Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Restaurant Check - The Restaurant (Taubenkobel) in Schützen am Gebirge

Sunset in Vienna - Lovely, isn't is?

The last weeks have been very stressful for me and my team but after all these stress you are even more looking forward to some relaxing days. We decided to visit Vienna and the world-class "Taubenkobel" restaurant, voted as Austria's 2nd best restaurant after the famous "Steirereck" in Vienna.
Welcome to "Burgenland" - a very tranquil region!

The town itself is everything else then revived. Maybe one of the most silent towns even I have seen. As mentioned above the main reason for our trip is the restaurant and not the village, so after finding parked Ferarris and other luxury cars, we finally arrived at "The Restaurant formely known as Taubenkobel", as it is called since March 2014.

The gate to food heaven in Austria.

Upon entering the small gate you are transformed into another world. A world that doesn't really fit inside this town. We were greeted in a very friendly way and got a tour through the restaurant via the open-kitchen, the fish corner and the fire place.

Welcome at the Taubenkobel!

As we were placed on our table, refreshing towels arrived together with a plate of freshly sliced salamis and ham. Although the design is very (very) unusual for an Austrian restaurant, we finally began to love all this details about the restaurant. Instead of cutlery you only find a wooden plate and a small pot with a special milk cream - in fact the first course of the long menu.

Excellent Rosé Champagne with refreshing towels.

The most impressive thing on this evening was not the wine glass (which is similar to a whiskey tumbler), no, it was the way how the bread is served. Put in a wooden bowl and broken on your table into different and dissimilar pieces. Is it really impressive or just not adequate?

The first course - Part 1

We from our side, we were impressed of all the courses and all the presentations of the food. We found out that the focus of this restaurant is placed on the food and its origin and not on details, decoration and  light interiors.

The first course - Part 2

Last but not least I can guarantee you, that this restaurant is really worth a trip to probably Austria's most calm region. They also have wonderful rooms and suites and they are belonging to the world-class Relais&Chateaux Hotels and Resorts, so what else do you need as a reason to go there?

Creamy butter, sea salt and lard.

A very unusual bread

The second course (the white cream is made into the plate)

A very unusual wine glass with an outrageous wine inside.

Third course - Part 1 - a cream soup of pea

Third course - Part 2 - Profiteroles with gorgonzola cream

 Fourth course - Jelly of pumpkin seed

Even I had a premiere, too: A georgian wine!

The main course before preparing

The prepared main course - a knuckle of pork

Finally our dessert - Panna Cotta with different herbs

The wonderful courtyard in the middle of the small village.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Staying at the Beau-Rivage Palace


Last weekend I had the chance to stay at one of Europe's best hotels and I was so excited to this world-class property. Now, after a weekend full of stunnig impressions, I would like to share my experience:

From the moment I arrived to the last greeting at check-out, my stay at this picture-perfect and movie-scene like palace hotel, was absolutely outstanding. 

We got an upgrade to a fascinating and eye-catching Junior Suite with lake views in the recently renovated part of the hotel, and I was flashed by the design, the views, and of course the state-of-the-art technologies. The bathroom was enormous with luxe Bulgari Eau Thé Rouge amenities, separate shower, double vanities with en-mirror tv and partial lake view. The walk-in wardrobe was simply amazing, I felt like on-set of a new movie! 

After a heavenly night in the extraordinary beds with pillow spray by Cinq Mondes, I have already been awaited for breakfast at La Terrasse. The buffet was not enormous but everything was of high quality and the service was very kind. They brought us coffee, a bread basket and of course fresh fruit juices together with a glass of water. 

The Cinq Mondes Spa is a nice place to relax, although the layout of the pool area was not my taste and the pool was a way too cold for this time of the year. 

I can warmly recommend this hotel to everyone seeking for an unforgettable experience!

Thank you to the Beau-Rivage Palace for the amazing Upgrade and this opportunity to test the hotel!