Doi At A Chau 24, the largest supermarket in the maze of Lichtenberg warehouses known as the Dong Xuan Center, a trip to the butcher station is an exercise in organ identification. Next to plastic crates full of pig kidneys, goat livers and cow stomachs, you’ll see glistening red links of Vietnamese blood sausage, made in-house by stuffing a mixture of pig’s blood, fat, mung beans and herbs (including Vietnamese basil and coriander) into pork intestines. It’s a relative bargain at €5/ kilo, and if you brave the chaos around the front counter and find a sales clerk who speaks German, they’ll gladly steam up a link or two for you at no extra charge. At first, the combination of the earthiness of the blood and the vegetal tang of the herbs is overbearingly funky. Dunked into a mixture of fish sauce, lime juice and chillies, however, doi becomes a perfectly serviceable beer accompaniment – which is usually how it’s enjoyed in Vietnam. RG Dong Xuan Center Halle 3, Herzbergstr. 128-139, Lichtenberg, M8 Herzbergstr./ Industriegebiet, Wed-Mon 9-21
Boudin noir There are a few places in Berlin where carnivorous bon vivants can quench their thirst for French blood (sausage), or boudin noir. A no-nonsense well-seasoned mix of pork blood, fat and cooked onions (and none of that extra stuffing found in its white-skinned cousin, the boudin blanc), it is to be enjoyed gently browned in butter and served with cooked apples and/or potatoes. In Berlin you can purchase at the Galeries Lafayettes food court or Chez Bruno, a Zehlendorf delicatessen boasting an impressive collection of cheeses and a few boudin types for €16.50-19.50 per kilo. When it comes to having it served to your table, beware: prices vary greatly from €18.50 at Chez Maurice (accompanied by thyme-caramelised apples, mash and onion marmelade) to €8.50 at Chez Michel! They actually all come from the same French provider (delivered fresh from Rungis, near Paris, every Thursday). We loved the Kreuzberger’s bargain version: oven-roasted, served on a light bed of greens with a sweet-sour side of Jonagold apples and butter-roasted potatoes. After the steak frites, it’s one of Michel’s most popular courses (he dishes out up to six kilos of the black roll each week). For first-timers: make sure to combine boudin, apples and potatoes with each bite, to maximise the experience. Mustard (hot, Dijon style) is optional, but adds a spicy tinge to it! FP Chez Michel, Adalbertstr. 83, Kreuzberg, U-Bhf Kottbusser Tor, Mon-Fri 11-22, Sat-Sun 17-22 Originally published in issue #122, December 2013.
