Patara Fine Thai Cuisine

I had been wanting to have a meal at Patara's for a long time. Le Patara is located in Geneva's Beau-Rivage hotel by the lake and it is probably the most upscale Thai restaurant in the city. I had been hearing mixed reviews for years. For the most part, I find Thai restaurants in this city to be a complete disappointment, all the more reason to see if Patara was any different and decide for myself if it was worth paying upwards of CHF 100 per person. A friend's recent birthday celebration was the perfect opportunity to spend an evening at the ritzy establishment.

Turns out the food is actually very good, it is certainly a notch above all the other Thai restaurants I've been to in the area. The service, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. We had to wait a little too long for our starters and main courses and communicating with some of the restaurants's wait staff proved rather challenging. At one point we asked one of the waiters for an extra couple of minutes, but our request was either repeatedly misunderstood or ignored. Either way, I wasn't overly impressed with that aspect of my dining experience.

I should also add that while I thoroughly enjoyed my meal that evening, Patara seems to serve more of a fusion cuisine than the kind of authentic Thai food people often crave when they go to such restaurants.

So would I go back? Yes, but I'd expect better service - otherwise, I doubt there would be a third visit.

Pictured below: shrimp tacos, Tom kha kai (a Thai chicken and coconut soup),  Pad Thai and Khao Niaow Ma Muang - a delicious mango and sticky rice dessert.

A Showcase of Beautiful Food Photos

I thought I'd do something a little different this time and showcase beautiful photos from Flickr. There's such a wealth of content on the image hosting website, it is difficult to choose just a few photos for a blog post but here's an initial selection I hope you'll enjoy!


Fettucini Alfredo by Amy Pospiech


Cupcakes by Keith Chu


Shrimp Lo Mein by Matt


Pastrami sandwich by Leon Brocard


Koshary by Wedstock 2011


Pepperoni pizza by Hungry Dudes


Brownies by jeffreyw


Dim sum by Morten Båtbukt


Naan by stu_spivack


Sushi by keg-shine


Garlic bread by Jasmin Foo


Pad thai by stu_spivack


Falafel wrap by Gloria Cabada-Leman


Gnocchi by Enrico Matteucci


Cheeseburger by entity


Lemon meringue pie by makemesomepie


Pea risotto by Anna Mayer


Fried chicken and biscuits by Niall Kennedy


Sour Cream Apple Pie with Pecan Streusel by I Believe I Can Fry


Cinnamon rolls by Timothy Vollmer


Spinach, ricotta and green garlic ravioli by Robb & Jessie Stankey


Pot stickers by Naotake Murayama


Fish & chips by David Ascher


The photos above are provided under the Creative Commons license. All photos have been changed for the purposes of this post, they have been resized, cropped and the colors were also altered some. Furthermore a stroke was added to each photo to remain consistent with previous blog posts.

Green Mango

I recently discovered a fairly new restaurant in rue de la Terrassière. Green Mango seems to be the newest addition to the list of Thai restaurants in Geneva. And because I love Thai food yet feel many of the Thai restaurants here leave something to be desired, I was eager to try something new and different. Thankfully, I was not disappointed! The food is fresh, the service is more than pleasant, and the space, while small, is actually rather cosy. I will say, however, when the place is at capacity, the service does tend to be a tad slower than it should be. But as long as I'm in no particular hurry, and the quality of the food remains high, I'm quite willing to forgive the delay.

Pictured below: duck salad, dim sum (which I especially recommend) Pad Thai and a delectable fresh mango and sticky rice dessert

CNN's World's 50 best foods

Not exactly recent but definitely worth a mention, CNN got users to vote on the world's 50 best foods a couple of years ago. Some of the results may be a little surprising, but I can definitely get on board with a list that includes cheeseburgers, fettucini alfredo, maple syrup, fajitas, pizza, fried chicken, fried rice, fish 'n' chips, gelato, dim sum and pad thai among others!

Check it out:
Your pick: World's 50 best foods

Another visit to Phuket's

The Thai restaurant located by the UNHCR continues to be a favorite among the expat community.

Pictured below: complimentary Thai chips, Tom Kha Kai soup, Pad Thai noodles, and a coconut sticky rice and mango dessert.

Nyamuk

When I first walked in to Nyamuk, a Thai restaurant located in Plainpalais, and took a look around me, I started racing through my head for possible excuses to leave the establishment and go eat somewhere else instead, it just didn't look very promising. Little did I know I would sit down to some of the best pad thai I've had in Geneva thus far! The ingredients were incredibly fresh, and the dish was just delicious. However, I should also mention that in comparison to other restaurants, Nyamuk's pad thai packs quite a bit of heat — nothing overpowering mind you, it's just a little spicier than you may be accustomed to if you've had the dish in some of Geneva's other Thai restaurants.

Pictured below: shrimp pad thai.

Phuket

Pad Thai noodles is easily one of my top ten favorite dishes, unfortunately it is often botched by restaurants. That is why when it comes to Thai food in Geneva, Phuket is my establishment of choice, and it has been for a number of years now. Their Pad Thai is very good, although the last time I was there, it seemed to me their portions had gotten quite a bit smaller... but no worries, I was quite full at the end all the same!



Pictured below: Tom Kha Kai, a slightly spicy chicken and coconut milk soup, spring rolls, a staple of Asian cuisine, the above-mentioned Pad Thai noodles, and a succulent rice, mango and coconut milk dessert: