Tim Raue, July 2017

In the mood for a different and not-so-regional cuisine, I finally made it to Tim Raue's acclaimed restaurant (Rudi-Dutschke-Str. 26, 10969 Berlin). Again, Berlin is truly blessed to have all these world-class venues so close by!
Tim Raue has been portrayed as the only German chef in Netflix's Chef Table. And to put it mildly, his attitude surely shows through; I recommend you watch this episode yourself to better understand what I mean. That perked my interest; will he and his team (and let it be clear, it is his team) be able to deliver?
The Michelin testers certainly believe so - two Michelin stars for a German cooking asian cuisine is no mean feat!

Arrival

I had secured a table for one on a Wednesday evening. The restaurant is often fully booked, and I had to actually plan for this night out rather than my usual more spontaneous "call two days ahead" mode. And indeed, it would fill up that night as well. The entry is in the first court away from the street, and not quite as low-key as many other places, and rather proudly advertises various awards (as you can see above). I was efficiently whisked to my table which would be my working area for the rest of a long and enjoyable evening. Mr Raue was not himself in the kitchen that night, but I was assured his staff was more than up to the task.

The choices

The meal

Tim Raue offers several tasting menu selections and a la carte dining for various budgets (all of them steep). There is the possibility of ordering a vegetarian selection as well, but the menu makes it clear (in bold) that vegan is not offered. Some of the menus note that while dishes can be added, no regard for individual allergies and intolerances is possible either. Since I wanted a tasting menu, but with dishes from both the signature and 8 course selection, some negotiation was required (and ultimately successful). Though brief, I would have expected more open flexibility on this. I went with the Signature menu, but augmented with the suckling pig from the menu 8 and their signature dish, the Peking Duck a la Tim Raue.

The drinks

Tim Raue has an extremely extensive wine list of 91 (yes, ninety-one) pages. To my uninitiated eye, there is a certain show-off factor associated with this list ... But, thankfully, I got to ignore this list once again.
As it befits a high-end asian restaurant, a separate tea menu is also available. A welcome option! I choose a white tea service - its light bitterness and floral notes served me very well as both a menu partner and a palate cleanser between dishes.
The dedicated tea menu would, however, perhaps lend itself to a tea pairing for the dishes served?

The meal

Appetizers

The service started with an assault of choice. Pig belly with chili and sesame; trout with maple syrup; daikon radish and wasabi; shiso leaf with ponzu jelly and celery; shanghai cucumber with garlic chip; duck salami and bay salt; red curry marshmallow with pineapple; and finally, cashew nuts with red curry. (I will admit I had to ask for a cheat sheet, this was too much to note down.)
This was not just beautifully presented (just look at those patterns!), but also absolutely delightful. So many aromas and flavours on the dish at the same time! At moments, I was paralyzed trying to decide what to eat next. It was all lovely and beyond; I could have eaten just larger portions of these and be perfectly contend.
The starkest difference to the other restaurants I have recently witnessed? Some of these dishes dared to be hot. One downside of the "extreme regionality" that is the current trend in Berlin - and don't get me wrong, that, too, can be wonderful - is that there is nothing regional that can substitute for chilis and peppers.
So, 9,5/10 for the starters.

Scallops

 Scallops in elderflower and rice vinegar jus, green melon, green apple and cucumber, lemon grass, cordifole - and each bite topped and finished with cut green thai pepper corn.
The scallops were beautifully and perfectly cooked; the sharp hot bite of the pepper perfectly balanced by the floral elderflower, citrus notes and acidity. Amazing.

Zander

The steamed zander is served in kamebishi soy sauce (aged 10 years) with a dash of clarified butter, spring leek, and slices of young pickled ginger.
It goes without saying the fish was, once more, cooked to perfection - firm, but tender. The real star of this plate for me was the aged soy sauce with its deep and complex flavour profile, in contrast with the lighter ginger and crispy bites of spring. Exceptional.

Langoustine Canton-style

The langoustine is deep-fried in a light and crispy batter, served with wasabi mayonnaise, fried green rice, on a jus of fish sauce, mango and carrot.
This was just as enjoyable as it sounds; the batter was truly crisp, the langoustine al dente. A wonderful dish that for me would have benefited from a touch more wasabi to complement the sauce and engage more receptors. However, this is complaining on a quite high level - 8 out of 10, easily.

