Zurich has many yearly events and recently one more was added: the street food festival. I wrote about it already last year, see here. This year, they organize a “foodtruck special” happening this week and then the regular street food festival in September (7.-24.9.), as part of the Food Zurich weeks. With the Christmas market on Sechseläutenplatz in December that makes three opportunities this year to discover new delicious dishes or also to indulge yourself with familiar dishes that you only get at such events or to simply have a good time with a bunch of friends. The street food festival as a brand seems to be already so established that they don’t even have to advertise their events anymore.
I went there on Friday with a foodie (and pregnant – which makes here an even greater judge when it comes to food!) friend and we really enjoyed ourselves. After a walk through all stands or – better said – trucks, we started our feast with dim sum from Lucky Dumpling. On the picture you see a trio of veggie, beef and a pork dumpling (sold for CHF 9). My favorite by far was the pork dumpling; it was perfectly seasoned and juicy.
I am so glad that this restaurant had a booth at this festival, next on my agenda will be a visit to their venue. A decent (in terms of quality and price) dim sum place has been missing in Zurich for a long time!
Lucky Dumpling
Langstrasse 10, 8004 Zurich
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 12-2pm and 6-11pm, Sat 12-3pm and 6-11pm, Sun 12-3pm and 6-10pm.
Reservation recommended, online reservation possible (the former Dini Mueter restaurant is very popular).
Next, my friend opted for a pho soup (fairly priced at CHF 15) and I had a papaya salad. Nicely enough, the lady at the foodtruck had asked me if I wanted it spicy. I said a little and gladly so! It was a tad overspicy and only just bearable, so that it was still yummy. For me there is a fine line between spicy and painful hot. Full portion is sold for CHF 12, a small portion for CHF 7 (the picture shows a small portion).
The weather was a bit unstable during this evening, but we were prepared with umbrellas. For those who weren’t, there was enough space under a tent. After a quick shower, we couldn’t resist the Gelato Seefeld at a rather hidden part of the street food festival – second row if you will. My friend had yoghurt and hazelnut, while I chose strawberry (sorbet, not creamed) and straciatella. All flavors were delicious – not too sugary or creamy (sadly, local leader Moevenpick has changed their recipes in the past years to be more American style). Especially the hazelnut ice cream was superb; you could taste that the hazelnuts had been roasted for this recipe. Two flavors cost CHF 5, one flavor was sold at CHF 3 – a fair price for Zurich.
After our purchase, we were questioned about a guy how we liked it, who turned out to be the owner/founder of Gelato Seefeld. They have only started their business and have no venue (yet). So for now, you will only get their sweet temptations at festivals and the likes. Behind the company stands with Paul Candrian an experienced businessman, thus I am optimistic that Gelato Seefeld will have a venue or fixed booth soon.
In conclusion, I must say that the offering was very varied again, which I liked. Burgers/sandwiches were still a bit overrepresented, but I guess this type of food just works well as street food. I didn’t really see a big difference to the Christmas market or last year’s food festival; so “the foodtruck special” was somehow lost on me. Smart of Smith&Smith, they appeared to be the sole or at least main provider of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at this festival. The cool Aperol wagon from last year was nowhere to be seen… However, if you can make it, I really recommend it. Otherwise, you’ll get another chance in September and then in December again. My advice for all these festivals is to first make a tour of the whole area and only then decide where to get something to eat. 🙂
Street Food Festival Truck Special
Hardturmstrasse 269, 8005 Zurich (former Hardturmstadium)
Open: June 29 – July 9, 2017. (I couldn’t find the exact opening hours; the website is absolutely minimalistic.)
