Cafe Sprungli, Zurich

I blogged about Café Sprungli and how they have branches everywhere while in Zurich. Today, I got a chance to head there for lunch. Simple decorations and a semi-homely setting which suits it well so that the focus is on the food. You immediately get caught up by the array of colours and wonders that beckons you from the display counter.

We were 10 minutes late to order their Sunday buffet where you get to try all their creative concoctions and delights as well as the breads and savoury treats.

In the end, ended up ordering an omelette with grilled vegetables and ham. For drinks, I got myself a hot chocolate. The omelette had just the right balance which allowed the sweetness of the sun dried tomatoes to burst through. The bread that came as the accompaniment was really fresh and I just cannot say no to bread, says me, the carb addict!

The hot chocolate was not too dense and was smooth and light. My companion loved his cold chocolate milk!

After lunch, I just could not resist ordering some macaroons to go for my travel onwards in the land of the Swiss. You get about 10 macaroons for the price of CHF10. That was a lot of choices and I got of course my favourite, which are the rose, champagne gold, hazelnut, bourbon vanilla, dark chocolate and lemon.

It came in a really nice decorative box which has a sticker to say to eat it fresh. You open it up and get greeted by a nice little card and finally, the suspense is over! Savour your eyes on the macaroons.

First flavour was the lemon macaroon. It was a burst of lemon tangy flavour and was quite refreshing. Second flavour to try was the rose, this wasn’t as good as I expected. The taste of rose wasn’t coming through. I could taste the champagne in the dark chocolate and any food that has alcohol in it is right by me.

The macaroons are good and if you like macaroons, try Laduree, I think it is better in terms of the depth of flavour and the texture.

Cafe Sprungli
Bahnhofstrasse 21
8001 Zürich, Schweiz
044 224 47 11

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Swiss Chuchi

Nothing like going to a place and trying their traditional local cuisine. Two of that on the food list are the fondue and Raclette potatoes. Swiss Chuchi came recommended and this is where we find ourselves. The lady serving us was really friendly and in general we have not had any problems with language at all.

After putting in our orders, we sit back and savour our local wines while our nose was filled with the aroma of cheeses coming from the fondues from other tables. I got a Merlot from Ticono while the other is a local reisling house wine. Easy on the palate, it was enjoyable after a hot summer day's worth of walking and wandering.

Our cheese fondue came quite quickly and we started to dig in. Cubes of bread was layed on the table in addition to a sack.

The sack had our potatoes in them. I thought a raclette was melted cheese that was placed on a boiled potato on a plate. Not potatoes given to you and you dig the cheese from the fondue pot and place it on the potato yourself. Oh well! Guess it made sense since we did order a cheese fondue which is essentially melted cheese. We got the traditional cheese fondue which is a mixture of four cheeses with white wine and cherry brandy.

The alcohol is definitely strong which resulted in the cheese tasting light on the palate. Although eat a few of these and you feel it expanding in the tummy. You can order it without alcohol but I am all for strong alcohol!

Only cheese and bread will not do and we ordered a sausage and cheese salad. This was standard.


Swiss Chuchi
Rosengasse 10
http://www.hotel-adler.ch/content-n50-sD.html

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Hiltl, Zurich

Hiltl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe. This is an interesting bit of history and definitely worth coming to see and eat if you're in Zurich. I half expected a traditional timber house where I can let my imagination sink back in time to how it was like years ago but what I got was a spruced up interior and modern vibe.

After some confusion, we realised that this restaurant is split into two types of service. You can come in for a formal dining experience where you order from the menu and it is cooked in this nice and neat kitchen shown in the photo above (bottom left). Or you can let your eyes guide you to the array of food available on their buffet section. Take your plate, fill it up, bring it to the counter area to be weigh and paid. Then saunter to any available table to indulge. We sat on the second floor.

It sort of feels like a more upmarket food court type area intertwined with those having their a la carte choices!

The choices are numerous. You can come anytime for even just a snack, healthy break or all day breakfast veggie style!

This is my plate and it was a mix of fresh vegetables, tofu in sweet and sour sauce and others. Rice, quinoa and pasta. It's fun to be able to have a bit of everything and it was certainly delicious as you can tell by my foodie companion who already digged in which left me not able to take a picture of it.

It's worth coming and eat at least once. Whether it is for its historical value or it is genuinely yummy vegetarian meal even though it is a little expensive but that is Switzerland for you!

Hiltl

Sihlstrasse 28

http://hiltl.ch/

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