September 17, 2016 (Zurich, Switzerland)
Melted cheese, fluffy bread, and fresh vegetables… the only thing that could get better is to combine all this together. When Grant and I told people we were starting our trip in Switzerland, many insisted we try fondue.
Swiss Chuchi (“Swiss Kitchen” in the Swiss-German dialect) is a traditional Swiss restaurant in the heart of Old Town Zurich located at 10 Rosengasse Street. Rosengasse is the main cobble-stone street in the Old Town section which is an incredibly popular spot for visitors and locals alike. The restaurant specializes in fondue and raclette, a French-Swiss dish that includes grilling a semi-hard cheese over a metal plate and scraping the melted cheese onto meat (such as ham), potatoes, various pickled vegetables, and other charcuterie. The first mention of raclette dates as far back as 1291 in medieval writings of Swiss-German convents.
We first tried walking in, which was our mistake as this place is always packed. It’s located on the ground floor of the Hotel Adler so I assume it caters to both locals and tourists. We tried getting a seat but were told that we needed a reservation, and were directed to speak with the front desk at the hotel. So we made our reservations for Saturday the following week.
The next time we walked in, the scent of melting stinky cheese and just-baked fluffy bread enveloped us in a scent of deliciousness. Our table was already set and waiting for us. Grant and I ordered two fondues, the menu carries a long list of delightful options such as traditional fondue, fondue with pear and white wine, and a 4-cheese fondue with morel mushrooms.
We ordered the traditional fondue, which comes with 4 cheese varieties including Gruyere, and a ham and mushroom fondue. The fondues come with freshly baked bread cut into cubes. We ordered the vegetable plate as well. Other options are meat and potatoes as extra dipping dishes.
As we waited, Grant ordered a locally brewed Turbinenbräu beer and I ordered a glass of full-bodied tempranillo wine. Although I learned afterwards that people recommend a white wine to go with fondue, it was tasty none-the-less.
The fondues came out hot and was placed over a burner with a mini-flame. Soon the cheese was boiling and ready for bread and vegetable dipping.
The traditional fondue was really delicious, you could taste the 4 cheeses coming together and completing each other well. The gruyere really stood out and the taste of white wine in the fondue was subtle but enhanced the overall flavor.
The ham in the other fondue we tried added a delicious smokey flavor and the mushrooms rounded out the taste.
The cheese was smooth and consistent and remained very hot. I think Grant and I burned our tongues a couple of times. It’s advised that you blow on it and wait for the food to cool down before eating. When we were nearly done, we realized we could control the strength of the flame and the overall temperature of the fondue. We recommend turning the flame down as your fondue levels get lower. The Swiss family sitting at the table next to us had ordered raclette, which also looked really good. The husband sitting closest to us, kept looking over like we were crazy. We think it’s because we left the burner on high the whole time.
Fondue is definitely a dish for cold weather. I can’t wait to try fondue after a day of skiing in the Swiss Alps.
If you’re visiting Zurich, and want to try traditional fondue, I recommend this restaurant. The wait staff is very friendly and attentive. Next time, we will try the raclette.
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