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.

Apps for Foodies

Mashable, the social and digital media news site recently wrote an interesting entry about iPhone apps for foodies:

10 iPhone Apps for the Global Foodie

Do you use any of these apps?

Sagano

Sagano is a Japanese restaurant located by the UNHCR, its owners also run Phuket and a number of other restaurants around the city. I hadn't been to Sagano in quite a long time, and thought a recent Friday night was the perfect opportunity to go back.

Pictured below: miso soup and a susi platter.

La Table du 9

La Table du 9 is a restaurant I quite enjoy going to every so often. It's located in the Old Town, one of my favorite neighborhoods, it's rather cozy inside, I really like the subdued light and their dishes are tasty and original. However, while I appreciate the staff's friendliness, I've noticed they do tend to be a little slow sometimes... which as far as I'm concerned is OK if you're not in too much of a hurry.

Pictured below: salmon raita and shrimp starters, asparagus and mushroom risotto and a chocolate fondant.

LOVE ME DO - Gelato

Even though the temperatures are still fairly warm, the summer is definitely over. Nevertheless, one still craves a good scoop or two of scrumptious gelato every now and then. LOVE ME DO, a Plainpalais located joint, serves a number of different flavors, a nice combination of classic and original.

They also seem to sell pizza by the slice, but I haven't sampled their pies so there is not much I can say about them.

Pictured below: two scoops of chocolate and peanut butter goodness.

Another fabulous night at Luigia's

Well I have to say, I've been to Luigia a number of times since it opened, and thus far it has never disappointed me. Though I must confess I have yet to order anything other than the pizza. I apologize to the disgruntled reader who left a comment after my initial Luigia blog post, but this pizzeria continues to be my favorite in Geneva so far. However, I do agree with the reader in question that Geneva's restaurants tend to start out with a bang but are often unable to maintain their efforts and momentum in the long term.

Having said that, I certainly hope Luigia's fate will be different... who knows, it might be one of the very few establishments that starts out really well, and somehow becomes even better over time. Here's to hoping!

Pictured below: a pepperoni pizza followed by a chocolate and almond confection for dessert.

Shibata

Shibata is a Japanese restaurant located in Petit-Saconnex. With only a few tables inside and a small terrace outside in the summer, it would be easy to miss the restaurant while driving by. However, what this establishment lacks in size, it more than makes up for in quality. Indeed, I wholeheartedly believe the best chicken teriyaki in the city is served at Shibata. However, if you're hoping for sushi, this is definitely not the place to go -- it is simply not on their menu.

The restaurant is slightly on the expensive side, but the exquisite dishes and the fresh ingredients make it worth the extra cost in my humble opinion.

Pictured below: dumplings, seared tuna and chicken teriyaki with sides of mixed vegetables and rice, a cheesecake which is somehow as delicious as it is light and finally scoops of red bean and sesame ice cream.

Quick Eats in Geneva

Parfums de Beyrouth

Many shawerma aficionados in Geneva consider Parfums de Beyrouth, located in Paquis, the destination of choice for a shaved lamb or chicken sandwich. A selection of toppings include lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickled radishes, garlic sauce and tahini (a sesame paste).

Pictured below: a chicken shawerma from Parfums de Beyrouth.

Wasabi

A couple of Japanese fast food joints have recently opened their doors in Geneva. One of these is Wasabi, located by Rive. Boxes of sushi, seaweed salad, potato salad, noodles, rice, chicken teriyaki, dumplings and many other items are available at this self-serivce style restaurant.

Wasabi is certainly a suitable chocie for a quick meal, but don't kid yourself, it's definitely fast food.

Pictured below: grilled dumplings, a potato salad, shrimp fried noodles and tempura uramaki.

Al-Dar

When it comes to Lebanese food, my favorite restaurant in Geneva would definitely have to be Arabesque, the President-Wilson hotel restaurant. Expensive, but oh so good!

Al-Dar, a slightly less expensive alternative comes in as a close second. Located in the busy neighborhood of Eaux-Vives, Al-Dar's menu boasts numerous starters, it certainly provides enough choices for a full mezze meal and their hummus is easily the best I've had in Geneva.

Pictured below: kebbeh, vine leaves, cheese pastries, mutabal and their scrumptious, creamy hummus.

Zhong Tong

I went to Zhong Tong because it got rave reviews for its dim sum and it seems to be open through the day even during the weekend, and in this city, that is definitely worthy of a mention. Not sure the dim sum fully lived up to the hype but it was a decent meal all in all.

Pictured below: assorted dim sum and a plate of mixed vegetables.