During my teens, I acquired asthma, which was often triggered by the usual allergens like dust and foul smells, or by laughing too much, and sometimes having something sweet like chocolates followed by an irritated throat. So for so many years, I've been avoiding chocolates completely.
Until I spent Easter holidays in Switzerland a few years ago.
My aunt took me around Zurich and there were just chocolates everywhere. My introduction to Swiss chocolates in Zurich was our stroll along Bahnhofstrasse after leaving our train from Luzern. When I first saw Sprüngli, I was like a kid in a toy store. Which one to try? Just too many!
A few more steps away from the crowd brought us to another shop, which I remember not for the chocolates but for the interiors: it was just cluttered with flowers, colors hanging from the ceiling, oozing from the counters, floral cloths, and elderly looking glass cabinets displaying chocolates. I obviously got distracted. This shop was Teuscher.
But now I distinctly remember Teuscher not because of its decor but because of their dried oranges dipped in chocolate. I just love the hint of bitter from both the orange and chocolates, and the sudden surge of sweet from the candied fruit and, of course, the chocolate! My aunt came home a few months ago, and I got a box of Teuscher heaven!
A week after that trip to Switzerland, I was off to Vienna for a weekend (it used to be just 3 hours away from Prague by train and now it's even faster). My aunt who spent decades in the hotel industry just knew where to send me. Her only tip was to never skip the Sacher Torte at the hotel. That was the start of my affair with chocolate cakes.
Another friend, a Diplomat from the Philippine Embassy in Prague then, suggested, I lazily spend time to enjoy a cup of coffee and a slice of cake at Landtmann Cafe along Ringstrasse. It was the perfect place to plan where to go next after visiting the Museum Quarter and the Rathaus nearby.
I still have a few squares of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate with Caramel Filling waiting in the fridge thanks to other relatives who came home from San Francisco. Ghirardelli was a store I frequently visited with my Tatay by the wharf, which I never really indulged in as a child.
But you see, it's never too late to start with chocolates! So I hope I get well soon and this cough goes away.
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