Suckling pig

I am not ashamed to admit it: when this was cut right in front of me and served, I for a moment forgot that I was to take a picture before digging in! My apologies, but perhaps that serves better to demonstrate just how delicious this looked and smelled than my words could every convey. The sadness when the other part of said serving plate was taken away was almost physically painful.
Suckling pig - or rather, Berlin Eisbein reinterpreted as an asian dish -, with dashi jelly, preserved ginger, and Japanese mustard cream.
My mind and taste buds were quite blown away. This crunchy crust, combined succulent, meltingly tender meat, accentuated by the slightly unusual versions of the traditional sides is truly, and utterly, Berlin-meets-Asia. 10 out of 10.

Saté Chicken

Corn-fed chicken leg marinated and grilled, peanut and butter stuck, peanut cream; mango and cucumber jelly served with red onion slices pickled in rice vinegar.
The green and yellow jelly spheres were tasty. However, the chicken did not impress. Too salty, dry, and the stock too thin for my taste. No harmony of flavours. 3-5 out of 10; I would not recommend this dish and would rather not spend more time remembering it.

Dong Po pork belly

Red-cooked pork belly in its own stock with star anise; with sides of kumquat & pomelo, water cress, watermelon on pomegranate gel and galgant; puree of green radish.
This was quite nice again; something I could readily imagine being served in Beijing or Hong Kong as well. The sides added the complexity the meat alone would have lacked, and played together very well.
Peking Duck, as interpreted by Tim Raue

Cuts from the breast served with crispy skin, infused with five spice, in a jus of duck feet and topped with a five spice waffle.
Foie de gras with picked cucumber, leek-ginger puree, crispy duck skin powder.
In the white bowl, a duck heart-tongue-stomach, with winter melon and bamboo mushroom.
Let me get this out of the way: this is not Beijing duck, and I fail to see the inspirational connection. If anything, this is an attempt at china-fying traditional European duck breast. The skin was crispy but had too much fat underneath still (no surprise, after all the trick with traditional Beijing duck is to cook this loose, not on the meat), and the meat was not tender but had chewy-sinewy bits.
The foie de gras was intense, the powdered duck skin added a nice crunch and was complemented well by the sides.
The soup got a bit too cool even remaining closed while I made my way through the recommended order of consumption, but the meat cuts were interesting and unusual in my experience.
I admit to being baffled by this being Tim Raue's highly praised Signature Dish; adding it to one's menu incurs a notable cost. I do not feel this shows off the clearly possessed culinary skills of the restaurant at all, nor a well executed and inspired fusion between Asia and Europe. (For that, look to the suckling pig!)
Given the expectations raised for this dish in advance, I would rate this at 4 out of 10 at best, and suggest to not call it "Beijing Duck", because it is not.

Pre-dessert

The pre-dessert was smoked banana ice cream and foam, dulce de leche drizzled with smoked oil and a touch of saltiness. Truly outstanding and an extraordinary combination of flavours.

Passion fruit with cucumber

Frozen passion fruit balls arranged a cucumber sorbet laughing buddha, marinated cucumber slices, foam and jelly of passion fruit infused with tonka, corn-flower bloom.
I may have asked if the patissier was already married. Another amazing plate. Even the corn-flower bloom was more than decoration, but added to the flavour beautifully.

Quiche

Preserved quiche infused with passion fruit and saffron on quiche and saffron jelly; Zotter macadamia nougat mousse in a macadamia caramel tube; quiche sorbet.
Wow, just ... wow. That patissier? If you can, marry them. The caramel shattered beautifully under my spoon, and that powder you see on top? That is Szechuan pepper in the most unlikely of places but clearly in a place where it very much belongs.
Honestly, this was one of the best desserts I have had. 10 out of 10, again.

Post-dessert

And with that, it's almost time to leave - but not without a last gift: rhubarb marinated in orange juice, white chocolate filled with strawberry mousse, and a strawberry marshmallow with pink pepper. Except for me not being a fan of pink "pepper", this too was very well done.

The Service

The service was always timely and professional. There was a brief period at around 21:15 when the restaurant was extremely busy and responses were a bit delayed, and perhaps they could be more accommodating to menu changes, but over all, a very pleasant experience on this aspect as well. At 12 plates in 3 hours, including ordering and the extensive selection of starters, I was pleased with the speed of service as well.

Summary

Tim Raue's restaurant certainly deserves its awards and praise. As far as high-end asian fusion cuisine in Berlin goes, this sets a high bar. The seafood, pork, and, oh my goodness, the desserts are outstanding and perfect, and the flavours and textures wonderful.
Thus, I admit to being confused by how the poultry courses figure in this otherwise flawless picture. Perhaps I was unlucky that night, but I felt that they both fell desperately short of the high standard of the restaurant.
Regardless, and knowing this for the future, this was impressive and inspiring. I will certainly be back, and also try Tim Raue's other establishments in Berlin soon.