My personal highlight: Relaxing mind & soul in a secret hideaway – Enjoying Contemporary Thai food with a unique view overlooking Zurichlake in a sea of lights!

Where do you travel to if you are in the mood of a Spa Weekend? Sometimes a short car drive is preferred. The hideway has to be away from the city hustle. Th wellness resort Panorama Resort & SPA in Feusisberg is what you are looking for.

Here fascinating worlds of harmony and balance come together. Its location is fantastic. High above Lake Zurich you will find enjoyment, relaxation and a warm hospitality. The view is magic to admire either from the infinity pool, from the hotel room or by having dinner at the Contemporary Thai Restaurant Loy Fah. In their Rooftop bar called Mongomoon Sky Bar for a moment I thought to be in Bangkok. Watch the movie to understand why!

What makes The Panorama Resort & SPA special?

Being countryside makes one immediately feel serene because the pace is slower! No matter if the desire is relaxation of mind & body, excellent food ora a romantic weekend. Feusisberg is a small village about 35 kilometers distant by car from Zurich, easily to reach by train in less than an hour. The place is known for being the ideal conference place, too.

An absolute highlight is the infinity pool. It’s heated up to 30 degrees. I could not stop keeping my eyes away from all of the little bright lights shining over the lake!

The Akari SPA offers all you need when it comes to spoil your body. Find a wellness paradise on over 2000 m2 including outdoor & indoor pools, whirlpools, jet bubblers, seven different saunas and steam baths, foot whirlpools, cozy rest areas, a healthy spa buffet, spacious outdoor area and a professional gym. Absolutely try the offer of massages, too. It’s the cherry on the top after a wellness day.

Find their weekend specials as of 310 CHF/night (Book until Dec. 21, 2018). More details are available here.

Panorama Resort & SPA in a glimpse

• 102 luxurious rooms & suites
• Price start as of 200 CHF (classic Single room, incl. breakfast)
• Contemporary Thai Restaurant Loy Fah with a stylish Mangomoon Sky Bar at the top of the resort, as well as the gourmet Restaurant “Collina”
• 10 plenary rooms & 8 meeting rooms of various sizes, all with magnificent views over the Lake of Zurich
•  Ideal place for wedding reception or other family celebrations
• Wellness & Spa on over 2000 m2S
• a hearty and service oriented staff

Accommodation

The hotel offers 102 modern rooms in different categories. I found the ambience in the Asian Junior Suite very warm decorated and spacious. The interior is equipped with natural materials as wood and fabrics combined with matching light colors.  Find all details for the booking here.

Food & Drinks

Try one of the three different restaurants or get a fancy drink with typical Thai ingredients as ginger, mint, butterfly pea flower or essences of lemon grass at the Mangomoon Sky Bar. For food there is a choice between the Restaurant Collina, the Contemporary Thai Restaurant Loy Fah or the Restaurant Körnlisegg, about 15 minutes drive from the hotel.

My experience at Contemporary Thai Restaurant Loy Fah

The interior at Loh Fay Restaurant is astonishing. Its design radiates cosmopolitan flair, at the same time it embodies the culture of Thailand. Loy Fah Thai Chef Pich Tongurai and his staff spoiled us with a 4 course dinner, a delight for belly and eyes. Get an interpretation of traditional Thai cuisine in a surprising way. Authentic ingredients of the highest quality and freshness are used: Explore exquisite seafood or extravagant vegetarian dishes. No problem if you are more into meat, everybody finds the perfect choice.

4 course dinner to recommend

Appetizer

Tuna Tatar “Laab” – A fresh Tuna tatar with spices from the north-east region Isaan, with crispy fried mushroom & tapioca chips

or

Ceviche salad “Share Nham Pla”- Thai style king fish ceviche (raw) with lemongrass, sea grapes & chili lime dressing

First course

“Tom Kha” Cappuccino – comes with Galangal root and coconut broth, Thai herbs served with a grilled scallop

or

Pomelo Salat Vegi “Yam Som O” – Thai pomelo salad with grilled palm hearts, toasted coconut flakes & Thai basil

Second course

Sea bass “Pla Ob Kamin”  – In baking-paper steamed sea bass “Thai papillote” with Thai vegetables, turmeric & galangal root butter

or

Beef Curry “Massaman Nua” – Braised beef cheek in Mussamun curry, coconut gnocchi, edamame bean salsa & cashew nuts

Dessert

Mango-Stickyrice “Khao Niau Ma Muang” – Comes with a spring roll, flamed mango & black sesame ice cream

or

Thai Sago Pudding “Phuket Style” – The pudding (tapioca) comes with young coconut and mango ice cream

The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 6 – 11 pm. The costs from the menu (set menu or free selection from the menu) are for the 3 course menu 80 CHF and for the 4 course menu 95 CHF.

