dining out with spawn - part two
After yesterday's long-winded post on dining out with the children, today I'm finally writing about some of the restaurants we have tried here in Geneva, more for my own records than anything. The usual disclaimers that come with any restaurant-related post apply: these are places that our family eats at, and with the nature of our children, sometimes the places that we often visit are more out of convenience than because the food is particularly good. We also tend to favour the rive droit (right bank) of the lake where we live because it's often a pain to cross the river especially during peak hours. Traffic in Geneva is BAD. I thought that coming from an Asian city chockfull of cars, I would have seen bad traffic already, but traffic can be ridiculously slow here.
I'll start with Asian cuisine, since 75% of the time this is what we go for.
Cho Lon (Vietnamese)
This is where we get our noodle and spice fix. I particularly like their grilled beef and vermicelli bowl which comes with fried spring rolls on the side. The food is quite authentic and pretty good value-for-money in this city. Service is good, too. They also deliver, which is something I must try soon.
La Maison d'Asie (Vietnamese)
This is the other Vietnamese place that we frequent because it's quite close to where we live. However, searching for street-side parking can be a pain and since we've discovered Cho Lon we haven't come here that much because J and I prefer the food there. Still, the pho here is quite good and the service is friendly and they're quite tolerant when it comes to children.
My typical order at La Maison D'Asie: bun cha bio
Hungky (Cantonese)
Whenever we order Chinese delivery, it's always Hungky. They deliver for free if your order is above CHF25 (which it always is for us) and it's so handy to have your food brought to your doorstep when the weather is crap, or if you're tired and don't feel like cooking. We've been known to make an order while still at the airport so that the food arrives just as we get home. Standard order: prawns with crispy noodles (The Bun's favourite), and prawn fried rice. The portions are huge enough to feed all of us. We've also tried some of their other dishes, but these two, in my opinion, are the standouts for us.
Le Mandarin (Cantonese, dimsum)
We only ever come here for dimsum on weekends, and it's always filled to the brim with big Asian families, which I guess is a key sign of its success. The dimsum is, by Hong Kong or Singaporean standards, only average, but they do a really fresh and silky 虾肠 (rice roll with prawns) and the kids like the steamed buns and congee. After so many visits, the staff have grown to recognise us, and were nice enough to give us a plate of 年糕 for Chinese New Year. This restaurant is a firm favourite with the children, who love the fish tank at the entrance, the friendly staff, and the pleasant walk from the train station (where we park) to the restaurant.
The Bun at Le Mandarin
Mikado (sushi)
Probably the most affordable option for decent sushi in the city, but it's not really a restaurant, more a take-out sort of place, even though there are some seats available. There are a few competitors in the take-out sushi market, but J and I find Mikado has the freshest fish and sometimes they even have specials, like king crab legs. We get take-out from here at least once or twice a month, usually on weekends. Our standard bagful of food (a small tray of sashimi, three rolls, a box of inari sushi, wakame seaweed, a couple of veggie korokke) sets us back about CHF60 (S$83) which is eye-poppingly expensive by Singapore standards, but is actually considered very affordable here in Geneva.
Uchino (Japanese)
For special occasions and splurges, we go to Uchino. This is where, as we've heard on the grapevine, the Japanese community eats. The fish is very fresh but the portions are petite, so even when I eat their set lunch (CHF28, about S$39) which typically consists of a few slices of salmon, a serving of tempura, rice, and miso soup, I still feel hungry after lunch. Still, the food is good and this is one of the few places where we can find items like ikura (salmon roe), The Bun's favourite Japanese food. This place is very popular for working lunches, so the staff smile when they see the children, but there's the faintest twitch behind their smiles, so while they tolerate children, I would not call this place child-friendly.
Sashimi at Uchino
Yukiguni (Japanese ramen)
The only ramen restaurant in the city. It is quite competently run by Japanese chefs. Service is friendly and quick, and it does try to be child-friendly, providing small bowls for the children so that they can share noodles with us, and even offering a brand-new box of colouring pencils to the children at our last visit. I love having my noodles in the ebi (prawn) broth because it reminds me of the 'hae mee' (prawn noodles) that we have in Singapore. They also have a mini chashu don (roast pork on rice) which I also like because the pork is deliciously smoky. Their kitchen is seriously tiny, like maybe the size of two hatchback cars parked next to each other, so I'm always impressed at their workflow and how they churn out all the food in such a small kitchen.
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That's about it. We do eat at other Chinese places, including a couple across the river, but not often enough that we would consider them favourites. We've also tried a couple of Thai eateries, one of which is near our place and not too bad (J claims my green curry is just as good for a fraction of the price), but I've heard about a Thai pub which is super authentic, from the food to the Thai disco nights and the ladyboy servers. Sadly, we have not eaten Korean food at all while living here, although I recently discovered a new Korean eatery which looks promising and affordable. Most of the time, when looking for new places to try, we make our decisions based on word of mouth. I know a Korean mum and while chatting to her, asked her if she had any recommendations for decent Korean food here and she scrunched up her face, which was all I needed to know. Still, as I always say, beggars can't be choosers, and when you're hankering for a certain flavour or dish, sometimes the next best approximation of it can be good enough for you.
