Sometimes writing happens by itself, and sometimes there are these places that blow my mind, and I don’t know where to start. My head is empty and full at the same time – a big wow would actually sum it up. That’s how I felt about Soopoollim, a Korean teahouse that opened on Ackerstraße in October last year (2023). Inspired by the forests of East Asia, amidst lots of wood and greenery, Yurim, the owner, serves traditional Korean herbal teas, homemade desserts, and dishes. It feels almost intimate when you taste her lovingly prepared teas and dishes because they tell you without words about traditions, her mother’s recipes that invite you into her home, and her cooking beginnings as a young child. One example is the ‘Ssanghwacha’ tea – combined from ten different medicinal herbs, it is a popular drink in Korea to give you and your body energy, which is why it is particularly popular after a cold. All the other teas on the menu are also described in detail in terms of how effective they can be for your well-being. And then there are the dishes, where you can order anything without being disappointed.

In addition to the dishes that you can order all year round, there are also monthly specials. We recommend popping in January and trying a portion of the Cheese Dakkalbi – spicy, grilled chicken with a good portion of melted cheese. You can enjoy Yurim’s white bibimbap – the vegan version of the classic rice bowl with silken tofu – at any time of year. “Bossam” also has a well-deserved place on the fixed menu: pork belly served with doenjang, a Korean soybean paste, served with homemade kimchi and rice. For starters, there are the usual classics such as mandus and fermented vegetables, but we recommend trying the ‘Yangbaechu Ssambap’: small steamed cabbage rolls filled with rice and topped with a chili soy sauce. If toast, eggs, and cheese are a fixed part of your Sunday routine, why not drop by for Sunday Brunch? Here you can expect a Korean take on shakshuka, toast à la Korean street food style with cabbage and omelette, or a classic French toast. If you want a little break after your tour of the center, you can make yourself comfortable with tea and dessert. Our favorites are the ‘Seoul Roll Cake,’ a sponge cake roll filled with whipped cream, and Chapsaltteok, mochi with matcha cream and red bean paste. We all know that you can’t taste food with words, and pictures only show half the pleasure. In any case, I can think of enough reasons to venture out of my own neighborhood in the snow and sub-zero temperatures for a visit to Yurim.

Text & Photos: Robyn Steffen

Soopoollim, Ackerstr.149, 10115 Berlin–Mitte; map
Mon, Thur–Sat 12–15h & 17–21h, Sun 11–17h

@soopoollim

At noon, Prenzlauer Berg locals don’t just meet up for a flat white or a green quinoa bowl but also for a fresh roll with warm Leberkäs’ and sweet mustard at Terese, the quaint transalpine delicatessen in the Gleimviertel district. The friendly owner, who serves the rolls personally and gives detailed product advice and seems to have a personal connection and anecdote for each of them, is not called Terese but Martina. Terese is her grandmother, with whom Martina spent half her childhood on Lake Constance. Terese was an excellent cook, and so, true to the motto “the way to one’s heart is through the stomach,” she cooked for everyone and served an extra portion of comfort food on top. It makes sense that this woman is the namesake of the small store because, like Terese’s home, cozy is a very good way to describe the atmosphere here. The shelves are stocked with dried flower arrangements, natural wines, clay plates, fondue sets, tomato sugo, Bricelet cookies from Savoie, Kaminwurz, bacon, and Alpine cheese. But also enamelware, grissini, dried porcini mushrooms, gin, and chocolate.

Martina knows the producers of each product, small artisan businesses, and manufacturers, all from the Alpine region. It’s a perfect place to fill up your pantry with local or vacation treats or to give as a gift to a friend. But you don’t have to take anything home or give anything as a present; you can enjoy dumpling or pancake soup, raclette rolls with pickled organic vegetables, or cheese platters on the spot. According to Martina, however, Leberkäse is the absolute bestseller, which she gets delivered fresh every week from the Bavarian town of Trostberg. She discovered the best Leberkäse in the world at the local butcher’s at the weekly market there. How nice that Martina has spared no effort to make the logistical effort to bring this world’s best Leberkäse to Berlin.

Text: Laura Luisa Iriondo / Photos: Robyn Steffen

Terese, Rhinowerstr.10, 10437 Berlin–Prenzlauer Berg; map 
Tue–Fri 11–19h & Sat 10–17h

@terese_transalpin