Swiss Gourmet Specialties: Raclette at Home (no raclette heater)!!

Switzerland's top two cheese-related gourmet specialties are, without a doubt, fondue and raclette. Most of us here in this (South East Asian) neck of the woods should be very familiar with fondue, but chances are that raclette remains a bit of a mystery. Raclette is both the name of the dish, and the name of the cheese used; i.e. you use raclette (the cheese) to make raclette (the dish). A little confused? Well, it looks something like this:


Image courtesy of Ono Kako
To be a little more accurate, Raclette (the dish) is made by heating a whole semi-circle of raclette (the cheese), scraping off layers as they melt, and eating the melted cheese with boiled new potatoes, cornichons (small pickled gherkins), pickled pearl onions, and charcuterie (various cold meats).

If, like 100.00% of the Singapore/Malaysia population, you don't have a dedicated raclette heater, you still can sample this Swiss specialty, though - just use a toaster or your oven's broiler function! Something like this:


Oh, before we forget, Raclette is normally eaten with cornichons and pickled pearl onions - the tartness of which provides a refreshing respite from the richness, earthiness and saltiness of the cheese and cold cuts.


Image courtesy of French Revolution
Anyway, the entire dish is uick, easy, and very satisfying! For the charcuterie, we mixed some salami, pastrami, Aussie prosciutto and black forest ham, but it really is entirely up to you. We bought the raclette cheese (in slices) at the amazing Huber's Butchery. Don't get intimidated by the really strong smell - the taste is actually rather mild (compared to the real pungent ones like Stilton). Enjoy!

Marché VivoCity - Swiss buffet-style goodness.

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Marché is a Swiss chain of restaurants that have outlets in a dozen countries spread over Europe and Asia. The concept is simple - it's set up like a buffet with multiple cooking stations and bread, dessert and drinks stands, but instead of paying a fixed price, you only need to pay for what you eat for.


The Marché outlet in the Curve in KL uses a card-and-stamp system, but the ones here in Singapore use an electronic card. Personally I prefer KL's system - it just feels more hygienic since I don't have to handle a card that's been passed between hundreds of hands.

That's just a minor quibble though, so let's go explore the food that's on offer!


Starting with the drinks, there's a selection of juices and fruity teas, and some 'western' soft drinks. The darling and I are delighted that there's our favorite soda - Bundaberg Ginger Beer (which is from Australia ... so ... not strictly 'Western').




Special mention to the grill station where you've got choices of sausages, rib-eye steaks and lamb chops - the meats here are grilled surprisingly well. We asked for our lamb chops medium and they arrived perfectly cooked, nice and tender, and delicious!





The cream pasta also needs a special mention - but only to warn you to stay away. It tasted as if the chef stirred cream into pasta and then forgot any other condiments.

Overall, we come away pretty satisfied. Marché does suffer a little from that problem common to most buffets - too many varieties resulting in food that is solid but not outstanding. Prices are quite reasonable, though, and it's a nice, lively and cheerful place (if a tad bit noisy). Come early if you want to avoid needing to queue behind a few dozen people, and also do note that they don't seat partial tables - everyone needs to turn up before they'll let you in.

Marché has two outlets in Singapore. To get to the VivoCity outlet take the city's MRT to the Harbourfront station.

EuroDeli Shop in Damansara Kim

It's amazing how often we learn new things. Last weekend, I learned that there are two Jalan 20/7's in PJ area. Was hunting for a famous char siu shop in the Jalan 20/7 near Jaya, but Google Maps helpfully directed us to Jalan SS 20/7 in Damansara Kim.

Having thus failed miserably in locating anything resembling char siu, we did the next closest thing - Pork at EuroDeli Shop!

The interior is minimalist with a plain black ceiling and unremarkable furnishings. What's different is a fridge on the left side of the restaurant selling deli sausages, ham, bacon, etc. Genius really. Come for lunch, enjoy the food, and buy even more meat to take home.


I had the Rolled Stuffed Pork Belly for MYR28.00. The different cuts of pork meat all rolled up was juicy and tender. However the skin was tough rather than crispy, and the entire dish was overpowered by excessive gravy. I'm a believer that gravy should complement a dish and not be the main taste.


The darling had the Roasted Pork Knuckles, also for MYR28.00. The serving was big, but again the skin was tougher than it was crispy, and this dish too suffered from the gravy taking centre stage taste-wise.


I have to thus conclude that although the taste of both dishes was nothing more than slightly above average, the servings are big and are very value for money. Between the two of us we managed only to finish off the Pork Belly and less than half the knuckle. Would I come again if I was in the area? Yes. Would I drive all the way here from home to satisfy a pork craving? Mmmmmmm ... probably not, there are other better places.