Switzerland - Chocolate, Cheese and Castle Day Trip

This is a short guide on how to enjoy the world-renown Swiss milk chocolate, the characteristic Gruyere cheese and a time-travel back to the Medieval age in one day.

Departing from Vevey, my friend and I took the train to Broc, which is the center point between Vevey and Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

Maison Cailler, the factory where Cailler chocolate is currently produced, hosts a chocolate museum where you can learn about the history of the cocoa, milk chocolate production in Switzerland, as well as getting interactive hands-on experience on chocolate and its raw components: cocoa bean and cocoa butter.

Cocoa bean

Cocoa butter

There, you will also see the machinery used in the past and in present to process cocoa into chocolate.

The past

The present

See how fast chocolate sticks are made:

Not interested in technical stuff? What about... tasting chocolate? *nomnom*

How to taste chocolate - taken from a display in Maison Cailler

There are about 15-20 different chocolate products that you can taste as much as you want. No kidding. They don't provide you with water, though, so at some point you will start feeling that you had enough chocolate. I recommend bringing at least a bottle of water to rinse your palate so you can enjoy the tasting better. These two sections were my favorites:

Like the chocolates? You can buy them at the shop right at the exit. The shop sells other products that are not available for tasting in the exhibition, and they are typically the special edition chocolates (i.e. winter special flavors). The chocolates sold here are cheaper than in the supermarket.

After too much chocolate (maybe there is never too much for some of you), it's good to have something salty. We took the train from Broc to Gruyere to see how the delicious Swiss cheese is made in La Maison du Gruyere.

I study food technology, so nothing is really new to me. Nevertheless, I find the use of automation pretty amazing. The tanks on the right are where rennet (the enzyme to curd milk into cheese) is added into milk, stirred and cut. On the left is where they drain water and whey from casein curds and mold them into a cheese wheel. The machines automatically turn the cheese wheel from time to time.

Note that the cheese production is only 3-4 times a day, between 9-11 AM and between 1-2 PM. Make sure to plan your trip well!

After an interactive session upstairs, you can also visit the cellar where the cheeses are aged.

The visit took us around 30-45 minutes because we took things slowly. 

Aside from the cheese factory, you can also visit the restaurant. There are better places out there, but if you are only on a short visit to Switzerland and will have no other chance to try the fondue, you can try it here. It's not that the fondue is bad, but my friend and I had better cheese fondue with richer taste of the cheese and the white wine. Also, for the portion, it is a little bit overpriced. With the three of us, we thought of sharing the set menu: Menu gruérien for 44 Francs, but it was not really enough to fill us. This comes with cheese fondue, dried meat platter and meringue with double creme and raspberries.

Cheese fondue (Gruyère AOP and Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP) Served with bread, potatoes, onions and gherkins

Himbeeren, Meringue und Doppelrahm aus dem Greyerzerland - Raspberries, meringue and double cream of Gruyère

Holzplättli mit Trockenfleisch - Wooden plate with dried beef meat

If you live around Vevey, I'd recommend to visit des Trois Siflettes. Check this link for my fondue experience there.

Close to the train station is Gruyere castle and a small town. If you want to buy souvenirs, buy them at La Maison du Gruyere because it is cheaper; don't buy them at the town center.

The interior of the castle was rustic but well-maintained. You should not expect glamorous and bourgeois decorations like in Palace of Versailles, but this castle is for sure bigger than Chateau de Chillon close to Montreux. 

The view from the top of the castle was also splendid, since it is located up the hill. The climb was not too bad, since we kept stopping on every floor to explore the castle.

Lastly, enjoy the scenic sunset in Gruyere:

I would recommend a full day trip for Broc and Gruyere if you don't live close by. Shops closes early in Switzerland, so start exploring early. The restaurant at La Maison du Gruyere closes at 7 PM in between October and May and 8 PM in summer (Jun - Sep).

For more information, check out their official websites:

La Maison Cailler (Broc)

La Maison du Gruyere Cheese Factory (Gruyere)

La Maison du Gruyere Restaurant (Gruyere)

Gruyere Castle (Gruyere)

Read More

Switzerland - Vevey - Fun Fondue Place

Think Switzerland; think cheese fondue.

I began my life in Vevey, Switzerland in August 2014 - summer. The first thing I want to eat is cheese fondue, but no one really eats cheese fondue in summer. The best time to eat fondue is indeed during winter :P

There are several cheese fondue restaurants in Vevey, but this restaurant is rather unique: des Trois Siflettes (or 3 Siflettes, as the restaurant sign says).

As an outsider, I cannot comment on how good the cheese fondue is compared to other restaurants. To begin with, people have different preferences. Someone who does not like the strong, pungent cheese smell would chose a blander option, and vice versa. Personally, I like mildly stinky cheeses. Sometimes I cannot handle goat cheese, but I'm okay with dry, aged cheese. However, I could say that I was satisfied with the fondue, and especially the whole experience at the restaurant.

