If you are looking for great asian food and you do not want a crowded Tripadvisor hyped place like Cocolo Ramen, we discovered a little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant Rote Laterne from the Hunan region on Oranienstrasse, which is a great alternative.
We passed by this place without looking for a somewhere to review, but after a taste bud invigorating dinner we decided we had to.
The restaurant’s name – Rote Laterne means Red Light, and you know that you have discovered it when you come across the dimmed welcoming lights that draw you in and heighten your senses.
The restaurant was renovated this year with a fresh and modern feel. Perhaps it’s a little bit too metropolitan and cold, but juxtaposed with hot the food they serve, it makes sense. Unlike hyped places, which are often better known for their atmosphere, here the food can speak for itself. The highlight of dining here is that guests get really close to the making of the food, making the experience very authentic. The chef is doing his magic behind a glass wall that protects the restaurant guests from getting frying oil and fire all over their curious noses, while watching him prepare their food.
The menu is filled with exciting vegetarian and meat options from the Hunan province in China. A lot of the guests order from their traditional barbeque menu, but you can also choose ramen and different noodle dishes and many of them quite spicy, which is common with dished from the the Hunan region in China.
We chose the Tantan version of Ramen and a beer for a very affordable price of under 10 euros. The portion was huge, the service was very friendly, and the ramen was hot as hell and tasty as heaven.
So, since we cannot see the Ramen trend die, and hopefully it never will, we love to find those places that is not fully exposed for the masses yet. It is always a great experience to see the staff’s genuine passion for the food they are serving on a down to earth level.
Even if the interiors might be a little cold you will feel welcomed just by spotting the warm red lights in the winter cold.