When my son asked for an ocean-themed birthday cake, I went running around town looking for blue food dye. I ended up at Kochtail and found several shades of blue in paste, liquid and powder forms. This Mitte store is your one-stop shop for any and all kitchen and bar supplies you may need. Stacked floor-to-ceiling with over 3,800 different products, the store may seem overwhelming at first. But trust me, you’ll find what you are looking for and more — from myriad cookie cutters and icing nozzles to rare OXO and Riess products, measuring cups, Lodge and De Buyer cast iron pans, mint julep cups, bread proofing baskets and giant ice cube trays to kitchen staples like KitchenAid stand mixers and Vitamix blenders. Serious hobby chef and owner Joe Diliberto, an American expat, chose to follow his passion and retired early to open up this treasure trove of delights. His focus is on European- and German-made items, especially handmade or high-quality goods. If you get lost in the labyrinth, just ask one of the staff to help you. They are experts in cooking and baking, and friendly to boot. (Text: Rei Matsuoka / Photos: Pamina Aichhorn)

Kochtail, Invalidenstr.150, 10115 Berlin-Mitte; map
Mon-Fri 11-19h, Sat 11-18h

Entering Click & Surr feels like stepping back in time. In the stucco-decorated rooms with their original tiles from the 1880s, analogue photography is still alive. For just over one year now, the shop has been selling a variety of analog camera models (from 35mm and medium format to Super 8), offering a quality repair service and developing photo negatives the traditional way. With Click & Surr, owner Jürgen Lossau has his finger on the pulse of the times. While everything around us is becoming more and more digital, a societal longing for the technology and aesthetics of decades past has quietly been emerging. No wonder: analog photography is neither about perfection, nor about an infinity of possibilities. It is rather the careful selection of the motif – and at times the unpredictability of the end result — that gives what it captures authenticity, and an irreplaceable kind of magic. (Text: Lisa Staub / Photos: Pamina Aichhorn)

Click & Surr, Gartenstr.4, 10115 Berlin-Mitte, map
Tue-Sat 11-19h