednesdays and Fridays 19:00-22:00 grilled imported beef and lamb; same management as "Edelweiss"; set lunch 55 pesos

Swiss Bistro (47)
494 Soldado St, Ermita, Tel 521-95-52
11:00-3:00; new Swiss pub, serves imported Swiss cheese and air-dried beef; nice small veranda; popular among Swiss tourists and residents

Jodi's Place (17)
1120 Mabini St, Ermita; Tel 59-52-43
10:00-morning; pub with German TV programs on video, such as "Die Sportschau" (sports news); video films in German; German papers, books for rent; dart board; German bread; German breakfast with cold cuts; set lunch 55 pesos

Lili Marleen (35)
1323-B Del Pilar St, Ermita
10:00-early morning, Tel 59-83-17
since 1976; with German reliability every Saturday night the latest results of the German soccer league (Bundesliga); the German manager Dorian is also a renowned photographer; set lunch 55 pesos

Fischfang (45)
1509 Del Pilar St, Tel 521-86-44; 24 hrs;
German pub, particularly popular as the end stop of an outing tour; serves original German Rollmoepse (marinated fish, delicious and healthy after a few drinks); at breakfast time all local newspapers (about a dozen); German beer; San Miguel draft beer 6 pesos only; recommended: German fried potatoes (Bratkartoffeln)

MAKATI

Chesa (140)
Peninsula Hotel, Tel 819-34-56 loc 3952
11:30-14:00, 18:30-23:30
not exactly cheap but the cuisine is of the finest (who expected anything else in the most luxurious hotel of the archipelago); available are typi-cal Swiss dishes such as raclette, air-dried meat, roesti, and of course a choice of seafoods, meat, and cheese fondues; however, their offer-ing includes also a large number of dishes which are inspired by French rather than Swiss cuisine; a number of dishes make gourmets curious, such as 'smoked fish tea with saffron' (a soup, not a beverage), 'balik salmon with caviar and cucumber mousse', 'sole fillets with grapes', or 'sirloin steak with snails'; eating can be an adventure if one searches for the last frontiers in taste

Schwarzwaelder (152)
Greenbelt Park, Makati Ave, Tel 86-51-79
11:30-14:30, 17:30-23:00
named after the people of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in Southern Germany; formerly "Wienerwald"; serves a great variety of chicken dishes; the standard preparation is to grill the chicken on a spit; there are seven more ways of serving chicken at the Schwarzwaelder, among them are: with herbs, Hungarian style (with pepper rods), or baked, etc; the author recommends their "Kraeuterhend'l" - grilled chicken with mustard and many herbs; the Black Forest is renowned in Germany for fruits; Schwarzwaelder serves fruit juices and the famous fruit spirits imported from the Black Forest; attached to the restaurant is a delicatessen shop; good selection of German wines

Pilatuskeller (147)
Plaza Bldg, Greenbelt, Tel 816-38-33
11:00-24:00, closed on Sun
newly opened in July 1989; cozy Swiss atmosphere; walls decorated with the seals of all Swiss cantons; reigning in the kitchen is a renowned Swiss chef who started his career at the Palace Hotel in the Swiss resort town Gstaad, one of the best hotels in Switzerland; in Manila he previously cooked at the Silahis and the Manila Garden; in Baguio he was chef at the Hyatt Terraces; Pilatuskeller offers a wide selection of cheese fondues - among them are the 'Fondue Luzernoise' which is more hearty than the normal fondues as it is made with Appenzeller cheese instead of Emmen-thaler and the 'Half Half Fondue' made with soft cheeses; 'Fondue Bourguignonne' and 'Fondue Neptune' (seafood) are also served; a Swiss dish in the Philippines exclusively available at Pilatuskeller is 'Hirschpfeffer' (deer stew)

Treffpunkt Jedermann (123)
Restaurant and Delicatessen Store
140 Jupiter St, Bel Air II
Tel 85-92-50; 7:00-2:00, Sun closed
Branch: 18 Liberty St cor EDSA, Cubao Quezon City; Tel 722-28-10; 8:00-22:00
Quezon City branch open on Sun
in business since 1983; cozy Austrian atmosphere; delicacies such as Austrian sausages, ham, salami, bacon, cold cuts, mustard, sauerkraut all made according to well accepted Austrian formulations; authentic Austrian whole wheat bread; im-ported Austrian and German wines such as Gruener Veltliner (white) and Blaufraenkischer and St. Laurent (red); at the Jupiter St branch grill terrace with canopy where the guests can enjoy their grilled specialties such as sausages, meat, chicken and seafood; major credit cards accepted

Fondue Room (143)
At the "La Tasca" Restaurant, Greenbelt Park, Legazpi St, Tel 86-85-86
11:30-14:30, 19:30-23:00, closed on Sun
specializing in fondue; the only place in the Philippines (and maybe even Asia) that offers chocolate fondue ('Fondue Suchard') - British style biscuits and fresh fruit pieces coated with hot chocolate; with the chocolate fondue as a dessert one can make a real 'tour de fondue' at the Fondue Room, starting with seafood fondue ('Fondue of the Seven Seas') as appetizer, the meat or cheese fondue as main course, and the chocolate fondue as dessert; reservations recommended for Fridays and Saturdays

PARANAQUE

Old Manila
142 Elizalde St, BF Homes, Tel 801-63-69
10:00-3:00; BF Homes is a very large residential area in the suburb of Paranaque; many Germans and other Europeans who stay permanently in the Philippines live in BF Homes; the Old Manila is their meeting point; many locals also frequent this fairly large restaurant

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The study and investigation was done in affiliation with the Faculty of Science, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore and the Centre for Analytical Science, Health Sciences Authority, Singapore.