Lady J on play: The day I felt like Charlie

I guess the character Charlie in Roald Dahl’s famous children’s novel titled ‘Charlie and the Chcolate Factory’ needs little introduction. The novel centers around a poor boy named Charlie Bucket whose life changed when he scored a golden ticket and took a tour through the greatest chocolate factory in the world, owned by the eccentric Willy Wonka.

As I read the book and subsequently watched the movie, I kept imagining what it would feel like to actually visit a chocolate factory. My dream came true the day we paid a visit to the famous Maison Cailler chocolate factory in Broc. I mean, we are living in Switzerland which has the highest per capita rate of chocolate consumption worldwide (approximately 12 kg per capita per annum) and what better way to immerse in the Swiss chocolate culture than paying homage to one of the very first chocolate brands established in Switzerland.

Chocolate factories must be a dime a dozen here in Switzerland. I recalled being blown away by the selection and brands of chocolate that one could get here when we first arrived in Geneva. One wouldn’t know where to start in the supermarket when picking out his chocolate. Friends who lived here for over 15 years told us specifically that the one brand of chocolate that most Swiss grew up with is Cailler.

The infamous Maison Cailler chocolate factory

A quick search online and I realised that the Maison Cailler chocolate factory is located in Broc and a road-trip which took us about 2 hours from Geneva to Broc was planned. The factory was a bit out of the heart of town, but thank goodness for our GPS and some strategically-placed signs, we were eventually led to the Maison. We also noticed that the moment we started walking towards the factory, the aroma and fragrance of chocolate filled the air. I felt really excited as the doors to the factory opened.

The Masion Cailler chocolate factory dates back to 1897 when Alexandre Cailler, who was bicycling through the area, discovered the perfect spot to open his new chocolate factory. Milk is one of the most important ingredients in producing fine chocolate, so when he saw so many lush pastures dotted by plump cows, Mr. Cailler decided that Broc would be the ideal place to set up shop.

We went on the 45-minute interactive guided tour that began with a video on the history of chocolate. We also learnt how the Swiss learned to further process the cocoa bean by combining it with rich cream, thereby creating the wonderful chocolate that we know today.

Just like Charlie, I was mesmerised by the extensiveness of the factory and as I walked into the olfactory room, my hands dug straight into the bag of roasted cocoa beans to take in a waft of the fresh smells. I hopped from one bag to the next, waiting to see what I will be uncovering next. My attention was immediately shifted when I spied the massive production line where fresh chocolate was waiting to be packaged. I grabbed one of the freshly packaged chocolate and stuffed it in my mouth... Mmmm heaven! That’s what having a good piece of fresh chocolate does to me; my taste buds were treated to the fabulous flavours of the best cocoa and other delicious ingredients all tucked into that little bar.

I want me some of those chocolate, now!

Before the visit ended, we were whisked into a tasting room where large tables were set with trays laden with samples of every imaginable kind of chocolate cut into small tasting sizes. Needless to say, I got to nibble on these complimentary delightful chocolate to my heart’s content.

All that wonderful pieces of chocolate that we could eat.. Heaven!

By the time we left the factory, I felt a little guilty for stuffing my face silly with all that chocolate but hey, I guess for that brief moment, I knew how Augustus Gloop felt. Thankfully, I did not fall into some chocolate lake and get sucked away.

I know.. This definitely would not be the prettiest sight to be photographed in.

This visit to Masion Cailler chocolate factory has certainly taught me a thing or two. I will never look at a bar of Swiss chocolate the same way again and whenever I take a bite of that bar of Cailler chocolate, I would close my eyes and magically whisk myself back to that factory to relieve that chocolate experience.

[Some images taken off the web]

Una Ragazza on Play: Occupy October

October. My favorite month of the year. The weather cools down, the fall colors break out. We're that much closer to Thanksgiving (read: turkey and pie).

This year, so much has happened and the month is not even over as I type. The following images captured the essence of October 2011 in my little part of the world.

In early October, everyone's favorite tech genius and entrepreneur lost his battle to pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. The only appropriate way to capture this tribute outside my neighborhood Apple store was with the iPhone 4S.

During a visit to Zuccotti Park in mid October, I met a range of talented individuals.

This guy had a perpetual grin on his face as he pivoted around to ensure protesters and gawkers alike had a fair chance to read his message.

This guy painted all the flaps of the tiny box he was sitting in.

His latest sign read, "Let's show China how it's done."

