Attaché Dispatches No. 6

Welcome to Issue 6 of Attaché Dispatches. We’re a little late with this issue but for good reason - a new episode! And I wanted to make sure we got it in front of you all, so we decided to delay sending this issue until the episode was live. Hope you’ll agree it was worth it.

I am delighted to finally be able to share a new episode with you. I admit that our offerings have been slim lately, so I am particularly pleased that we got this one done. As I relayed in previous newsletters, Las Vegas is a complicated and misunderstood city — and some of the early comments on the episode reflect its divisiveness. But I truly believe there’s a layer of that city for everyone — it takes work but will ultimately be worth your time. And I hope that we conveyed that in the episode. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments.

I was travelling last week but I’m going to save my experiences from that trip for a future missive — there's a lot to get through. It’s also timely because a memory of an early filming trip popped up and I wanted to revisit that with a bit more detail - because it still makes me laugh.

Have you ever eaten a burger in a public toilet?

"Yes. Once. But I don't want to talk about it." A good friend's casual reply to what I thought was an obviously rhetorical question. I too can claim to have eaten a burger in a public toilet, but I do want to talk about it.

I was in Berlin 9 years ago, almost to the day, filming our episode, which got me thinking about that city and our experience there. Berlin was a rare departure from normal procedure, even back then. Across our 75 episodes it’s always been me and Greg. Except this time. Greg, called away by the forces of rock and/or roll at the last minute, was unable to make the trip. So his university flatmate, creative collaborator, and all-around top guy Nick Wilkinson stepped in, which I really appreciated.

Regardless of country, city, or terrain, Attaché shoots have one thing in common - we cover an insane amount of ground in a short period of time. In our early days we meticulously scripted and planned each shoot with very little appetite for deviation. We’d done our research, we knew which landmarks we wanted to film, we had it under control. And invariably we’d have to throw the script in the bin almost as soon as we arrived because the city had other plans for us. We’d be led by serendipity to corners of a destination that never came up during our research but would become the backbone of the episode. The tone of the script would change entirely based on a moment that we couldn’t possibly have planned for. We learned two things quickly: one, that Anthony Bourdain was right when he said that having a rigid itinerary is no way to experience a place. And two, that the worst way to capture a city was to dash from filming location A to filming location B in a taxi or on public transport. Because it’s the places in between points A and B that are the essence of a place. And the only way to experience and capture that is to walk. And Nick and I walked the hell out of Berlin. Miles and miles.

It was halfway across the abandoned runway of the imposing Tempelhof Airport (a landmark I implore every visitor to Berlin to experience) that I realised we hadn't eaten since our arrival several hours earlier. As we weighed up our options and discussed our preferences, I remembered talk of a legendary eatery in Berlin. One that sounded too outlandish, too ridiculous, too crude to be true. My mind was made up — this must be investigated. Even if it was myth, it would be worth the sidequest.

In the shadow of the U-Bahn's elevated tracks between the busy lanes of Schlesisches Tor in Kreuzberg you will find a gentlemen's convenience. A tidy 19th-century embellished iron structure, its moss-green facade is perfect. Almost too perfect for a public toilet. And with a quick sniff of the air one gets the sense there's treachery afoot. From its latticed windows comes not the fetid stench of stale urine but the unmistakable gloriousness of beef basking on a hot griddle, and fries being dunked in hot oil. I have, one might say, an unhealthy relationship with the humble burger. I love them. I love them so much that, for a while, I was part-owner of a burger joint in central London (anyone remember Burger Bear in Old St?). So when I heard that this erstwhile public shitter was now home to one of the best burgers in Europe, I didn't hesitate to make a pitstop.

Even without its unusual home, Burgermeister Schlesisches Tor is an objectively good burger joint. Their own master baker bakes the buns because they couldn’t find an off-the-shelf product that met their standards. They select their meat from farmers and process it themselves instead of buying cheaper pre-ground meat. I appreciate that commitment to the game. But a well-told story and expensive ingredients don’t always yield a decent end product. Indeed it’s often a recipe for disappointment. But not in this case. They make a truly excellent burger. Their unfussy menu is built around their smashed patties, with enough variants to keep everyone happy. Personally, I recommend the Fleischermeister (double meat, double cheese, fried onions, mustard, ketchup) but add bacon. Outstanding scran.

But don’t just take my burger-obsessed word for it. It is a quantifiably great burger, too. As of today, it has a 4.7 rating on Google Maps with over 17,000 reviews. Those of you who have been in the food/travel game long enough know that’s an incredible feat. Those kinds of numbers reflect an almost impossible achievement: insanely popular AND good. Beloved and respected by locals and tourists alike. That’s so rare as to be bizarre.

I can safely say it is the best food I've eaten in or around a public toilet to date.

Everywhere I ate - No list this issue because while I did travel, the list wouldn’t make any sense until our full project reveal. But you seem to enjoy this feature so it will return in due course.

An ode to siu mei - I was in Hong Kong this month. My happy place, as many of you know. As you wander around Hong Kong, you’ll pass by hundreds of restaurants with roasted duck, goose, or pig hanging in the window. This is siu mei, the Cantonese style of rotisserie, and a Hong Kong staple. The meat is usually cooked on a spit over an open fire before being slathered in a glaze and roasted to crisp up the skin. Popular dishes include char siu/叉燒 (barbecued pork), siu ngo/燒鵝 (roasted goose), and siu aap/燒鴨 (roasted duck). Many siu mei restaurants offer combo plates so you can experience all the different meats along with some rice. I urge you to do this.

