Ever since I've been to Brotzeit the other day, I've been craving to try their Brotzeitplatte which includes their famed pork knuckle. There has to be a reason that almost every other table orders the pork knuckle right? For those who don't know, the Brotzeitplatte features a pork knuckle, 2 pieces of pork schnitzel, and a selection of their sausages. The greens are more for presentation's sake, but they do come with whole pickles which help to break the monotony of the taste of the meat. As for the sauces, there is your staple ketchup, mustard and sweet mustard (I enjoyed this the most, especially with the schnitzel). There is also a sauce that is heated up specifically for the pork knuckle which makes it much more moist. The platter makes for a very good instagram picture, especially when it's served on a slab of polished wood. In addition, there is a choice of 2 sides from the extensive range of sides available in the menu to accompany the platter. Although they recommend it for 4-5 people, I would say that it would feed 4 comfortably, whereas for 5 people more definitely needs to be ordered.
Full view of the Brotzeitplatte
The Pork Schnitzel comes in a rather generous portion, but is rather underwhelming in my opinion. Not sure if this is meant to make the pork knuckle much tastier in comparison or... In any case, the pork is nicely battered but is way too dry and bland. There was nothing really special about the schnitzel. I would have to say that the saving grace of the schnitzel is when it is taken together with beer. On hindsight, I would probably order the Pork Knuckle ala carte the next round to avoid having to eat the schnitzel.
Close up of the Pork Knuckle and Sausages
The Pork Knuckle is easily the star of the platter, because it has the most distinctive taste. I would recommend scraping away the fats as it can get a bit nauseating to keep eating the fats with the pork. However, I would still eat the crispy skin together with the meat and perhaps abit of fat. That, in my opinion, is the optimal way to enjoy the pork knuckle. Of course, you need to dip into the sauce so that it becomes both warm and moist with every mouthful.
The selection of sausages allows you to try a bit of each of their sausages. In a nutshell, all of the sausages are good, and it all boils down to the individual which one you like best. They include cheese, pork, and chicken sausages. Personally I found the larger sausages to be more juicy and the texture of these sausages was also better. The spicy sausages might be too spicy for some, but like I said, it's good to have a variant of flavours to avoid being sian of just eating a platterful of meat.
Now, on to the sides that I chose.
Napkin Dumplings
The napkin dumplings are made of eggs, flour, milk and some other ingredients. They don't really have a distinctive flavour, but its a good alternative to having all the other potato-based sides to go with every main. Definitely worth a try, although I would probably order something else on my next visit.
Roast Potatoes
A staple that you can't go wrong with. The potatoes were well seasoned and roasted, and the roast onions were a welcome surprise. The potatoes were also not too salty which make them suitable to be eaten with the meat platter.
Winter Beer
Glad to see this is still around, but not sure for how long. A friend that frequents Brotzeit says that they usually will carry on with a particular brew as long as there is demand for it, and they'll slowly phase it out over time. I hope that this is still around on my next visit though!
The Brotzeitplatte is what I believe to be the most value-for-money dish on the Brotzeit menu when they are not having any other promotions. It's also a good and safe order for those visiting Brotzeit for the first time. However, I'll be sticking the to pork knuckle and sausages for future visits.
View my other post on Brotzeit here!
http://eatwheresia.blogspot.sg/2013/12/brotzeit-313-somerset.html
Brotzeit German Bier Bar and Restaurant
126 East Coast Road
