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Dining Guide
/ German, Swiss and Austrian Cuisine
As more German
tourists come to Thailand than from any other European country,
and as a large number of Germans has settled in Thailand, one finds
a good number of authentic German restaurants in Bangkok.
They are even more numerous in Pattaya. In contrast to the French
restaurants which are patronized by a mix of people of many countries,
among them of course many Thais, German restaurants have a tendency
of catering principally for the German market. Often their
price levels are lower than those of French and Italian restaurants,
though there are also a few German first-class restaurants around.
No cuisine
of the world relies as heavily on pork as the main meat as
does German cuisine. In Germany like anywhere in the world the most
ordinary way of preparing pork (in German: Schwein) is as
Koteletts (chops); but this is not the most typical German
way. More characteristic of German cuisine is Schweinebraten
(pork roasted in the oven for one to two hours). Pig knuckles are
roasted in the same manner, particularly in the southern part of
Germany. If correctly prepared, the skin is deliciously crisp. The
secret lies in carefully brushing the skin with the knuckles' own
fat every ten minutes.
Typical for
northern Germany is another preparation of pig knuckles. There the
knuckles are salted and marinated in a spice mixture that contains
vinegar and then cooked in water. Knuckles prepared this way are
called Eisbein. If prepared well Eisbein is very tender,
even the thick skin, and it has a unique underlying dry taste.
Eisbein is
practically always accompanied by Sauerkraut. Sauerkraut
is cabbage, fermented with salt in its own juice and seasoned with
a number of spices among which caraway (in German: Kümmel)
is predominant. Fermented, the cabbage is much more pleasant to
digest as it no longer produces bad body odors as does raw cabbage.
Fermented cabbage also doesn't have the unpleasant smell that is
typical when raw cabbage is cooked.
Sauerkraut
is so uniquely German that Americans after World War II have turned
the short version of the word Sauerkraut, Kraut, into a nickname
for anything German. German soccer teams are referred to as krauts
in the US and Great Britain, and rock 'n roll produced in Germany
was baptized kraut rock.
German cuisine
is famous the world over for its Würste (sausages).
There is an amazing diversity. The most ordinary German sausage
is Bockwurst made of fine ground meat and fat. It is commonly
served boiled in thick German vegetable soups or grilled and topped
with a lot of mustard. Other original German sausages include Münchner
Weisswürste (white sausages that are boiled and served
with a hearty, sweet mustard), Bratwürste (white sausages
for frying), and Nürnberger Schweinswürste
(small pork sausages, normally accompanied by Sauerkraut). There
is also a large variety of cold cuts (Aufschnitt in German).
Special kinds
of sausages are blood and liver sausages (in German: Blut- und
Leberwürste). They are either produced to be eaten cold
on bread just like Aufschnitt sausage; or, in a more original way,
they are made to be eaten hot a few hours after slaughtering. Served
with Sauerkraut, they taste incredibly good.
It's not as
bad as in Poland, but still, the Germans do eat a lot of potatoes.
Actually, potatoes (in German: Kartoffeln) are not even considered
vegetables in German cuisine but are rather seen as starch. There
is a 80 % chance that a German meal will be accompanied by a rather
big serving of potatoes. Normally they are just simply boiled and
taste fairly neutral. To add their own taste to a meal is not really
what the Germans want from potatoes. They are supposed to taste
rather neutral as the particular taste of a meal comes rather from
the meat and the sauce.
German food
is more hearty than Italian or French foods, and it tends
to be very filling and satisfying. However, the Germans need fewer
plates than the French and Italians. Vegetables, meat, and potatoes
are not served separately but normally come on one big plate.
It is common to have a soup in advance, and to serve a salad on
a small plate with the main course.
Even though
no other country has such a wide variety of breads, bread
is normally not served with a warm meal. It is German style to have
a warm meal only for lunch and to eat bread and Aufschnitt sausage
for supper and breakfast.
The most hearty
German cuisine is from the federal state of Bavaria. Munich
probably has the highest density of butcher shops in all of Germany;
one can be found in every other street. They not only function as
retail stores but also as canteens. Almost all serve fresh hearty
meat loaf (in German: Leberkäs). In Bavaria they eat
a lot of Leberkäs for breakfast; and because beer goes so well
with Leberkäs, the Germans, particularly in Bavaria, start
drinking as early as breakfast.
Meat loaf and
a large number of German sausages are available in Bangkok and Pattaya
of the same quality as in Germany. They are produced by a number
of German restaurants with their own butcher shops.
More famous
than German food is German beer. Munich is without doubt
not only the beer capital of Germany but also the beer capital of
the world. The city alone produces dozens of beers and the
number was even larger at the beginning of the century when one
brewery just served a few restaurants and a small neighborhood.
Many of the
beers popular in Munich are quite different from those available
throughout the world as for example the white beers (Weissbier).
The main ingredient is wheat not barley, and the yeast is not filtered
out but remains in the bottle and continues the fermenting process.
