Saturday 28 June 2014

Ratsstube German Restaurant

I was very excited to see a flyer in Rimping Meechok Plaza about a new German restaurant that recently opened in Moo Baan Tanawan.

The flyer described the food so deliciously and I was transported back a couple of years ago when I went to Munich & Vienna... German pork knuckle, Vienna Schnitzel, Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce.... Mmmmm.... so of course, I have to give it a try.


First impressions. The restaurant is rather grand and opulent. Filled with antique treasures, Ratsstube feels rather formal, but the wait staff and owner are very friendly and welcoming. The lovely Thai owner explains that she learnt the recipes served at the restaurant from a dear friend who owns Ratsstube Bangkok.

Everything here is home made, including the sausages, mustard and salad dressings.



On with the food!

The German Pork Knuckle is fantastic. Apparently (if I remember what the owner said correctly), the pork knuckle is marinated in pink salt and herbs for several days, then "boiled" at a very low temperature for a while, then frozen. When there's an order, the pork knuckle is taken out of the freezer and heated up slowly, then deep fried (I think). The result is fantastic crispy skin (YUM!), and super tender pork that is pretty much falling off the bone. Served with very nice potatoes and sauerkraut. 490 baht.


To go with all that meat, we need some vegetables! The Mixed Salad with the three home made dressings is also great. Fresh and crispy veggies. The dressings, I think, are Italian, French and Thousand Island. 80 baht.


....and more meat! Mixed Sausage Plate with Home-fries and Sauerkraut. These are all homemade, according to the owner. Very nice, and again, loved the potatoes. 490 baht


There are loads of other dishes on the menu that I'd love to try, like the Vienna Schnitzel - I really want to see as it's as good as the one I had in Vienna (which was amazing)!

The dessert is very tempting too - like the Apple Strudel with Warm Vanilla Sauce... but I was just too full to eat any more.

Thai food is served here as well, but I haven't even looked at the Thai menu.

I must go back!

Ratsstube Chiang Mai
197 Moo Baan Tanawan
T. Sanphiseur, A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 230 388
Mob: 081 640 5884
Facebook 

Opens:
Tue-Fri 10:30am-2pm & 4:30pm-10pm
Sat & Sun 10:30am-10pm
Closed on Mondays.

GPS location: 18.827712,99.004616



View Ratsstube Chiang Mai in a larger map
Bookmark and Share

Sunday 8 June 2014

Eating Out in Singapore - Mellben Seafood

OK.. This is supposed to be a blog about restaurants in Chiang Mai, but I hope you'll forgive me for putting in a review about this one in Singapore. The crab was so delicious that I have to tell everyone about it.

It began with a trip to Singapore a few years ago. My uncle took me to this rather unassuming but packed restaurant in Ang Mo Kio. I've been raving about the crab ever since, so on my recent trip to Singapore, crab at Mellben Seafood was the order of the trip...and I wasn't disappointed.


The Butter Crab was such a dream.. smooth and creamy finger licking buttery and slightly spicy sauce, which can be cleaned off with deep fried mantou (chinese buns).


The crab was huge and of course very fresh with firm, sweet meat. Check out the claw!


Mellben's most famous dish is the Crab Bee Hoon - crab in milky soup and noodles. This is what I had last time, and it was still very lovely with the naturally sweet soup that I had to drink slowly to savour the taste the last drop.

You can also order extra soup and noodles without the crab too!


Both crab were great, but I liked the Butter Crab more mainly because of the rich sauce.

Mellben does have non-crab dishes as well, like various types of veggies, and this wonderful fried pork ribs with salted eggs which gives a nice and flavourful coating to the ribs. Mmm..


So if you're in Singapore and craving crab, I would highly recommend Mellben. It's a bit out of the way though, so you may need to take a taxi. They also have some other branches too, but the original restaurant is at Ang Mo Kio. 

They do take bookings now, so it's a good idea to reserve your table before you go... but as the restaurant is so popular, be prepared to wait a bit even though you've made reservations. The other option is to turn up and wait in the queue! 



Mellben Seafood
232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 (St 22)
Singapore
Tel: +65 6285 6762 
Opens daily: 5pm-11pm


Bookmark and Share

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin