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From Peru to Thailand in just one night – Berlin’s Thursday Night Food Market

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German food is not really something I’d ever eat at home, so while in Berlin it made sense to sample some traditional cuisine. Clearly a country with excellent taste, the Germans seem to share my fondness for offal, with calf’s livers and pig’s kidneys featuring on many traditional menus, along with some absolutely incredible mashed potatoes and an awful lot of cabbage. This food is really quite delicious but not something I, or indeed many people could eat every day. Just as well, then, that Berlin is absolutely heaving with different cuisines from all over the world…even better that many of them are conveniently packed into the glorious Thursday Night Food Market.

The creators of this Thursday evening market describe it as ‘edible proof that Berlin is a center of culinary creativity, a melting pot whose diversity is visible in its multitude of authentic food cultures’. With an eclectic mix of cuisines from all over the world including vegan Egyptian food, Brazilian tapioca pancakes, as well as tempting French sweet treats and some brilliant looking Belgium waffles, I would have to agree! Held in the market hall on Eisenbahnstraße in Kreuzberg, this event runs every Thursday from 5pm-11pm.

My mum and I ensured we arrived hungry so as to be able to sample a little bit of everything (you have to have a game plan with these sorts of things, you know). Not quite knowing where to begin, our eyes were drawn to this Peruvian pop-up, Chicha. Offering ceviches of salmon and corvina, a white fish found frequently in South America, this fresh fish dish was just calling out as the perfect starter to a lot of food ahead.

Sweet and soft chunks of cooked yam combined with salty, crunchy popped corn as the perfect accompaniment for the fresh raw salmon. Bathed in lime juice and scattered with red onions and coriander, the salmon ceviche we ordered was a party of flavors in a plastic bowl. Brilliantly balanced, each element of the dish perfectly complemented the other. Tragically, they couldn’t actually offer any Pisco (a dangerously drinkable grape brandy produced in Chile and Peru) as they hadn’t got their license. We survived all the same, and despite wanting to sample some more of this incredible ceviche, we saved room for what was ahead.

Salmon ceviche

Initially, it was our desire for an alcoholic drink which led us to a French champagne and oyster bar, where we ordered two (rather large) glasses of rosé wine. Seeing everyone around us slurp on their oysters made us think we should probably order a couple – I’d never tried them either, and was keen to see what they’d be like. I picked the oyster away from the shell, squeezed over some lemon and was ready to be blown away. Oysters are like, dead fancy and expensive right? Therefore, they must be delicious. I’m not sure if it was just a particularly underwhelming type of oyster, but I was left rather indifferent to this slimy shellfish. Still glad to have tried it anyway, at least the rosé went down a treat. Oysters slurped and wine swallowed, it was onto the next foodie station.

Food trends are funny. One minute we’re all going mad for pulled pork, the next it’s crazy pastry hybrids (hello, cronut)…what is it that makes one particular cuisine or dish so sought after? Without a doubt, the latest food trend to hit us in a huge way is Gua Bao, steamed Taiwanese buns. The mixture of the perfectly plump steamed buns, slow cooked pork belly, pickled greens and fresh coriander, topped with sugary ground peanuts is pretty damn delicious and means that this dish has more than earned its trendy foodie points. Berlin being as on-trend as any city I’ve ever visited before, I was unsurprised to see a Gua Bao stand at the Thursday Night Market – and equally unsurprised to see it had the longest line of any of the stands.

Some things are worth queuing for, though. My mum suggested just sharing one steamed bun between us. She clearly hadn’t tried this Taiwanese treat before – I assured her she’d be wanting her own. The pulled chicken filling looked good, but as I said to my mum, it’s just not pork belly is it? Barely stopping to take a photo, I ate this Gua Bao in a state of bliss. The fluffy steamed bun is a dream vehicle for all the goodness it contains inside, and with the sprinkle of chilli on top, it had a slight kick to tie in all the flavors together.

Finally feeling like we could be full, I explained to my mum that this was only in the savory stomach compartment, and, in fact, there’s always at least 10% room left for sweet. Intrigued by my solid scientific theory, we headed onto desert. My mum opted for a mini cheesecake from the beautiful selection at the French patisserie while I chose a couple of scoops of gelato from the ice-cream stand next door. So good were these deserts, we had consumed them before I had even remembered to take any photos. Must have been the summer heat and one too many glasses of delicious German Riesling wine.

Leaving the Thursday Night Market, I was very pleased with Berlin’s foodie fare so far. And the best bit? There’s still more to come! Stay posted for the final installment from BidmeadBites in Berlin, where I sample some very odd savory macaroons and revel in the best food hall ever.

Beef in Buenos Aires

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‘Don’t come to my country if you’re vegetarian.’

