Dining Berlin

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I walked into Monsieur Vuong for the first time on a Wednesday around 9:00pm and couldn’t believe my eyes. The picture of a grinning, muscle-bound Vuong decorating the wall? Even better – a restaurant in Berlin that’s not empty! All the tables are full? Sit at the bar? Hell, I’ll take a table for two in the bathroom!

All told it wouldn’t be so bad to eat in the bathroom at MV, decorated with purple orchids, advertisements for the owner’s other endeavor (Asian-themed hotels), and two pencil sketches of a man grasping his enormous phallus. Peculiar, I know, but I came for the soup not the art. And with Monsieur Vuong himself keeping watch throughout the night, unwise is the man who questions his interior design preferences.

The restaurant itself is fairly small, housing about a dozen tables and a large, J-shaped bar that runs along the perimeter of the kitchen. It’s always packed at night and they don’t take reservations, so plan on a brief wait during the week and twenty minutes or more on the weekend. You’ll spend this time packed like chickens in a ConAgra processing plant with other hopefuls in the central artery of the restaurant, which also serves as a waiting area. Fortunately, the head waitress is friendly and composed. She performs crowd control and assigns tables accurately without even taking names. The large number of diners means that you may end up eating at a table with strangers. I think this adds to MV’s charm, especially after eating too many meals at mediocre restaurants with only a handful of clients on hand.

On to the food: MV offers a limited and frequently changing menu of Vietnamese dishes with the self-proclaimed goal of using only fresh ingredients and creating authentic meals. In this respect they succeed. Try the soup with homemade wan-tans (6,90€, meat or vegetarian) in a vegetable broth flavored with fresh herbs. Vietnamese cilantro (coriander) gives the broth a bright, almost minty flavor. It’s delicious and addictive. Pair that with a Vietnamese beer (2,90€) or a mango shake (3,50€) and you’ll have a satisfying combination of flavors. I also tried one of the daily specials – a rice dish with chicken, ginger, and vegetables (6,90€). It was spicy by Berlin standards with a vibrant ginger flavor and an easy-going peanut sauce. I appreciated that it wasn’t mucky and overly sweet, but there was too much of it and my chopsticks were rendered useless 2/3 of the way through. Here again coriander was included with a heavy hand, suggesting characteristics of the wan-tan soup. And so this is my only complaint: The menu could really benefit from some more variety. (Well, there is one more thing. I sat down with a friend in an empty MV around lunch time during the week, asked for a beer and a shake, and received a sour look from the waitress – not the one mentioned earlier – ostensibly for not ordering food.) But I’ll keep coming back because that could all change with the snap of Monsieur Vuong’s powerful fingers.

MV combines economy with excitement. A definite stop on the culinary circuit, perfect for lunch, a light dinner, or a date with somebody who doesn’t have much to say.

Sous-vide,
Jeremy

Monsieur Vuong: Indochina Cafe
Alte Schönhauser Str. 46 / 10119 Berlin
030 3087 2643
Open daily 12pm-12am
Website

Last November the New York Times featured an article in its Travel section on the changing face of Imbisse in Berlin (“Street Food With Ambition“). The article explains that fast food here isn’t just about currywurst and döner anymore – chefs at these small restaurants are turning out flavorful dishes at reasonable prices. W-Imbiss is a NYTimes favorite and it has received attention from other outlets as well.

The Gordon W. Imbiss, located in Mitte near the border with Prenzlauer Berg, is right in the heart of a trendy shopping district. It’s owned by the Agentur 103 group, which also runs a bar and a club in the area. W has about four tables inside and a counter that runs along the wall. The rest of the space is occupied by tiki-style decorations, the small open kitchen, and Gordon W. himself; his already robust personality seems to have expanded since the NYTimes feature.

The menu consists primarily of naan pizzas, wraps, and rice bowls. Most of the dishes have common ingredients such as artichokes, olives, avocados, and the option of tandoori salmon. Prices range from 1,50€ for a basic naan to 6,50€ for a rice bowl with salmon.

I ate at W three times over the course of three months with differing results. The first time I had a naan pizza topped with guacamole, chipolte sauce, rucola, and sun-dried tomatoes. The naan was so burnt and the guacamole and chipolte sauce so scarce that my mouth was parched from ash. Fortunately, my friend’s goat cheese and spinach naan special was better, so I stole a bite of that and settled into a few beers.

The tandoori salmon rice bowl is the best dish on the menu. Each rice dish comes with sautéed vegetables and salad, with the choice of chipolte chili (we’ll get to this later), wild ginger, or suno mono dressing. In terms of flavor the salmon’s spicy and tangy marinade is a winner. Unfortunately, an extended stay in the tandoor left it a bit stiff and chewy. The vegetables were sound, if a bit mushy, and both the wild ginger and suno mono dressings are a pleasure. I strongly advise that you avoid the chipolte chili dressing like you would a 1€ döner; its abrasive spiciness is remarkably ill-suited for a salad. This concoction will spoil your chances of tasting anything further and leave you in an unpleasant mood.

Great place for lunch or an interesting after-work or -shopping meal, W. Imbiss definitely signals a change in Berlin dining, but its inconsistency shows that the city is still in transition.

Kastanienallee 49 / 10119 Berlin
030 48 49 26 57
Open daily from 12:30
Menu

Poaching,
Jeremy