Brotzeit

C says:

This place has been on our to-visit list for a while, but it took a Makansutra Raw feature and my brother’s subsequent visit and recommendation to drag ourselves to VivoCity to try it for ourselves.

Which came first, the speciality or Makansutra? Almost every table ordered the pork knuckle – I don’t know whether that proves that it’s one of their best dishes, or whether everyone was there to try the knuckle that had been featured positively on Makansutra. Note that it isn’t on the menu, but do ask for it because it appears that it’s always available anyway.

Thus far, my best experience with German pork knuckle has been at Baden Baden restaurant, until the standard deteriorated slightly. The one at Brotzeit is quite different, and I think more authentic. The Baden version, though very tender, is drenched in a clear gravy which tends to make the crackling a bit soggy, especially if you eat as slowly as I do. Brotzeit serves the gravy separately, which allows for the crackling to be enjoyed in all its crispy glory.


Brotzeit’s crackling was good, but slightly on the thick side. The meat was very tender though, and almost falling off the bone. Instead of roast potatoes, it came with a rather interesting cold potato salad, and quite a heap of sauerkraut. Needless to say I’m on knuckle overload, and the next time we come we’ll try the sausages instead.


We also tried their liver pate with German bread. The pate was very very good, the bread – not so much. It was dry and hard, but slathered with enough butter and pate, and it was edible.

The restaurant’s quite cold inside, so I would recommend a table outdoors as long as it’s not raining.

A says:

Food is good. Service is good. Portions are big so even though this place is not cheap, I think it’s still a good deal.

Definitely a place you can come to share food and drinks with friends.

Brotzeit German Bier Bar and Restaurant
VivoCity #01-149/151
Tel: 6272-8815
Opening hours: Lunch 12 noon to 2.30 pm, Dinner 6 pm to 10 pm

Baden-Baden Restaurant

C says:

Thanks to the absolutely enticing photo of Baden’s pork knuckle on Travelling Hungryboy’s blog, our cravings for the pork knuckle at this German pub in Holland Village were reignited. We used to come here for the pork knuckle and sausages pretty often, but since we’ve discovered new places to eat, we’ve had to cut back on repeat visits to our old-favourites because there simply just isn’t enough time. So much to eat, so little time...

We tried coming here on Friday night but it was packed and we were turned away. So we made a reservation for Saturday night, and requested a table indoors.

On Saturday when we got there, we realised that they had set aside our table outdoors instead, because they were having a Halloween party indoors. Now, if we had been informed of the Halloween party on Friday and that we had to sit outside, I would’ve been okay with that. I was just a tad annoyed that when they took our reservation, they still happily asked us if we wanted our table inside or outside. If indoors wasn’t going to be available, then why offer in the first place?!

That dampened my mood slightly, but I felt a bit better when the food came. We ordered the mussels with cheese and garlic in white wine sauce, which was definitely heavy on the wine, but the mussels were slightly overcooked and rubbery. The huge pork knuckle arrived and as always, I carved off the crispy crackling before it had a chance to get soggy in the light yet flavourful gravy. The crackling is delicious, and it took quite a lot of will power for me not to finish all of it.

The pork was tender, but somehow I think the standard has dropped since the days that we used to have it regularly. Back then, the meat was meltingly tender and you didn’t even need a knife for it to just fall off the bone. On Saturday, while it definitely wasn’t dry or tough, it still required some considerable carving to get the meat out, and the meat wasn’t as juicy and flavourful as before.

Still, I don’t think I’ll go anywhere else in Singapore whenever I have pork knuckle cravings. We tried the one at Stammtisch near Sixth Avenue once, a long time ago, and weren’t at all impressed. The meat was hard and dry, and the crackling was no where near Baden’s.

Of course, no pork knuckle meal is complete without a beer of some sort, and A and I always have the same thing here – a Radler, which is an incredibly wussy drink; a high-end version of shandy. It’s their German beer with lemonade and it’s wonderfully thirst-quenching and a perfect accompaniment to all the meat.

Happy Oktoberfest, all!

A says:

Good pork knuckle. Mussels weren’t bad, but I think I’ll go for the deep fried cheese next time. This place is known for its sausages too so you might want to give those a try.

Other than that, the place is pretty cramped and the service is average. It’s still the best affordable place to get decent Deutsch-y food though.