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The GVA Foodie Goes to New York!

Well my dear friends, all work and no play makes the GVA Foodie a dull girl, so I decided to take some time off and enjoy a few days in one of the world's most iconic destinations: New York City. Now it's fun to be in New York for numerous reasons and you know food is definitely one of them! So if you stick around, I'll be posting individual reviews of the different places I visited and the different eats I definitely enjoyed!

I hadn't been to New York in a while, so you know, a couple of stops by Dunkin' were inevitable. Not something you should be eating every day, but if your last visit was several years ago, maybe having a few doughnuts here and there isn't all that bad...?



This isn't going to make me sound very young, but there was a time in the '80s/'90s when you could pretty much walk into any pizza by the slice joint in NYC and enjoy something vaguely resembling an authentic New York style pizza. Those days seem long gone, and now a little research may be required to locate the places that still make these gems.



A trip to New York City without stopping by its very own Katz Deli for a pastrami on rye? No way!



Levain's Bakery on the Upper West Side makes the most sinfully delicious cookies. I can't wait to post my review!



Rice gelato at Macy's Stella restaurant... wait, rice gelato? I am sooooooo in! Hope this delectable treat makes its way here someday soon.



Magnolia Bakery is known for its wonderful cupcakes, not to mention its famous banana pudding. Guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth!



New York is also home to many burger joints with sides of onion rings on many a menu.



Manhattan will also serve up some of the most exquisite Italian food in the world. Fresh ingredients, Mediterranean flavors and a great atmosphere to boot... how can you go wrong?



But maybe Chinese food is what you were craving? I loved these scallion pancakes and wish they'd make that kind of thing here more often.



More deli sandwiches in NYC -- corned beef on a roll that particular night.



Shake Shack has many locations around the city, and they know their way around a burger, fries or even a hot dog if that's what you fancy!





So please stay tuned, I will be posting a number of reviews in the next couple of weeks, and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Globus Food Court

It's 3 pm and you're looking for a place to grab a quick bite in Geneva -- where can you go? The truth of the matter is there aren't that many places serving food at that time of the day around these parts. Globus' food court is a sure bet though. Whether you're craving a burger, Italian antipasti or a crepe, the various eateries located in Geneva's flagship store will come to the rescue. Now is that to say the food provided is good value for money or even particularly good? I wouldn't go quite so far, but in a city like Geneva, you take what you can get at 3 pm.

Giolito Mango Ice Cream

I don't typically review store bought items on this blog just because I don't have very much interest in writing about products one can purchase at the supermarket -- be it a high-end and some might say overpriced supermarket -- but I thought I'd make an exception just this one time for Giolito's product line of ice cream. I had the mango sorbet the other day, and I have to say for a store bought sorbet, it was kind of delicious! Rich and creamy in a way I just didn't expect.

Do you like Giolito ice cream?

Indian Food Festival at Hotel d'Angleterre's Windows Restaurant

This week I was fortunate enough to be invited to a tasting of Hotel d'Angleterre's highly prestigious annual Indian Food Festival. However, as I was unable to make the event due to a prior engagement, one of my fellow foodies kindly attended in my stead. And judging by what she told me and the pictures she took, I am seriously starting to regret not being there in person.

In fact, had I not planned a vacation during the very dates the festival is being held, I would have definitely made it a point to find a suitable date between July 30 and August 16 to go and enjoy what is clearly a unique selection of Indian fusion dishes currently offered at Hotel d'Angleterre's Windows restaurant. I definitely hope I'll get an opportunity to do so the next time the festival is held.

For those of you who would like to enjoy an Indian fusion meal at Hotel d'Angleterre, the annual 2014 Indian Food Festival is being held from July 30 to August 16. For more information on Hotel d'Angleterre, you can visit their website.

So exceptionally this review is by my friend and fellow Genevan foodie, but before we get to her description of the evening, I just want to add that she happens to have visited India numerous times over the years and is therefore particularly familiar with Indian cuisine. Furthermore, I often take restaurant recommendations from her because I trust her judgement, and somehow, she always seems to know where to go -- in fact, stay tuned for an upcoming review based on one of her recommendations!

For the purpose of this post, each photo will be accompanied by my friend's comments.

Mango Lassi

A lassi is a traditional, yogurt-based drink served in India and its surrounding countries. Unlike some of the disappointing lassis served at other establishments in the city, the mango lassi served at the Indian Food Festival was as fresh as it was delicious. Definitely a winner!

Selection of starters

The evening's guests were then treated to the following assortment of starters: 

Prawn Kalimiri, a crispy fried shrimp flavored with white, green and pink peppercorns. Not for the faint of heart -- it is quite spicy.

Pudhina Tala Murgh, grilled chicken served with lemon, ginger, chili pepper and dried mint and other Indian spices.

Channa Chaat, a spicy chickpea salad with mint and tamarind chutney, sweetened yoghurt and pomegranates. 

