BERLIN: When in Berlin I enjoy going for a quick lunch to Neni. The cosmopolitan Tel Aviv cuisine with lots of tradition always reminds me of a place somewhere in the Orient… Israel, Iran, Morocco come to my mind and all these influences give me the guaranteed comfortable feeling when eating together with a bunch of friends around a large table which is covered with the finest food and everybody just shares, which means Neni.
I meet the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin Chef Michél Engling and ask him three essential questions regarding his food.
Where do you get your inspiration for your special dishes?
The inspiration of our food is based on what’s happening in Vienna, in the “Neni am Naschmarkt” in the markets! So the food concept is made by Haya Molcho. I met her 3 months ago the first time in Vienna and it was such a great experience and made so much impact!
What is the quickest and easiest way to do one of your Israeli starters?
The dish which I definitively like the most is our “Sabich”, which is a classic from Tel Aviv! It is quite easy to prep… First you need some humus for the base, then you get yourself some cucumber and tomato cubes ready and mix them with a generous amount of fresh herbs like mint and parsley. Don’t forget salt & pepper! The next step is, you cut some chunks of eggplant, toss them in corn flour and fry them (the corn flour gets them more crispy). Then, what we do is we put a “perfect egg” on top, but I reckon if you wanna do this at home, a poached egg will do the job. And now we finish our “signature dish” with two sauces, a classic Tahini Sauce and an Amba Tahini. We would serve it with pita bread.
What is the best drink to have with your meal at NENI?
For drinks, I would always suggest a “lemonana”, a mixture of syrup, fresh lemon juice, mint, sparkling water and topped with slices of limes!
More information:
NENI at 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin, Budapester Straße 40, 10787 Berlin