Zurich Observatory tour and dinner

On Wednesday 5 November, members of the ZIWA Swinging Sixties group, a large number of ladies, congregated in The Lion bar for a drink prior to a tour of Zurich's Sternwarte or Observatory. You may have often noticed this landmark in Uraniastrasse, and may even have visited the lofty Jules Verne bar, but we discovered a viewing gallery even higher up. Access is possible by lift to the bar and then by a staircase. The 360-degree view on this night was spectacular.

Our guide, Herr Weil, told us about the founding of the observatory in 1907 for the people of the city of Zurich. The 12 tonne steel telescope is housed on a concrete stand which is set into the earth. The telescope rotates to enable a view of the night sky towards the geographic north and Polaris. We were already impressed by the views over the city with its famous churches - the Grossmunster, Fraumunster and St Peter's for example, as well as many other familiar landmarks. In spite of the light pollution, the Zeiss-made telescope lens enables a view of the night sky through two panels which open. The refracting, colour-correcting lens has a magnifying power of 2500 times that of the human eye.

Herr Weil gave us an astronomy lesson about the solar system, the planets and the stars. Closest to earth is our moon, one of over 172 moons in the solar system.  The American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which was launched in 2009, is constantly taking photos of the moon and plots its varying distance from the earth during its orbit. Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach the earth. We were reminded always to use filters when observing the sun, though. A partial solar eclipse is expected on 22 March 2015.

We also learnt that the eight planets, excluding Pluto, all lie in the same plane, along with the asteroid belt. The sun was formed out of a cloud of hydrogen and dust particles and is 10 million degrees inside. Scientists predict that our sun will die in five billion years' time and become a white dwarf. Comets are formed from ice and snow, and the European (ESA) Rosetta project is planning to land a probe on one on 12 November 2014. The stars are 9.5 billion kilometers away, more than four light years. With our current technology we cannot contact other life forms as the time to reach them, if they existed, would be too great. There are 88 constellations of stars  in our galaxy, many of which we can view with the naked eye. Some of the most familiar are Orion, the Great Bear, Cassiopeia and those named after the signs of the zodiac.

You can visit the Observatory on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 20.00 without an appointment. See more at this link: http://www.urania-sternwarte.ch/




After the fascinating tour, group chairlady Vreni Riedler led us over the historic Lindenhof to the traditional Lindenhofkeller for a pre-arranged four course dinner. Our hosts introduced the two selected wines from a French vineyard near Perpignan, before serving us with an amuse-bouche prior to the delicious dinner.


We enjoyed Zander filet in filo pastry with beetroot, apple and horseradish salad, a small pumpkin soup topped with foam, black Angus steak, beautifully served, with roast potatoes and vegetables, and finally a tonka bean panna cotta with mango sorbet and mango and passion fruit compote. It was all beautifully presented and cooked, and the company as usual was also very pleasant.

Read more about the restaurant at this link: http://www.lindenhofkeller.ch/

 En guete!

Restaurant of the Month - October 2014

Weisses Roessli, Bederstrasse 96, 8002 Zurich Enge 

http://www.weisses-roessli.ch/

A small but appreciative group of ZIWA ladies from the Dining Around the World group enjoyed lunch here last Tuesday. The restaurant, which was originally Austrian, now features food with 'French flair and Mediterranean frivolity', prepared and served by Mathieu Bacon and his team. We certainly loved the food and service.

The midday menu features a tempting choice of two starters and two mains using seasonal and original ingredients. Our options were pineapple and lemon grass soup (yummy!) or red cabbage salad with mandarin oranges, and sea bass with lime and ginger butter, wild rice and orange chicory or veal ragout with fresh herbs, mashed potatoes and French beans. At a cost of just over CHF 30, it was very good value,


Optional dessert included chestnut mousse with cranberry jelly. In this autumn season they also offer game, plus seasonal accompaniments such as red cabbage, chestnuts, truffles, mushrooms, and more exotic choices such as curry soup, with dates. The desserts are definitely worth looking at too. And the wine list offers an interesting selection of European wines,


To dine at the Weisses Rossli you certainly need to book, as the place is always full, Worth considering for a business lunch or a special family dinner. And if you hanker after a Wiener Schnitzel, it's also on the menu.


This family business with an international cuisine and a light touch is definitely worth seeking out. It's located one tram stop from Bahnhof Enge and only five minutes from central Zurich.

Zum Wohl!