My personal highlight: the Beef Curry “Massaman Nua”. The beef cheek was extremely tender and the exotic coconut gnocchi combined with a not too intense curry an the ideal contemporary interpretation.

Absolutely try the SPA buffet, too. I loved the fact that plenty of products, including the breakfast buffet are hand made and very genuine in the taste. The scrambled eggs were super creamy, the jams and the “Butterzopf” of excellent softness.

In the mood to get inspired by other travel & food stories? Find more here.

Travel friends! Check out this cool new travel experience for your next individualized holiday! Participate at the Quiz in cooperation with ebookers  and win your own trip*!

Summer vibes are in the air! I am very happy to be part of that amazing contest organized by ebookers.

There are several ways to organize the ideal holiday. What I appreciate most is a specialist that gives me a choice and support in finding the perfect location and activities for my holiday.

What runs through your mind when you think of an individualized travel adventure? What does it include? How could this work?

Sometimes we have a rough idea in our mind on where to spend our holiday. We use google to find out more about the country or a lonely planet. We get lost in the million available options.

What if we could have some support in preparing our perfect holiday?

How about having support and inspiration from an experienced operator? A service that helps to organize an individualized holiday easy and fast at home on the computer.

A specialist that has contacts to local suppliers and gives us plenty of options for accommodations or maybe culture and adventure packages. I found this new way from ebookers very helpful and exciting, since it inspires me with many different ideas by using a very simple holiday online guide.

WIN your holiday: Are you interested in knowing more about the new individualized travel experience by ebookers?

Than you should absolutely participate at this online travel quiz. You can win your own composed travel. Try it now! Feel free to share your experience with me and your friends, drop me a line by contact form!

To the Quiz…

Follow the link below.

German Quiz:

https://www.ebookers.ch/reise-blog/Individuelle-Buchen/quiz

French Quiz:

https://www.ebookers.ch/blog-voyage/réservez-unvoyage-uniqu/le-quiz

Good luck!

All rights reserved, read more about the terms of conditions here.
*sponsored content in cooperation with ebookers

I had the great pleasure to cooperate with the Australian Magazine Threepence to create a personal story about my passion for food blogging. Britta is the publisher/Editor of the magazine that discovers stories of people with passions around the world.

In this article you will learn a lot about how I came to my blogging and how traditional home made tomato sauce is made! I thank Britta for the story!

SwiTalian: Discovering my identity

Italians speak with the heart and the hands. They are temperamental and proud when they talk about their culture and habits. They forever seek to pass on their passion. I realise now that growing up in Switzerland as a child in a south Italian immigrant family gave me the ideal cultural mix in life.

From the Swiss side, there is humility and an honest attitude. Swiss people may not show their hearty character from the beginning, but they are the most open-minded and respectful people I have ever met. They care about their neighbours and love to create surrounds that are welcoming and comfortable.

It is so akin to me when I reflect on the special combination of a reliable and humble Swiss attitude mingled with a temperamental, creative and enjoyable Italian Dolce Vita style. I am SwiTalian, as someone once described me!

Following the unknown

Calabria is a beautiful region located at the toe point of the Italian boot surrounded by the splendid crystal blue Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. It’s a land of strong and intense emotions.

Despite its beauty and picturesque lifestyle, many south Italian regions experienced economic stagnation for many years. Hence, my parents immigrated from Calabria to the Swiss canton Baselland in the 70’s to find luck, love and a better future for their children. They heard about Switzerland offering work and support for families and business alike. They decided to take a risk and follow an unknown path in search of a better future.

My mother and father taught me much about life and food, about never giving up and following my dreams. I admire the fact they left their home for the unknown with only a few coins in their pocket. They may have been penniless, but they held a rich history of heritage and tradition.

