a-secret-blogger: April 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Brunch at Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse

Had a lovely Sunday-Brunch with my friends in Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse yesterday.
When I called at Babu's to make a table reservation one week ago, the girl on the phone suggested me to reserve the brunch on tiered stand since we were more than 4 people. For a brunch reservation up to 4, they will prepare breads, cheeses, jam&butter, fruits, yoghurt on the tiered stand, one hot drink and a fresh juice, a pancake or a cooked egg of your choice - for CHF 38.- per person. That way you don't have to stand in line to order and pay, and the food will be served as soon as you sit at your table. ;-)
We all decided to have that tiered brunch and were all excited about it.
When I arrived the coffeehouse at 11:00 AM there were already people standing in line to order and it was full house. Babu's is very popular and it is always crowded on weekends since the drinks, food and the service is really great. Everyone loves to go there - especially women. :)
When we all sat down at our table, the friendly waitress with the nerdy glasses asked what kind of hot drinks and fresh juices we wanted: Normal coffee, Caffè latte, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, tea, green tea,...? From the fresh juices you could chose between mixed berry juice, kiwi-strawberry juice and ... another delicious-sounding fresh juice that I forgot... I ordered a Latte Macchiato and went for the mixed berry juice for everyone (it comes in a big carafe).
After the drinks were served, the tiered stand also arrived and we were all like 'ohhhh' and 'woooow'. ;) It was big! And the food arranged on it looked very delicious!

Mixed berry juice - yummy!

Pancake with maple sirup. You could also chose between blueberry pancake, pancake with fruits, with chocolate sauce or with honey.

The entrance. Order your food/drink at the counter and the waitress/waiter will bring it to your table.

The drink menu at the counter. (Argh, sorry it's blurry!)

Babu's coffeehouse is decorated and furnished like a living room. It's cozy-, warm- and comfortable-looking!

At the time we left (we were all stuffed!), even the tables outside were all occupied.

Atmosphere: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Food: ★ ★ ★ ★
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Value for money: ★ ★ ★ ★

www.babus.ch
Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse
Löwenstrasse 1
8001 Zürich
Phone +41 (0)44 212 87 45
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday 7:00 - 20:00, Sunday 9:00 - 17:00

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Cupcakes - a trend here, a burnout there...

Cupcakes are really pretty to look at but they are too sugary and too sweet, aren't they? I love sweets, I really do, but all the mini cakes I tried so far were all just way too sweet that I almost got sick.
In Switzerland, the cupcakes weren't well known until about 2 years ago. You couldn't even buy any cupcakes anywhere at all! And today, people are standing line for "Cupcake Affair" in Zürich or in Basel (www.cupcake-affair.ch), one of the first cupcake shops in Switzerland.
Vollenweider, the Swiss high-quality chocolate and confectionery shop also started selling the mini calorie bombs. There is also a cupcake shop called "Yumm" in Basel (www.yummcupcakes.com), opened in November 2011.
Looks like the cupcake hype finally arrived in Switzerland! ...Whereas in the US the media write about 'cupcake-burnouts'. Over there, the cupcakes are actually not 'in' anymore...
When it comes to trends and hypes, Switzerland is always 'behind'. I wonder why? Are Swiss people slow? Uncool? 'Out'? Or indifferent and just don't want to go with the flow immediately but wait for a few years when in other countries the trend is already 'out'...?

Took some cupcake pictures when I was in NYC for 3 months - 2 years ago... Who knows if these cupcake shops are still there...

CRUMBS Bake Shop - a popular bakery chain headquartered in New York City - but apparently the trend is crumbling...

"S'Mores" cupcake (Chocolate cake filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting covered with chocolate chips, marshmallows and graham cracker pieces = 1 million calories?!) felt sick after eating half of it... :P But the first few bites were good!

Vollenweider cupcakes - I haven't tried them but really want to!

Cupcake Affair in Zürich - a small but really pretty cupcake shop.

from the Japanese App "Girls Pic": These Chanel bags are definitely affordable!

I'm sure not only little girls would love to have a cupcake afternoon tea like this: ;)

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Hasenberg (Usagiyama)

Since we had some occasions for celebration, my mother invited us and my aunt's family to the best Japanese restaurant of Switzerland: Hasenberg (Usagiyama).

