Two things come to everyone's mind when they hear the word 'Swiss'...swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese. and our recent dinner at Swissotel had both of these in plenty.
Yes, again. A few days back we again had the pleasure of attending an exclusive gourmet dinner at Swissotel Kolkata. This time to celebrate the Swiss National day and to mark the week long Swiss food festival. For me going back to Swissotel is like a promise of good time. The beautifully designed hotel with its consistent good food and warm hospitality always gives you a satisfying experience.
It was an buffet dinner, hosted at Cafe Swiss, the very contemporary, 24 hour Cafe located at the 6th floor of the hotel. With its indoor and outdoor sitting and vast windows it exudes a relaxed charm. Upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by the ever gracious Enakshi and her team.
We sat down at the pub and refreshed our selves with a very innovative mock tail with cranberry juice and coffee topped with whipped cream. The chilled drink relaxed our tired nerves and hence started the incessant chat between our team at Kolkata food bloggers and The PR team of Swissotel. In between ,we were also greeted by the General Manager Mr. Marco Saxer and the Chefs.
The appetiseres had a beautiful choice of bite sized delicacies. First came the Mushroom Pastetli. A very traditional Swiss Meat pie where cooked minced meat is filled in a Vol-au-vent (puff pastry) hole. Here they prepared it with mushroom and swiss cheese. One bite into the crunchy puff and soft melting mushroom and cheese and I was sure it's going to be a great evening.
Next came the very famous fondue, served in a shot glass. The sharp melted Swiss cheese along with the piece of soft pillowy bread was beautiful. Next was another bread-meat and cheese delicacy called Zopf. Loved every crumb of it and was glad that the Chef resisted to melt the cheese and make it a gooey mess.
The dinner had a lavish spread or rather a celebration of everything cheese, potato and chocolate and no I for that matter dont complain as these are some of my favourite ingredients.
The Salad bar had a huge spread of colourful fresh produce, cheese, various types of dressings and breads. Starting from creamy red apple and walnut and Carrot and raisin salad. Both were fresh, crunchy and yummy. The Swiss cheese salad with tiny pieces of cheese in a creamy dressing is a winner for a cheese lover so is the Swiss potato salad with thin slivers of gherkins. The wurstsalat on the other hand had beautiful pork sausage with pickled shallots in a creamy dressing.
Their selection of freshly baked bread is impeccable. The rye bread, the seed loaf, The braided zopf or the dinner rolls everything looked perfect. Its been a long that I tasted such soft pillowy and perfectly baked breads.
A separate table was saved to serve the selection of cheese and fondue with various types of crackers and fruit pieces.
The main dishes were very colourful and attractive and for definite reason we all wanted to experience the authentic Swiss delicacies. But we started with a French classic, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese, fried to golden perfection, giving it a crunchy golden coating with gooey cheesy center.
 |
| From top left: Grilled prawn, Suuri gummeli, Potato roesti, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Alpine Rabbit stew, Swiss veg casserole, Capuns |
Next I moved to the Grilled jumbo prawns with chili flakes and olive oil. It was perfectly cooked with tender juicy prawn meat with the right hint of spices.
The potato Roesti had three layers with perfectly cooked shredded poato patty topped with a slice of tomato and melted cheese. It tasted delicious with the tang of the tomato perfectly pairing with the slightly crunchy potato and sharp creamy cheese.
The Suuri Gummeli or potatoes with sour cream was another favourite of the day.
I loved the Capuns or steamed cabbage leaves stuffed with vegetable and dough and served in a creamy tomato sauce. It went well with the traditional Swiss pasta called Spatzle.
In the Non Veg section i eyed the salmon in Sparkling wine, cream and herb sauce with little bit broccoli florets. It was fabulous and I could have finished off my dinner eating only this.
I tried the Alpine rabbit stew on insistence from V and glad that I went for it. The succulunet white meat was delicious to boot. So was the Rippli or Swiss Tender pork loin preparation.
By this time I was so stuffed that could not try the Suure mocce or sauerbraten roasted meat served in a sour sauce, which my friends loved.
We were also served some saffron Risotto which I just loved and the plate was scrpaed clean.
Before we moved to the huge array of desserts Pastry Chef Sanjay came and meet us. He with Chef Abhiroop Biswas created an impressive spread that not only sings to the taste-buds but also is a joy to look at. The selection had soft and cinnamony mini carrot cakes, various types of mousses, chocolate fondue with a selection of fruits and marshmallows, Strawberry swiss roll, baba au rum, Engadin nut cake with caramelized nuts in a pie type shell, Apple streudel, Swiss Muesli Quark cheese torte. The clear winner was the raspberry mousse pie with a cumin scented shortcrust biscuit base. The apple fritter with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce was very good too.
After a couple of hours of eating, chatting and celebrating good food and good times we came home all satisfied. In this city of foodies and inconsistent service at most of the star restaurants, The Swissotel Neotia Vista delivered once again.
The Celebration is on till August 7, 2014 and is available for Dinner buffet priced at Rs 1600/- plus taxes at Cafe Swiss from 7-11 pm.
This post reminds me of the melting Swiss chocolates I had in my last trip for hours together. It was like a feast of chocolates for the 1 week I have spent in that magic land covered with white mountains.
ReplyDeleteThat cow bell is what I would take home :-)
ReplyDelete