My father worked many years as a mason then later as an operation employee in an industrial company. My mother took care about us kids.

My food and travel journey

I have always been thirsty to discover the world, to travel and discover different cultures. This passion keeps me enthusiastic about life every day. It flows in my blood. Thanks to my parents, growing up in Switzerland with a solid education in marketing  & communication offered the perfect base to realize my dreams. I worked as Marketing & Communications Manager in the healthcare area. So, I was fortunate enough to be part of a challenging and interesting working field.

Why traveling captures my heart

Venturing through unknown places allowed me to intimately experience and understand the food and culture, and how these bind people together no matter where from. I may not know the local or native language in a country, but this is no barrier when you share food and life by your gut instinct.

Today I communicate with the language of love and appreciation, usually through the currency of food, smiles, hospitality and hugs.

These experiences led to my blog, Lovefoodish. It makes me ultimately happy to have the chance to share my food and life stories with a curious community throughout the world. Blogging opens the door to local and international places. I encounter lovely people full of passion. They motivate me by sharing their knowledge, and listening to their personal stories fills me with joy.

Gifted with sharing cultural heritage

Although I traverse the world in search of great food and culture, it is my family roots that I cherish the most. I often think back to the time where I would accompany my father to the local Swiss farmer to buy fresh vegetables, fruits or meat. My father’s German was a bit sketchy so he would also gesture with his hands and feet to communicate, which was very entertaining! Having learnt German at a Swiss school it wasn’t long before I was very fluent in German and I helped my parents learn to adopt the language more comfortably.

What makes Calabria special?

My father transferred to me the view to always question the origin of food and how to select quality products, and to really appreciate food from the land.

A tomato isn’t just a tomato.

He loved to explain to me what makes Calabria special. I still feel pride for him when he reminisces. But he also taught me how to appreciate delicious Swiss ingredients, such as potatoes or seasonal juicy apples and cherries. Living in a small village in the countryside gave us close accessibility to the farmer. This made him feel more at home and serene, since in Calabria he also lived on a farm.

The extra-virgin olive oil, wines, bergamot liqueurs, liquorice, citron, herbs, honey and jams from Calabria are incomparable. They also offer a famous red onion called Cipolla rossa di Tropea which is mild and a bit sweeter than other varieties. There are special types of homemade pasta, one is called maccaruni, still made today using the traditional methods.
Maccaruni are made using a thin long squared wire. The technique used goes back to my grandmother, and beyond. Another one is gnocchi. Calabrians celebrate food that is made as a family and there are some classic meats, cheeses and breads amongst the fresh produce.

Italian immigrants in Switzerland

A typical thing that immigrants have here in Switzerland are rented gardens allotments where they spend much of their summer days and evenings planting and tending to vegetables. My father was no exception. He planted his edible garden to replicate the farm where he grew up in Italy. It gave him the “freedom” to be in nature and do something he loved.

What about Italians loving Swiss food?

When my parents visit me in Zurich they crave a Zürcher Geschnetzletes. It’s a veal steak cut in little slices with potato Röschti and a champignon cream sauce. We love to go for lunch at the Restaurant Kronenhalle. The place is historic and famous for serving this dish since 1924. Artists like Picasso, Strauss and Coco Chanel used to come here for a drink and food. This history somehow makes it so much more enjoyable.

Zurich has a lot to offer besides traditional Suisse Cuisine. You can find good quality, creative and multicultural food in every corner of the city. These multicultural vibes give me the feeling of traveling whilst still in my hometown. I invite you to stroll through my blog and get a picture of the culinary offerings in Zurich.

The humble tomato – making Passata 

There is nothing like producing tomato sauce from scratch, particularly when it is shared as a family tradition. Handmade and flavoursome, one of the tastiest things you will ever try. It is the highlight of our summers, when the family comes together spending hours sorting, peeling, and boiling tomatoes while chatting. Once you understand that good food is about simple, basic quality ingredients you won’t hesitate one minute to invest time in preparing it yourself.

How to prepare your own passata

My mother talks to friends and parents to find the best tomato supplier at a decent price. We use around 100-150 KG of tomatoes which produces sauce for up to a year and is shared amongst my brother, parents and myself.

