Just behind the bus stop on Bundesallee where I used to stand as a shrimpy 6th grader, waiting for the city bus that would take me to Fehrbelliner Platz, where the school bus would be waiting to take me down to school in Zehlendorf, there's now a big Korean grocery store called Silla. Compared with other "Asiamärkte" in Berlin, Silla is by far the neatest and cleanest and brightest that I've been to. It also seems to have the best prices.
And it happens to serve my favorite bibimbap in Berlin. (I'm not a fan of Ixthys, though I know it's a lot people's favorite. The Bible verses creep me out, not to mention the sticky menus and the so-so food.) Silla's bibimbap is impeccably made and tastes fresh as can be. And it's so nice to eat lunch with your eyes watering, don't you think?
Silla has a lunch counter, too, you see. The menu is short and I really only ever order the bibimbap, because the other stuff feels overly sauced to me (though Max is always happy with what he gets and there's no skimping on hot sauce). The bibimbap comes sizzling in its little bowl, with a healthy dollop of chile paste, fresh little batons of cucumber, seaweed, some unidentified greens, a tangle of bean sprouts, you know the drill. The egg is always perfect: the white just set, the yolk still molten.
I find waiting the right amount of time before starting to stir everything together is always the trickiest bit of eating bibimbap, because when the dish gets set down before me, the scent of sesame seeds wafting up to my nose, I am instantly ravenous. But I also love that crust the rice forms.
While you wait for lunch, you can walk around the store and go shopping. My favorite Korean barley tea, tamarind paste from Thailand, big plastic bags of Korean red pepper, homemade kimchi, Japanese vinegar, pickled ginger. It's all there and then some.
Silla
Bundesallee 23
10717 Berlin
(030) 863 95 300
