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“How spicy do you eat?” — It’s the first question we’re asked after sitting down at Larb Koi. A fair one, as we’ll soon find out. But first, the evening at this cozy spot on Krossener Straße in Friedrichshain begins with a starfruit–cranberry drink, served in delicate silver bowls. Cute. Sweet. Then things get serious, or rather, honest. The menu at Larb Koi features around ten dishes that rotate with the seasons. For us, it starts with Larb Moo, a northern Thai salad made of minced pork, homemade chili powder, mint, coriander, and spring onions. Finding the perfect papaya salad in Berlin isn’t easy. I didn’t expect to discover it just off Simon-Dach-Straße. There are curries with duck, beef, and octopus — and one standout: whole deep-fried sea bass, buried under a mountain of fresh herbs and lime. It comes with sticky rice, not as a side, but as a tool. Roll it into little balls with your fingers, dip them into sauces, and soak up juices. Cutlery is optional. For each dish, owner Sakarin Keawmali shares stories about its origin, its inspiration, even the exact way to prepare it. He also explains the many kinds of chili powders found across Thailand.
Keawmali brings a background in fine dining. He trained in various high-end kitchens and hotels, some of them French. It shows. The precision in every dish is unmistakable. The kitchen is focused, the execution meticulous. “Order a little bit of everything and share it all,” he advises. “That’s how it’s meant to be eaten.” His mission is clear: real Thai food. Uncompromising. Dishes that aren’t made this way anywhere else in Berlin. At the black-tiled bar, drinks are mixed with just as much care. The wine list was developed with neighborhood favorite Weinladen and features small, young winemakers, many natural, and many surprising. If you’re skipping alcohol, there are house-made Thai iced teas and coffees to try — some sweet, some silky, all refreshing. You’ll leave Larb Koi with a full belly, widened palate, and deep respect for Thai cuisine. And depending on your answer to that first question, maybe a light sheen of sweat on your brow.
Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Ruby Watt
Larb Koi, Krossener Str.15, 10245 Berlin–Friedrichshain; map
@larbkoi2020
What connects Friedl Dicker and Maria Luiko? Both were successful Jewish female artists among the most respected talents of the 1920s and 1930s. Dicker was born in Vienna and studied at the Bauhaus in Weimar before making a name for herself as an interior designer. Luiko came from Munich and regularly exhibited there as an artist. Her work was diverse — she illustrated books for writer Ernst Toller and designed theater puppets. Today, their work is known to few. Their lives and careers came to an end at the hands of the National Socialists. Dicker was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp, and Luiko in Fort IX in Kaunas. In a comprehensive group exhibition, the Jewish Museum Berlin commemorates the pair, along with over 60 other Jewish craftswomen, designers, and painters who paved the way for subsequent generations as pioneers in their disciplines.
Silversmith Emmy Roth was one of the first women in Germany to pass the master craftsman’s examination in the male-dominated field. Her tea and coffee pots are so elegant and minimalist that they could still be used in Berlin cafés today. Children’s book author and painter Tom Seidmann-Freud, niece of Sigmund Freud, was part of the dazzling artistic scene around the Romanisches Café in Charlottenburg and created fairy tales so expressionistically that they still inspire adults today. Curator Michal Friedlander traces their lives with an eye for detail and a wealth of knowledge. We get to know women who fought against social conventions, were politically active, and unwaveringly pursued their art and life dreams. In addition to well-known figures such as textile artist and Bauhaus teacher Anni Albers, it’s the women of the so-called “lost generation” who can be rediscovered today (10.07.) at 17h in the Jewish Museum Berlin to music by the Balagan Sisters. So that names like Friedl Dicker and Maria Luiko do not remain unknown in the future.
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Jens Ziehe / Credit: Emmy Roth, Kaffee- und Teeservice, Berlin 1931, Silber, getrieben; Horn; Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Inv.-Nr. 2010/143/0; Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
Jewish Museum Berlin, Lindenstr.9-14, 10969 Berlin-Kreuzberg: map
“Defiance. Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era” 11.07.–23.11.2025. Opening Thu 10.07. from 19h (exhibition open from 17h), free admission on the opening night.
