Meal #46 – Switzerland

The Swiss Club, just like Switzerland itself, was a study of neutrality; as inoffensive to the eyes as the Austrian Club was offensive. Unfortunately, most of the food served was just as neutral and inoffensive.

Swiss Club of Victoria
89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne City

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night the Swiss Club of Victoria serves traditional Swiss food; cooked by a chef with a remarkable resemblance to the Swedish chef from ‘The Muppets.’

The restaurant’s décor focuses on light-stained woodwork, cowbells and big Swiss flag on the back wall. There are two dining areas, a traditional tables and chairs area near the back, and some U-shaped booths near the bar – one of which we occupied. And thus Rami, Caroline, Naomi, Paul, Deb and Ross went last Friday night to sample a selection of Swiss…food…

Mains:

Traditional Wiener Schnitzel – Crumbed veal schnitzel (with rosti)
Cordon Bleu – Crumbed chicken breast filled with ham and cheese (with rosti)
Wurstsalat – sausage salad with cheese
Venison Escalope in a port wine sauce with spatzli and red cabbage
Rosti with smoked salmon, avocado and rocket salad
Mixed Seafood Risotto

Desserts:
Chocolate Fondue served with seasonal fruit
Coupe Swiss – Ice-cream, meringue with hot chocolate sauce

Beers:
Falken Prinz (Switzerland) 330ml
Krusovice (Czech Republic) dark beer, 500ml
Erdinger Dunkel Weizen Weissbier (Germany) dark wheat beer, 500ml

The Meal:

All in all the meat dishes were heavy, oily and a touch on the bland side. The only highlight of the meal (besides the beer) were the rosti, Switzerland’s version of the deep-fried potato pancake – although our arteries would have preferred we had the salad as a side dishes as opposed to more oily fare. Both the sausage salad and seafood risotto were also disappointing.

However, where the meal took a fantastic turn was with the desserts. The Coupe Swiss was “the best thing ever” according to Ross, who wouldn’t share it with the rest of us, no matter how much we begged.

You know Chocolate Fondue is made with good quality chocolate when after all the fruit is gone, there is a fight as too who can use their fingers to clean the bowl of the left-overs. In summary, the main meals served here are a fon-don’t, while the desserts are definitely a fondue!

Next Stop: Switzerland

Swiss cuisine is unique in its many regional influences from its neighbors' cuisine, including Italian, French, and, to a lesser extent, German cuisine.

Foods often associated with Switzerland include cheese and chocolate. Swiss cheeses, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyere, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue and Raclette. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union to boost sales of cheese.

Rosti is a popular potato dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast food, but this has been replaced by the muesli, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermuesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread with butter and jam. There is a wide variety of bread rolls available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.

Tarts and quiches are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple to onion.

There are a great number of regional dishes in Switzerland. One example is zurigschnatzlets—thin strips of veal with mushrooms in a cream sauce served with rösti. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta and pizza.

Apple juice is popular in many areas of Switzerland. It is also produced in the form of cider. The chocolate drink Ovomaltine (known overseas as "Ovaltine") originates in Switzerland and enjoys ongoing popularity, particularly with young people. Aside from being a beverage it is also used on top of a slice of buttered bread.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cuisine