In Little Asia on Berlin’s Kantstrasse the Chinese AROMA Restaurant is by far the oldest! Allegedly even 100 years old and most probably the first Chinese in Germany! So far so good.

I once had a friendly relationship with a Chinese restaurant owner – and whenever we went out for dinner, he came with a small bottle of CHILI and he poured it over all the dishes without even tasting it first. Chinese love very spicy. So all dishes I tried at Aroma were solidly cooked – but for my expectations barely seasoned! Maybe they’ve adapted over those many decades too much to German eating habits.

But I have more to tell. Since ever ‚Beef with Onions’ is my favorite Chinese dish. In my early years in Düsseldorf I had, crazy as I was, each and every Monday til Friday, Beef with Onions’ in the Chinese restaurant of Mr. Hsiao, the father-in-law of HARALD JUNKE, who had a place in Berlin and one in Düsseldorf. That dish was utterly delicious – especially when the sauce got thickened over two days, so that you couldn’t see the bottom of the plate through the awesome sauce. While doing the same test at Aroma, the design of the plate was full fledge visible and the sauce for my taste too thin and too tasteless.

BUT: the AROMA is always packed and you better make a reservation. So success speaks for itself and maybe I’ve lost the taste of an average German.