@juedischesmuseumberlin
The frustration with Berlin’s dating scene is what led the five founders of Sore Thumbs to begin organizing speed dating nights in 2022. Their events are intended as a fun – and crucially IRL – way to meet other singles in a safe and uplifting environment. Events are offered for three groups – FLINTA* (women, trans and non-binary people), hetero singles and queer men – with 15–20 participants at each event, mostly Gen Z to millennial. You get a 3-4 minute date with each participant before submitting the names of the people you liked to the organizers. If those you liked also felt a spark: it’s a match! Besides dating nights (which are donation-based and currently held at Fincan Neukölln) the group is also throwing a Queer Singles Summer Party at Gallery22 in Kreuzberg (02.08.2025, 20h–late) for a night of saucy bops and mingling with other singles. Awaiting you are DJs, giveaways, tarot readings and, who knows, maybe even a future love. As Carrie Bradshaw (might have) typed on her MacBook: in a city of jaded hearts, is romance making a return?
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Samuel Efe
Sore Thumbs hosts regular speed dating nights – for more info and sign up see here. Next events: FLINTA* speed dating (19.07.2025), Queer Singles Summer Party (02.08), hetero speed dating (August), queer men speed dating (September).
@sorethumbsdating
A film about power, morality, and family disintegration. Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig portrays how political repression penetrates the very heart of society. Now and then, it overcomes me — usually creeping in in the morning, tightening its grip in the afternoon, and arriving in full force by evening — the longing for a truly great film. Anyone familiar with that feeling will know the small but nagging follow-up question: What should I watch? Lucky are those who have a Mubi subscription right now and haven’t yet seen Mohammad Rasoulof’s Oscar-nominated masterpiece The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is currently available on the platform. Shot in utmost secrecy, the film tells the story of Iman (Missagh Zareh), a devout lawyer appointed as an investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court during the 2022 protests in Iran.
At first glance, it seems to be a promotion, but it quickly reveals a moral abyss. He is expected to sign off on death sentences without knowing the names or charges involved. While the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement gains strength outside, tensions rise within Iman’s family. His daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), grow increasingly sympathetic to the protests, while his wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), tries to hold the family together. When Iman’s service weapon goes missing, the already fragile family dynamic tips. Mistrust becomes suspicion. Control turns to violence. The family flees to the countryside, but even there, the pressure doesn’t ease. What unfolds is an intense chamber drama that exposes how authoritarian violence creeps into the most intimate spaces. Rasoulof uses deliberately sparse, powerful imagery to portray the inner disintegration of a man torn between power and guilt, faith and reality. The sacred fig symbolizes a regime whose roots reach into every aspect of life. The Seeds of the Sacred Fig captivates with outstanding performances and a keen visual sensibility. It’s real cinema and the perfect film for a cool summer night, when all you want is to sink into the sofa for three hours and let yourself be carried away by the sheer power of storytelling.
Text: Hilka Dirks / Stills: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mubi
The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree
You can try Mubi free for 30 days via this link.
@mubideutschland
The Berlinische Galerie is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it’s doing so all summer long. Cee Cee readers will already know the BG Summer Festival is in full swing, with workshops, performances, exhibition openings (like the one tonight, 10.07.2025 at 19h), and plenty of festivities. This Sunday, 13.07.2025, the celebrations will reach their peak with the festival’s main event: a full day of art, music, and making. Inside the museum, guided tours led by curators offer fresh perspectives on familiar works, from feminist icon Hannah Höch to the architectural treasures in the collection, and even the museum’s history. Prefer doing over listening? Outside, hands-on activities await. Water painting on asphalt, a pop-up photo studio, textile art under the poetic title “What Does the Dandelion Dream Of?”, plus open woodcut and screen printing workshops.
Between it all are concerts by the KiezChor with beloved 80s and 90s hits, conversations with school students on Berlin’s art history, and a performance by collectif blitzbereit, who pick up on the movements of museumgoers and turn them playfully upside down. The new exhibition opening today will be open and free to all. “Staged Self” presents Marta Astfalck-Vietz’s photographic stagings, blurring role play with the joy of experimentation. In “Hero”, Monira Al Qadiri explores the fossil fuel oil and its geopolitical dimensions, with large-scale murals, videos, and sculptural installations. And outside? Drinks, street food, sunshine, and, of course, birthday cake. Because what’s a party without it? Happy birthday, dear BG!
Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Thi Thuy Nhi Tran
Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr.124–128, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; Stadtplan
@berlinischegalerie
ANMELDUNG