Asia Supermarket

If you're an Asian food-lover and you happen to live in these parts - good news!
There's a new shop selling everything from instant noodles (can't live without them), Asian snacks, crabmeat, condiments, frozen dumplings, fresh pak choi, gourd, limes, ginger, lemongrass and the odd Asian gadget, i.e. rice cookers (who can live w/o one?). Also loads of rice, rice noodles, spring rolls -  and a rack full of silk gowns! Okay, so this is odd, but if you're planning an Asian theme party, the dress would come in handy...

It's located on a main road about twenty minutes drive south of B-town. The owner is a very friendly and efficient Vietnamese lady (who speaks German really well). She told me she opened the supermarket a couple of months ago and is keeping her fingers crossed that - apart from me - there are plenty more pot-noodle fans out there.

So...PLEASE give this shop a chance - go visit!!! It's clean, it's organized, and who can beat 500gr. of Jasmin Tea leaves for approx. Euro 4,40?!

Remember, unless you prefer the two hour drive to Cologne, this is the only source for yummy Asian snacks for miles around.

email me for complete address.

Gam Bai!

Café Solo

Yesterday I had a meeting with a potential new client in a town about half-an-hours drive from here. Since I was only offered weak tea and a single, plain biscuit I was ravenous by the time we finished.
I was walking along the main pedestrian area when I spotted Café Solo, which instantly reminded me of all the hip cafés I used to frequent in Amsterdam/London/Berlin. I went inside and was pleasantly surprised that they had a large non-smoking section. The interior was all bleached wood with squashy leather seats and a sofa corner, nice warm lighting (which the sharply dressed waitress later told me changed according to the time of day), and stylish touches here and there. The menu is quite varied for a café. Not only do they serve snacks such as 'panini' and 'crostini' with delectable toppings, they do Asian food too! And the cake selection is simply scrumptious. There's everything from traditional apple cake to healthy yoghurt-cherry cake to crunchy apricot-streusel tart. Yummy!
I wanted savoury on this occasion, so I selected the panini italiano, expecting two small slices of toasted bread with a bit of tomato and cheese on top. Instead I was served two HUGE slices of soft, doughy bread topped with juicy tomato sugo and cheese that had been lightly browned in the oven plus a fresh and healthy side salad with a lightly herbed yoghurt dressing. I got real tea, too (not the tea-bags). Wow, I thought... and all this for just 5 Euros.

And they have nice mellow music in the background, too.

I'll definitely be back and I'm going to take my friends along. They seat about 120 indoors and (when it's not raining) they have additional 100 seats on the terrace facing the historic public square.

I'm always happy when I get to add a new place to my 'where-to-go-for-coffee' list.