Restaurant of the Month - September 2014

Brasserie Lipp, Uraniastrasse 9, 8001 Zurich

http://www.brasserie-lipp.ch/wp_lipp/

In September, the season changes to Autumn and it's time to enjoy the new menus in our Zurich restaurants. When there's an r in the month, we can expect to find oysters on the menu at Brasserie Lipp, the local branch of the famous chic Paris eaterie. So on the last Tuesday of September, 13 members of ZIWA's Dining Around the World Group went French!

Top choice for many were the mussels - a steaming bowlful of moules with a portion of frites, to share or enjoy by oneself. Others plumped for a dish of oysters, one of the house specialities. Others chose the menu of the day, be it fish, meat or vegi, including a soup or salad starter. Prices ranged from CHF 30 to 50 per person. Not bad for a special lunchtime treat.



The Lipp has a huge range of dishes to choose from, including salads, smoked salmon, prawns, sausages, grilled meats and duck for example. The meat dishes are priced starting at around CHF45. You can also push the boat out with a whole lobster or a fisherman's stew, all of which are accompanied by the vegetables of the season. And you might like to start off with a glass of champagne to set the mood. Most of us opted for water, however.

For a taste of French cuisine or for a handy lunch meeting point for two in style, try the Brasserie Lipp in Zurich. And Autumn is a good time to do it.

Bon appetit!

Swiss cheeses

These cheeses were featured in a tasting at the ZIWA Kick-Off on 23 September 2014

Tilsiter Mild

Tilsiter cheese is a light yellow semi-hard cheese, created in the mid-19th century by Prussian-Swiss settlers, the Westphal family, from the Emmental valley. The same ingredients to make the cheese were not available as in their home country and the cheese became colonized by different moulds, yeasts, and bacteria in the humid climate. The result was a cheese that was more intense and full flavoured. The settlers named the cheese after Tilsit, the Prussian town in which they had settled.

Tilsiter has a medium-firm texture with irregular holes or cracks. Commercially produced Tilsiter is made from pasteurized cow's milk, ranges from 30 to 60 percent milk fat and has a dark yellow rind. After the main part of its production, the cheese needs to rest for an additional 2 months.

Nowadays it’s manufactured in more than one location and the milk comes from north and east Switzerland.

Using the re-imported recipe, Tilsiter has been manufactured in Switzerland since 1893. Swiss Tilsiter is mainly produced in 3 varieties. A mild version (green label) is made from pasteurized milk, a more strongly flavoured one from fresh, unpasteurized milk (red label), and the yellow-labeled "Rahm-Tilsiter" is produced from pasteurized milk with added cream.

Appenzeller Surchoix

Appenzeller cheese is a hard cow's-milk cheese produced in the Appenzell region of northeast Switzerland. A herbal brine, sometimes incorporating wine or cider, is applied to the wheels of cheese while they cure, which flavors and preserves the cheese while promoting the formation of a rind.

Appenzeller has a documented history of at least 700 years. 

Today, about 75 dairies produce it, each with a different recipe for their brine wash. Most of the recipes are trade secrets.

The cheese is straw-colored, with tiny holes and a golden rind. It has a strong smell and a nutty or fruity flavor, which can range from mild to tangy, depending on how long it is aged. Three types are sold:

• "Classic". Aged three to four months. The wheels are wrapped in a silver label.
• "Surchoix". Aged four to six months. Gold label.
• "Extra". Aged six months or longer. Black label.

Gstaader Mutschli

From the Berner Oberland Saanen region of south-east Switzerland. You can visit the cheese factory there: http://www.molkerei-gstaad.ch/

Mutschli is a 'HalbhartKäse' or Half hard (semi hard) cheese produced in the Canton of Bern.

Mutschli is the Bernese version of the common 'Hirtenkäse' or Herdsman's cheese. These cheeses were traditionally made for the direct consumption by the farmers, rather than for sale. As such they are softer so that they do not need to be aged as long, often being eaten after a few weeks of ageing. Historically speaking, these are probably the oldest cheese type, the longer aged alpine cheeses being adapted from them by adjusting the recipe so that they store better, being more suited to transport across long distances.

