KUALA LUMPUR: A conversation between family members over a delectable meal of German cuisine, turned out to be very profitable for three cousins. What started as a hobby and passion for German food and bier resulted in them opening an outlet of their own in record time.

"We love German food especially the pork knuckles, and we try them all with our spouses and kids at different restaurants. One night, one of us had the idea of opening our own place in May this year," said Berlin BierGarten director Dr Kunalan, 37.

"The next thing we knew, we were busy filling out forms for the necessary approvals from the authorities. Now that was a challenge as none of us had experience in the food and beverage industry," he said.

Inexperience notwithstanding, Berlin BierGarten was up and running by last July at Soho KL, Solaris Mont' Kiara, with an investment of RM500,000 made by the three cousins Dr Kunalan, Dr Loganathan and K. Vijayendran.

The light breezes there are an added boon for the customers, who have their pick of 43 varieties of German delicacies prepared by executive chef S. Panneer, 33.

Among the house specialities are Berlin salad with rocket leaves, bratwurst of pork, lamb, beef and chicken served with sauerkraut and herbed button mushrooms, and the the Berlin specialities -- crispy pork knuckle roasted with garlic and herbs, and Berlin roast pork ribs.

For those not fond of meat, there is the vegetarian Berlin pasta.

Naturally, the hearty fare is washed down with even more generous quantities of Paulaner, Hacker Pschorr and Thurns und Taxis, which are among the 10 varieties of premium German beer available there.

"The concept here is reasonably priced fine dining in a casual atmosphere.

The restaurant can seat about 100 diners," said Dr Kunalan.

The restaurant is open from 11am to 11pm daily, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

For details, call 03-6203 0958.

Pictures by L. Manimaran