My first siu mei love was the incomparable Joy Hing in Wan Chai. For a while there was a dirty little rumour circulating that I used to book my hotels based on how close they were to Joy Hing. 100% true. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Joy Hing has featured in both of our Hong Kong episodes, and for good reason. It is one of the oldest siu mei establishments in the world, dating back to the late Qing Dynasty. Even the oven is a pre-war relic, the temperature of which the chefs still check by hand. And of course I made my pilgrimage there on this trip, too, so I could embarrass myself with my elementary Cantonese and enjoy the conviviality of staff and patrons alike.

But on this trip I also tried a newer spot in Causeway Bay called Kitchen One Roast Goose. I was tipped off by a local Redditor that Kitchen One’s char siu was among the best he’d ever had, with several commenters agreeing with him. And they weren’t wrong. The char siu was excellent. Juicy, flavourful, and just the right amount of sweetness. But it was the siu ngo/roast goose that was the real showstopper. They served a goose thigh that was absolutely killer. Crispy dark skin, juicy meat, perfect amounts of fat. Extraordinary. I got the two meats, rice, pickled vegetables, cabbage soup, and a soda for under US$10. Not bad for one of the most expensive cities in the world.

This issue’s money section comes courtesy of Joeyjoejoejrshabadoo81 (great reference) on YouTube who sent in this “Reader Mail” question:

“When, if ever, do you suggest we book on Expedia? Sometimes their prices can be worth the risk.”

Woo boy. This is a great question. And I have strong feelings about it. When you search for flights on Google Flights (which should always be your first port of call) you will see a headline price on the results page. But when you click into the full breakdown of the itinerary you’ll see the “Lowest Total Price” in the top right-hand corner as well as the price for the provider that Google “recommends” - this is almost always the airline itself. And often the lowest price and the price for the provider that Google recommends don’t match. At all. Scroll down and you will see a list of alternative providers for the same flight and their prices. In that list will be other airlines, big OTAs — online travel agencies — like Expedia, and random flight search sites that you and I have never heard of. Somewhere in that list will be the provider of the “Lowest Total Price”. And in some cases that price could be much lower than the price offered by the “recommended” provider. It can be extremely tempting to save some money by booking through one of these providers. But be very, very careful. Here’s why:

When you book through an airline (which I’d always recommend), the airline controls your ticket. You can make changes to the flight, add bags, cancel it through the airline. But if you book through an OTA, including Expedia, the airline no longer has access to the ticket to make changes. You have to go through the OTA. The OTA may have their own rules about changes/cancellations that are in addition to whatever the airline’s rules are. They often have additional fees for changes or amendments that might be granted for free due to your airline status. And in my direct experience, getting through to some of these OTAs can be an absolute nightmare. And there is nothing that the airline can do about it until the flight is in “airport control” — which can be less than 4 hours before departure.

In extreme cases, these cheaper fares can be absolute scams. Again, I speak from direct experience here. Last year I was booking a flight to Hong Kong and found a fare on Google Flights that was hundreds of dollars cheaper than the recommended fare. So much cheaper that even I was unable to resist its siren song. So I booked it. Within the hour I got a call from the travel agent saying that they had been informed by the airline that the fare bucket I purchased was no longer available — I would need to pay the difference in fare to keep the reservation. I was immediately suspicious. I fired up ExpertFlyer (an indispensable tool for all frequent flyers) to check this claim. Sure enough, I could see there was plenty of availability in ALL economy fare buckets. And I told the agent this, including the specific fare bucket names (S, N, Q, and O). There was an incredulous silence followed by “Hmm let me just check something, please hold” followed 30 seconds later by “Oh yes, I can see now there is availability, you will have your ticket in the next 90 minutes.” I knew what was going on here and was able to call them out on their BS — but would your average traveller? Probably not. And these scammers know this.

Look, I’m not suggesting Expedia would do this or any of the other nasty tricks I’ve come across. But there are a lot of unscrupulous OTAs dangling cheap fares to lure you in. So, caveat emptor, as they say. In most cases, booking direct is the safest way to go - the small amount extra you pay will likely be worth the peace of mind.

Had a different experience? Let me know by replying to this email.

Next episode - Hot on the heels of Las Vegas, we have another episode in edit right now. So be sure to get those YouTube notifications turned on. It’s more important than ever as YouTube’s algorithm does a lousy job of surfacing new content from the creators that you subscribe to. Seems bizarre to me but that’s just how it works.

A travel read I enjoyed recently - This article about overtourism in Japan is both fascinating and infuriating. The premise is that “Social Media Assholes” are adding a new level of frustration to already crowded landmarks as TikTokers and Instagrammers grapple to get the “best” shot for their content. I have long railed against the creator community for operating with a wild lack of respect for restaurant proprietors, local residents, and their fellow travellers. In fact, I feel there's a broader piece on this coming in a future newsletter. But do spend some time reading Luke Plunkett’s excellent article.

📚 Got a travel read you think I and/or the Attaché community would enjoy? Reply to this email and let me know!

On my flight to Las Vegas last month, a chap walked past me and said “Excuse me, are you Attaché?” I said I was and we had a great little chat. This kind of thing makes my day. Truly. If you ever see me out and about, PLEASE come and say hi. It means the world to me.

Until next time…