All cheeses from Switzerland

·                     Sbrinz

·                     Emmentaler

·                     Swiss cheese

·                     Gruyère/Greyerzer

·                     Berner Alpkäse

·                     Schabziger

·                     Appenzeller

·                     Bündner Bergkäse

·                     Mutschli

·                     Raclette

·                     Tête de Moine

·                     Vacherin Fribourgeois

·                     Tilsiter

·                     Vacherin Mont d'Or

·                     Formaggini

·                     Gala

·                     Büsciun da cavra

·                     L'Etivaz

·                     Tomme vaudoise

Visit the Bern Cheese Festival - 25 October 2014: Bern cheese festival

Julia Newton, 23 September 2014

Restaurant of the Month - August 2014

Drei Stuben, Beckenhofstrasse 5, 8006 Zurich

http://dreistuben.ch/

On a late summer's day, a garden restaurant is ideal. However, with a summer like this past one, a cosy indoor salon is a better bet. Drei Stuben catered to both alternatives: yesterday the rain won the day. Fourteen discerning ladies from ZIWA's Dining Around the World group gathered for lunch in the traditional wood-panelled interior of this typically Swiss place only two tram stops away from Zurich's main station. There was no shortage of conversation and good food.



We all opted for the set menu choices - salad or potato soup followed by Rotbarsch with potatoes, cucumber salad and a remoulade sauce or rolled veal with jus and pasta. The food is nicely presented and tasty. And the price is very reasonable - under CHF 40 for a two-course meal with water and coffee. On sunnier days, the outdoor experience is to be savoured.



The restaurant offers a selection of classic dishes done with modern flair. They also offer a five-course set menu for a special occasion. And the dessert card is impressive too. Chef Michael Bollinger and his team have refreshed the menu selection with dishes to appeal to all the senses. But the traditional setting remains familiar.

So for a taste of old-fashioned Switzerland  with a modern twist, you might like to try Drei Stuben in the university quarter of Zurich.

Enjoy your lunch!

Restaurant of the Month - July 2014

Seerestaurant Quai 61, Mythenquai 61, 8002 Zurich

http://www.quai61.ch/en/lakeside-restaurant/

In July, we took a chance on the weather and booked a table by the lake of Zurich, but under cover at Quai 61. This proved to be the perfect compromise - a waterside view without the risk of rain. Twelve people came along to enjoy the ambiance and the midday menu choices.

Service at lunchtime is quick, and the restaurant caters to business workers wishing for a chic place to eat, close to the financial centre, where you can also show off to a client or companion. For members of ZIWA's Dining Around the World group, our aim is a congenial location with great value food and attentive service. This was easily achieved on this rather overcast summer's day.

There was a choice of set menus at a reasonable price - fish or beef with delicious accompaniments, all served promptly. A glass of wine went down nicely alongside the main event. As usual the conversation predominated over the eating, though.



Quai 61 has a great a la carte selection, as well as a cocktail bar and a sundeck for really warm days. You do need to reserve though, as the place is always busy.

They also serve Sunday brunch and cater for special events. So if you're looking for somewhere special within walking distance of tram, bus and boat stops, with a wonderful lake view, give Quai 61 a call.

Zum wohl mitenand!

Restaurant of the Month - June 2014

Ristorante Italia, Zeughausstrasse 61, 8004 Zurich

http://www.ristorante-italia.ch/

Ideally one should experience this homely Italian place on a sunny day, when the shady garden provides a welcoming ambiance. We happened to choose the first rainy day of the month for our June visit. But we had a table for twelve inside a spacious side dining room designed for groups, and our welcome couldn't have been warmer. Another great lunchtime get-together for ZIWA's friendly Dining Around the World group.

On the menu at lunch-time - four or five dishes of traditional Italian home cooking. We could choose from involtini di pollo with risotto, penne with a spicy tomato sauce, scrambled eggs with broad beans and cottage cheese or two other tasty dishes. Each option cost under CHF30 and was accompanied by a mixed salad. On other days, the midday choice includes veal or beef, which are priced a bit higher. Everyone found the food delicious, and the service was quick and attentive. We could also have chosen a lemon granita to finish the meal, but most people were too busy chatting and went straight onto the coffee.


The a la carte menu has many more Italian specialities such as wild boar, spicy sausage, linguini with prawns, home-made gnocchi and many more meat and pasta dishes.There is also an impressive list of desserts, cheeses, wines and grappa to choose from.

Located near Zurich Helvetiaplatz and 10 minutes' walk from Stauffacher, the Ristoranti Italia offers cucina alla mama to office workers, groups, families and couples. It's down to earth, but the cuisine is excellent. If you're in the area, why not give it a try?

Buon appetito!