Wise words from Argentina’s ex-president Carlos Menem, who offered this advice to readers of an American magazine in the 1990s. However, as a cosmopolitan capital, Buenos Aires does actually offer up a wide range of cuisines, meaning veggies will hardly go hungry. But if the truth be told, here in the Argentine capital, the cow really does reign king.

The city is filled with parrillas (steakhouses), from the fanciest of restaurants to shacks in the street. Food hygiene to be bared in mind, don’t be fooled into thinking the best steaks are necessarily at the high-end hot spots. There’s hundreds of local neighborhood parrilla spots which serve up mean cuts of beef, pork, offal and general meaty goodness at a fraction of the price of the famous, tourist-filled guidebook recommendations.

Always up for trying a new local parrilla, on my most recent visit to Buenos Aires I struck lucky. Just around the corner from my friends house, we noticed the restaurant Ale Alé, which was heaving with people on a Saturday night. Our rumbling bellies were seduced by the grilled meat smell and general buzzing vibe of the place. Interestingly, it is also a co-operative restaurant. Many businesses in Buenos Aires that folded due to the 2001 economic crisis saw their employees group together to salvage their place of work. Self-management among staff and community spirit kept these businesses from closure and continue to be a running theme in these places today.

The restaurant is huge and probably seats about 150 people. The menu reads like any other parrilla, with the exception of a few ‘specials’ – huge platters made for sharing with chips, veggies and meat.

Normally only found in the very popular tenedor libre (all you can eat) style restaurants, Ale Alé had it’s very own unlimited salad bar. No sad iceberg lettuce and unripe tomato affair round here – guacamole, couscous, potatoes, roasted veggies, aubergine and squash purees…this is what all salad buffets should aspire to.

For mains I opted for a classic bife de chorizo, stressing I wanted it ‘bien jugoso‘ – bloody and rare, please. Despite having some of the best beef in the world, Argentines seem to insist on cooking it to death, which to me is nothing short of a crime. After a year battling with my Argentine friends when I lived in the city, I released it was going to be an ‘agree to disagree situation’. My meat red, your meat brown. But my meat better, obviously.

When my steak arrived, I think my grin would have challenged the Cheshire cat at his own game. My ‘bien jugoso‘ requests had been answered. In front of me sat what was one of the best steaks I had ever eaten. Rare, rich in flavor, with a wonderful, almost creamy texture, this steak was everything I could have wanted in a bife de chorizo and more. All this washed down with a bottle of Malbec and it cost me exactly half the price it would have at a fancier, more well known parrilla.

As well as trying out new neighborhood parrilla places, my revisit to BA was also a time to return to some old classics. I first discovered Parilla Peña on my year abroad when following the recommendation of the wonderful Buenos Aires food blog Pick Up the Fork. Written by American ex-pat Allie Lazar, this website is really the gospel on all that is foodie and fantastic in Buenos Aires.

While there had been a few changes since my last visit (a menu with translations in English and some definite price increases), Parilla Peña remains a great option for trying out a real parrilla favored by locals, which serves good wine and excellent steak at reasonable prices. The service is cheerful and you even get free empanadas while you wait for your meaty mains. Clearly saving their customers for the meat feast that inevitably lies ahead, these empanandas were humita filled, which is a delicious creamy concoction of corn and spices.

Humita empanada

My Argentine friend attempted to order a milanesa – sort of like a schnitzel covered in tomato sauce, ham and cheese. My feelings on milanesas are similar to those I have about Argentina pizza – overwhelmingly hostile. After I explained my confusion at his choice of ordering a breaded, bashed fillet of beef smothered in sauce, cheese and bad ham at a place that served incredible steak, we ended up sharing a bife de lomo instead. Bossy, me? Certainly not.

After ordering our steak bien jugoso, it came a devastatingly overcooked shade of brown. I’m no fussy eater, but for my last night in Buenos Aires I’d be dammed if I ate a well done piece of meat. In my most charming manner, I asked the waiter if it’d be a terrible bother to change the steak as this was, in all fairness, not how we had ordered it (translation: bring me my beef bloody like what I asked, and pronto, señor). He clearly took my point as the next piece that came out was practically still breathing. Too rare for some, but in my beefy books, absolutely bloody perfect.

Despite the failed first attempt, Parilla Peña’s bife de lomo was something very special. I love lomo as it is more tender than other cuts (it is tenderloin after all) and I think that despite it’s richness it is easier to digest than other fattier cuts. I didn’t even mind having to send the first steak back, as the wait was more than worth it. With some wonderful company, wine and a big bloody steak infront of me, I couldn’t think of a better way to bid farewell to my beloved Buenos Aires.

Now back in London, I am just overwhelmed by the vast amount of new places there are to eat and drink in the city. Is there enough time in the day? I’ll have to get eating ASAP!