Such beers are commonly not exported because they can only be stored
for a very limited time.
Munich is not
only famous for the quality of its beers but also for the
quantity consumed by the locals there. The regular glass
for drinking beer in Munich, particularly in the summer, holds no
less than one liter. In the Munich beer gardens and at the
Oktoberfest, if you don't want a liter the waitress will
tell you to go home (or order coke).
The beers of
Munich are comparatively light. Therefore they are not very
typical for German beers in general. Beers from other parts of Germany
are stronger and have a distinct bitter taste; compared to
these beers most Asian brews seem sweet.
Germany is
so associated with beer that it is widely forgotten that she also
produces fine wine. Gourmets are said to prefer the wines
of Baden (a region in the Southwest of Germany, along the
French border). The wine yards of Baden have a volcanic soil which
produces a special taste. It's hard to describe the taste of a wine
beyond saying that it is sweet or less sweet (in wine terminology:
dry). But experts claim they can taste the lava in Baden
wines.
Swiss cuisine
varies from German cuisine. It's less hearty but finer. Swiss cooking
does not make as much use of innards for the production of sausages
as does German cooking, and fermenting food is less common. In general,
Swiss cuisine is a combination of German and French cuisine.
Switzerland
produces a great variety of cheeses, particularly hard cheeses;
among them are Appenzeller and Emmenthaler. Emmenthaler
is so typically Swiss that in Germany it is simply called Schweizerkäse
(Swiss cheese). It is world-famous less for the taste but for the
large holes. Of course they are not carved but a result of gas from
the fermenting process.
Whereas a large
number of Swiss meat dishes are much the same as German meat
dishes, the cheese dishes are really unique. Among them is cheese
fondue, made of melted cheese to which white wine and spirits
are added. Bread cubes are dipped into the melted cheese on long
forks.
Cheese fondue
is a complicated dish seldom eaten at home, even in Switzerland,
but mostly at restaurants. Not only does its preparation require
special know how and care; also needed is a unique table set.
The cheese must be kept warm during the whole dinner, and therefore
a special pot is used with a small alcohol flame underneath.
The melted
cheese must have a creamy texture and completely bind
the wine. The standard cheeses used are Emmenthaler and Gruyere.
While Emmenthaler is a fairly fat cheese, Gruyere is a hard cheese
with low fat content. The Gruyere is needed to reduce the fat content
of the mixture.
Another unique
Swiss cheese dish is Raclette. But actually Raclette is rather
a way of eating than a way of cooking. To eat a cheese in Raclette
style a loaf of cheese is held near a heater until the edge
starts melting. Then the melted part is scraped onto a plate and
eaten with a garnish of mixed pickles, fried potatoes, and bread.
Fondues are
also made of meat, seafood, and even chocolate. For a meat fondue
(Fondue Bourguignonne) cubes of beef tenderloin are served
raw and then individually deep-fried by the guest in a pot of hot
oil in the middle of the table. Like the cheese for the cheese fondue,
the oil is kept hot by an alcohol flame under the pot. The deep-fried
tenderloin cubes are eaten with a variety of sauces.
For a seafood
fondue, shrimp, clams, squid, and other seafood is deep-fried
and eaten with various sauces in the same style.
Chocolate
fondue is handled like a cheese fondue. Either British style
biscuits or cubes of fruits, in Thailand preferably mango and pineapple,
are dipped into melted chocolate.
Fondues are
a social matter. Hardly any dish is more suitable for festive occasions.
In restaurants they are commonly served in orders for at least two
guests.
Austrian
cuisine differs only a little from German cuisine, though is
does feature a certain Eastern European influence. It has integrated
some Eastern European, mainly Hungarian, cooking characterized by
the use of much paprika (large green and red bell peppers)
and the use of more beef than pork. There is in Austrian cuisine
even influence from as far East as Turkey (the Turkish Ottoman armies
once put the Austrian capital of Vienna under siege), but less in
food than in beverages. Coffee was introduced to the West by the
Turkish via Austria, and still today Austria has the best developed
coffee culture in all of Europe.
It's a funny
happenstance that many people think of Wiener Schnitzel (breaded
cutlet) as an Austrian dish. First, it's not at all typical for
Austrian cuisine because Wiener Schnitzel is normally served
without sauce; but Austrian cooking is noted for heavy, delicious
sauces.
Second, a Wiener
Schnitzel is supposed to be a veal cutlet; but veal cutlets are
uncommon in Austrian (and German) cuisine; therefore, what is often
served in German restaurants as a Wiener Schnitzel is actually a
pork cutlet (officially defined as Schnitzel Wiener Art -
cutlet prepared the way of a Wiener Schnitzel).
And third,
"Wiener Schnitzel" is a misnomer anyway because it originates
not from the Austrian capital of Vienna (in German: Wien)
but from the French city of Vienne. This explains why a so-called
"Wiener Schnitzel" is so untypical for Austrian cuisine.
Other descriptions:
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