I should know better by now, but apparently I don’t: This restaurant had such great reviews by different blogs and newspapers, that I – against better judgement – got my expecations high. I went there for lunch on a Saturday and since they have a vast section of vegetarian dishes, it seemed like a good place to take one of my vegetarian friends to. The restaurant’s design is great, but I had also already liked the atmosphere in the former restaurant “Times” (never quite understood why that wasn’t successful). Anyway, we were greeted friendly and the place was not too busy – contrary to the evenings, where you have to make a reservation weeks in advance to get a table. I ordered a summer roll as a starter: A dish that only requires fresh ingredients and being rolled tightly. Both requirements were met here and also the dipping sauce was tasty. My only complaint would be that they – for a nicer presentation probably – cut the roll in three pieces. This was impractical and made it harder to eat as you usually dip it in the sauce before eating. One piece was open on both sides and thus doomed to fall apart quickly.
As a main, I obviously had to have the Pho soup. My friend opted for the crispy tofu cubes and rice. You may wonder why I highlighted the s in the “cubes”. Well, we assumed she would be served small cubes of tofu so that you can eat it with chopsticks. What was served was one giant piece of tofu. Well marinated and crispy, but in that form not eatable with chopsticks and also less crispy than ten small cubes would have been:
Also, the dish was missing some sauce. There was only a very spicy oil at the bottom of the plate and nothing else. What’s more, the spicy oil was not mentioned in the menu description. I’d strongly recommend that the chef revises this dish and makes some much needed enhancements. My friend was rather disappointed with her choice and it didn’t stop there. She had ordered a jasmine tea and since they have a wide variety of teas on their menu she assumed that they would know how to brew it. Unfortunately, they didn’t. Jasmine tea as well as green tea can’t be brewed at a 100°C, but should be brewed with 80°C water, otherwise the leaves are burnt and the resulting beverage is bitter. Apparently, in Swiss restaurants and cafés this happens a lot and most people are so used to it that they probably think this is how green or jasmine tea should taste. For all curious readers, click here for a manual. As for my pho soup, it tasted quite good, but I was missing some richness in flavor that I had experienced at other restaurants (see here). In addition, the amount of meat in the soup was rather scarce.
All in all, it was an okay meal, but I just had expected more. This seems to be another case of an hyped restaurant and opinions on other blogs as well as in newspapers are maybe not as objective or critical as I would expect them to be. So for me, if I am craving Vietnamese food, I will go to my usual places where mostly not even a reservation is necessary (there are great options quite close by).
CoChinChin
Gasometerstrasse 7, 8005 Zurich
Opening Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-2.30pm and 6-11pm, Sat 10am-midnight, Sun 10am-9pm, closed Monday.
Reservation recommended for dinner, online reservation possible.
