There's a fly in my soup

The flies that invade our bucolic abode in the summertime are enough to send the most patient person mad. So they don't go down very well with Monsieur Gourmand. It's so bad that I can't even have a humble basil plant without it being ravaged by some miniscule marauder in a matter of hours.

I blame the cows and the corn fields.

We've been thinking about getting one of those blue electrocution devices you see in Mediterranean restaurants; it would solve our insect woes while giving us the pleasure of watching them sizzle to death. I'm guessing they don't have one of those at the Auberge de la Réunion where Monsieur Gourmand and I struggled to get through our meal such was the insect onslaught.

It might have been my soupe de poissons that initially attracted them, so fiendishly fishy it was, but after that they didn't go away. Monsieur Gourmand meanwhile had a modest mixed salad, mainly because there didn't seem to be any other starter options for less than 25 CHF, which seems a little steep for a place that hardly markets itself as super swish.

 The flies continued to attack, ticklishly landing on my hand as I sliced into my grilled entrecote, which was so perfectly proportioned and the criss-cross grill marks so straight that it looked like a cartoon steak. A bit too twee for my liking, like one of those straight GM carrots. 

As for the chips, Monsieur Gourmand thought they were like McDonalds'. I'm not sure whether that's good or bad? We skipped dessert, unable to face the sugar-fuelled fly-fest that certainly would have ensued.

The insects might not be the management's fault but the inflated prices and mediocre meal are. If those could be improved to the standard of the friendly and efficient service and the inviting front terrace, this auberge might be ripe for a return visit.

Auberge de la Réunion, Route de la Tourbière 3, 1267 Coinsins, Vaud
+41 (0)22 364 2301; www.auberge-coinsins.ch/

Eternal tea

As sure as night follows day, restaurants in Geneva always ask if you've booked. Even if all their tables are empty and it's clear to see that you are the only customer they are likely to have all evening.

So it's nice to find that for once it was worth the phone call. Le Thé, tucked away behind the concrete delight that is Plainpalais, is so revered for its delectable dim sum that only a fool would try to turn up without booking.

The six or so tables are tucked between oriental screens and the wall, which is decked with precariously placed Chinese teapots. Of course, at a place called Le Thé they are quite big on tea.

We had a jasmine variety which went very nicely with the steamed buns and dumplings... when they eventually arrived. Rarely have I been so ravenous; the wait was like torture as we watched other earlier arrivals tucking in with glee as the only cook in the kitchen slaved away and the lady owner waited the tables as slowly as a snail.

And the tea only made me hungrier, meaning that when the food came I wolfed it down in a frenzy, as did Monsieur Gourmand, so we can't really remember what it was like.

I'm pretty sure we were impressed - and surely all of those people that book all the tables every night can't all be wrong - but, wary of having to wait an age on uncomfortable metal chairs with barely enough room to swing a Peking duck, I doubt we'll go back.

Le Thé, 65 rue des Bains, 1205 Genève
+41 (0)794 367718