Crossing Over Two Buddhas, Friday 16 August 2013

As you would all know by now, we have an adventurous palate - we love interesting cuisines and especially we love original, modern styles of cookery. We like cool, intriguing locations as well. And obviously we really, really love good food.

So this month, we will dine at a place which claims not to serve "fusion" food but some eclectic form of "crossover" dining. And to make it more fun, the restaurant has not only a bit of a history, but is also the waiting and reception halls of a former major railway station! For those not interested in railways, you can skip the rest of this paragraph but those with more than just food on their minds should know that our dinner location is the former Stettiner railway station, which connected Berlin and Stettin (now called Szczecin in Poland) via Eberswalde and Angermünde. Built around 1842, it is one of the oldest railways in Germany, with an annual target market of 39.000 passengers and 20.000 tonnes of freight. However, things went pretty sour after the end of WWII as all of the second track was dismantled and stolen by the Russians, leaving a rather dodgy problematic single track. The main station was finally closed in 1952 as passenger traffic was so sporadic. However a terminus still exists in the area, and nowadays it is called Nordbahnhof where you can catch the S-Bahn S1, S2 and S25 lines. Hey, I bet you didn't know all of the above before - but now you do know that I am sometimes sad that way.

Back to the food: this provocative place does "crossover" stuff like sushi, California Orange Chicken, Two Buddhas Omakase (whatever that is), Szechuan Steak, Shanghai Duck, etc, etc. In case you're not aware, omakase in Japanese means "Leave it to the chef" so I have no idea what they will serve but I sure would like to try it!

The restaurant also seems obsessed by Buddha's non-existent twin, calling itself Two Buddhas, located on Julie-Wolfthorn-Straße 1, Ecke Caroline-Michaelis-Straße, 10115 Berlin (or pretty darn close to Nordbahnhof station). As mentioned, the dinner is on Friday 16 August 2013 and if you are cool enough to want to find out what Buddha has to do with crossover dining (and how many items on the menu mentions Buddha), please start tapping your emails asap to Sylvia - the closing date is Weds 14 August. If you wish to check the place out more, the restaurant's website is http://www.nordbahnhof-two-buddhas.de/

So jot down the dinner date of Friday 16 August in your diary now, email Sylvia immediately - and look forward to escaping the clutches of avidya and dukkha for the evening. If you don't know what I mean, come along anyway! :o)

Cheers,

Chris (on behalf of Sylvia)

PS. On a more boring, unconnected note, I have started writing articles for a Malaysian national newspaper - and at the rate I am getting paid, I shall be rich by the year 2355.

How it went on the night...

This place has loads and loads of atmosphere. We sat outside on the terrace in the evening and for once, we experienced pretty perfect service. The dishes are very well presented and beautifully cooked - and very delicious. As a group, we tried several varied dishes such as sashimi, sushi, salmon cooked with rather unusual (and unidentifiable) herbs and we even had a curry. Overall, this place delivers on its outlandish promise of a crossover experience so we will definitely be returning to this very unusual restaurant.