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FOOD AND DRINK

All aboard: grocery bus caters to isolated German villages

In the western German village of Lohne, where the only grocery store closed its doors earlier this year, residents now do their food shopping on board a red-and-green supermarket bus that rolls into the main square once a week.

German villages
The supermarket-on-wheels is a pilot project between REWE and the Deutsche Bahn rail company. Pictured is a village in Germany. Photo by Mona Hamm on Unsplash

For 90 minutes, locals get a chance to buy the essentials without having to get into a car to drive to the nearest store.

The supermarket-on-wheels is a pilot project between Germany’s third-largest food retailer, REWE, and the Deutsche Bahn rail and transport company.

The bus began plying its route in March, catering to rural villages in the state of Hesse where brick-and-mortar stores have become an increasingly rare sight, turning some areas into so-called food deserts.

For the roughly 600 inhabitants of Lohne, where the balconies are dotted with colourful geraniums, the arrival of the REWE shopping bus is a welcome sight after the village’s only mini-mart closed for good in the spring.

“I can get the basics here,” said 90-year-old Inge Nehreng, who rode her electric trike for three kilometres (1.8 miles) to join the weekly bus rendez-vous.

“If I need something special, I go to a department store,” she added.

Parked on the village square, the 18-metre (60-feet) long bendy bus carries over 950 everyday products.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are on display outside the bus, while inside the choice ranges from food items to cigarettes, newspapers, soap and condoms.

“The only things missing are nappies and wet wipes,” said Yasmine Schneider, 34, who was shopping with her toddler Felix.

The mobile supermarket has also become a popular meeting place, a chance for the often elderly residents to catch up while getting their weekly groceries.

“After shopping, we sit on a bench and talk a bit,” said 85-year-old Ursula Sauer, who lives alone.

Keeping villages connected

From Monday to Saturday, the supermarket bus covers a 600-kilometre route, stopping at 23 villages.

The prices on board “are the same” as in the REWE supermarkets, said Joern Berszinski, who manages the supermarket bus.

Deutsche Bahn provides the driver for the project, while the onboard cashier is employed by REWE.

Despite its appeal, it remains to be seen how profitable the bus service will be.

“It takes three years for a stationary shop to turn a profit, the bus could also take a few years,” said Berszinski, who has run franchises under the REWE banner for 30 years.

A key selling point for the mobile supermarket is that REWE can reach more customers with a single sales team.

“At a time when there’s a shortage of skilled workers, that’s an advantage,” said Frank Klingenhoefer, in charge of mobility services at Deutsche Bahn Regio.

The bus project has not gone unnoticed in Germany, where nearly 2,000 supermarkets of fewer than 400 square metres (4,300 square feet) have closed over the past decade, according to the EHI retail research group.

“Many communities in other regions have expressed an interest,” said Klingenhoefer.

The REWE supermarket group plans to wait until the end of the pilot project in March 2025 before deciding whether to expand.

Deutsche Bahn already has eight “medical buses” crisscrossing the countryside to tend to Germany’s ageing population in remote areas.

It also has plans for a bus offering banking services.

Klingenhoefer said he could imagine services like shoe and clothing repairs on wheels as well, anything “where the needs of a single village are too small” to justify a brick-and-mortar investment.

Member comments

  1. This article makes no sense without any image of the supermarket truck. Also it would make sense if the location of the town with distances to nearby towns and supermarkets were shown.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Where are the best places to taste Chinese hotpot in Germany?

Chinese hotpot has gained international popularity in recent years, including here in Germany. But where are the best places to taste it in Germany?

Where are the best places to taste Chinese hotpot in Germany?

Called huǒguō (火锅) in Chinese, hotpot refers to a meal of meats, vegetables and mushrooms that are cooked in a rich, often spicy, broth and eaten with sauce. 

The “hotpot” refers to the large basin of broth, which is kept at a boil on the table, so that diners can cook the raw ingredients to their liking. Oftentimes the basin is split into two separate halves so that diners can have both spicy and savoury broths side by side.

If you’ve ever tried Japanese shabu-shabu, then you’ll find this style of cooking to be similar.

