June 23, 2024

Hobenkook (Harbor Cook) Restaurant and Market

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I asked Stephan if he would find us a good restaurant to try out Saturday night, after our Chocolate tour. The task was a bit tricky because it was an extremely busy night in Hamburg being the weekend, summer and tons of extra visitors in town due to Euro Cup 2024. But he rose to the task and followed up on information he had seen prior on this little gem. He even made a reservation, which is a big deal for this German! Hobenkook is off the beaten trail, in the Lohsepark part of the City, just over a canal or two and a fifteen minute walk from the chocolate tour. The neighborhood reminds me of the Fishtown vibe in Philly, with lots of trendy apartments and condo's, converted warehouse and antique reclamation shops.


Hobenkook is a restaurant and marketplace in a former warehouse that focuses on local & sustainable producers. They have an open kitchen and offer a menu focused on zero waste and water reduction dishes. They offered just 8 starters, 5 mains and 3 desserts on Saturday night but each dish is loaded with unique ingredients. For all my foodie friends, below is the menu - they had English translations on their website - thank goodness - as food preparedness can tend to get lost in translation.

TIANMEN MOUNTAIN, ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
Tianmen Mountain , also known as Heaven's Gate , is where the dramatic natural arch is at the top of a staircase 999 steps! This is in a whole different section of the Zhangjaijie National Forest then we did yesterday. Getting up to the plaza at Upper Station, to start the ascent to Heaven's Gate , is quite extensive in itself. First we took a 30 minute cable car ride from the town of Zhangjaijie; then a bus ride you have to strap in for up a series of hairpin turns, for another 30 minutes. Then you climb a couple of staircases to make it to Upper Station . To get to the Peak of the Mountain, you either climb the 999 steps or take a series of 12 escalators inside the mountain. The upper station cableway is currently closed for renovations, so the options above were limited and very crowded.

FURONG ANCIENT TOWN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
We had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the Zhangjaijie National Forest at 2:30pm, so we could have a much needed break for the 2 hour drive to Furong Ancient Town. That way, we could explore Furong at night, which is the best time to see it, have a bit of a rest and still be in a good position, to see more of the Forest, the next day.

ZHANGJIAJIE - NORTH GATE

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
When we arrived at the Zhangjiajie train station, we had a driver meet us to take us all the way to the little village just outside the North Gate of the Zhangjiajie National Forest, which was about a 2 hour ride.This put us in a great position to get right into the Park early the next morning before the large crowds and access to the top section of the park, in lieu of the more crowded routes, coming in from the base of the mountains from downtown. We stayed at an older resort called Stilt Paradise and the place had a rustic charm as did the whole one street village. It was close to 7:30 pm when we arrived. We went in search of dinner, which commenced a session of pointing at photo's on their billboard and piecing together an order with google translate, to get the basic dumplings and noodles.