The guy in the foreground slept through it all -- quite an accomplishment, considering the musicians on the steps were playing at a volume so loud that the nearby crowd couldn't hear each other speak.

This bicycle picture was taken for Un Ragazzo. It seemed like everyone at Zuccotti Park had a different goal and message.

Bring a t-shirt or apron and get a complimentary silkscreening.

On Halloween weekend, as the snow began to fall, folks at Zuccotti Park hunkered down beside Double Check, the bronze businessman sitting on a nearby bench.

Meanwhile, back uptown, snow accumulated nicely on the brownstone roofs, as smoke spewed from some chimneys.

A pumpkin looked out the momofuku window at the sleet that soon turned to snow.

At the "neighborhood graveyard," the black crow got a new coat of white.

"Good weather" was clearly not in sight at the community garden in the 'hood.

A kids' halloween party snowed in.

Pumpkins on steps in hiding.

With two more days to go, will October bring another interesting twist? Don't hold your breath; Halloween Monday is yet to come.

(Some pictures taken from the Internet)

Lady J on eat: Fresh foods

When we first moved to Geneva, friends talked about shopping for their produce at the weekly farmers’ markets happening in Geneva or the neighbouring towns around Geneva for produce found at these markets is renowned for being locally grown and is often at its peak of freshness. I must say the concept of a farmers’ market sounded refreshingly interesting to me. It’s basically an indoor or outdoor market consisting of individual vendors - mostly farmers - who set up booths or stands to sell their produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages.

In Singapore, we have a similar sort of market as well. Known as “wet markets”, a huge variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, flowers, dried goods and spices, clothes and even household items can be bought there. The term “wet markets” came about for the markets are literally doused with water continually to keep the facilities clean.

"Wet markets" in Singapore

I thought shopping for local produce to stock up on our weekly groceries at the farmers market here in Geneva should be a walk in the park for me since it shouldn’t be quite different from the shopping done in our wet markets. However, my couple of experiences of the farmers’ markets didn’t leave me an instant first impression. I’ve visited the Carouge market which had about ten or twelve stands. It was pretty small and the variety of produce available wasn’t that great. Then there was a bigger market in Rive, the downtown shopping area but I’ve often found the produce available there is overpriced.

A local farmers' market at Carouge

Undeterred by my first couple of experiences, I decided to ask around and found out that there was a bigger farmers’ market that’s opened on Sundays located at Divonne-les-Bains, a town in the Rhone-Alps, France. The idea that a market could remain opened on a Sunday excited me very much for in most parts of Switzerland, the grocery stores are shut. If we decide to stay in Geneva over the weekend, I usually have to plan ahead the dinner menus for the weekend. I bugged J and we were off to Divonne for some fresh produce that very day.

We got an early head-start for most of the farmers’ markets are fully operational from 9am. Getting to the markets early also meant that you are assured of the freshest produce. When we arrived at the farmers’ market in Divonne, we were greeted by throngs of people and there was a general buzz about the place which was so different from the ones that I had found in Geneva. Stalls stretched from the town’s centre and branched into the side streets; for once, I didn’t know where to start. But we remained cool and collected. Armed with our dinner menu in hand, we started to make our way into the crowds.

My eyes darted around the stalls. All the food looked so much healthier and twice as luscious compared to the produce that we could find in the supermarkets in Geneva. We walked on and we saw fresh farm eggs that are almost double the size of the ones back in Geneva. We grabbed a dozen of those for they would come in handy for baking. We walked further and started putting in our bags fresh vegetables that we could use for our stew.

J making friends with the wine-maker and enjoying the spoils of the day

For the first time, I experienced the warm French hospitality here at the farmers’ market in Divonne where stall-owners handed us complimentary tastings of ham and cheese, and attempted to chat with us in whatever little English they could muster. J got to chat with a winemaker and sampled some of the French wine that he made. We ended up with a couple of bottles of the wine purchased at for a fantastic deal thanks to the easy friendship that he had with the winemaker himself.

Before we knew it, our shopping bags were filled with the entire week’s lunches and dinners. I was pleased with what we scored. So we loaded the boot with the week’s marketing and headed back to the farmers’ market to purchase some freshly baked bread, a selection of hams and cheese, which made for a great light meal for lunch by the side-walk.

Packing up when the day is over

This shopping expedition to the farmers market at Divonne kind of reminded me of home, granted that I’m not able to get a hold of other fresh meats and seafood, but the experience felt pretty close.