This soup course featured a Jamón ibérico essence within which a shrimp, fresh peas, pea sprouts and flash frozen FRESH peas swam. The hot soup with the frozen peas was jarring and fun. We love the little temperature surprises he likes to throw in there (see the horseradish ice cream with the sardine dish).

A play on a classic "pistou", the bowl arrived with a pesto coating brushed on the inside, a semi boiled quail egg, miniature carrots, slightly smoky bone marrow and thin sliced veal. The waiter then poured a rich consommé over the contents and activated the deliciousness.

Course 3 - Nothing short of amazing. Light and airy celery foam (foam special for Mrs. Fox and all the foam haters out there - you'd make an exception for this one! ;*)) hiding a mysterious little dish underneath. A goulash consommé made with frog legs and all the basic components you would expect. The taste was utterly memorable. Your mouth was telling you this is too light to be a goulash, especially with the delicate frog meat, but the brain tasted all the right ingredients and said yes.. this is goulash. The foam added to the dish and was a necessary component for the illusion, and definitely was not just there for show.

and look what was hiding on the other phone!!! a FANSTASTIC, earthy, creamy fungi porchini soup, full of fragrant shrooms (calling your name @Zupft ) and some great black pudding. a match made in heaven.

A classic throughout the world - and history. Hearty "soup" made from dried pies (interesting - eating fresh peas is a new fangled thing) and is served with Wiener sausages. Fun Fact: one of the first convenience foods was "Erbswurst" invented in the 19 hundreds in Prussia and one of the first military rations of industrial grade ever. Knorr (now a happy member of the Unilever family) bought the rights from the Prussian Government and is - to this day - producing that Erbswurst in more or less the same style.

Mr. C went in a different direction - dungeness crab meat and andouille sausage, hint of spice with a nice level of meat, not killing the delicate crab meat. This pot of soup was made by someone who clearly knew how to handle the ingredients.

A sampler of three different soups: clam chowder (good), gazpacho (very good) and cream of crab (not good). Mrs Carastian' s starter

A cup of this Maryland classic for Mr Carastian. Full of this delicious crab meat (gotta load up in that - nobody knows when we will get back here!) slightly spicy and utterly delicious.

a great little bowl of soup - and the waitress didn't lie. it was not a heavy cream soup but it was a light, airy soup that was loaded with tomato flavors! served with a little perfect shrimp in a blanket.

Warm, spicy and with lots of hoisin duck dumplings. Perfect for a chilly day. At an unbeatable 5.35

What a wonderful little dish.. hearty tasty poultry broth, with two perfectly poached quail eggs (Wonder whether they follow Heston's approach;-)). the dried edible flowers gave a nice touch. lovely.

The favorite soup of Empress Elizabeth, it was a light and tasty rendition of basic chicken and veggie soup. I enjoy it, but perhaps compared to the lentil beer soup - it did not stand out.

SUPER creamy, smoky and made with dark beer (off their special beer recipe menu) - this soup was delicious. Definitely not a light starter, but lick the bowl good.

Part of the Culinary Fall Festival in the Chiemsee region - the Weissbier offset nicely the sweetness of the sweet potato and added some bitter to the sweet (cue the Verve). But the star was the deer Prosciutto. such a delicate, smoked thang.... Mrs. C could have eaten a pile of it - while feverishly fantasizing about a sandwich with that.

Mrs. Carastian's lunch snack - a delicious warm beef broth, filled with thin strips of pancake. A Bavarian / Austrian classic - and a great comfort food!

Mr. C got the star dish of the night, a yummy coconut broth chockfull of prawns, salmon, squid, scallops, mussels and veg. Light heat, nice balance with the coconut. Very slurpable.