Veggie, Meat, and Fantasy

Two great culinary experiences in Zurich recently for me: very different, but equally loved and recommended.

Hiltl (vegetarian) - I often passed by on my way to the gym, but it took me a year to finally go...I had the Casimir, a rice dish with quorn, mango, fruits, and a bit of saffron in the sauce. Everyone in our group loved it: others had the risotto with mushrooms, the papaya salad, and the Indian black curry - all good. I thought the presentation of the food was excellent too.

La Cote (meat, Kreis 3) - As a meat fan, I loved this place. I had their (in)famous Cafe de Paris entrecote, the way I like it - as rare as possible, or "bloody" as the waiter said with a smile. You can also eat charbonnade. We all shared a couple of desserts and they were nothing special, but then again, I was in "meat heaven", so nothing to complain...

A Taste of... - Zurich Lunch Adventures

In the past few months, I have been organizing lunch events with several friends in Zurich. Usually, I pick  a different place every time, reflective of a different cuisine, mostly on Fridays, but occasionally on other days. The reason is that, generally, Fridays are a bit more laid back in the office, for everyone.

Here are some of the places visited (with the links), and some comments/ recommendations.

A Taste of Jamaica
http://www.clarkes.ch/
Cozy take away place with a couple of tables, it is awesome: nice owners/workers, cheap, and delicious food. Highly recommended. But plan on taking a nap afterwards, I had to have 2 teas to be able to get back to work and stay awake!

A Taste of Sri Lanka (or India?)
Nimmi Restaurant & Take Away
I liked it. It was a big portion, it was tasty, and it was cheap. The shrimp curry was a bit on the spicy side for me, but totally edible - I am not a big fan of spicy (as in "hot", not "spices"). I was satisfied with the price/quality ratio.

A Taste of Vietnam
http://www.saigon.ch/5-0-Aktuell.html
I had the pho with beef and really liked it, even on such a hot day. I have been back for dinner and had the pho with fish, even better. Their lotus tea is nothing to write home about, just tastes like regular tea to me (but what do I know?)

A Taste of Vietnam - Part 2
http://restvietnam-la.com/
Roasted Duck with Rice costs 17 francs at lunchtime. Definitely recommend the place.

A taste of Asia
Teoh Asian Restaurant

Loved the food, loved the company. I had noodles and chicken with veggies and mushrooms. Definitely going back for more. I also had dinner there with some friends, we had a special pork dish - food is super tasty, but I thought they could do with a bit bigger portions.

A Taste of Italy

http://www.bottegaberta.ch/#/homepage/
This is my favorite Italian restaurant in Zurich, and I keep going back, over and over again. We stumbled upon this place with my colleagues a while back, and it was love at first sight. They have a very good menu special for lunch - 20/22 CHF including salad, main course (usually have 4-5 choices available with the menu deal), coffee, and drink. For Zurich, I think it's a very good deal. Their cuisine is "creative Italian" I would say, combining different tastes of the Italian traditional cuisine in new ways (like the outstanding pasta with eggplant and mint tomato sauce, yum!). The people who work there are awesome too. The fact that I could have eaten the same/similar dishes in my dad's kitchen, with the same friendly atmosphere, just made me feel at home.  I had the pasta with vegetable and black olives tomato sauce, a coke, a salad with bread and an espresso, and the bill came out to CHF 20. Delicious and cheap. Highly recommended.

A Taste of Bavaria

Bauschänzli, Stadthausquai 2, 8001 Zürich

Great, great food and fun group!
No beer for me this time, but the bratwurst, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut I ate lated until the following day!

A Taste of the USA

Helvti Diner
Talk about disappointed hopes...My dreams come true...a diner in Zurich! The place was quite full, but we had a reservation, and squeezing in a bit, we were fine.
Forgivable sin: my dark-chocolate milkshake was a bit liquid (definitely less thick than a "North American style" milkshake), but nonetheless it was very tasty and I liked it.
Unforgivable sin: I like my meat as rare as possible, and I asked for a burger accordingly. I got a very well done burger instead and someone else got my burger probably. Now, ok that we were a big group, but if you are serious and you take the trouble of asking the clients how well done they want their meat cooked, well, keep track and don't scr** it up! It might be an honest mistake, but I am sorry to say that it kind of spoiled my meal a bit. Ok, I am not sorry to say - for that price, don't scr** it up!
My conclusion is: I should have listened to my gut feeling and gone with a Dr Pepper and a pastrami sandwitch instead. If I happen to be there again, I will try this option. However, I definitely won't go out of my way to go back to this restaurant!
P.S. FYI, I had a much tastier burger at the Oliver Twist pub in the Niederdorf, for a fraction of the price.

A Taste of Switzerland
http://www.fribourger-fondue-stuebli...dex.php?menu=1
I had a great, great lunch, and the best fondue I've had in a looooong time. Heartily recomment the place. Power nap needed, good thing I had a black tea throughout!

