It’s very hard to look for good Chinese Food in Europe so we feel very lucky that we have a few options in Geneva. I would say though that Le Tsé Fung should be reserved for special dates or occasions because it’s definitely not cheap. It is located in the fancy La Réserve Genève Hotel, Spa and Villa.

La Réserve Genève Hotel, Spa and Villa

Driving into La Reserve you will enjoy the greenery & open spaces. I like the blue-glass lady watching over guests as they arrive and leave.

We went through the hotel lobby to get to the Tsé Fung restaurant. The dark interiors are not my style, but still feel opulent & rich.

TSE FUN INTERIORS

The décor of red velvet, black lacquer, and silk hangings has been further enhanced and continues to take diners back to the atmosphere of a 1930s Shanghai grand palace hotel. The Tsé Fung teams look forward to welcoming you, whether in the main restaurant, in private rooms for total peace or on the terrace offering a wonderful view over the Alps and Lake Léman.

– TSÉ FUNG

The restaurants interiors are consistent with the look of the hotel but even darker and moodier.

I’m happy we got tables by the bright windows so it wasn’t too dark.

PURSE STOOL

Any fancy Michelin-starred restaurant worth their salt should not be without their custom purse stool for the ladies. And I brought one of my favorite ones.

TABLE SETTING

What immediately struck me is the Kintsugi-style plate. Of course Kintsugi is Japanes, but when in Europe they tend to blend Asian influences. I didn’t mind… the gold and white kintsugi plates were beautiful.

They served us prawn crackers (Kropek in Filipino or Krupuk in Indonesian) while waiting.

They had 2 bowls with chili sauce and mustard. I’m not quite sure what the mustard is for but boy did we enjoy their delicious chili sauce. It wasn’t too spicy, it was just right.

The first thing to do when you sit down for a meal is to open your napkin & put it on your lap. Their napkin was nice thick and perfectly starched like their table cloth.

#DIPLOTIP: Place it diagonally with one corner under the plate to prevent the napkin from sliding down. It’s probably because I’m short and my legs tend to go at an angle towards the floor, but my napkins alway end up on the floor if I don’t do this. It was a tip I got from my MIL who is the original #diplowife in the family.

They also had a disposable wet towel which I appreciated because we will use our hands for the duck pancake later. It’s both to clean your hands before and after. I’m glad it didn’t have any strong faux scent which would interfere with the taste of the food.

THE FOOD

Chef Frank Xu is Originally from Shenzhen, representing the third generation of a family of chefs and with more than 30 years’ experience behind him, he presents a menu offering Tsé Fung classics revisited with great subtlety alongside the best of Cantonese cuisine. Roasting will play a key role among cooking methods. The result will be a range of precisely flavored spicy gourmet dishes displaying scrupulous respect for tradition and embodying the peak of culinary refinement.

– TSÉ FUNG

The Tsé Fung by Chef Frank Xu is the only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in Switzerland. But as with any restaurant, I think ordering the right thing is key. I think we ordered quite well. They have both a French and English Menu.

Of course, a Michelin-starred restaurant would serve an amuse bouche. It’s prawn wrapped in crispy tofu skin & nori, topped with roe. I love the pretty little gold-edged shell it was served on.

Before cutting the Peking duck they took it out to show it to us. I loved the presentation with the silver duck server! So fancy! They said they would serve it last because it can go cold if served with the rest of the food. And there is not enough space on the table for everything. We agreed.

TD said that the Dim sum de langoustine (Langoustine dim sum) is good so we ordered it. I personally preferred the Ha Kao aux crevettes (Shrimp Ha Kao) and it’s less than half the price. If I’m gonna splurge on dim sum next time, I will get the Dim sum of scallops and caviar. Or maybe we can try the Shrimp toast or Crispy salt & pepper squid next time.

The wait staff served the Filet de bar au gingembre (Sea bass fillet with ginger) & the Franck Xu Fried rice or Cantonese Fried Rice before I could take a picture but we were very happy with them. The fish was perfectly flaky & perfectly seasoned. And the fried rice was very delicious.

The little jug on the left is soy sauce. We had little soy sauce bowls to dip our fish & other frood in.

We also loved the crunchy & perfectly cooked Crevettes panées à l’ail et piment (Breaded prawns with garlic and chilli). It’s not spicy at all. But you can add the chili sauce, which is just right when it comes to spiciness.

Now for the pièce de résistance: Canard laqué à la pékinoise, en deux services (Peking-style lacquered duck, in two courses).

Personally, I wish they served the 2nd duck course first because it was a bit of a let down after such fantastic crispy duck skin pancakes. The 2nd course was good, but can’t hold a candle to this.

Place the cucumber & onion slices, the duck skin & hoisin sauce on the pancake.

Roll & bite!

We were so full and rolling after that at first we thought they forgot the 2nd course of duck. But it magically appeared at the end of the meal. I was so full that I totally forgot to take a picture.

It’s basically the duck meat chopped finely and topped with pine nuts with lettuce wraps. You place the meat and nuts on the wrap, top it with hoisin sauce and roll to eat. I found a pic online so you can see how it looks. It looks like THIS.

We were so stuffed we couldn’t even order dessert but they did give us complimentary desserts. One is an apple & yuzu marshmallow which is quite sweet and the just right chocolate truffle topped with roasted black sesame seeds.

TSÉ FUNG LADIES’ ROOM

I always take a pic of the restroom because it’s part of the experience in a restaurant. This one was clean and lots of hand towels for the patrons.

Bathroom selfie

We were so full after eating we wanted to walk around a little. They said if we go straight we can see the lake, but we wanted to see the playground for kids. Apparently in good weather people eat in the outdoor area and let their kids play in the playground.