Just Mel

Häuserl im Wald

I have often heard many things about Austrian and their love for schnitzel. However only after trying it twice, I was quite certain that it was not really my thing, at least at that moment... For the coming days, I started to wonder was that it, Schnitzel? Then a friend introduced Häuserl im Wald to me, a well-known local Austrian restaurant. As the name sounds in German, it is situated in the woods of Mariatrost, along the hills. Yap, the Mariatrost where you will find Basilica Mariatrost, one of the few famous Roman Catholic parish and pilgrimage church in Austria. Getting there can be quite easy as few trams from the Inner Graz will stop at the foothill. An easy stroll along the woods will get you there in no time.

Häuserl im Wald

Welcome to the hut in the woods

Indoor

Once pushed the door and set foot into the restaurant, I could smell the taste of the food. Side eyeing at the food being served along the way to our table, it only made my stomach groaned more severely. It was so tempting! The atmosphere was great. It was clean, bright, comfortable and traditional in deco. Furthermore, there was a choice between sitting in the restaurant or by the garden. If only it was not drizzling, the garden seat would be excellent, especially during summer. In no time, I settled down and flipped through the menu. As luck would have it, the menu was in German. I had to struggle roughly 20 minutes to get it translated and dropped my order. When I thought another 15 or more minutes till the food be served, it was already on my table a while after the order.

Entrée, Bärlauchschaumsuppe mit Sahnehaube, Shrimps. A peppermint-green-like creamy soup with shrimps, some shreds of breads and some herbs, the soup was cooked using the stem of wild garlic and home made stock. The taste is light but tasty, creamy but not oily. It is unique and I have not tried something similar before.

Filetsteak „Ivan Rebroff“im Pfefferrahmsauce, Pommes Frites, Wodka, Obers, Kaviar

Main, Filetsteak „Ivan Rebroff“im Pfefferrahmsauce, Pommes Frites, Wodka, Obers, Kaviar. The medium cooked filetsteak was grilled using the “Ivan Rebroff”method and served with Black Pepper Sauce, Potato Fries, Vodka, Cream and Caviar. The filetsteak was tender. With a light creamy black pepper sauce, it was tasty but slightly salty due to the amount of salt used. I could still see the burnt salt on the filetsteak. However the salty taste was then neutralised, by adding some cream and local black caviar on the sliced beef. The taste was even elevated later once I had a sip of vodka before having the meat. It spiced it up! The way how everything blended to one taste was splendid! While I think the fries are unnecessary, I hardly had few, but is Austrian… They like potatoes.

Dessertvariation „Haüserl im Wald“

Dessert, Dessertvariation „Haüserl im Wald“. An in house special delight which runs a different theme every year and it seemed that the chefs have love for berries this year. The dessert platter consisted of Topfen, Schokomusche, Knödel and two slices Buffée, surrounded with seasonal fruits and homemade raspberry sauce in the middle. My favourite was the Buffée, a sorbet-like dessert. One was white-vanilla-like flavor coated with homemade raspberry sauce and another one was pink-berry-like flavor coated with crushed nuts. While others were so so…

The services were excellent. The waiter greeted me in mandarin surprisingly and made me felt so at home. He was welcoming and patience while explaining the dishes and making recommendations to my friend. Once finished the introduction, he slowly walked away and gave us sometime. So, my friend could translate to me. Besides, he was also keen in answering all the questions I had for the foods.

Me bill for the meal,
Entrée ………………. EURO$4.00
Main ………………………….. EURO$13.00
Dessert …………… EURO$5.00
Me tips ……………………. EURO$5.00
Total ………………………………… EURO$26.00

Two words “Wie toll!”