No, this has got nothing to do with Noynoy (or Kris) Aquino.
We are not related to them in any way, we are not die-hard fans, and we do not care about the issue of the president dating other women.
We just have a cousin who has this looney idea of making her guests come in the same color as what she’s serving at her birthday dinner tonight.
CHEESE!Lots and lots of it!
Raclette – served with marbled potatoes, gherkins and pearl onions. We have plates and plates of this.
Swiss Mix Platter – slices of gruyere, emmental cheese, prosciutto and salami, served with garlic-olive oil toast (but waiter forgot to give us the toasts)
Waatlander Fondue – melted gruyere and emmental cheese, laced with kirsch for that extra kick. I think “heavily spiked” is a more appropriate term than “laced.” I can get totally wasted eating this. Not a fan.
Goulash – hearty soup spiced with paprika with lashings of beef and vegetables. This is really good. Intense and exciting.
Barley Soup – with brunoise vegetables, dried beef and smoked bacon. Jamie says this tastes like alphabet soup. I say this tastes so much better. I want another bowl.
Gnagi – baked pork knuckles with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. The meat, chopped up into small bite size pieces (thank you for making my life easier), is tender and flavorful. But what I love most is that soft, sticky and gooey layer between skin and meat. It’s love.
Prawns Thermidore – sautéed in wine-butter sauce with mushrooms and bell peppers and baked with emmenthal cheese. This is overly overcooked. Prawn meat is hard and rubbery. Shame.
Herb Rack of Lamb – infused with herbs, au jus and rosmarin potatoes. Either the lamb is too tough or the knife is too dull. Seriously, I think I burned more calories cutting this dish than eating it.
Zurich Geschnetzeltes – shredded pork tenderloin in mushroom cream sauce, served with roesti potatoes. Not too bad, but at this point, we are already too stuffed and too tired (from cutting the lamb and from waiting forever for our food – service is ssssslllllllloooooooooowwwww) to fully enjoy this dish.
Birthday Cakes
Happy Birthday, Frannie… Aquino?
Gingerbreadmama and Gingerbreadbebe 
Old Swiss Inn: G/F, Somerset Building, Makati Avenue corner Sto. Tomas Street, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. Tel: +632-8180098, +632-8188251