A Taste of Greece
http://www.vp-catering.ch/bistro-take-out/

Great company, great food, the place is really cute and looks/feels like eating in a friend's dining room. I had the aubergine saganaki (eggplant and various other veggies with feta cheese and tomato sauce) and really, really enjoyed it. Water, salad, main course, and bread a-plenty for CHF 16.

Next planned event is A taste of the Langstrasse (and currywurst) at Körry. Currywurst is a typical Berlin treat, and I have been to the place already, but it's always worth going back.  

Is it fatty? YES
Is the place a "hole in the wall"? YES
Is it absolutely delicious for all currywurst and pommes lovers? YES, YES, YES!

International Food Finds

Some more recommendations on cool places from all over the world to eat/drink/hang out, right here in Zurich.

Argentinian: Ojo de Agua.
While taking a little walk in the older part od Zurich, I stumbled upon this little store with a cafe and restaurant, and realized that they had yerba mate for sale...so I bought a kilo and I am enjoying it now. I do need to buy another bombilla, because mine is broken...I have since discovered that this little place is actually part of a bigger business, including a restaurant in Paradeplatz.

Israeli/Jewish: Kosher City.
I was not particularly impressed I must say, I was hoping they'd have more variety for what they advertised online, and also I was hoping to find more "Sephardi" rather than "Ashkenazi" food. Nonetheless, I was able to find Osnei Haman (which I made last year from scratch and they came out quite good, but this year I didn't have any time). I also bought kosher ingredients to make potato burekas, gvina levana to make ugat gvina, humous with zaatar.

General Asian: New Asia Market.
Located on Feldstrasse, right next to the office, there is a sister store in Basel as well. It seems operated by Vietnamese people, and there are a lot of Thai products, cool snacks (such as sesame sticks), and various spices and ingredients to make Asian food. I have to go there soon to see if I can find what I need to make Kimchi.

Korean: Yumi Hana.
Situated on a side street of Bahnofstrasse, very close to the Hauptbanhof, it was a gift from heaven. It placated my craving for Korean food which I was carrying for months, and I also bought ginseng tea, soba and udon noodles, soy sauce, and extra-firm tofu.

Moroccan: Maison Blunt.
Exceptional ambiance, outstanding company of my girlfriends, the food was ok. I have been spoiled by much better Moroccan food before, but I would definitely go back for the environment again. Also, it is in one of my top favorite parts of Zurich, the vibrant Kreis 5.

Chinese: Suan Long.
Located in the infamous Langstrasse, I went there on a Friday evening after work, with a large group of friends, and after an apero at Dini Mueter - which deserves a mention of its own, because it is an awesome, awesome bar/cafe with a lot of character and a certain attitude. I thoroughly enjoyed the place and the company, and ate a delicious duck. I definitely recommend it, and will go back again. The evening continued with drinks at the Volkshaus, the "House of the People" (another awesome venue for a chill drink, mingling, and eating a simple but tasty meal) and then on to my first experience at exploring Zurich's reggae scene.

In closing, I know I already mentioned it in another post, but Zeughauskeller is so good that I keep going back! After that first time with my brother and his girl, I went back with all sorts of people and in different circumstances: with guests and friends visiting Zurich, with Swiss friends born and raised in the city, and with foreign friends living here. I tried various dishes, and, last but not least, a passion of mine, veal liver with rosti. Sublime.

Food Finds

Being a big time foodie, I am constantly on the lookout for new food experiences: restaurants, cafes, grocery stores to find ingredients for my recipes, and mostly to discover new flavors that inspire me in my recipe-creation endeavours. I find Zurich a particularly generous city in terms of exposure and access to diverse culinary adventures. Some people have complained about prices (too high), variety (or lack thereof), and quality (volatile), but my experience so far has been extremely positive and I will try to address the objections strictly from my own personal experience.

On the money side, I should mention that food, together with traveling, is one area where I allow myself to "splurge": my budgeting, financially conservative, living-way-under-my-means and bargain-savvy happy self will not blink a second time at spending a ridiculous sum of money for a fine dining experience (which I will have saved the cash in advance for - sorry, I am that way and I can't help it!). Therefore, while I agree that eating out in Zurich can be expensive, my saving nature, and the fact that I perceive eating out as a treat (to myself and to my loved ones) rather than a habit make me more inclined to spend the money on that.

On the variety side, there are very few foods I don't like or eat*, and so far I have not been disappointed by the availability of choices in Zurich. Also, if I crave a certain type of food and I either can't find it or I am not particularly impressed with what I found in a restaurant, I will most definitely try and make it from scratch. Chicken fried steak and homemade biscuits, anyone? Of course, if I expected to eat Korean food like in Korea, or Italian food like at home, I would be sorely disappointed, but this is true for all places I have been to/ lived in the world.

On the quality side, well, it is all a stroke of luck in my opinion, wherever one is: the chances of finding good food and the misadventure of eating bad food can happen.

