BENGALURU: Devi Reissmuller’s vision was clear. She wanted to bring German bread, cakes and cuisine to Bengaluru and combine two cultures through food and a fresh bite of a German pretzel. This is how German BrezelHaus became a reality. Reissmuller had tried German cuisine in Bengaluru earlier but nothing authentic enough. “Everything was just a fusion of a German idea with an Indian twist.
Whatever I ate was tasty and fresh but not original. It did not taste like the food back in Germany,” says Reissmuller, who moved to Bengaluru at the age of 19 and started her career as a German teacher but was always connected to food through her father who was the owner of multiple restaurants in Germany. The fast-selling items at German BrezelHaus are original German pretzels, all variations of the OG pretzels, chocolate-covered pretzels and Berliners.
Just like Reissmuller, Elyorbek, who originally hails from Turkmenistan, founded Lëzzet Turkish Confectionery, a cloud kitchen, to bring some unexplored flavours of Turkey to Bengaluru. “I noticed that while several places were offering Turkish food in Bengaluru, authentic Turkish baklava was missing from the scene. Some places were selling dry baklava under the name of Turkish baklava, but it wasn’t the real deal.
This inspired me to bring the genuine taste of Turkish baklava to the city,” says Elyorbek, who is now glad that Bengalureans are able to taste the flavours he grew up having. “Bengalureans have a deep appreciation for international cuisines. Seeing the initial response to our Turkish baklava motivated us to improve the quality and taste,” he says.
If you are on social media, then there are chances you have come across the buzz about the latest opening in the city, Kopitiam Lah, which serves Malaysian food. The place has already been visited by celebrities like tennis icon Leander Paes. Joonie Tan, the Malaysian-origin founder, says Malaysia is a melting pot of cultures, and the cuisine reflects that vibrant diversity.
“I wanted to bring Malaysian delicacies to Bengaluru to introduce the rich tapestry of flavours – from the aromatic spices of rendang to the comforting taste of laksa. Bengaluru appreciates culinary diversity,” she says, adding, that their nasi lemak is a crowd-favourite which also happens to be the national dish of Malaysia.