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't good - it was cold and even snowing (!!) but we still enjoyed the good food, the atmosphere, the friendly service and the company of each other.I have already been to Hasenberg several times for dinner with my mother and brother on special occasions but never tried the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. The authentic Japanese meal there is really delicious and presented beautifully and served by Japanese female in kimono gracefully and with friendly smiles; you feel like you are really in Japan. Usually, the price of the menus are quite high so we were excited to see what kind of meal will be presented on the buffet which you can eat as much as you want for a lovely price of CHF 39.80 ! When the buffet opened at 11:30 AM, we ordered first some green teas, grabbed a big plate and headed to the buffet:

They had sushi rolls, summer rolls with tuna, fried dumplings, spare ribs, Japanese style fried chicken, shrimps sautéd in chili-sauce, curry, katsu (deep-fried pork cutlet with egg, onions and sweet soysauce),...

fried rice, white rice and 2 different kinds of miso-soups.

The choices on the menu may vary depending on the season and supplies.

As you may have realized the meals are not all typical Japanese, some are typical Chinese. It's also very popular in Japan.

Kaitenzushi, the conveyor belt sushi-bar.

The private rooms.

Ahhhh, I ate way too much yesterday... ;-9

Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Atmosphere: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ Value for money: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

http://www.hotel-hasenberg.ch/
Wednesday - Saturday
Lunch 11:30 - 14:00; Dinner 18:30 - 22:00

Sunday
Lunch 11:30 - 14:00; Dinner 18:30 - 21:30

Specials:
Wednesday
18:30 - 22:00: Sushi all you can eat CHF 68.80 (1 Drink + Misosoup included)

Thursday and Saturday
11:30 - 14:00: Asian & Japanese all you can eat buffet CHF 39.80 (Dessert or coffee/tea included)

Thursday and Sunday
18:30 - 22:00: skewer grilled, up to CHF 4.00

Closed:
Monday and Tuesday

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Wedding-macaron-tower

O.M.G. My eyes became all heart-shaped when I saw this picture from the westwing.ch wedding-special. Isn't it pretty?!

Ok, to be honest, I don't really think macarons are very tasty but they are the prettiest-looking sweets, aren't they? Especially when they are pastel-colored like those from Ladurée! ;)
Anyhow, this macaron-tower and the tiered cake stand with all the goodies arranged look amazing! I would want them on my own wedding, too instead of an usual and boring white wedding cake... Not that I'm planning my wedding right now but these days I read and hear and see a lot about this big topic.
Some of my co-workers or friends got married or are getting married, all the tv-series I'm watching are talking about the big w-day, zalando did a wedding-issue and now there is a wedding-special on westwing.ch with lovely pictures and an interview with a wedding planner...
http://www.westwing.ch/magazin/inspirationen/suesses-glueck/

Well, don't get me wrong, it is nice. I don't feel bad or frustrated or left on the shelf or something. I'm just wondering why that topic is so relevant right now. Of course I want to get married one day. A few years ago, I was actually hoping I would be married and have my first child at my current age that I am right now.... Weeell, it didn't happen and it will not happen any time soon but I'm ok with that. My boyfriend is a little younger than me and since we are in a different stage of life, marrying and having kids doesn't come into consideration. We do talk about it and about our future together and that's all that matters to me right now. I can't imagine becoming a housewife and changing diapers, anyway... ;) I'd rather enjoy a princessy afternoon tea with pastell-colored goodies and wear pretty dresses! <3 br="">
Gorgeous...

via weheartit.com

Thursday, April 18, 2013

coolbrandz.ch

Just subscribed to www.coolbrandz.ch.
When you are a member there (or a "coolbrander" as they call it) you can try out novelties and then give feedbacks and write about your experiences. I thought I could write the reviews about the new products in my blog so people know what is cool right now! ;)
However, I'm very looking forward to the first novelty! Stay tuned ladies & gentlemen!

via coolbrandz.ch

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Tibits

Went to Tibits Seefeld yesterday for late luch. The vegetarian buffet (paying by weight) is a little expensive but it's really delicious and I feel like I'm doing something good for my health. ;-)
I also like to come here in the afternoon for a cup of coffee/tea - they have a wide variety of drinks! I can never decide what to chose...