Chocolate High Tea @ Mámor Chocolates & High Tea Szalón, Melbourne

Hubby celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago, and our original travel plans to commemorate the milestone event was thrown out the window due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Fortunately it coincided with the first week of restrictions being lifted in Victoria, and restaurants were able to have limited numbers of dine-in customers. Hubby's birthday date was also the first day in months that all three kids were at kinder or school! And what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a chocolate high tea at Mámor Chocolates & High Tea Szalón! Booking online was a breeze, and there is a 50% deposit required to secure the booking. The front of house manager wasn't around, but we were very well looked after by the owner and chef, Janet. We enjoyed every bite, and loved being in such rich and lush surroundings, so unlike the world outside. A lot of thought and care have gone into the details, from the crystal chandeliers right down to the fine bone china and silverware, and we enjoyed every part of the experience. The chocolate high tea at Mámor is highly recommended by us

Stepping into Mámor feels like stepping into a different time and place, with lush red and black velvet curtains and gorgeous baroque furniture:

Opulent is one word that comes to mind when describing the interior:

The window gives a glimpse of the real world outside:

We literally had the whole place to ourselves for the next two hours, and were given the best seats in the house:

The three tiers of delicious goodies, including lemonade scones with house made jam and cream:

Savouries were charcoal brioche bun with sriracha mayo chicken and Asian slaw...

... and free range pork/veal sausage roll with flakey pastry and nectarine chutney:

The sweets plate held delicious macarons and a few cookies:

The chocolate course didn't disappoint the sweet tooth in us, which included cheesecake with ruby chocolate (a naturally pink chocolate!), chocolate hazelnut choux, and raspberry yuzu chocolates:

Hubby was still a little peckish, so we enjoyed some delicious leek and mushroom tartlets:

Mámor Chocolates & High Tea Szalón
153 Johnston St
Collingwood VIC 3066
Australia
Tel. +61 3 9419 3869

Chocolate heaven @ Max Brenner Chocolate Bar (QV), Melbourne

After the yummy Malaysian lunch with my Melburnian cousins at the QV, we headed across the green over to Max Brenner for dessert and coffee. I recall our first (and only other) experience at Max Brenner during hubby's first trip to Melbourne, and the specially designed hug mug was the cutest object I'd ever encountered at a cafe. I was pleased to see how much the menu has expanded since then (as I expect should happen over six years), but not as pleased to see that it had become even more expensive! We didn't complain though, because it was all very yummy, and we liked having the choice of dark, milk or white chocolate.

Hubby got the Suckao with dark chocolate, which is basically a DIY hot chocolate. There's hot milk kept warm in a holder that resembled a fondue pot, dark chocolate chips, and additional milk. Hubby could make his hot chocolate as chocolaty or milky as he wanted. The metal spoon doubled as a straw too:

I had trouble deciding which of the nine varieties of hot chocolate to have, and the Chocolate with Crunchy Waffle Balls was recommended by the girl taking my order. This turned out to be a delight to drink, crunching on tiny spheres of chocolaty waffle balls floating with every sip of the hot chocolate drink. I was told that the balls had a special coating that kept them from melting and getting soggy. I like the American Max Brenner's name for this drink - Choco Pops Hot Chocolate:

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar (QV)
25-27 Red Cape Lane
Level 2, QV Square
210 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Australia
Tel. +61 3 9663 6000

Pralus Indonésie 75% Criollo Chocolate

I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten chocolates made from rare Criollo beans, and three of those instances have been Francois Pralus' single origin chocolate bars. I fell in love with Criollo chocolate the first time I tried it, and to date the Criollo 100% chocolate - containing nothing but pure cocoa and cocoa butter - is the only 100% chocolate that I can honestly say I enjoy. The latest Pralus chocolate to come home with me from the supermarket is the Indonésie 75% Criollo bar, in that familiar wrapping with a map locating where the beans for the bar were grown (Java Island in Indonesia).

The description on the packaging about the flavour: "Fresh and subtle, woody aroma with wild mushrooms, slightly acid and long on the palate":

This single-origin bar contains nothing but cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter and some lecithin. Unlike the first two Pralus' bars we tried, which were made with Criollo beans from Madagascar, I did not detect much fruity notes. Instead a smoky earthy flavour dominates, with only a very slightly acidic finish. There is no bitterness at all, which I've come to expect from Criollo chocolates. It melts nicely on the tongue, but it is not as smooth as Swiss chocolates. This bar is quite enjoyable, but I do prefer the taste and texture of the Pralus Madagascar 75% Criollo bar over this one from Indonesia.

A rather scuffed bar, showing some signs of slight blooming, which does not affect its edibility or flavour, but likely to impact the texture:

Birthday chocolates: La Maison du Chocolat bars

It has become a bit of a birthday tradition for hubby and I - one that does not involve flowers or bling. Every year for the past four years, hubby has given me a box of gourmet chocolates on my birthday. And I love getting them, and hubby loves that I insist on sharing the chocs with him - it gives him incentive to keep on giving me the chocolates! This year he gave me three chocolate bars from La Maison du Chocolat, and each had distinctive flavour and aroma of their own. It was fun comparing the flavours, and we even did a blind taste test fo pick out the Criollo chocolate (and I guessed correctly!).

