Christmas might well be, for some, the most wonderful time of the year. However, for others, like myself this early evening in Manchester, it came at a large monetary cost, and as a huge disappointment.
An early Sunday evening in December... where have all the crowds come from? The markets were absolutely heaving with bodies it was impossible to move at times for the sheer volume of people shopping, browsing, socialising, eating, and drinking in and around the Christmas market stalls. Little wonder we are still in the middle of a pandemic when no-one was social distancing (it was simply an impossibility!), and those wearing masks and sanitising their hands were in the large minority.
However, I was making a beeline for one particular stall, which I had seen and made mental note of a few days' earlier. I wanted some Kaiserschmarren. (an traditional Austrian dessert, which is a deep, shallow-fried pancake with raisins, chopped into pieces and dusted with icing sugar. And it is truly delicious. I used to live in Austria - in fact I lived in Austria for 9 years and loved their cuisine. I was delighted therefore, to see this available in Manchester.
The stall, which after some internet research, I find is owned by German company Star Bakery, was a huge let down though. Upon asking for a portion of Kaiserschmarren, which in Austria is traditionally served with zwetschkenrösti [a deep purple plum native to Austria which are stewed and made into a delicious sauce], or sometimes with stewed apples, I find that neither of these accompaniments are available. To eat a dry fried pancake without any fruit sauce is simply a sin, and unacceptable; so the company were offering either chocolate sauce or custard. I declined, and forewent the anticipated pleasure of eating my first Kaiserschmarren since leaving Austria several years' ago.
Instead, I asked for an apple strudel, which was served with custard. This is OK.. the Austrians do have a vanilla sauce which is very similar and so thought this would be fine. You can't go wrong with apple strudel and custard surely?! Yes you can. The apple strudel was the worst strudel I have ever tasted (bearing in mind I lived in Austria!). The bottom was soggy and inedible, the pastry was not fluffy and light, but thick and stodgy, whilst the apples were a mixture of the very cooked and the almost uncooked. Furthermore, it was cold - very cold - in the inside of the strudel, when the whole should have been piping hot. The custard was weak, tepid, and nowhere near enough for the size of strudel. This set me back to the tune of £4.00. I wouldn't even eat another if it were given to me!
Instead, I asked for an apple strudel, which was served with custard. This is OK.. the Austrians do have a vanilla sauce which is very similar and so thought this would be fine. You can't go wrong with apple strudel and custard surely?! Yes you can. The apple strudel was the worst strudel I have ever tasted (bearing in mind I lived in Austria!). The bottom was soggy and inedible, the pastry was not fluffy and light, but thick and stodgy, whilst the apples were a mixture of the very cooked and the almost uncooked. Furthermore, it was cold - very cold - in the inside of the strudel, when the whole should have been piping hot. The custard was weak, tepid, and nowhere near enough for the size of strudel. This set me back to the tune of £4.00. I wouldn't even eat another if it were given to me!
My internet searching however went a bit further. Not only did I find the name of the company (which is not advertised anywhere on the stall itself), I find that every mention of this company comes under the heading "in liquidation". Little wonder if that is the quality on offer. It might be Austrian Jim, but certainly not as we know it! Awful!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 5.12.21
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 5.12.21
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