In keeping with the fusion theme, starters also include perch fillets marinated in traditional Indian spices.

Raita

An Indian classic. Can you really have an Indian meal without a traditional side of raita? This dish really hit the spot and was the perfect complement to the spicier dishes served.

Chicken Pepper Masala

A spicy chicken dish served in a traditional Indian Masala sauce. 

Biryani and Saffron Pulao

In addition to many other side and main dishes, two types of rice were served, you can enjoy a dish of Biryani, an aromatic rice that can come with your choice of vegetables, prawns, chicken or lamb. Alternatively, you can also order the Saffron Pulao, a rice cooked in cumin and -- as you may have guessed -- saffron. 

Sorse Maacch

The sea bream cooked in a special yoghurt sauce was  one of the highlights of the meal. It was cooked to perfection and a genuine delight for the taste buds! Highly recommended!



Various menu items including fish, two types of rice, lamb and potatoes were served at the media dinner.

Tandoor 

Attendees were also invited to visit the restaurant's kitchen, which is equipped with a tandoor, a special oven used extensively in India and its neighboring countries. Naan is traditionally made in a tandoor.

Chocolate Naan

Again, to honor the fusion aspect of the festival, special items are included on the menu such as this naan topped with chocolate-hazelnut and slivered almonds.

 Mango Panna

The dessert menu also includes a delicious financier cake topped with a scoop of lime and vanilla sherbet served in a special mango soup.



Overall, the Indian Food Festival is definitely worth a visit. The food is delicious, the menu manages to be both original and traditional and the service at Hotel d'Angleterre is top-notch. It is therefore no mystery this establishment is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World.

Gopal, the chef at the Indian Food Festival who came especially from London for the event, also deserves a special mention for preparing the exquisite dishes we savored with such delight.

Pakupaku

Pakupaku is an Asian fusion restaurant located in Carouge. I had a few meals there over the last couple of years and I quite enjoy the atmosphere and the experience. The food is good without exactly being spectacular, and the service and decor are very pleasant.

Pictured below: dumplings, seaweed salad, spring rolls, fried shrimp, yakitori chicken, a bowl of steamed rice and beef teriyaki.

Auberge du Dully

I had been meaning to write a review about Auberge de Dully for a while now. And by the way, I apologize for the poor quality photos -- bad lighting and whatnot. Anyway, the establishment is located outside Geneva in the nearby Vaud area and I had been hearing about it for years before I became something of a regular myself sometime last winter.

The restaurant offers the kind of chalet style charm that tends to be so typical of Switzerland. In that sense, it's more of a wintery place, but I could completely see myself going in the summer too. Since it is located in Vaud right after Nyon, if you're in Geneva, it's something of a drive, but to me that's definitely part of the fun.

The restaurant's signature dish is rotisserie chicken -- and to a lesser extent, thin slices of lamb roast -- but my favorite parts of the meal tend to be the starter salad (I just love the dressing), the sides of rösti and french fries which come in several servings, and the delectable cream tart which we'll get to in a minute.

The rotisserie chicken, as is all too often the case, is something of a disappointment. Depending on where you're sitting in the restaurant, you sometimes actually get to see chicken roasting on a spit. This might mislead you into thinking you're about to eat tender, juicy, freshly-cooked chicken right off the spit, but more often than not, you'd be wrong, somehow, it always ends up feeling a little dry to me, and if you know how to make a decently tender roast chicken at home, chances are Dully's will pale in comparison.

To be fair, I've had friends tell me they were treated to incredibly tender rotisserie at Dully's, but I personally haven't had that experience. As for the lamb, there is not a whole lot to say about it, it's just plain blah.

Now let's get to dessert, the cream tart is probably one of my all-time favorite restaurant desserts. It's so simple yet such a treat for the taste buds. I think I love everything about it, its thin crispy texture, its delicious, sweet taste, and even the fact that you have to order it right at the start of your meal!

So as much as I definitely enjoy going to Auberge de Dully, I would say their signatures dishes are not the main draw as far as I'm concerned.

Pictured below: a basket of bread followed by a huge salad, rotisserie chicken, roast lamb, french fries and one of my favourite desserts ever: Auberge de Dully's cream tart.

Montreal's best eats - Lonely Planet travel video

Never been to Canada, but Montreal definitely looks like it knows how to serve up some pretty hearty food. Wouldn't you say?

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.

Sushtime in Plan-les-Ouates

I think I may just have found my go-to take-out sushi place! Of course I tend to say these things only to realize the service and/or food is going downhill at lightning speed shortly thereafter, but I've been to Sushtime a few times now and I do have hope it will keep making quality fare consistently.  Sushtime is located in Plan-les-Ouates, and they have a restaurant area as well as a take-out area. Their menu is huge and as far as I'm concerned, their seared salmon sushi definitely gets  an extra mention.

Pictured below: an assortment of sushi, seared salmon and shrimp tempura maki rolls - did I ever mention how much I love cooked seafood in my sushi? Because I really do!