The origin of hotpot is thought to date back to around 200 AD, but it began gaining popularity in the west in the 1990s, brought to western countries by Chinese immigrants.

While still largely unknown to many Germans, hotpot has certainly gained notoriety in Deutschland in recent years. A number of new hotpot-specific restaurants have popped up in Berlin and other German cities recently.

Note that hotpot is designed to be shared among small groups of people. You can order a hotpot for two, but it’s not a dish for one. So you’ll want to save this experience for a date, or a meal out with friends.

Here are a few places to try hotpot in Germany:

XiaoLongKan (ShooLoongKan) in Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf 

Among China’s biggest hotpot restaurant chains, Xiaolongkan (written as ShooLoongKan in Berlin) operates three German franchises – in Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

Xiaolongkan is an obvious first choice for both hotpot veterans and first-times alike. The base soups are solid – with chilli, tomato and mushroom options – and the ingredients are fresh and beautifully presented. 

Additionally, the atmosphere is impressive. A review on the restaurant’s website notes: “The design inside looks exactly like in hot pot restaurants in China.” Which makes sense, considering that Xiaolongkan operates many of those hotpot restaurants in China. Still, between the red and gold colours, the ornamental tables and lanterns, and the selection of food and drinks not found elsewhere in Germany, the dining experience here feels otherworldly.

Note that the chilli broth comes in three levels of spiciness, and that the spice levels are based-on a Chinese palette – it is not reduced to accommodate German sensibilities. So if you order the chili broth, expect heat.

Lucky Star in Berlin

Located on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin’s Mitte neighbourhood, Lucky Star is a time tested local favourite.

Its interior is not as flashy as some of Germany’s newer hotpot restaurants, but what it lacks in looks it more than makes up for in price and quality.

As opposed to other hotpot restaurants where diners pay by the item, Lucky Star offers all-you-can-eat hotpot for €22,80 per person, making it one of the most affordable hotpot spots you can find. 

In addition to hotpot, Lucky Star also offers a rather extensive menu and Chinese and Szechuan dishes. 

AI generated image of hotpot

An AI generated image of hotpot. Image by Deeznutz1 | Pixabay

Berlin’s recent hotpot additions

In Berlin especially, the hotpot trend has really taken off in recent years with a number of new restaurants popping up recently.

A few of the other highly rated options include Ting Song in Charlottenburg and Huotang on Kurfürstendamm. Both locations offer refined, if wildly different aesthetic experiences: Ting Song describes its ambiance as “cozy and poetic” – think wooden tables and with white walls and traditional Chinese art – whereas Huotang looks very modern and colourful.

Another recent opener is Hotpot & Nudeln in the Friedrichshain neighbourhood. The favourite menu item here is a little different – its malatang rather than huǒguō hotpot.

Malatang (麻辣烫) is named for the mala pepper that gives the soup a spicy and numbing flavour. But more practically, this malatang is served in an individual bowl rather than a massive basin of broth to be shared around the table, making Hotpot & Nudeln a good choice for single diners with a craving for hotpot.

Chois Hotpot & Lounge and malatang options in Munich

Residents of Munich don’t need to venture far to tuck into some hot and spicy broth – Chois Hotpot & Lounge serves up all-you-can-eat hotpot right on Tumblingerstraße, near the Goetheplatz U-bahn station.

Chois offers a unique pacing structure to its all-you-can-eat menu, by bringing a new round of dishes out every 15 minutes for up to two hours, as long as guests are still hungry.

Munich is also home to a number of small malatang restaurants, such as YGF or Mr. Mala Hotpot, which are humble little restaurants quickly serving up individual soups.

In many malatang restaurants, you’ll find an assortment of raw meats, seafoods, vegetables and mushrooms offered in a self-service buffet counter. You fill up a bowl with whatever you want and then choose a flavour of broth. The cook will then boil the contents of your bowl in the broth you selected and serve you a bowl of hotpot soup.

In this case, you are charged according to the weight of the ingredients you select.

READ ALSO: ‘Meat drowned in sauce’ – Germany’s biggest food culture shocks for foreigners

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