KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens or Department Store of the West) is a Berlin Institution. One of their biggest and best department stores, you can browse for makeup, accessories, clothing, household goods, and books. But far and away the best reason for a visit to KaDeWe is to wander around its massive food floor.
KaDeWe's food floor belongs in a category that marks it as one of the best department store food halls in the world (this is Germany's version of London's Harrods or Paris's Bon Marche). The selection is vast and they have a range of products from various countries around the world that makes KaDeWe unique.
This happens to be a small sample of their American candy bar section, they have versions of Kitkat that I've never seen in America (banana, strawberry, or dark chocolate flavour anyone?)
Their chocolate area is vast in and of itself. You can find a Valrhona counter, Godiva and twenty other upscale brands along with a dozen more unusual ones. I always stock up on Dolfin chocolate bars. I like the unusual flavour combinations and the balance of the spicing (masala chocolate anyone?)
There is also a wall full of chocolate bars incorporating every possible dried fruit/nut/spice/tea/etc conceivable in both milk or dark chocolate and several different cacao percentages. These are some of the best bars I've ever tried for quantity and quality of the "added ingredient". For example, the almond bar has one whole almond per tiny square that you break off and the coffee bean bar, is chock full o beans.
And a pic of the wall
This kind of attention to quality of stock continues in just about every category, whether you want
Beer of every variety from countries all over the world or
Eggs. Duck, Quail, or how about Ostrich ones?
The list is endless - spices, charcuterie, fruit, if you're into food you could lose yourself here for hours.
And then pick up some wonderful breads and pastries to go along with your other purchases to go have a picnic in the square just outside.
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