Despite the volume, home is where our tomato sauce is produced. Once the tomatoes are ordered, we drive at least 2-3 times to get all of the boxed tomatoes back home. Today mostly it’s my brother, his wife and some aunts and uncles that all produce the sauce together. 

The tomatoes are carefully washed. My parents are perfectly equipped with all the material and instruments needed as big pans, manual mincer/sifter, Plenty of empty jars with a matching lid, big pans, cookers (gas).
After we wash the tomatoes they are cut into half pieces. The seeds, spotted or blotted pieces are removed. Than we add water in the pan and they cook for several hours (covered up) in a huge container over the gas until they are mushy. Once they are cooked, we leave them to cool. After cooling  a sifter is used to eliminate the tomato skin and the seeds. 

Now the beautiful red liquid is filled into the washed and pre-prepared jars. As a nest step the jars are sterilized for few hours on the fire in a huge aluminum pan. And of course before everybody leaves, the highlight of the day is to eat pasta with the fresh made sauce all together.

Recipe of a traditional Italian Tomato Sauce (makes 4 serves)

500 ml pot of tomato passata 1 red onion, chopped 1-2 spoons of olive oil handful basil leaves salt/pepper

Preparation

Roast the onions with the oil, add the tomato passata, bring to boiling add salt and basil, let boil on little temperature for 30 min. ca. Adjust it with salt/pepper to your desire.

The marvel of life’s pantry staples

Alongside taking care of the administrative tasks, my mother is an excellent pasta maker. On occasion she loves to spoil us with homemade maccaruni, tagliatelle or gnocchi. It’s a skill passed down from my grandmother.

On a classic Sunday in my family’s home the family comes together to enjoy food and energetic discussion. It’s not a cliché, we really do speak very loudly to each other. It’s how we express our emotions and feelings.

For this occasion, we often make pasta from scratch. It is a way of playing with ingredients, getting the feeling on how texture and shapes are created. While writing this post I shared this tradition with my niece and nephew. There is no other experience like eating homemade gnocchi with home-produced tomato sauce. It is no doubt the cherry on the cake, except it’s tomato sauce and pasta.

Recipe for gnocchi (makes 4 serves)

General rule of thumb:
1 medium-sized potato per serving or person. For every potato, use approximately 1/2 cup of flour.

1 Kg of potatoes, 1 egg, 300 g of flour,  salt

To serve : Grated parmesan cheese Basil Leafs

Making the gnocchi

• Boil the potatoes in a large pot for 20 minutes until fork tender, put just enough water to cover them, leave the potatoes’ skin on. The skin helps the potato not too absorb access water. Over-boiling will cause potatoes to become mushy and too wet. 
• Drain potatoes well, remove them from the pot. Allow them to cool. 
• Peel potatoes 
• Rice the potatoes by using a potato ricer or simply a fork, this is how my grandmother did. 
• Mound riced potato on the middle of a clean, dry countertop, create a little vulcano and top with flour. 
• Add salt 
• Add the egg, break the egg into the centre of the well. Beat the egg with a fork.
• Incorporate all ingredients by using the fork.
  Start to pull in flour and potato to mix ingredients. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients. Start to form the dough. 
• Knead the dough until it has a smooth surface. Be careful not to over-knead. Be aware of adding flour at this point, careful: too much flour will give you hard gnocchi. 
• Shape dough into a long, wide rectangle for cutting. 
• Cut the dough into several pieces. 
• From this piece, you start to roll the dough into ropes. Make an evenly-distributed rope. 
• Cut little cubes out of the robe and start forming the gnocchi either with a fork or a wood gnocchi roller or even by using the tip of your trigger and middle finger. 
• To prevent the gnocchi sticking, keep gnocchi in a cool area and tip them with flour.

The cooking:

• Shake away any superfluous flour.
• Place the finished gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiling water.
• Cook the gnocchi until they float to the top. Usually 2-4 minutes. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon.
• Drain them well.
• Toss them in the tomato sauce pan and cook together for about 2 minutes.
• Put your grated parmesan cheese and basil leaves on top. 

In the mood of a good Italian restaurant in town where to find home made pasta? Check my online food guide here.

My personal highlight: Being thrown back in time with two simple inventions: A vacuum pack full of delicious strong coffee and a small smart can called moka bialetti.

