Bhutanese restaurant in Germany

Bhutan Haus at Zossener Strasse, Kreuzberg

How would Bhutanese food cooked by a Thai chef, in a restaurant owned by a Nepalese in Germany, and served by a Mongolian, taste?

European. And the Asian palate finds it bland, half cooked and, at times, even sweet; a far cry from what you get at home.

But that’s what Bhutan Haus (Bhutan House), the only “Bhutanese” restaurant in Germany, has been selling ever since it opened about five months ago. It sells Asian food in European style, with the right amount of oil, temperature, seasonings, shapes, sizes and portions.

The owner, 51-year old Narendra Shrestra from Kathmandu, has never been to Bhutan. He has met only one Bhutanese in Berlin and so the Internet was his only source of information for Bhutanese cuisine. It’s thus perhaps understandable that he had Thimphu duck curry and Paro curry among the 15 varieties of momos he offers in European style. Today, the Thimphu and Paro have been changed to Kathmandu on the menu.

So why did he call it Bhutan?

Besides his admiration for Bhutan, Narendra said that he is the first to open a chain of Nepalese and Tibetan restaurants in Berlin. “Once a restaurant picks up business, I sell it and open another one in another place,” said Narendra. “Now that there are several Tibet and Nepal houses, I decided to open one for Bhutan.”

He adds, “I don’t know why I like Bhutan and Tibet,” said Narendra, who moved to Germany in 1989 from Kathmandu. “We are of course bonded by Buddhism, but I just like the country.”

Because Bhutan is not known to many in Germany, calling his restaurant Bhutan House was a risk, he said. “I spent 100,000 euros for this because I want people to know about the countries in Asia through food,” he said.

So, what Bhutan House offers is a cocktail of Asian food. Both the owner and customers know this and nobody seem to mind. “People come to us to eat Asian food, not Bhutanese food,” said Narendra. “And for them, Indian, Nepali, Tibetan or Bhutanese is the same.” Adds his son Ronit Shrestra, who is managing Bhutan House, “The Nepali food here on the menu can’t be found in Nepal also. The basis is the same, but not the way it’s prepared.”

Just like the food, so the ambience. One glass window adorns the Hindu god Lord Shiva, while the other has the Buddha. Photographs of Buddhist saints adorn some walls, while miniatures of Buddha arranged near the entrance welcome the guests.

Ronit said that they tried cooking the typical way it’s supposed to be done, spicy, oily and overdone. “But people here didn’t like it that way, so we modified them according to their taste,” he said.

And that was the trick. The restaurant at Zossener Strasse, in Kreuzberg, a busy area, started getting more customers, initially from the nearby areas and later from far off places, and even neighbouring cities like Hamburg. Soon the restaurant that can seat 230 people at a time started getting reservations for parties and running packed during weekends. Among the 80 different kinds of food it offers, momos, the Shrestras say, sells the most.

Anno Sommer, who has been living in Berlin for 30 years, spotted the restaurant about two months ago while he was walking home from work. Since then, he is there almost everyday. “I came here because of the name, Bhutan House. I just know where Bhutan is and nothing more and I wanted to try some Bhutanese food,” said the 54-year-old. “I liked the food and I hope what I ate was Bhutanese.”

The German capital, Berlin has no dearth of Asian restaurants. Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants dot most streets and they are popular because their food, according to Berliners isn’t a huge meal like the German one. “We usually go there because it’s lighter, not because they sell authentic Asian food,” said a 30-year old Berliner. “We know they don’t serve the typical food.”

Narendra, who has never been to Bhutan, plans to visit it someday. As of now, he is just glad that his restaurant is doing well. “But I need to get more information on Bhutan, because people ask me about it,” he said. “They ask for maps and about the country.” Source: Kuenselonline