Ludwig’s wursts are best

Disappointed with the poor excuses for sausages sold here, Mohd Nazrin Ludwig Gaisbauer offers scrumptious wursts at his German Deli Imbiss,
writes TAN BEE HONG

YOU can take a German out of Germany but you cannot take Germany out of a German. When Ludwig Gaisbauer met the charming Norlida Ismail in 1990, they fell in love and married. He became Mohd Nazrin Ludwig Gaisbauer.

As a Muslim, he couldn’t indulge in German sausages anymore. Bratwursts, thuringer, krainer, chorizo, cold cuts, smoked meats and pate... most German sausages, even beef sausages, contain a certain amount of pork fat for flavour and texture. So Ludwig, who used to help out at the family butchery back in Germany as a teenager, did the next best thing – he made the halal sausages himself.

“At The Equatorial Saigon and Eastin KL, I was already making a few types of sausages,” he says. None of those available in the market passed his palate’s acid test and he felt there was a market for quality sausages here, especially halal ones.

“In Germany, we don’t just have frankfurters. We have over 800 types of sausages and every region or town has one to call its own, with different spice combinations,” says Ludwig, 48, who first came to Malaysia to work at the Bayview Beach Hotel in Penang and later at various hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru. He’s also worked in the Maldives, China and Vietnam.

He finally set up the German Delicatessen Sdn Bhd factory in Section 16, Shah Alam, in 2003, producing not only halal sausages and cold meats but also burgers, smoked meat, smoked salmon, gravlax and other deli produce.

Today, the factory produces between 1,500-2,00kg of meats daily for restaurants, hotels and the airport caterer as well as selected supermarkets. With their factory up and running, Ludwig and Norlida thought it was time to open a deli, German Deli Imbiss opened in April this year.

“After all, we already manufacture the items, so why not be our own customer too,” says Ludwig.

What does Imbiss mean? “Biss means bite,” he says. “So imbiss means bites in between meals, like snacks. Germans are sandwich eaters and in the old days, construction workers would go to an imbiss for a quick sandwich during breaks.”

German Deli Imbiss is located in Dataran Ara Damansara, just off the Old Airport Road opposite Hyatt Saujana. Its signboard is partly hidden by a stringy tree but it’s still hard to miss the place.

Cheerful red and white chairs mark it as a fast food restaurant, though the Gaisbauers beg to differ. “Well, yes, we sell food and we serve it fast, so I suppose you can say it’s fast food,” concedes the cheerful Ludwig.

I’d call it the cordon bleu of fast food as the quality of food at German Deli Imbiss is definitely a few notches above that of the golden arches or a certain erstwhile colonel.

Ludwig is a chef and now a manufacturer of bratwursts, so it is not surprising that customers come in here for a bite of quality sausages. Naturally bratwursts (from RM9.80) are the big deal at German Deli Imbiss. There’s Wigg’s thurinbuger, garlic-chive griller, Sarawak black pepper knacker, jalapeno chilli fire kracker, hot bock knacker, Balkan cheese krainer, mushroom and cheese griller, spicy beef, beef hotbock and lamb chorizo. To go with them there is GDI sauce, black pepper sauce and a mushroom sauce with thick slices of button mushroom in it.

These are also available in a bosna bun sandwich or with a choice of mashed potatoes, corn kernels or bun. I love the flavoursome garlic-chive bosna with all the accompanying lettuce, shredded carrots, onions and dressing. Equally good is the mushroom and cheese griller, a pale sausage with chunks of cheese that oozes out when sliced. The lamb chorizo is much more stronger in flavour, with a great texture too.

How about a curry, German style? Ludwig says curry wursts – grilled bratwurst with a tomato sauce and a dusting of curry powder – are very much part of German food culture. At German Deli Imbiss, the curry wursts are served with a home-made tomato-based sauce and a generous sprinkle of aromatic curry powder. Does take getting used to though and personally, I like the sausage with just the tomato-based sauce.

The Gaisbauers have also just introduced a foot-long beef sausage sandwiched in a wholesome grain baguette, with lots of the GDI special dressing.

As a rule, I avoid burgers like the plague but dutifully, I sigh and take a bite of what looked like a forbiddingly-large chicken burger with cheese and lettuce. Wow, what a surprise! Instead of the usual limpid excuse for a patty, I feel a slight resistance as I sink my teeth into the bun and meat. I roll it around with my tongue a bit in disbelief. Hey, this chicken burger has texture! It’s real meat, a burger I can actually enjoy.

“Most patty makers tend to add fillers to the meat to keep costs low but that compromises the taste and texture,” explains Ludwig.

At German Deli Imbiss, the burgers are listed as Hamburger Steak and come with a choice of beef or chicken. At RM9.80, you get 150g of meat in a soft sesame bun with pickled gherkins, sliced onions and a special Imbiss sauce created by Ludwig. At RM10.80, there’s added cheese, lettuce and tomato.

Lots of customers go for the extra special version with strips of smoked beef bacon and cheese at RM11.80 and those with hearty appetites enjoy the mega burger (RM15.80) with 300g of meat, beef bacon and cheese. A complete meal with french fries and a drink cost an extra RM3.

But even if burgers and sausages are not your thing, don’t despair. There are cold and hot sandwiches worth going there for. The grilled salmon pate (RM9.80) is a hot yummy treat and the smoked duck breast sandwich (RM15.80) is a dream. The well-smoked slices of duck are thick and fragrant, with a little fat under the skin to keep the meat moist.

German Deli Imbiss also offers fettucine with chicken or beef sauce, cold cut sandwich, alohawaii (with pineapple), reuben sandwich and more. The deli opens daily from 9am to 9pm but is closed on Sundays.

GERMAN DELI IMBISS
D-G-31, Block D, Dataran Ara Damansara
31 Jalan PJU1A/20B
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7842 3477