My relatives in Italy used to give us a present when we left after a visit. Offering a coffee is a tradition, a way of saying GRAZIE. Seeing this Lavazza packs all over the room at Restaurant Le Chef in Zurich, together with the most simple metal coffee maker Moka from Bialetti gave me back some moments of my childhood I love to think of. Lavazza invited journalists and bloggers to share bit of the history and future plans in the world coffee.

Did you know that Lavazza is the inventor of the vacuum packaging?

Coffee caviar. Experimental Coffee Food & Lavazza Training Centre

It’s about fascinating people with an own passion and dedication towards a high quality product. This is how Michele Pulver, Coach and Trainer at Lavazza’s home office in Turin, introduces us into the world of Lavazza.

Lavazza produces and distributes coffee and coffee machine systems for private and business use for over 25 years. It’s a family business founded 1895 in Turin, run in forth generation today.

Luigi Lavazza discovered the different origins and characteristics of the coffee plant. He studied the art of blending to meet the tastes we desire. The Lavazza coffee we drink today is a result of his idea. It combines coffees from different parts of the world. These are coffees that are harvested, processed, mixed and roasted to create many different and balanced blends.

Have you ever had coffee caviar? It’s super delicate, and cool to prepare.

Who invented coffee blending?

For lots of people coffee brands as Lavazza describe a culture and a lifestyle. It’s the moment of the day to lean back and sit at the bar with a little cup of espresso. The moment to enjoy the taste and smell of fresh coffee beans.

After some Coffee Caviar Chef Meta Hiltebrand, host at Restaurant Le Chef, Zurich, demonstrated how to integrate coffee in food recipes. Some of them where really exciting, although I prefer coffee best pure and natural.

Want to get a Lavazza expert and know how to prepare your coffee best? Visit a Lavazza training Centre. They are happy to assist you and introduce you to the world of Lavazza.

My personal highlights: 1. Feeling princess for a day. Flying over Lago Maggiore by Helicopter, landing under the garden terrace of the restaurant Rustico del Sole where we got spoiled with fresh cooked polenta al ragù. 2. Sleeping in a castle ambience facing a rice field where bird rarities play and sing you into the day.

Pure nature is a luxury nobody can resist

Having this value in mind the creators of “The Living Circle – Luxury Hotels fed by nature” introduced us to their new brand philosophy. It’s the union of goods and services that already exist. They are now made available to people that appreciate values combined with quality and luxury. These resources are created and maintained with plenty of efforts by all involved living circle partners. Because they care about the multifaceted demand of their guests.

What means luxury to us today?

Luxury is a word defined by different meanings today. It gives a variety of feelings to people. For some it may be related to money, for some to a rare drop of good wine or a selected piece of meat.
We may also agree, that traditions can throw us back in time. They make us sensitive towards simple things that got lost with the years.
A natural surrounding has great potential to make us feel happy and in balance again.

My heart goes bum

Experiencing these two days around the partners of  “The living Circle” I could understand best, what this philosophy means.
Seeing with my own eyes how giant spaces of hectares of land are cultivated with care and passion is inspiring and of course a lot of work. Unpredictable happenings steered by mother nature included.
The Terreni alla Maggia is located in the so called Delta of the Maggia between Locarno and Ascona. This is one of the property belonging to The Living Circle.

The agricultural fields stretch over ca. 130 hectares. The agronomist Fabio Del Pietro introduced us to production of goods as wine, grappa, rice, pasta, polenta and even some rice whisky. I have a complete new involvement with their risotto rice called Loto today. This rice cultivation is a rarity made in Switzerland only. The rice is harvested on dry fields. Several years of testing were necessary to get to this high quality gourmet food today.

The Living Circle partners in a brief

• 2 5 star hotels
• 2 farms and agricultural plants with production of own resources as wine, rice, milk products including own shops/selling channels
• several restaurants where the farm to table concept is lived day by day close to natural surrounding
• Located in Zurich/Zurich Oberland area & Ascona/Ticino area

Hotel Storchen, Zurich

Located in the heart of Zurich and established back in 1357 it is a hotel with a heritage of traditions. Today it is a charming house for guests that love to spend their night overlooking the Limmat river and the beautiful scenery of the Swiss Alps and get spoiled by a culinary menu prepared from Chef Cyrille Anzian.
The hotel offers 66 rooms and suites with a modern and stylish design. Hotel Director Jörg Arnold and his team welcome you to get involved into the Storchen lifestyle.
Farm to table is an important topic lived day by day by offering best fresh products at the breakfast buffet from the farm Schlattgut in Herrliberg for example. Get a risotto or polenta for lunch from the Terreni alla Maggia plants in Ascona. More details about the Hotel Storchen here.

