Oriental Dining in Montreux

On Sunday evening we escaped to the mini paradise which is Montreux.  it had been a few years back since we had been there, so it was lovely to reminisce walking through the little streets, feeling the breeze of the lake and noticing the flocks of people admiring the Freddy Mercury statue. ♥ treated me to dinner. We chose a little oriental restaurant which was amazingly decorated inside.  

I am wearing

Top Zara

Capris Miss 60

Basel, Zurich, Geneva at one table in Germany

On the January Ride

During the first week of January, my ♥ and I were on a train back to Geneva in the restaurant carriage. ♥ was hungy and wanted to order one of those over priced meals...this prompted me to go on a bit of a tangent on money and saving and la la la. Sometimes I envy how he consciously enjoys every moment, never taking into account, how much these 'moments' may cost.  So for the month of January,  I have set the goal to "live the ride" and let my worries fade away.

My "ride" began with this home made shortbread crumbed banana bread cake

Having an extravagant meal with my ♥ at THAÏ in Geneva on a Tuesday Work Night

I had the pan-fried salmon with thai herb salsa & he had the Honey glazed duck & pineapple(Both fantastic btw)

 taking off my scarf

 The week before my work team had our rather late Christmas Dinner at the Buffet de la Gare in Eaux Vives

This was the first time I had tried Fois Gras (It came with a fig theme)

Potato Puree with cooked Fois Gras and wild Mushrooms

This was a wonderful chocolate mousse on a light cake with a caramel halo, I could have eaten ten of these

First Date in this City

On Friday night after work, I met ♥ at the train station and led him through the streets of Paquis to the very sweet and rustic, La crêperie des Pâquis. 

 Dark wood, exposed walls, interesting lighting: perfect for a date with your special someone

Some shots of our French dinner 

 Reading the menus in French and having to order in another language adds to the atmosphere

 I wasn't in the mood for a long meal in a beautiful restaurant as I was still in my conservative work attire. It hit the spot. He was very surprised and happy with the choice of eatery and happily ordered a crêpe stuffed with steak, spinach which was decorated with a fried egg. 

I opted for the "provençale chèvre", a crêpe filled with goats cheese and a tomato and herb sauce.  We topped off our meal with chocolate and chocolate-banana crêpes and for the first time,  I finished main and dessert before my ♥.  I was truly satisfied, so satisfied that I later fell asleep during our movie, the Guard.

Cafe Fish Review - Edinburgh

Three days ago I graduated (post coming soon) and I had the most brilliant day.  A few weeks ago my dad, an avid tripadvisor reader had asked me to make reservations at a restaurant called 'Cafe Fish', and judging by his rare appearances in Scotland, I must admit I had doubted this place.

Interior: Metallic with the occasional church pew and grand mirror

 View of Entrance from our Table

 A Glass of Bollinger to Celebrate the big day !

 Queenie Scallops in a Pernod Butter

 Dad's Grilled Sardines with Salsa Verde

 Sole Rolls

 Hazelnut Cheesecake Dessert

Coffee, Grand Marnier & Ice Cream

Such a Cute Logo Sign

Me with a Bellini in a nearby bar

I came here with my parents for a little post-graduation celebration. They had been raving about needing to eat fish as it's not something we get to experience often in land-locked Switzerland.

The service here was brilliant from the beginning. This modern fish restaurant is run by a Scottish family (We met the lovely mum & son). You can clearly tell that everyone that works here is passionate about food as they were very knowledgeable about describing the dishes, what was in sea-food season and recommending something to suit each of our tastes. To start, I had queenie scallops in a pernod butter, and I was blown away. Usually I am not the greatest fan of scallops due to their meaty-ness (the last ones I had in New Orleans were about the size of my fist) but these were small and even creamy, it was my favourite dish out of my entire trip to Edinburgh.

I then had the sole wrapped around fresh spinach leaves for my main which was light and succulent and went beautifully with (I think it was a pea) mash sprinkled with hand crafted chorizo and potato cubes. For dessert we had hazelnut cheesecake and a coffee-ice-cream-creation. All in all our food was presented in an amazing manner which matched the modern style & cool ambience of the restaurant- it's the right place to get seafood for real good value. Later we ambled around Leith shore and peeked into the windows of restaurants and bars before popping into the Granary for a Bellini night-cap.

P.S The area leading up to the restaurant was a little misleading but have no fear, they are moving closer to the city, to Stockbridge to cater to their growing crowd.

LILY's REVIEW

On Sunday it was Date night  :-)  !!!  We went to one of our favourite restaurants in Basel. Lily's!  This pan-Asian restaurant has a simplistic modern design of communal thick wooden tables & benches which encourages communal dining. They serve fresh currys (Indian/Thai), wok, soups noodles & more. It boasts an open kitchen often lit up by fire created by the chefs wok-tossing skills. Lily's keeps a focus on the simplicity of delicious food

In the Garden with my plants

 Lily's Kitchen

 the Ice Teas 

I would certainly recommend either the bright orange thai ice-tea or the deep red hibiscus ice-tea as the ideal thirst quencher.  I tried a lemon-grass ice-tea this time which was also fresh but can't compare to the favourites.  We shared a chicken-satay to start with and I have always found this to be the best in Basel as both the chicken is perfectly seasoned and the peanut sauce is ultra creamy!  We ate it too quickly so I couldn't take a picture.

Pad Thai Gai & Bai Kapao Mains

Hmm beefy smokey taste !

The Pad-Thai-Gai is fail-safe and delicious- it's what I order at Lily's 80% of the time. It is the perfect combination of Rice Noodles, Bio-Tofu cubes, chicken, egg, peanuts, spring garlic, soya beans all fried up in a sweet&sour tamarind sauce and garnished with a handful of fresh coriander.

My ♥ ordered the Bai Kapao: A wok dish composed of beef slices, thai-basil, thai-green beans, cauliflower, chilli & garlic and served with a fried egg on top. Sometime's this can come very spicy but the heat gives it a particular kick. It all came to about Fr.-75 for the two of us which isn't too bad for Switzerland.






THE MOVIE WE WENT TO SEE

We walked back to Gross Basel and watched the 'Tree of Life' in a near-empty cinema which was perfect for the date-mood.  Terrence Malick created a dream-like film packed full of so many beautiful shots leaving you in an awe of relaxation (almost hypnotising). It was very unlike the usual big-buck films that are common for Summer.  I liked that there was a bit of an indie/kult-kino feel to it.

  

P.S  Here's a quick close up of my babies.  my Tomatoes!

getting big !