Thomas “Zimmern” Reichel makes sauerkraut, schweinsbraten and rindsuppe fashionable again at this German foodshop.

When Malaysians dream of having a nice European meal, the regional cuisines of France or Italy usually spring to mind. German food? Not so much.

As such, buying an existing restaurant specialising in traditional Bavarian fare, especially in this country, requires a certain amount of conviction and chutzpah. But that’s exactly what Bavarian German Dr Kurt Svrcula and his wife Suziana has, as the new owners of Bavarian Bierhaus.

The Svrculas had stumbled upon the Bierhaus on a restaurant-hunting mission several months ago by chance. While the location of the eatery – within the airy confines of a courtyard in The Curve, Petaling Jaya – impressed, its food fell flat.

So they did what any self-respecting, German-cuisine-loving person would do after taking over on June 1 this year. They called for a revamp.

“We needed the help of a top-notch chef. Therefore I asked my friends in Germany if they knew any,” Svrcula recounted.

Salvation eventually arrived in the form of chef Thomas Reichel, a chain-smoking, Andrew Zimmern-lookalike from Vienna, Austria. After spending many years cooking for upscale hotels and restaurants across Austria and Europe, Reichel has a finely honed talent for locating the most pleasurable component of a dish and then intensifying it.

He’s also familiar with the cuisine of old Bavaria, the kind that Svrcula’s mother used to churn out back in Munich. That’s because Bavarians and Austrians share a lot of gastronomic similarities – rich and hearty and rustic, theirs is a genre of food that doesn’t screw around or pretend to be something it’s not. From sausages to marinated roasts to knödel (dumplings), what you see with Bavarian food is what you get, which in these countries means meat and dough. Lots of it.

As one writer so aptly describes, “Bavaria’s cuisine is a monster truck. It crumples the delicate-by-comparison culinary offerings of Spain, Italy and France like tiny little Fiats and Peugeots in its path.”

After arriving in Malaysia, Reichel set to work immediately, first by making improvements on the supply end and then training in-house chefs on how to whip up dishes that are as delicious as they are difficult to pronounce.

Now, two weeks later, food journalists got their first glimpses of the results. And while Bavarian cuisine – whether it’s a main dish of schnitzel or a kaiserschmarren dessert – are no great beauty, they elicit awe with their authenticity and sheer awesomeness.

Of course, as with any German restaurant, pork roasts are de rigueur here. It’s the first to arrive, the pork in all its fatty, crispy glory along with some mean sides of sauerkraut and knödel, which at the Bierhaus must translate into delicious nutmeg-flavoured dumplings made from day-old bread and bacon bits. However, try not to let these distract you from what’s really on offer, which is a hunk of pork knuckle surrounded by neat, juicy slices of belly.

Heck, it even looks majestic.

The strategy to near-perfect schweinsbraten is simple, according to Reichel: boil it first, then let it marinate in salt, pepper, garlic and all the other goodness overnight. “The longer you wait for your meat, the better you know it’s going to be.”

There’s also the gravy. Instead of buying pre-made sauce off the shelves like most restaurants, Reichel lovingly makes his from juices dripping off the meat.

Another classic Bavarian treat – and one that’s been lingering under the radar in Malaysia for far too long – is rindsuppe. This clear, homestyle broth is made by roasting beef and pork bone in the oven first, and then simmering it for five whole hours with a pot full of vegetables, including unpeeled onions.

Bierhaus serves up two versions of rindsuppe: one with knödel and the other with frittaten, or pancakes sliced so they resemble noodles. Bursting with flavour and brine, this is the type of dish that generations of Bavarians run to for comfort.

Next up is the spaetzle. The dish, which charmingly translates into “little sparrow” for its odd resemblance to bird droppings, is Germany’s answer to carbs on a plate: the pasta. Usually eaten as a side, spaetzle is more commonly found swimming in goulash or chicken paprika. At Bierhaus however, it’s prepared as a main, with a rich, carbonara-like sauce that could potentially spell the end of any weight loss plans.

Desserts are equally badass. If you’re hankering for some itty-bitty, hand-crafted desserts, this is not the place to come. Over here, the cakes blows you away with their size which, some say, could rival a football.

The kaiserschmarren, a shredded pancake that’s named after Austrian emperor Kaiser Franz Josef I because of his love for the dish, happens to be a specialty of Reichel’s. Enormous and fluffy-as-a-cloud, the kaiserschmarren at Bierhaus is soaked in imported rum and dipped in a tangy house-made strawberry compote instead of the more traditional apple sauce. The reason? The apples in Malaysia simply aren’t good enough.

After all that’s been said and done however, you can’t truly say you’ve eaten at the Bierhaus without chugging at least a glass. We’re talking about beer of course. A straight-faced Svrcula provides the raison d’etre: “Bavarians believe that beer is a food group, and eating is the foundation for drinking.”

From Erdinger Weissbier to Schneider-Weiss to Franziskaner, about half of the many different beers at the Bierhaus are imported from Bavaria. These hefeweizen, or wheat beers, are by-products of the now-defunct Reinheitsgebot or the “Bavarian Purity Law”, which decrees only natural ingredients such as water, hops and malt could be used in the production of alcohol. Served unfiltered so the yeast used during fermentation is still present, these beers have a distinct flavour and aroma.

Meanwhile, Reichel’s time in Malaysia is almost up but he’s by no means done with the Bierhaus. “He’ll be coming back to visit us every four to six months,” says Mrs Svrcula.

But knowing a German’s knack for quality control, Reichel will be here before most of us can say wunderbar.

Bavarian Bierhaus

The Curve, 6, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor (Tel: 03-7728 8269)