Cafe Swiss @ Swissotel 2

Headed back to Swiss Cafe for a taste of Swiss + Asian. The first attempt was distasteful but the second was enjoyable and more Swiss!

Wiki's here again...

The Swiss cuisine is unique in its many regional influences from its neighbors' cuisine, including Italian, French and German cuisine. However, the Swiss also have their own unique dishes. Switzerland was for a long time a country of farmers, so their specialties involve potatoes and cheese (Rösti, Fondue, and Raclette), and also some more exquisite foods such as chocolate.

With that in mind, I took on an obviously calorie challenging buffet with open arms.



Price list at the door, saves the waiters alot of trouble with the enquiries.

A walk around the buffet tables..



Cheese all mighty..




Asian delights..szechuan chicken..!



Spy the fat scallops?



Fish dumplings for you..



Movenpick! *Scrambles*



The authentic swiss, raclette and fondue!



High ceilings always appeal to me.



The must-do before every meal.



On the plate (L-R): Cha soba, sushi, salads, sashimi, ham, mussel.



Notable mention from the starters: Salmon platter.



Slippery and good.



Watery starter.



Pile on the carbs! It's unforgettable.



In replacement of the oven baked chicken.

Starters

Mushroom Soup

The mushrooms are ground so fine, on the thin side.

Minestrone

Didn't try this.

Selection of bread and cheeses

The bread's so soft and chewy! You can taste the freshness in every bite. I basically sat down, lathered them with butter and smothered it with raclette. My favourite has to be the walnut loaf.

Salad Bar (seasoned prawn, pork sausage salad, penne with sausage, salmon platter, caesar salad)

The salmon platter was majorly outstanding, it's smoked salmon roll with cream cheese. The combination's to-do-for, coupling two of my favourites. Pity they didn't refill it.

Seafood (Mussels, Oysters, Prawns)

The oysters only made their grand appearance way later into the buffet. Whilst waiting for my raclette, they were bringing out the oysters, I must've looked at them so greedily the kind waiter passed me a portion of oysters over the counter.

Mussels were just alright. The prawns were blanched to a delicious red, the meat's crystalised as if it were raw, but tasted delish.

Cha Soba

Passable.

Sushi

Japanese cuisine suicide, the rice was too hard, sushi wasn't rolled properly.

Sashimi

Sinewy pieces of half-past-six sashimi. Not the best of the buffet.



On the plate (L-R); Roast beef, pork braswurst, veal, rosti, cheese fondue, fish dumpling, salmon platter



Roast beef...! The pretty pink hue.



Versus the much toned down ribeye.



On the plate (L-R); salmon, prawn skewer, veggies, ratatouille, szechuan chicken!



On the plate (L-R); I gathered all the cheeses available and stuffed myself silly. Was mindblowingly good.



Raclette! Look at the thick cheese, the gorgeous yellow...death by cheese for any non-cheese lover. My mom nearly retched from the stench.



I had to steal a shot of this, my first cheese fondue and boy, loving it to bits!

Mains

Roast Beef (Tenderloin, Ribeye) with mustard and gravy

Vavavroom, the tenderloin was literally melt-in-your mouth! The ribeye was tougher as expected but the beefy goodness could be tasted. Their mustard's different from off the rack, spicier and packs an oomph.

Oven baked chicken

It was all distributed before you can say "Cafe Swiss", they compensated with a plate of sashimi though.

Raclette (Baby Potatoes, pickled onions)
Traditional Raclette is a semi-firm, salted cheese made from cows Hot cheese dribbled over potatoes, served with small gherkins, pickled onions etc.

I had the baby potatoes separately, lightly salted. The preparation of the raclette's an interesting sight, the cook melts the round of cheese under a griller until it bubbles and the cheesy fragrance wafts up, he takes a knife to swipe off the melted cheese into your plate. Ahh, so swift! I adored this most! It's death by cheese literally. The stinkiest of the lot, the cheesiest and it's molten...the ultimate for any cheese lover. If it weren't a buffet I'd have managed seconds or thirds of this! I only regret not having this on the naked walnut loaf!

Cheese Fondue

This is a much lighter version of raclette, I dipped the chewy bread into the pot of swirling melted cheese. Yummy.

Dry Ratatouille or Green Yellow Herb Zucchini

Didn't find it anything out of the ordinary. Mostly peppers.

Stir fried Vegetables with Fish Fillets

Uniquely chinese, the fish was fresh!

Stir fried Broccoli with Gingko nuts and Scallops

Gingko nuts and scallops...I liked this somehow!

Steamed Salmon River Trout on Herb White Wine Sauce

Thick salmon filets in a creamy sauce, wasn't too bad.

Pan seared Veal Mignon with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

The meat was tough, tougher as compared to the droolicious roast beef or fish filets. Just okay.

Grilled Prawn Skewer

Fresh prawns that weren't overly crunchy.

Fried Szechuan Kampung Chicken with Dried Chilli

Yummy dish, the chicken was well marinated.

Baked Rosti with Mushroom

Couldn't find the mushroom in the rosti but this was well executed. Tasty.

Lamb Stew Benichon Style

Another toughie.

Fish Dumpling in Lobster Bisque

Looked like tofu slices, tasted like the teochew fishcakes.

Pork Bratswurst

Decent though not bursting with flavours.



On the plate (L-R); Tart, profiterole, semolina pudding, strawberry mousse.



Upclose of the scrumpteous profiterole.



Walnute carrot, agar and watermelon.



Three scoops of heaven, stacciatello, passionfruit and mango, raspberry.



Remember how this looks like, avoid it like plague.

Desserts

Fruit Platter (Watermelon, Pineapple, Papaya)

I like how fruits can always end a meal so brilliantly.

Chocolate Fondue

Marshmellows and juicy strawberries were up for dipping.

Tart

A dense tart that wasn't supremely enjoyable.

Movenpick Ice-cream Selection (Raspberry Sorbet, Passionfruit and Mango Sorbet, Espresso Croquant, Stracciatella)

The best ice-cream you can ever get at any buffet. Creamy and milky stracciatella was, packed with dark chocolate chips. The sorbets were amazing too, especially passionfruit with mango bits.

Walnut carrot cake

It's a light one, with chopped pistachios. Delicious! There was chocolate cream and banana on top too.

Strawberry Mousse

Too much mousse. All things pink in fact, strawberries, strawberry meringue sticks..strawberry macarons (too powdery).

Profiteroles

Cream puffs plumped with chocolate cream, covered in chocolate sauce and seasonal fruits. Triple Yums for this.

Donut

The last minute addition tasted quite bad. Think of a fried donut soaked in sugar.

Agar agar with seasonal fruits

Not too bad!

Semolina Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce

Tasted quite like bread and butter pudding with orange slices and canned peaches. The black specks in the sauce caused a flutter in the stomach!

Opera/Tiramisu

Didn't try but the chocolate lover claims I didn't miss out.

Ok, by now you'd know I'm nothing but praise for Cafe Swiss. Death by cheese, if one major selling point of this buffet. The widest range of cheese available for every cheese lover. The selection of food is awesome, mostly hits. It's one buffet that wows not on quantity but quality. I can find something good from the starters, mains and dessert at least!

Over and over again, I'm sold. Service is way better this time round despite the bulgeoning crowds. Thumbs up to Swissotel!

$50++ for dinner, Thursday -Saturday only
From 630pm

Cafe Swiss
Swissotel