Next post: non-Asian restaurants.
I'll start with Asian cuisine, since 75% of the time this is what we go for.
Cho Lon (Vietnamese)
This is where we get our noodle and spice fix. I particularly like their grilled beef and vermicelli bowl which comes with fried spring rolls on the side. The food is quite authentic and pretty good value-for-money in this city. Service is good, too. They also deliver, which is something I must try soon.
La Maison d'Asie (Vietnamese)
This is the other Vietnamese place that we frequent because it's quite close to where we live. However, searching for street-side parking can be a pain and since we've discovered Cho Lon we haven't come here that much because J and I prefer the food there. Still, the pho here is quite good and the service is friendly and they're quite tolerant when it comes to children.
My typical order at La Maison D'Asie: bun cha bio
Hungky (Cantonese)
Whenever we order Chinese delivery, it's always Hungky. They deliver for free if your order is above CHF25 (which it always is for us) and it's so handy to have your food brought to your doorstep when the weather is crap, or if you're tired and don't feel like cooking. We've been known to make an order while still at the airport so that the food arrives just as we get home. Standard order: prawns with crispy noodles (The Bun's favourite), and prawn fried rice. The portions are huge enough to feed all of us. We've also tried some of their other dishes, but these two, in my opinion, are the standouts for us.
Le Mandarin (Cantonese, dimsum)
We only ever come here for dimsum on weekends, and it's always filled to the brim with big Asian families, which I guess is a key sign of its success. The dimsum is, by Hong Kong or Singaporean standards, only average, but they do a really fresh and silky 虾肠 (rice roll with prawns) and the kids like the steamed buns and congee. After so many visits, the staff have grown to recognise us, and were nice enough to give us a plate of 年糕 for Chinese New Year. This restaurant is a firm favourite with the children, who love the fish tank at the entrance, the friendly staff, and the pleasant walk from the train station (where we park) to the restaurant.
The Bun at Le Mandarin
Mikado (sushi)
Probably the most affordable option for decent sushi in the city, but it's not really a restaurant, more a take-out sort of place, even though there are some seats available. There are a few competitors in the take-out sushi market, but J and I find Mikado has the freshest fish and sometimes they even have specials, like king crab legs. We get take-out from here at least once or twice a month, usually on weekends. Our standard bagful of food (a small tray of sashimi, three rolls, a box of inari sushi, wakame seaweed, a couple of veggie korokke) sets us back about CHF60 (S$83) which is eye-poppingly expensive by Singapore standards, but is actually considered very affordable here in Geneva.
Uchino (Japanese)
For special occasions and splurges, we go to Uchino. This is where, as we've heard on the grapevine, the Japanese community eats. The fish is very fresh but the portions are petite, so even when I eat their set lunch (CHF28, about S$39) which typically consists of a few slices of salmon, a serving of tempura, rice, and miso soup, I still feel hungry after lunch. Still, the food is good and this is one of the few places where we can find items like ikura (salmon roe), The Bun's favourite Japanese food. This place is very popular for working lunches, so the staff smile when they see the children, but there's the faintest twitch behind their smiles, so while they tolerate children, I would not call this place child-friendly.
Sashimi at Uchino
Yukiguni (Japanese ramen)
The only ramen restaurant in the city. It is quite competently run by Japanese chefs. Service is friendly and quick, and it does try to be child-friendly, providing small bowls for the children so that they can share noodles with us, and even offering a brand-new box of colouring pencils to the children at our last visit. I love having my noodles in the ebi (prawn) broth because it reminds me of the 'hae mee' (prawn noodles) that we have in Singapore. They also have a mini chashu don (roast pork on rice) which I also like because the pork is deliciously smoky. Their kitchen is seriously tiny, like maybe the size of two hatchback cars parked next to each other, so I'm always impressed at their workflow and how they churn out all the food in such a small kitchen.
_____________
That's about it. We do eat at other Chinese places, including a couple across the river, but not often enough that we would consider them favourites. We've also tried a couple of Thai eateries, one of which is near our place and not too bad (J claims my green curry is just as good for a fraction of the price), but I've heard about a Thai pub which is super authentic, from the food to the Thai disco nights and the ladyboy servers. Sadly, we have not eaten Korean food at all while living here, although I recently discovered a new Korean eatery which looks promising and affordable. Most of the time, when looking for new places to try, we make our decisions based on word of mouth. I know a Korean mum and while chatting to her, asked her if she had any recommendations for decent Korean food here and she scrunched up her face, which was all I needed to know. Still, as I always say, beggars can't be choosers, and when you're hankering for a certain flavour or dish, sometimes the next best approximation of it can be good enough for you.
Next post: non-Asian restaurants.