The last post in this series is also perhaps the most special. As I mentioned earlier, we went to Halle to have a little getaway, and the highlight of that trip was this dinner we had. We had reservations in
Speiseberg*. We are trying to venture out of the places we know within the city, and so whenever we go to more obscure cities, we check out its gastronomic offerings. This was also the case during the last time we dined in a Michelin-starred restaurant, which was
Bagá*, when we were in Jaén.
Our reservation was for 18:30. There was only one sitting: guests had to arrive between 18:30 and 19:00. We arrived punctually, and enjoyed the setting sun while having a small glass of local sparkling wine.
The menu for the evening was on the table, and the dining room was very colourful. It is a rather small dining room, with three large tables, each sitting a maximum of 6 guests, but more realistically, 4 each, for a more comfortable and pleasant experience. That evening, the dining room was only set for a total of 6 guests. We occupied one table, while the party of 4 was on another one. For all intents and purposes, it was a private dining event.
We opted for the omnivore tasting menu, with wine pairing. This was all clarified outside actually, while we were enjoying the sparkling wine. So when dinner finally started, everything just started showing up on its own pace. And the first item to show up was this tray of amuse bouche. There were four little items of each the size of a bite, as well as fantastic bread and whipped butter.
I have to say that I am massively impressed by the unexpected and surprising combinations that I encountered this evening. For example, the first course involved egg and hazelnut. I mean, who would have thought that these two flavours would actually match?
As it was spring time, it was asparagus season. So of course asparagus featured in the menu. And the combination of surprising flavours continued, as exhibited in the third course, consisting of white chocolate and shrimp.
I also encountered exotic ingredients, such as nettles. And of course, when the fish course came, the fish was paired with pistachios, which is once again, and very surprising flavour combination, yet it actually works really well.
And yes, the meat course featured deer and rhubarb. Enough said.
My last photo is actually not the final course. The above photo is just the pre-dessert. There is a dessert that came afterwards. But we were too much enjoying our meal, that we actually forgot to take a photo of the dessert. Oh well, it was absolutely tasty, I can tell you.
The dinner lasted until about 23:00. So yes, it took more than 4 hours to have dinner that night. But I must say, it was a fabulous affair. We absolutely had fun. When we finished, we just descended the little hill where the restaurant is located, and just across the street was a tram stop. After a short wait, the tram arrived, which eventually took us to our hotel where we were staying that night.
The day after, we simply headed to the train station, and headed back to Berlin.
This concludes this little birthday getaway. Stay tuned for a new travelogue coming up.
