Cousins brave the odds to set up German restaurant

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SHARING a passion for German cuisine, three cousins with no previous experience in the food and beverage industry decided to venture into business.

“We love German food especially the pork knuckles and we used to go out with our spouses to the different restaurants in town,” said Berlin Biergarten director Dr Kunalan, 37.

“Since we enjoy it so much, we thought why not just open up our own restaurant?” he said.

Together with his cousins Dr Loganathan and K. Vijayendran, the trio toyed with the idea of setting up a German restaurant with a more casual ambience that people could bring their family to.

For the family: The owners of the Berlin Biergarten aim to create a casual environment suitable for family dining

“We usually bring our children with us and we wanted a place that looked more like a restaurant than a drinking place. We want people to come and appreciate the food,” said Dr Kunalan.

“Our wives thought we were crazy at first and they didn’t believe that we would do it. None of us have any experience in the business so we started learning as we went along,” said Dr Loganathan.

Dr Kunalan said they created the menu based on what they liked with input from their executive chef S. Panneer, 33, who is experienced in Western cuisine.

The roasted pork knuckles is synonymous with German cuisine and at the Berlin Biergarten, chef Panneer cooked up the Berlin Speciality Crispy Pork Knuckle, which is roasted with garlic and herbs. instead of being marinated with German beer.

What was intriguing about the dish was the bulb of roasted garlic served with the knuckle.

Traditional fare: The Bratwurst is almost an essential item on the menu of any German restaurant and at Berlin Biergarten, the sausages are served with sauerkraut and herbed button mushrooms

“Yes, the garlic can be eaten,” said Dr Kunalan with a laugh at my puzzled expression.

Instead of the pungent taste one would expect from biting into a whole clove of garlic, the roasted one was surprisingly soft to the bite and has a sweet fragrant taste.

Panneer explained that the garlic was also roasted with herbs together with the pork knuckle.

There was also a variety of German sausages to choose from like the traditional Bratwurst, which was served with sauerkraut and herbed button mushrooms, and the Chicken Black Pepper Sausage.

“We want to offer variety to our customers so they will also find chicken, beef and lamb sausages on our menu,” said Dr Kunalan.

For those who do not fancy digging into a meat dish, there was the vegetarian Berlin Pasta.

“It is cooked with five types of mushrooms with a vegetable broth,” said Panneer.

Dr Kunalan also recommended the Berlin Salad, which features the slightly bitter rocket leaves.

The bitterness was countered by a tangy honey and mustard garlic sauce, served with deep-fried Camembert cheese, feta cheese and roasted walnuts.

For dessert, Panneer recommended the Peach Cream Caramel, which was served with a scoop of ice-cream.

“The cream caramel is quite a common dessert and I added peach into it to give it a twist,” said Panneer.

Of course, for those who want to pair their food with a cold German beer, the outlet carries a few brands on draft and in bottles like the Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Thurn und Taxis.