Farm Schlattgut, Herrliberg

When looking at the family Ledergerber that manages the farm you feel the passion and love they put in the cultivation of these over 30 hectares of land. It’s their home, all animals are part of their family.
This is the home of 160 chickens, 40 cows, donkeys, flower fields, several vegetable and fruit fields.
The farm has a shop where local products as eggs, pasta and hand made jams are available. Its scenery and location over Zurich is great to celebrate family parties, weddings or have a brunch.
The Schlattgut delivers a variety of products to the Hotel Storchen. A great sustainable project is their photovoltaic installation that creates over 95.735 KWh per year.
More about the Schlattgut Herrliberg here.

Restaurant Buech, Herrliberg

Admire the Lake Zurich from up here and high peaks of the Glarner and Central Swiss Alps all the way to the Jungfrau Joch. This view is unique.
It’s more than 70 years that this restaurant is serving guests with a magnificent view and high level food. Get to feel a gentle countryside style in one of their private dining rooms. The spot is recommendable for family events or weddings, too. Restaurant Director Marc Wyss and his team take their guests into a world where time seems to have stood still. Get spoiled with local food delights. The arrangement and decoration of flower is a passion of Marc Wyss. His artistic vein is perfectly integrated in the ambience.

Hotel Castello del Sole, Ascona

“Your rendezvous with happiness”

This is a sentence found on their website before arriving here. Yes, it is a feeling of joy walking through that immense green park or the wide medieval corridors of the hotel. Feel calmness and inner peace and forget everything around you. The beach area is very inviting to relax on a chair and enjoy the sunset.
The hotel was built back in 1532, today it kept that antique touch added with classy and modern elements. Simon V. Jenni and his wife Gabriela manage the house with their staff since 2003.

Hotel del Castello offers 40 Junior Suites and 38 double/single rooms. Find a beauty oasis with a special Vino-Aqua therapy treatment using their own grapes. More than that, a Yoga and nutrition coach, an outdoor/indoor pool or a nice entertainment program for kids complete the services.
There are several restaurants within the hotel. The culinary section offers a variety of local recipes paired with a good mediterranean touch. In summer it is lovely to enjoy a barbecue outside. Chef Mattias Roock invites you to try the actual menu called “i sapori del nostro orto“. Products cultivated in the Terreni alla Maggia are used as well following the farm to table philosophy.

Ristorante Rustico del Sole, Ascona

Fly up here at 800 m. by helicopter, or take a hike. The scenery and the silence are enchanting. Antonio Ferrioli is the host. Together with the staff from the Castello del Sole they prepare delicious lunch up to 7 courses.
By the way, a rustico is a typical house from Ticino, where as the word says you feel a rustic warm ambience. Can you imagine how winter days are up here? Reading a book at the chimney breathing in pure calmness.

In 2018 sleeping facilities for 6 person will be constructed to offer a hideaway for a romantic weekend, a tranquil friends trip or even for company meetings. Find more details here.

Terreni alla Maggia

This land stretches over 15o hectares. 130 of it are agricultural land, the rest is where the Hotel Castello del Sole has its facilities and garden. As mentioned before, this natural heritage allows The Living Circle lifestyle with the own production of rice, pasta, polenta, wine and other delicacies delivered to different partners of the circle. Some of the goods are also distributed via Coop and Migros today. Additional details are available here.

Some facts to review

• The famous Tessin grape Merlot is cultivated on 9 hectares of land. Every year around 120’000 bottles are produced.
• The rise cultivated here is called Loto. The plants stretch on 80 hectares of land. Ca. 430 tons of rice resulted last year.
  This rice has the property to absorb water slowly. This makes it easier to cook al dente and difficult to overcook. The Maggiadelta and Magadino are the only locations of Switzerland cultivating rice.
• The polenta covers other 10 hectares of land, rarities as red or black polenta can be found.

