so i enjoyed the berlin tour yesterday but was pretty dead after 3 hours. it began to rain and i took refuge in the nearest restaurant – mama trattoria near the brandenburg gate. bad idea. the food was lame (how do u mess up salmon and pasta?) and the only thing going was the lemonade – with orange, ginger and lavender flavors. i got home and fell asleep. jet lag kicked in. when i woke up it was late. was feeling lazy but forced myself to layer-up (it’s incredibly cold here, way more than on long island and i didn’t pack for it) and went in search of food. found ‘hung anh vietnamese & japanese’ further down chausseestraße and wow, it was worth it. vietnamese food is perhaps the most flavorful food in the universe. the mango salad with fresh mint, cucumbers and peanuts was sweet and crunchy but also surprisingly spicy. the crispy wontons had ground chicken and shrimp in them and came with a wonderful sauce. the fried bananas rolled in honey ended the night with a flourish. oh, and the lemonade with lychees, raspberries and lingonberries was out of this world! this morning i headed back to my favorite turkish place (la femme more than breakfast) and had an omelet cooked well (the way i like it) with sliced tomatoes and cheese inside. it came with some simit, as usual (a circular bread encrusted with sesame seeds). also tried their pistachio chocolate ‘bomb’ (a bit dry). after that, a 4-hour train ride from berlin to praha and then another couple of hours struggling in the rain to get to this apt. the key was stowed away in a lockbox, inside a bank, in a separate location, which neither my uber driver nor other helpful folx could figure out. anyway, late dinner at kolkovna olympia. ordered a czech specialty (roast duck with bread and potato dumplings and red and white sauerkraut). the duck was good but what i needed was some comfort food at that point in my life, so i got some yummy crème brûlée for dessert and felt at home 🙂
