Tag Archives for kettenbrückengasse

That soup tasted funny

The one thing people need to know about me is, that from time to time I am surprisingly spontaneous. So the other day I was on a bus and was passing by this one restaurant called Thai Kitchen. No, this post is not about this restaurant. Hm, you see. Very spontaneous.

The taste of this soup was rather unexpected

The taste of this soup was rather unexpected

Anyhow. I jumped off the bus and walked back only to find out that the restaurant was closed due to vacation reasons. Damn. Now, I had to find another place to get my lunch. Luckily I was close to Naschmarkt around U4 Kettenbrückengasse. And yes, this is some sort of a China Town or better Asian Town. In this area of Vienna there are many rather authentic Asian restaurants, shops, haircutters etc. So I thought: no problem, I find something else. And so I walked towards Naschmarkt.

Eventually I ended up at Pho Saigon on Naschmarkt. Now this restaurant is connected to the restaurant called “Saigon” on Getreidemarkt und is more or less the mini version of that one. It also has a small Asian grocery store. During lunch time you get special meal offers and they are all Vietnamese food. Each lunch special consists of the daily soup, main course and dessert. In the beginning I was unsure what to take. I always think that Vietnamese dishes sound completely unspectacular. It is like “beef with basil and lemongrass”. Doesn’t sound fancy, or? But when you order it it is soo delicious! For me I chose the tofu with veggies. I had to take Vietnamese rolls in addition to the soup. I love Vietnamese rolls – no matter which one.

I love Vietnamese rolls - any whether they are cold or warm.

I love Vietnamese rolls. Any kind whether they are cold or warm – it doesn’t matter.

But first came the soup – the unexpected star of the whole meal. In the end I came to the conclusion that it was the Vietnamese variation of a sweet n’ sour soup. It had chunks of pineapples, it tasted chili spicy and sweet and unexpected. I have to admit I never tasted something like that before and I have tried a lot in my life. It had really nothing to do with anything I ever tried. It didn’t even come close. I have to say although I liked it I would not order a soup like that on purpose.

The Vietnamese rolls pretty much came with the main course. They were filled with seafood and covered in fried rice noodles. I always love the dip that comes with them. Fish sauce here we come. I really don’t mind that entree and main course sometimes come at the same time at Asian restaurants. I just eat cross-course.

The tofu with veggies was just as good as the other two courses.

The tofu with veggies was just as good as the other two courses.

And of course, I also enjoyed the main course. I think they put oyster sauce. It was really yummy. I really like that restaurant. Right at the spot where this restaurant is located you also have a number of other Asian restaurants. One is right on the opposite. It has Japanese, Chinese, Thai food. But don’t fall for that when you are at Naschmarkt. It is always much better not to choose the trans-Asian restaurants that offer all cuisines at once. They all have the same food and the taste is like an instant-food-jolly – all but not exciting.

Info: Phò Sài Gòn, Naschmarkt, Stand 191 – 194, phone: 01 585 02 24, internet: www.saigon.at, opening hours: Mo – Sa 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. in summer and winter 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., they take credit cards, I am not sure about smoking but I guess it is non-smoking, you can reach the restaurant by getting off at U4 Kettenbrückengasse and walking towards the city centre on Naschmarkt, take the aisle of stands that is the furtherst left one and there the restaurant is on the right side.

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Green Cottage Part II: This time the Chinese one

Last week was the week when I spent my time outside Vienna at an Austrian lake called Traunsee. It was wonderful – believe me. But what was missing was the variety of different cuisines. Don’t get me wrong! I love Austrian food – its my home food in the end. But I do need other food too – especially Asian one. So today I had to get some Chinese food. And there is one restaurant close to Naschmarkt which serves really good Chinese food.

Green Cottage – great Chinese restaurant close to Naschmarkt

You can find it right close to the U4 stop Kettenbrückengasse. You just need to walk away from Naschmarkt along Kettenbrücckengasse and you find it on the right side. There is an outdoor area too and since it was a wonderful day I wanted to sit outside. There was nobody though and so I had to get the waiter who was inside the restaurant.

