Article by Stephen Robinson
No.16 Gaoxin 4 Lu, Gaoxin District.
高新区高新四路16号
(029) 6568 2399
11:30am – Midnight
Average Price per Person /人均消费: 120RMB
Barbeque and summer go together like few things can. An evening spent drinking beer and eating fire-roasted foods is a great way to unwind after a hot summer’s day working or playing. The chefs at Hacker-Pschorr, the German restaurant at the Marriott Executive Apartments, have decided to get in on the game, and invited us to try some of their offerings.
To be honest, a German restaurant is not the first place that I think of when it comes to barbeque. Excellent beer? Yes. Delicious sausages? Absolutely. But barbeque? I didn’t know quite what to expect. Having had a few meals there in the past, I was willing to give it a try.
The restaurant itself is wonderfully situated, having and extensive wooden deck with a plethora of seating. Sadly, it was raining the day of our meal there and all of the covered seating was already occupied before we were able to arrive, a testament to the popularity of the place. Heading inside, we were able to find a table. There are a variety of tables in the place for every size party, extending across several three floors that includes private rooms as well as public area seating. Immediately upon entering, you notice the larger brewing vats where Benny the brewer, who comes from Germany, whips up the beer served on-site. There is also a large stage where a live band performs nightly.
The first thing that arrived was a nice frosty mug of dark wheat beer. Even though I had been here before, this was a new beer for me, as the selection of beer rotates depending on the season. It was exactly what I needed to fight off the humidity of the day. After a few moments, the food started to arrive.
The first bit of barbeque to arrive was a selection of skewers, one platter of lamb and one platter of beef. Both were seasoned in the local style, with cumin and chili, coming three skewers per platter. Both the lamb and beef were perfectly cooked, still very juicy. There was quite a lot of meat on each skewer, and they both paired with the beer nicely.
The next arrival was a fish. Typically I will avoid fish, as picking through all the bones to get to something to eat is tedious at best, so I was a bit wary when this arrived. After biting into the fish, I discovered that the fish had been cooked in such a way as to render the bones of the fish edible. The outside of the fish was as crispy as can be, seasoned only lightly so as to let the natural flavors of the fish come through. Both my dining companion and I agreed that it was very tasty.
Thus far everything had been quite good, but I was hoping that I would see some German food. As if they had read my mind, the waiter brought yet another platter, this time containing a whole pork knuckle and set it down in the middle of the table. The skin of the knuckle was extremely crispy, and you could taste slight notes of the beer that it had been cooked in prior to baking. The meat was tender and delicious, and the knuckle was served with roasted new potatoes and sauerkraut. The potatoes were excellent and the sauerkraut helped cut through the rich fattiness of the pork knuckle. By the time we had finished our meal and a few more drinks, we were quite full. If you are in the mood to up your barbeque game or you would like to enjoy a few finely-brewed German beers, then you just might want to give the barbeque (or any of the food, really) at Hacker-Pschorr a try.
If you get a chance to try it, let us know by sending us an email at reviews@xianease.com.
Stephen Robinson is the editor-in-chief at xianease and would love to get your thoughts on everything we are doing. You can contact him at stephen@xianease.com