Good Time Restaurant Berlin
I found my favourite Indonesian restaurant about 13 years ago accidentally after spending several hours in a private class where my friend and I were taught to bead pearls from coloured glass bars with fire. It was one of the hottest summer day and we had no more energy left.
We felt run down and were very thirsty when we walked down the street looking for our parked car. Suddenly we passed a small restaurant and we decided to take a short drink there.
The small garden area had wonderful coloured parasols and small tables. It was the first time I tried a „No way out“: iced tea with fresh round-leaved mint. It was delicious and very refreshing.
As we sat in this little oasis of peace enjoying our drinks we noticed the wonderful smell of the dishes on the tables around us. We weren`t able to resist any longer and ordered.
I took a Satay Ayam: tasty meat skewers cooked up over coals so hot they need fans to waft the smoke away. They were marinated in turmeric, barbecued and then bathed in a hearty dose of peanut sauce served with fragrant rice and fresh vegetables.
Satay, I remembered from my time in Indonesia, where I spent several months before I began to study in Berlin, is one of the national dishes in Java, the main isle of the country. You can eat it with chicken (Ayam), goat, mutton, rabbit or beef. The Satay Ayam served in Goodtime was just like the Satay I ate so many times in Surabaya, offered by street vendors and which was incomparable delicate.
To persuade my family to go for dinner at Goodtime wasn´t very easy in the beginning, because of their preference for Italian restaurants, but nowadays I don`t have to ask twice.
There are two Goodtime restaurants in Berlin, you`ll find one in Mitte and one in Zehlendorf. I prefer to eat in Mitte. The atmosphere is very casual, you don`t need to get dressed up to go there. The diners are very varied, you`ll find families, students, actors and yuppies too. It`s a large restaurant and it`s sometimes a little bit noisy there. You have to make a reservation especially on the weekends, because of its excellent reputation- well-deserved, I think.
The employees are always friendly with a quick and efficient service. The owners of Goodtime, Mrs. The Hang Suparman and Mr. Willem Salim, modernize the ambiance of their restaurants every now and then. It`s always clean and the dishes are worth the moderate prices. In their kitchen you`ll find native Indonesian cooks, who always use fresh vegetables and ingredients, there is no monosodium glutamate added. You can smell, taste and feel the good quality in every hearty meal. Goodtime is the best for authentic Indonesian dishes; I tested the entire menu except the Thai food.
Most of the photos you can see are taken on my last testing dinner on 1st October 2013. You should visit Goodtime and try one of these wonderful tasty dishes. Look here and just choose your favourite:
Selamat Makan!
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This piece was written by a member of Com Berlin’s English class. Check back soon to see more texts from other members of the class.
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