Food Resume 2025

2025 came to an end quite a while ago now. It was an eventful year, with a lot of food. Looking through my notes and pictures, there were many highlights, although with also good amount of mediocrity in between. Most of the recommendations for places here should be taken with a pinch of salt, or even a good shake, as I have been often only once.

Culinary wise the year started in January, to with Jing Jing in Hamburg. If you're looking for a combination of modern Thai food and good cocktails, this is the place to go. Also, going with more people to share the food makes it more fun.

Somehow, I managed to squeeze in some classic pie and mash, as well as bagels, in London during my trip to the UK that year. From there, it was on to Brussels, where my diet basically consisted of fries and waffles. I highly recommend doing it, but just once a year. If you still want some variety in our diet, head over to Renard Bakery for some pastries. Amusingly, I always ended up ordering in French there, not sure why.

Speaking of French, next up was a trip in France. First arriving to Paris, to meet up with some old friends. When deciding where to actually stay, I ended up on the edge of the 11th arrondissement. Not by accident; many of the interesting culinary developments are there. In my typical fashion, I walked around the neighbourhood and discovered a few things. For all my pastry needs, I stumbled upon La Panifacture, which ended up being my place for breakfast while staying there.

In the evening, I spotted that the restaurant I had initially planned to go to the next day was empty, while similar restaurants nearby were all packed. Not a good sign. So I changed my plans and went to the neighbouring restaurant instead. It was a classic bistro and an enjoyable evening, with bœuf bourguignon and escargots.

On the same walk, I passed a small restaurant in a side street. I thought to myself that it could be interesting and made a note to come back another night. This place turned out to be Lissit, my best accidental discovery of that year. When I was there, it had recently opened; now, over a year later, it seems to have made a name for itself in the French culinary world. I got a spot with the comment that I might need to move, which I'm pretty used to when going to places alone. I started with braised beef and mussels, followed by what is arguably their signature dish: tarte tatin boudin-poires. It's a combination I haven't had before in this form; sweet and savoury with a slight mineral note from the blood sausage, lighted with a salad with mustard seeds on the side. Seeing oeufs mayonnaise on the menu, after watching the Alex the French Guy Cooking episode on that, I also had to try it. Paired with the atmosphere of the small dining room and the good service, this is definitely a place to revisit.

Another day, while looking for something for lunch, I passed a sign at one of the fromageries in the same neighbourhood mentioning sandwiches. When I went in to order, I had an unexpected chat in German with the cheesemonger, who spoke it much better than I speak French outside of culinary terms. I ended up with a sandwich packed with various cheeses, ham and beetroot salad, along with the advice to wait a while for the cheese to come to room temperature. With my sandwich in one hand, I set off for one of the parks, ready to enjoy happiness in shape of a baguette.

Switching cities to Lyon. Here, I was set to try andouillette. Based on a friend's recommendation, I took a gamble and went to Le Musée for lunch without a reservation, as I almost always do. Even just arriving briefly after they opened for lunch that day, it was filling up quickly. By sheer luck, I got spot at a table. Andouillette has a strong taste, though it is an enjoyable combination when served with their mustard sauce. For dessert, I had the parline, which was not the best choice as it was mainly sweet. I should have remembered the advice to just avoid it in Lyon in that moment.

Simply strolling around Lyon and discovering random artworks, shops and bakeries was a joy. Having friends with the same interests who can show you around certainly helps, though.

I'm now moving on to the last stop of this trip: Nice. Here, I tried at least three different types of socca, which is essentially a large savoury pancake made from chickpea flour. How different they all were was surprising, ranging from very thin, crispy and little charred, to more custardy. Tourte de blette is another dish common here. It was interesting to see Swiss chard being used in a sweet way. Now that the season is slowly coming, I want to try making it myself.

Looking back at that trip, I still miss having easy access to amazing pastries. Don't get me wrong, one of the first things I miss is German bread. Why can't we have both?

With a break in between, I had the chance to visit the food capital of the north again: Copenhagen. As I still follow the culinary world quite closely, I saw that a new place called Udtryk was opening. Without any reviews, I took a gamble and made a booking. It was a journey through New Nordic cuisine, with influences from Hong Kong and other Chinese flavours, and ending with classic French gastronomy. If you were up for the journey, you would have had a great time, but if you were expecting a consistent theme, this might not be the place. Probably the highlight was the turbot in beurre blanc made with tangerine peel and aged shaoxing wine.

A lot has changed since my visit. They received a Michelin star in record time, the head chef changed, and they are currently rebuilding after a fire.

One of the most memorable, deceptively simple dishes that year came from Øens Spisested, a restaurant that focused on food made from ingredients sourced from Amager, the island on which the airport is located. Unfortunately focused, as they closed down. The dish was made with crab, cheese and celery, cut into strips resembling pasta. I yet have to fully recreate it, as my attempts only got partly there. Besides the food, the atmosphere was great. While sitting in a hybrid pub-restaurant, someone at the neighbouring table was switching vinyls for the background music.

Later in the year, when I was travelling through Hamburg again, I planned to visit Arc. They appeared on my radar when they started doing pop-ups, and their fine dining take on mostly local, close-to-Hamburg ingredients mixed with fermentation and preservation is right up my alley. Although we didn't initially get a reservation, a spot opened up from the waitlist on the one possible day. It was a great evening, the food had creative combinations, and it was impressive to see what this small team can achieve. For example, the Kohlrabi, which was cut into thin slices, seared and cooked through perfectly in a light sauce with Mirabelle, was delicious. The blackcurrant wood oil with ice cream was also a great combination. While there were still a few things to iron out, I would happily go back if I have the chance.

Last year, I didn't explore much of the culinary world in Munich, especially since I have been travelling quite a bit and my budget is also not unlimited. Still one thing comes to mind. One sunny day we went to AndeLong, a small Shanghainese restaurant on the west side of Westpark. When we ordered, we were told that the food would take an extra 20 minutes as the dumplings still needed to be prepared, and that a few items were unavailable. Instead of letting us choose something else, he just chose something for us. Glad that we put confidence in him, as we had a good meal with very solid soup dumplings. If you're looking for a nice atmosphere, over-the-top service or even a toilet, this is the wrong place. You are there for the food.

As the year draws to a close, we're heading back again to Hamburg for one last stop at Shudu, a Sichuan restaurant located directly opposite the main train station. Don't be put off by the location or the exterior; the food is always good. My recommendation is to skip to the second half of the menu. If you want to order the baozi, do so right at the beginning, as they take a while to arrive. One of my favourites is the steamed pork belly with rice flour from the appetiser menu.

With belly full of delicious food and mind full of new ideas, 2026 arrived and we hadn't even discussed home cooking yet. So let's see what the future will bring.