The restaurant does not only offer cheese fondue, but other traditional Swiss food such as dried meats. My favorite is the bacon.

Dried meat platter: beef, bacon and pork slices, with pickles

The restaurant itself holds a homey, cozy ambiance. It's not a large establishment, but I estimate that it can fit around 40 people. 

Did you notice something on the picture above?

The cheese fondue is placed on a burner to keep it warm and unsolidified.

As I mentioned at the title of this post, this restaurant is a fun place for a cheese fondue. I will not spoil the fun by posting what happened, but here are some hints: Swiss flag, music and an unusually humongous tableware. You can experience the fun if you order a set of cheese fondue.

By the way, don't forget to try the traditional meringue (baked whipped egg white with sugar) with crème double. Crème double is not just a normal cream: it has double the fat content of a normal cream (40-55% fat), so it's normal the fun in the mouth.... probably not in the belly, if you are on a tight diet. You have to eat the meringue WITH the crème double. The meringue will slowly melt in your mouth, giving you a burst of pleasant sweetness, and the crème double brings the rich, creamy texture that complements the sweetness of the meringue. It's one of the fantastic desserts I have ever tried.

If you are visiting Switzerland only for a couple of days, I think the whole experience is worth loading some calories. I've lived in Switzerland for 8 months, and I have only had 3 cheese fondues so far. Well, 4 if I include my attempt to have cheese fondue at home using a makeshift double-boiler (a ceramic bowl on top of a saucepan containing boiling water). At that time, I didn't have a fondue set.

Interested to visit? Here's the address:

Restaurant des 3 Siflettes
Rue du Simplon 1
1800 Vevey
Phone: +41 (0)21 921 14 13

Nearest bus stop: Hôtel de Ville

Closed on Sunday and Monday noon

Read More

Switzerland - Temeley Alp Farmer's Brunch 2014

Thanks to a suggestion from my first friend in Switzerland who has been living here for three years, I was able to do an exciting activity on my first Friday in Switzerland. It was also my first hiking trip, with a pair of cheap sneakers from H&M and a handbag. Obviously, I was not expecting a 45-minute hike from the nearest train station. But the hike wasn't so bad. I was sweating a lot since I'm not an athletic person, but I made it!

The farmer's brunch, or le brunch à la ferme, is a yearly event organized by farmers in Switzerland on Swiss National Day (1st of August).

You have to book the brunch at least 2 days in advance, but the earlier the better, because there might be no more places available at the farms for the brunch. In my case, I was lucky that I could book it the day before because I just arrived on the 30th of July to Switzerland. Phew!

To see the available farms, go to brunch.ch. It is in French, but Google Chrome translated it pretty well.

I chose a farm in Alpage du Temeley (Temeley Alps) owned by Annie and Alain Cornamusaz. Luckily, Annie speaks English, and I was able to book the brunch over the phone. 

To reach this farm, you can first take a local train to Aigle, which is also blessed with beautiful landscape. From there, take a funicular. A funicular is a train that can climb slopes, and with that comes beautiful views. If you don't know how to reach it from your place, just go to the Swiss train website SBB.ch and enter Leysin-Feydey gare as the destination if you want to take a shuttle bus to the farm. If you are up for hiking a little bit, enter Leysin-Grand-Hôtel instead because it is closer to the farm. I think you can also hike from Leysin-Feydey, but it will take much longer.

Supreme view of Aigle

Found a castle in Aigle! Maybe I'll go there next..

Hiking view from Leysin-Grand-Hôtel funicular station

Once you arrive at the farm, you have to first find your name from the list, and then pay for the brunch in cash. My brunch was 30 Francs, and compared to the price of McDonald burger in Switzerland (9 Francs), this amount is very reasonable.

Once you paid, you will get a sticker, and then you may begin your feast.

Vegetables, cured meat, cheese, salad, fresh fruits, desserts... the variety of the selection was pretty good. 

But my favourite was the hot chocolate drink made from fresh milk. It's so fresh that you need to still use a sieve to filter some residue. My guess is that this milk has been pasteurized (maybe manually in a pan?) and has not been homogenized.

And speaking of milk, the meringue was awesome.  

You have to eat it with freshly prepared creme. With the meringue melting in your mouth, releasing sweetness that compliments the creme... oh, it was so delicious!

When you feel so bored of munching and gulping calories, you can visit the shop for some local produce like cheese, jams, syrups and meringue.

You can also see the process of traditional Swiss cheese-making, starting from warming the milk to the right temperature, adding the enzyme rennin to produce the curds, stirring, pressing and aging.

The owner of the farm checking the degree of curding by looking at how much the milk coats the stirrer. He must have been very trained to do this kind of check manually!

Don't enjoy food that much? Well enjoy the good summer weather of Switzerland surrounded by nature and clean air (I really appreciate it very much, coming from a polluted capital city of Indonesia).

Interested for the hike? Here's the location:

Read More