IF you love Swiss Raclette or Cheese Fondue, then you might want to catch the last few days of the Exquisitely Swiss food promotion that’s happening at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria’s Seven Corners until May 31, 2013. The unique month-long food promotion features these two signature dishes of Switzerland and more, as the buffet spread incorporates exquisite Swiss dishes into its appetizer, soup, salad, hot dish, grill station, carving station and dessert selections. It featured Swiss dishes prepared by Crowne Plaza’s Swiss-Italian executive chef Angelo Faoro and his kitchen team that sought to give Seven Corners diners a taste of authentic Swiss cuisine.
Famous for its cheese and chocolate, Switzerland is the home of gourmet cheeses and perhaps the best chocolate in the world, and the Exquisitely Swiss foodfest showcases exactly that. Not to be missed, of course is the Swiss Raclette, a signature Swiss dish that has a block of the semi-firm cow’s milk cheese, Raclette, heated in front of an open fire to melt the surface, and then the melted cheese is scraped onto diners’ plates and served with potatoes, pickled onion and dried meats. The Swiss Raclette at Seven Corners, which I tasted, had the cheese served with fried potato wedges, mini pickled onions and slices of pickles. As for the Cheese Fondue, well, the wait staff so graciously served the melted cheese in small bowls with toasted bread squares on long-stemmed forks and a freshly baked soft roll on the side.
I also had a delicious serving of Bunder Gersten Suppe or Swiss Barley Soup, a creamy soup that turned out to be surprisingly light and refreshing, plus small portions of Swiss Cheddar Potato Salad (with wedges of hard-boiled egg complimenting the potatoes with a cheesy mayonnaise dressing) and Apple-Cheese-Coleslaw Salad (combination of red and green apples, cubed, and mixed in with shredded red cabbage and thin cheese sticks).
The main dishes included Crock Pot Swiss Steak, tender and delicious beef steaks slow-cooked, crock pot style, in a skillet for 1-1/2 hours; and Swiss Creamy Chicken Breast with Mushrooms, Swiss Cheese and White Wine.
Dessert was something to look forward to indeed, considering that Swiss chocolate is among the best, if not the best, in the world. Seven Corners offers Swiss chocolate in the form of Swiss Chocolate Fountain, Toblerone-topped Caramel Cheesecake, Swiss Double Chocolate Brownies, Sacher Torte, Chocolate Swiss Roll and Svens Schoggikuchen (Wet Chocolate Cake), among others. Non-chocolate desserts like Linzer Torte, Easy Swiss Apple Pie, Cherry Apple Strudel and Aargau Carrot Cake are perfect matches for the indulgent chocolate creations.
With the special food promotion coming down to its last few days (it ends this Friday, May 31, so you still have two days to catch it), Exquisitely Swiss had quite a successful month-long run. Its dishes, prepared the authentic Swiss way while at the same time taking into consideration the Filipino palate, noticeably use a lot of cheese, milk and other dairy products in them, thus making them calcium-rich and good for the body. They also show the French and German influences that helped shape and define authentic Swiss cuisine. Hotels do not often feature Swiss food promotions, so Exquisitely Swiss is trailblazing indeed.
(Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria is located at the corner of Ortigas Ave. and ADB Ave., Ortigas Center, Quezon City. For inquiries or reservations, call 633-7222.)