During the week they serve lunch specials consisting of one entree, which today was either daily soup or daily salad and one main course. You choose from 7 or 8 different main courses all at different prices. These lunch specials are somehow affordable. Other than the lunch specials I would say that the restaurant serves food slightly more expensive than in regular restaurants but it is wonderful food. And so you can find stir-fried duck with green thai asparagus or some other Chinese food which is out of the ordinary. In their menue they state that they get their veggies from Naschmarkt. I guess I have to believe them as I cannot prove it.

It is more of a fancy schmancy restaurant – they give you fresh cutlery for every course

Since they had these lunch specials today I decided to take one this time. I decided to take the salad as an entree – since I don’t particularly feel like soup for lunch in summer. And as the main course I chose the trout with veggies. The weekly menue also stated that there was a three-course business lunch but for 18 Euros that was much too expensive for me – plus it didn’t say what it contained and I didn’t want to ask. The waiter who took my order had to check whether they still had the trout but fortunately they did. I once experienced that they ran out of something even though it was on the menue. But that is ok as I think that this is a good sign that food is fresh here.

The entree was the Cottage salad

So, the first course was the Cottage salad and it said that there was some sort of dressing coming with the salad. It turned out that it was pretty sour dressing as they used lots of vinegar. But it was ok since they also had celery beets cut into the salad and I have to say without the sour dressing I would have not wanted to eat the celery as I don’t like celery.

The trout filet was definitely yummy!

The main course was the highlight of the meal though. The fish was wonderful although part of it caught quite some salt and made the veggies salty too. But other than that it was perfect. The veggies were really fresh and they chopped some zucchini and pak choi also so I had two of my favorite veggies there. That was really yummy. The fish was crispy. It was great!

The size of the meal was sufficient although I have never been stuffed when I came here for food. The time before I ordered the tofu and it was not enough food. So in any case I would suggest to also order a first course or a dessert. Then you are on the safe side. The fact that I have also seen Chinese eat here is also a sign for me that this is a great place. So if you are at Naschmarkt you might consider coming here instead of the other restaurants on Naschmarkt.

Info: Green Cottage (http://www.green-cottage.at), Kettenbrückengasse 3, 1040 Vienna; phone: +43/(0)1/5866581; fax: +43/(0)1/5866581; mail: info@green-cottage.at; opening hours: Mon – Sat 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sun closed, all major credit cards

mein design: Introducing Austrian Designers

Young female designers at the beginning of their career might face the problem that they have no adequate space to present their work and to sell it. This shop in the Kettenbrückengasse helps these young designers by providing them a space for doing just that. Here they can rent part of the shop for a period of six months and sell their products.

mein design is space for young female designers to present and sell their work

So the products are constantly changing. At the moment there are nine female designers that present their work – ranging from fashion for kids to bags and accessoires. What I find very appealing in this store is that you find stuff that is very unique and innovative. If you feel like getting a bag that is not the usual stuff from the convenience store or if you are searching for a nice present for friends you will find something here for sure.

You can find everything here - from scarves to fashion for kids

For those that want to explore the shop in a more relaxing way you can taste some of their cakes and have some coffee. Everything is very relaxed and one of the designers always takes care of the shop and helps the customers when they have questions.

For everyone that likes to have an even more relaxed experience there are some treats

The prizes are really reasonable. In the end everything is hand-made and very often unique. The designers selling their products at the shop are currently: Ulrike Eckerstorfer/La Schachtula (http://www.laschachtula.at) for nice presents like textiles in nice boxes, Bluhm & Schwarz (http://www.bluhmschwarz.com) for bags and accessories, Maria Steiner/ruins of modernity (http://www.ruinsofmodernity.com) for women’s clothing, Laura Antonel for handmade scarves, Gertrud Heinzl (http://www.gertrud.at) for exclusive bags, Brigitte Wagner /Kamaeleon (http://www.kamaeleon.at) for fashion for kids, Nina Dobnik/Filzkiste (http://www.filzkiste.com) for bags, accessories etc. made from felt, Rike Pinheiro/Stylis (http://www.stylis-successoires.com) and Fanny Abrari/fabrari (http://www.fabrari.com).

Info: mein design, Kettenbrückengasse 6, 1040 Vienna; internet http://www.mein-design.org; phone  0664/392 00 45; opening hours Mon closed, Tue – Thur 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Fri 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Sat 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; you can reach the shop by getting off at U4 Kettenbrückengasse and then walking through Kettenbrückengasse and you will find the shop on the left side of the street.