Something is brewing at Brotzeit
MILLIE: My first trip to Munich, Germany, was in 1970. I came to visit a former schoolmate, Heidi Schuster, who also happened to be my roommate at the Villa Brillantmont in Lausanne, Switzerland, where I was learning French, preparatory to studies at the Ecole Hoteliere. Heidi’s family, who owned Sportshaus Schuster, a sporting goods store in Munich, hosted us. I came with my brother Raymund and I still recall our hosts touring us around to see Munich’s famous landmarks, including the Hofbrauhaus. We also visited Oberammergau, the famous Bavarian town known for the production of the passion play. It was also Oktoberfest season and, for the first time, we experienced and enjoyed the biggest German beer-drinking festival.
Karla and I were happy to discover Brotzeit, which literally means “bread time,†a German-inspired restaurant at the Shangri-La Mall in Mandaluyong.
KARLA: The first time mom and I went to Brotzeit, we came with friends on a weekend and after dinner already. So obviously, the place was packed. Since we already had dinner, I just ordered a beer and mom, a cup of coffee, but boy, were we salivating when we saw the sausages ordered by the next table. Haha! We then decided to come back to try their sausages.
The second time we visited, we had dinner with my friend, Jharvis Ong. We were only a party of three but must have ordered food good for five to six people. Mom ordered goulash soup for starters since she was starving. Since we couldn’t make up our minds, we first ordered a brettljause or the cold-cuts platter with leg ham, chicken ham, belly bacon, paprika Lyoner, Bierbeisser sausages, gherkins, hard-boiled eggs, mild green peppers, cheese spread, Emmentaler cheese, vine-ripened tomatoes and bacon spread served with a selection of German breads.
Then we decided we wanted to try the sausages and so we ordered the currywurst or the pork curry sausage, which turned out to be really, really good. The dish came with potato wedges coated in Brotzeit’s special spices. I insisted on ordering the kasespatzle or the cheese spatzle, which is like mac and cheese. Spatzle is an egg noodle usually cooked in clarified butter that is found in German, Austrian and Swiss cuisine. To top this all off, Mom ordered a Kaiserschmarren, also called the Emperor’s Cake. It is a shredded pancake with rum and raisins served with plum sauce. I, on the other hand, ordered the apfelstrudel, which was served with vanilla ice cream. Naturally, we had leftovers, mostly from the cold-cuts platter, which we took home.
You may find their prices expensive, I guess that is the price one has to pay for authenticity and controlled quality of the products. Brotzeit in Manila is owned by franchisor Malvin Ang, whom we had the chance to meet last week. Together with chef Ivan Mamita, they are working hand in hand to serve authentic German food in Manila. Brotzeit is a Singapore-based company owned by Germans and Austrians. The Singapore franchise started in 2006. Each branch of Brotzeit around the world has a uniform menu dictated by the franchisors. If the franchisee wishes to suggest or tweak a recipe, they have to send over the recipe for testing and authentication. The owners make sure that the food they serve is authenticated as German before it comes out on the menu. To control the taste of their sausages all over the world, they have seven secret Brotzeit spices made by a German spice company in Munich that are used for their recipes. Even their breads are flown in from their principal in Singapore.
The restaurant opened around six months ago. It celebrated its first-ever Oktoberfest last Sept. 27, where the Paulaner’s Oktoberfest brew, which was specifically brewed for and flown in for the festival and Brotzeit’s special Oktoberfest platter, were introduced. The platter includes mom’s favorite schweinshaxn, an oven-baked 1.2-kg pork knuckle with no oil, marinated in beer for two days and Brotzeit’s Knuckle spice. It is similar to our very own crispy pata but seems to be healthier. The platter also includes spicy chicken sausage, garlic sausage, whole roast spring chicken and Chilean mussels cooked with beer. It is a huge platter perfect for a group dining together or barkada’s night out. Although it was a one-night event, the Oktoberfest brew and platter will be available for the whole month of October.
The Oktoberfest brew is 100-percent full-bodied Bavarian Maizen, with an alcohol content of six percent and a hint of malty sweetness. I was also able to try one of the beer cocktails that Brotzeit serves called Bayrischer Longdrink. It consists of the original Munchner lager with vodka and lime juice. It was very refreshing and did not taste like beer at all. Something the ladies will definitely like. I would have ordered another glass but decided otherwise since it was only lunchtime and I still had to go back to the office. Haha! Their other beer mixes available are the Affensaft, which is weissbier with banana syrup or mango juice, Russ’n with weissbier and lemonade, Radler with original Munchner lager with lemonade and the Schwarzer with weissbier and cola.
Brotzeit is definitely one of those places where you can hang out from happy hour till after dinnertime and keep eating along the way. For those who are looking to come in for lunch or are in offices nearby, Brotzeit offers affordable lunch specials priced at around P250-295. There is an optional add-on of P100 for whoever wants to add a soup or salad. The lunch specials change every so often for variety. It would be ideal to go as a group, whether lunch- or dinnertime, since they have a wide range of items on their menu. More people equals more food to order.
MILLIE: I always worry about Karla when she’s out with friends and I know they go drinking so when Malvin mentioned they have a tieup with the Dial-a-Driver service, I was quite relieved, to say the least.
Malvin also tells us they sell over 500 kilos of sausages and 500 kilos of pork knuckles every week. Although, the restaurant business is not really his line of work, he’s enjoying the challenge tremendously. Malvin’s main business is selling electrical supplies and he chanced upon Brotzeit on a trip to Singapore with his family and thought about bringing it to the Philippines. Prior to the opening, he and chef Ivan had to undergo training in Singapore. In fact, they both just got back from a Brotzeit convention recently, where other franchisees from Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia were also in attendance. He’s excited about upcoming new dishes and other innovations in the near future. He also intimates that the Brotzeit principals visit the Philippines every two months to ensure that Brotzeit quality and standards are strictly met. You can tell that the restaurant is authentic German when you see regular German guests in the house.
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Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant is located in Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Unit 112, street level, Mandaluyong City. For Oktoberfest tickets and more inquiries, call 631-1489 or 668-4325. Learn more about Brotzeit via http://brotzeit.co.
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