tian fu / w’dorf

finally, my quest to find an adequate substitute for my favorite sichuan haunt in PA has come to a glorious end!

perhaps my previous virginity regarding sichuan food has kept me from discovering this chili-haven located on uhlandstrasse – after all, it’s been around for over a decade, and it took me this long to find it.

i’ve been back three times now (more than any other berlin resto this summer), and i’ll most definitely be back – for their cucumber salad with chili oil, the stir-fried water spinach

water spinach with fresh chili peppers

the ma po tofu, or any of the braised dishes

braised ocean perch & vegetables in hot chili oil

brimming with my latest serious addiction:  the sichuan peppercorn.  its unique floral aroma and slightly numbing qualities, making it possible to ingest large numbers of very spicy chili peppers predominant in many sichuan dishes, has become a flavor i not only crave, but can conjure in my mouth days later.  i love it, i love it, I LOVE IT!

i urge anyone looking for excellent sichuan food in berlin – a city where cantonese restaurants still make up the vast majority – to check this place out!  granted, you’ll have to insist they don’t hold back on the desired spiciness, which remains the dilemma of any non-asian… that is, until you become a regular.  i’d like to consider myself one by now.  hell yeah.

tian fu  /  uhlandstr. 142  /  030 861 3015  /  www.tianfu.de

(reservations highly recommended, even on weekdays).

wok show / p’berg / english

MAY 6, 2009

It’s a bit of a shlep to this relatively small corner resto, tucked away on the corner of Greifenhagener and Kuglerstrasse, a few blocks north of U Schönhauser Allee.   But walking is a big part of city life, and one that I relish each time I return for a vacation from the land of motorized travel….

I was also experiencing withdrawals from my hometown haunt, Chopstick Express, so I was hoping for a good chili fix.

Alas, while Sichuan-style dishes apparently can be ordered off the menu – i.e. one knows the name of the dish in Chinese or German (which is a double loss for me, as I only know the fairly bad English translation) – the main attraction are a variety of dumplings, steamed or pan-fried, which are prepared fresh daily.

A cucumber salad appetizer could not transport me to the culinary high I so crave, and the specially prepared ma po tofu was galaxies away from “my” hometown dish.  A kim-chi-ish appetizer of napa cabbage delivered on the sour & salty front, and the sliced beef was served with a sauce that had hints of peanut in it.

At 5.50 € / 20 and 10.- € / 40 dumplings, this is a very good deal for larger groups of friends, and a VERY tasty one at that.  Don’t mistake the soy bottles for what they appear to be – it’s a dark vinegar (much tastier than the sodium bomb, anyway).

It’s a bit of a kicker to find the entry to the restrooms, as both the wall and the door are painted on with a pastoral landscape – after a few beers (and for your first trip to the loo) it can be a bit confusing.

On my way out I saw a dish reminiscent of the awesomeness that is “Diced chicken w/hot peppers”, and pleaded the owner to prepare this dish for our next outing.  Fingers crossed!

FYI, all dumplings are also available frozen for take-out, which makes a delish finger food option for the lazy party host.

As for my chili quest, I’m back to square one ‘-(

wok show / greifenhagener str. 31 / p’berg / 030 4391 1857