I
visited Kaiserhaus at the newly renovated Capitol building last week, at the
recommendation of Jerome. I usually
disliked the rather heavy fare served at German restaurants where meat, more
meat, and even more meat and potatoes were the staple. However, Jerome swore that this one was
different. And he was right.
We
had an exceptional dinner which served a gastronomical delight from the former
Hapsburg empire stretching all the way from Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Northern
Italy, right up to the Balkans. So that
was where I was wrong. This was not a
German restaurant. The food was
exquisite. The veal Schnitzel was fried
to a delicate crisp and the Debrecen Kolbász or Hungarian Paprika Chicken Sausage which
Jerome loved too, was bursting in a symphony of spicy, salty flavors that broke
into a waltz on my tongue at the first bite.
One
of the not-to-be-missed dishes that you have to try at least once, would be the
Austrian national dish called Tafelspitz.
A favorite of Emperor Franz Josef I, this comprised of tender grain-fed
beef rump, and mixed root vegetables,
luxuriously creamy bone marrow, a crisp rosti and velvety creamy spinach served
in traditional copper pots. The Tafelzpitz was accompanied by freshly toasted
rye bread and homemade horseradish sauce.
Jerome
also had the Backhendl which was a Viennese favorite. Also known as the
Backhähnchen, this dish that dated back to the 18th century was once prepared
primarily for the aristocrats and upper echelons of society. Today, this dish
is very much enjoyed by many in Munich during the annual Oktoberfest. The
version here at Kaiserhaus used organic chicken and came served with a
refreshingly piquant potato salad and mâche, which was a European salad green
that grew in small rosette-shaped bunches.
This
must be the only European restaurant of its kind in Singapore that had
Gabelkraut on its menu. A mildly sweet variation of the Sauerkraut, this was
included as a side in the Debrecen Kolbász. Named after the city of Debrecen in
Hungary, this was a smoked Hungarian chicken sausage, heavily spiced with
paprika, marjoram, garlic and pepper. In addition to the Gabelkraut, this also
came with mash and Lecsó, a bell pepper based Hungarian version of the
traditional French Provençal ratatouille.
No
meal here can be truly complete without a serving of their wholesome desserts.
For this, we opted for the Zaunerstollen, a nougat praline with wafer, hazelnut
and chocolate, that was handmade by Konditorei Zauner (Zauner Confectionery)
using a recipe from way back in 1905. It
is noteworthy that Kaiserhaus is the one and only restaurant in this region
that offered the traditional range of treats from Zauner. Established in 1832,
this family-owned confectionery was listed as the purveyor to the royal court
during the reign of the Habsburg Empire and the preferred supplier of
confectionery to the imperial family of Austria.
The
most important thing that I almost forgot to mention, is that when you do dine
at Kaiserhaus, sharing the meal is highly recommended because the portions are
usually huge. After that, do wash that
enormous dinner down with a pint or two of Hirter craft beer.
Our
Verdict? - BELLY-WARMINGLY GOOD
About
The Writer:
This blog post was co-written by my brother Jerome and I. Although we are siblings who grew up 11 years apart, shaped by differing experiences to see the world from different perspectives, we do share a common obsession – FOOD. We celebrate our passion for life with food. However, our attitudes to food are quite different and the way we celebrate our love for food are also quite different. Jerome lives to eat and hoovers everything edible that crosses his path. As he shovels food into his mouth with that fork in his right hand, he takes photographs of what he eats, and posts pictures and notes up on Facebook with his left. Often, his beautifully written prose about what he had eaten would be 7 paragraphs in length and would not have any punctuations in between because he had been too busy multi-tasking.
I, on the other hand, eat to live. It is not just about my attempts to eat healthily. As I am a “cam-whore” and “social media hussy”, I spend about half an hour styling my food, taking photographs, writing notes and posting them across my social media platforms before eating them, right after the hubby has paid for the bill and is about to head out of the restaurant. I enjoy reading all my posts about what I had eaten because I know that I had lived fully in spite of watching what I eat. Welcome to the foodie world of the quirky Ong siblings.
This blog post was co-written by my brother Jerome and I. Although we are siblings who grew up 11 years apart, shaped by differing experiences to see the world from different perspectives, we do share a common obsession – FOOD. We celebrate our passion for life with food. However, our attitudes to food are quite different and the way we celebrate our love for food are also quite different. Jerome lives to eat and hoovers everything edible that crosses his path. As he shovels food into his mouth with that fork in his right hand, he takes photographs of what he eats, and posts pictures and notes up on Facebook with his left. Often, his beautifully written prose about what he had eaten would be 7 paragraphs in length and would not have any punctuations in between because he had been too busy multi-tasking.
I, on the other hand, eat to live. It is not just about my attempts to eat healthily. As I am a “cam-whore” and “social media hussy”, I spend about half an hour styling my food, taking photographs, writing notes and posting them across my social media platforms before eating them, right after the hubby has paid for the bill and is about to head out of the restaurant. I enjoy reading all my posts about what I had eaten because I know that I had lived fully in spite of watching what I eat. Welcome to the foodie world of the quirky Ong siblings.