Find additional details here.

Alls of these precious goods put together create the living circle of nature offered to guests that love to spoil themselves with best quality services, genuine products and enchanting surroundings.

My personal highlight: Hand made cakes with fruits, super soft and not too sweet – Marshmallow coffee!

For girls cake afternoon and boys Brunch

A very cozy atmosphere makes me feel like at my aunty’s home when I am at this place. The name itself says it, too. Coffee at home. You’re invited to feel like at your own home!

Sabinska and Geraldine put so much creativity in this place. I am not only impressed about the home made cakes and the super soft healthy cereal bread. It’s the love you feel in every little object hanging at the wall, placed at the bar and on the table, the sharks moving and disco lamp lightening the restroom of the boys.

If you are looking for the one and only marshmallow coffee or hot chocolate in town, find them here! I love the nutella Mess!

By the by the way, Kafidihei is famous for it’s delicious brunch, too. They have  a very good quality/price offer.

It’s located in kreis 3, at Zurlindenstrasse 231.
I always find a place here, also if I forget to make a reservation. It’s nice to sit outside, if the weather allows.

In the mood to discover my restaurant guide? Click here!

www.kafidihei.ch

My personal highlight: The seasonal craft beer selection and the bieramisu that gives a special note to the dessert

Craft food and craft beer experience in Zurich

Every course is paired expertly with a selected craft beer. That is why it is called the “Grain craft experience”.

At Grain’s you find a great selection of craft beers. Choose the local brewer Bachweg from Zug or an international brand as the Grimbergen Blanche from Belgium. Try some clear fruity craft beers, dark aromatized ones with vanilla or special saisonal ones where you taste roasted pumpkin.

The food is super tasty, Chef Patrick Leuenberger brings you to an other level of food experience. He uses different techniques as sous vides for example to prepare an tender chicken breast. Craft beer is used for food preparation, too, this to give a special note to every course. The team is happy to spoil you with a real craft experience.

Check it out, it’s at Zürichbergstrasse 71, just behind the tram stop Kirche Fluntern. Explore the very cozy and warm ambience in a bar setup. For a more romantic ambience choose the elegant dining area and try a complete menu.

My personal highlight: Barista like to share their knowledge with you, love to be at the bar and watch them working

This place is in the bank district just behind Bahnhofstrasse at Kappelergasse 16.

When I come here I enjoy sitting at the bar and talk to the barista. I observe how he prepares the coffee for me and get explanations about the variety of coffee flavors they offer.

The perfect spot to stop early in the mornings or Saturday’s for a quick coffee as in Italy!

Milchbar changes its specialty coffee frequently. Ask for Matej! The foam and temperature of the milk are exactly my taste at this place.

The place offers good meals for lunch. The dishes are fresh and seasonal. Their Schober Brunch is famous in town, too.

www.milchbar.ch

My personal highlight: Crêpe with pears, walnuts and roquefort. Simple tasty.

French Bistrot

If I would like to have a real good crêpe with some fancy ingredients the place I go is Chez Babette. My favorite crêpe is the one with Roquefort cheese, pears and walnuts, a real tasteful combination of flavors! The bistrot is located at Idaplatz, Bertastrasse 16.

www.beibabette.ch

My personal highlight: Zürich Geschnetzlets is a must here, crispy meat, fresh potatoes, the portion is huge, it’s worth every Swiss Franc

If you are looking for a place to eat traditional and tasty Swiss food in a high class ambience do not miss this place. The Kronenhalle is in the heart of the city close to the lake. Did you know that artists like Picasso, Strauss or Coco Chanel used to come here for a drink and food?  It was founded 1924 and is still very recommended in every food guide of Zurich. I absolutely recommend the “Zürich Gschnetzlets”, it is a must try when you travel or live in Zurich. The Schnitzel with Röschti is a good option, if you do not like the creamy sauce.

What is Zürich Geschnetzlets?

A potato dish called “Röschti”. They are grated and fried till they got golden and crunchy. Röschti are served with veal meet in champignon sauce.  The restaurant is located at Bellevue, 2 Minutes from the tram station Bellevue.

www.kronenhalle.com