The questions I ask myself all the time are the following: 1) Is there enough variety of food here to keep me entertained/ not bored? 2) Does a particular food satisfy my taste buds and experience demands? 3) Can I find the ingredients to make what I want to eat from scratch?

Zurich's answers to these questions has been "YES" so far, with one important exception. Until now, I have not been particularly impressed by any Japanese restaurant I have been to, neither in taste (nothing truly outstanding) nor in variety of available choices (nothing exceptionally creative). Being my favorite cuisine, I will admit that it is somewhat hard, and I still cannot bring myself to cook it from scratch. So for now I will keep on looking, until I find my happy Japanese spot here in Zurich.

Lastly, I would like to share some interesting food finds that I stumbled upon lately.

Churrascaria Rincao, a Brazilian restaurant located near Sihlpost. I went there with a big group of people for an all-you-can-eat-meat type of evening. We were served all types of meat, some more satisfying to my taste than other, but while the quality was good and I enjoyed most of it, it was nothing to write home about. I have definitely had more interesting all-meat dining experiences in the past (such as the Argentinian Pampas in Palo Alto, California and Papagaio in Tel Aviv, Israel). The company was amazing though, so all in all a good experience.

Abyssinia, an Ethiopian place where we had a buffet with different plates and again a big group of people. I am a lover of Ethiopian cuisine, and I truly thought that this place was amazing - particularly, I loved lamb in a spicy sauce and the beef tartare. And that bread...yum....A definite positive on my "great restaurants" book, I will go back again for sure, and I highly, highly recommend it.

Le Cedre, a Lebanese restaurant I checked out with a friend who was a newbie at this kind of food. I liked the way they cooked the usual things, eggplants, hummus, falafel, their meats were good, their wine was good. I was disappointed by one thing though: I wanted kanafeh, and that's why I went there - because I read they make it. However, they told me they make it only in the morning, and therefore only have it for lunch - they are right that it must be eaten hot, so they cannot keep it until evening, but still...oh well, the excellent company of the friend I went with erased the disappointment for missed kanafeh, at least a bit ;) No, seriously, I had a fine time and I recommend the place.

Currently, there are a couple of stores I am looking forward to visiting, as well as a couple more restaurants, on which I will share my impressions in a later post.
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*For the records: I don't particularly like cucumbers and would not consciously choose them, but will eat the occasional ones if they are already there in a dish. I will not eat blood sausage, even if it was the last available food on earth. I love oysters, but for some reason my stomach does not, whether they are raw, grilled, fried, or whatever, and so I won't eat them if I can avoid it. Aside from these, I eat everything, and I will try everything at least once.

Foodie Adventures

This past week I've had a spur of creative energy that was reflected and had a positive impact in all areas of my life, from work, to exercise, to going out and meeting new people, to blogging, and finally to cooking.

I still carry on with my cookbook project - at least the culinary portion of it, for the discussions I will have to wait - but to be honest I didn't do much cooking here in Zurich. I mean, I cooked everyday, but just the basic and simple recipes that would allow me to eat a fast and nutritious meal, but I didn't let my creative side express and didn't invent or tweak new recipes. To be fair, I really am not in Zurich that much either, because between traveling for work and for fun and visiting family, my weekends here have been limited - something I want to fix though, because I am really starting to (finally) be comfortable in the city.

Anyway, I had the chance to discover new food places and do some fun grocery shopping in preparation for a cooking weekend. First, last Thursday I visited the Viadukt, a new market and series of stores built in what was a tunnel and an old train station. I had a drink and a bite with my friends from the English Forum, and made the delightful acquaintance with The British Cheese Centre, which I hope will turn into a long-lasting friendship. I love cheese but had no clue about British cheeses, until now. Tasting and buying bio cheddar and goat cheese from Somerset prompted me to write my own recipe for plum chutney, which will be tried at the earliest convenience. I even have all the canning equipment that I brought with me from California, I just have to buy a couple of empty glass jars and then get to work.

Squeezed in between outings with friends, gym, and other pleasant activities, yesterday I went and explored new grocery stores so I could find ingredients to make all my recipes, and also to find inspiration for new ones. Finding ingredients is always an adventure, and my philosophy is that I never completely follow the original recipe, but adapt it based on the availability of ingredients, personal taste, and inspiration. I like to experiment a lot. I was hoping to find clams to make pasta alle vongole, which I like to enrich with cherry tomatoes, but no luck, so I bought mussels instead and we'll see how I can use them. On the other hand, I bought two wonderful, already cleaned octopuses, which are always tricky to find and that I will make  tapas-style, with potatoes and garlic, and serve cold. Finally, I was able to find three different types of mushrooms at a great sales price, so I will turn them into a creamy sauce and eat them with my chicken.

As I was heading home, I finally went to a store right next to me, where I always wanted to go but I never did, Aggarwal. I found rose water, poppy seeds, coconut oil, and other fun stuff. And, best of all, I treated myself to some good, fresh naan...Life is quite good. Now, back to the kitchen!