Da Jia Le — Restaurant in Berlin

Quintessence:

Da Jia Le is a pretty big restaurant that serves dishes from Northeast China, but also from other regions like Sichuan. The dishes were very delicious and presented very nicely.

In detail:

My friends and I went to Da Jia Le on a weekday in the afternoon at around 1:30 pm ish. That time there were very few guests.

We went to Da Jia Le, because they serve dishes from Northeast China (e.g. Heilongjiang), but they also have dishes from Sichuan and other regions of China on their menu.

We ordered the 'Sichuan Style fried sliced Potatoes (川香土豆丝)', the 'Pork ear and tongue (悄悄话)', and the 'Pork, glass noodles and cabbage in hotpot (酸菜炖粉条)'. The dishes were accompanied by Jasmine rice.

My friends (one of them is from Northeast China) and I enjoyed every single dish. They were all very delicious, well seasoned, and very authentic. Moreover they were presented very nicely. The 'Pork ear and tongue (悄悄话)' dish was presented in a way that wouldn't let people (who have never eaten such animal products before) assume it was tongue and ears.

The restaurant itself was clean, very bright and it's a pretty big place, so you can definitely go...

This is proper Chinese food, none of your gloopy, MSG ridden slop that so often passes for Chinese food. This is great, fresh, authentic regional Chinese cooking at great prices. Not only that they have a great selection of craft beers which is a pleasant surprise and another indicator that there is some real effort going into what is on offer.

The interior is not the nicest but due to the food you won't care for long and thankfully it is a large restaurant. If you are a couple you might be able to squeeze in, any larger groups definitely need to book as this place is always busy - a testament to the food.

Service is good - friendly and efficient. My only real gripes being the location is a bit grim with not a lot to do before or after and the fact that there wasn't a tasting menu for two (I don't remember any but please correct me if I am wrong).

This is the real, Chinese...

There are few times in life I’ve been as flabbergasted as I was by my experience at this establishment. Having read stellar reviews about the authenticity of the food served here and having already dissolved myself of any biases stemming from the place’s design and location, I came here expecting a culinary revelation. Our meal couldn’t have been further from this; gloopy gelatinous sauces, each kind of meat indistinguishable from the next, and vegetables that were over cooked to the point where they retained not a trace of life. Despite our patient efforts in both German and English, we had no guidance from the staff about the menu either. I’m not sure what other patrons saw and loved here, but I am confident it eluded me entirely on that fateful night. Do yourself a favour and get a teriyaki chicken at your local Wok to...