You know a dish is good when 4 out of your party of 5 order it – and this is always the case with any form of pasta served with chanterelle mushrooms here in Sylt (an island in the North Sea of Germany). Chanterelle mushrooms seem to be a rarity in Australia – according to Wikipedia they aren’t grown in Australia, which could account for their lack of use in the Australian culinary scene. Because of this, chanterelles are always a highlight whenever I’m in Germany: I try to eat them as much as possible. This time I had them at the Sturmhaube in Kampen, a town of Sylt.
Such views are pretty standard in Sylt – the long, skinny island has the Atlantic ocean on its west coast, and mud flats on the east coast leading to the mainland. On a low-tide day, you can almost walk across to the German mainland! The beaches are of course very different to the ones we are used to in Sydney – the sand is coarse, often looks ‘dirty’ and there are lots of sand dunes with various forms of vegetation. Sitting at the Sturmhaube, we had a few across many fields towards the ‘Watt’ or mud flats.
The generous amount of chanterelles was served with fresh tagliarini and a creamy sauce (€19), with some spring onions to top. The sauce wasn’t overly thick, and although I found the whole dish a little under seasoned, it was a joy to each such fresh mushrooms. It is a seasonal dish as well – hence 4 of our table of 5 ordering it. The Father bucked the trend and ordered the Ocean perch with mixed vegetables and a side of potatoes (approx €20). As Sylt is an island, seafood features prominently in the cuisine. My parents talk fondly of the time they ordered a whole ocean perch to share, which was first fried to get a crispy skin, and then baked in the oven for a long time. This time the fish was fresh, but the layer of vegetables beneath didn’t quite match. Perhaps with a different sauce?
As I mentioned before, Germans have many different cakes. On the menu of the Sturmhaube was everything from apple cakes, plum cakes, to crumble cakes and cheese cakes. I went for a rhubarb cake, with a side of whipped cream (the Germans are also very fond of their cream). It was a little sour, so I ended up having some of The Mothers apple cake as well. The cakes all come in a square slice form, not the usual triangular slice we are used to.
We had such a lovely time sitting on the verandah at the Sturmhaube, in the sun which, even though it was only around 18 degrees, was strong enough to give me a one-armed sunburn (welcome to North European summer!). I would definitely recommend this restaurant for a Sylt eating experience. The menu is large, but go for the specials that change each day – particularly the chanterelles (or their German name Pfifferlinge) if you can grab them!
Sturmhaube
Riperstig 1
25999 Kampen
Sylt, Germany
http://www.sturmhaube.de/
This post is dedicated to Ms J. Loh – who shares a love of chanterelles with pasta. x