(left to right) Pariguan 69%, Cuana 74% and Coro 100% - the chocolate's colour darkens with purity:

The Pariguan bar is my faourite, made from the rare Criollo beans from Venezuela. I've previously tried a Criollo chocolate with 100% cacao content, and I loved its mild and fruity flavours, so it's no surprise that I like the Criollo bar the best out of the three types. Hubby likes the full-bodied flavours of the Cuana bar more than the Pariguan, which he said was a bit too sweet. The Cuana indeed has a strong and robust flavour, and I certainly appreciate as well. I'm still learning how to eat the Coro bar, which is intensely bitter and too tannic for my palate. I think my limit for 100% chocolates at the moment are the ones made with the Criollo types, but I'm still learning to cultivate my tastebuds.

Close up of the Coro 100% - check out how intensely dark the colour is compared to the 69% chocolate below:

Close up of the Pariguan 69%:

I love dark chocolates!

Galler Noir 85% Profond Chocolate

Very occasionally, I would wonder if I eat too much chocolate. But that thought would last only a millisecond as I grab a piece of dark chocolate to savour slowly in my mouth. After my recent chocolate experience with a 100% (Criollo) chocolate, I am getting more confident to venture out into darker territories, and these days my everyday chocolate treats are the those with 85% cacao content. Galler Chocolatier's Noir 85% Profond is one that I'm really enjoying at the moment. Galler hails from Belgium, and is the official Belgian Royal Warrant Holder since 1994 - I think that means that Galler is the official supplier of chocolate to the Royal Court of Belgium! The packaging has a tongue-in-cheek blurb on the back (in French, English and Dutch): "Once upon a time there was a delicious tablet with a mind of its own, it broke only where it wanted. Chocolate with an attitude. Only for chocolate lovers."

The Noir 85% is smooth-textured and contains just the right amount of sugar to take away any bitter edges. It has a gorgeous chocolate flavour that is unadulterated by added flavouring or milk. In fact, when compared with Lindt Excellence 85% chocolate, the added vanilla flavour in the Lindt stood out quite obnoxiously, and because of that, I much prefer Galler's 85%. At HK$40 for an 80g, it is still a bit pricey to be an everyday treat, but perhaps I can compromise by having a smaller piece each time.

Pralus Le 100% Criollo Cocoa

Although I love dark chocolate and will refuse to buy any chocolate that has less than 70% cacao content, I still have my limits, which is usually around the 87% cacao mark. I've tried the Lindt Excellence 99% dark chocolate once a few years ago, but I did not appreciate the bitterness at all. A tiny amount of sugar goes a long way in dark chocolate appreciation, and this is certainly true for chocolates made with the common Forastero/Trinitario beans (which makes up for 95% of the world's chocolate production). The last time I wrote about chocolates, I gave a brief spiel about the rarer and more delicate Criollo cocoa beans, and gave a taste review on Francois Pralus' 75% Criollo chocolate. I described how different it tasted to all the other chocolates we've ever eaten, and how much we appreciated the complexity in flavour and aroma.

Encouraged by the fact that the 75% Criollo chocolate didn't have any bitterness, I tried looking for the 100% Criollo bar - also by Pralus - that I'd seen at the same supermarket, but alas it was no longer on the shelves. I am guessing that we dark choc lovers are a rare breed, and there isn't much profit to be made by selling 100% pure chocolates to the general Hong Kong populace. I'd been keeping my eyes out for them ever since and then last week, one (only one!!) Le 100% Criollo bar appeared on the shelves, which I quickly grabbed and put in my shopping basket along with the rest of my groceries, quickly paid and then gleefully carried it home to Rob, who I knew was more eager than I to taste pure Criollo chocolates.

This chocolate is made with nothing but pure cocoa and cocoa butter - no sugar, no milk and no additional flavour. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about eating this 100% chocolate bar, but I knew that the Criollo cocoa beans are quite mild and would be much nicer than eating a 100% bar made with the bitter Forastero beans. The Le 100% Criollo was smooth with a creamy texture, and the minty and fruity flavours that we'd found in the 75% were also present in this chocolate. The citrus note was much more pronounced in the absence of any sugar, which would have acted to soften the acidity.

Pralus' Le 100% Criollo is certainly not an everyday chocolate (definitely not at this price!), but it's a good one to expand my taste knowledge of chocolates.

Pralus Madagascar 75% Criollo Cocoa

Did you know that there are three main varieties of cacao, and that the finest and most expensive one - the Criollo bean - represents less than 5% of the world cocoa production? I certainly didn't know that, and would probably remain ignorant of that fact, had Rob not enlightened me on the matter. Apparently, the taste of Criollo chocolate is quite different from chocolate made from the more common Forastero bean, and so naturally we were quite keen to try a Criollo chocolate. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to find one, simply because of the fact that 95% of all chocolate is made from Forastero/Trinitario, but that's where living in a huge city like Hong Kong comes in useful. Whilst waiting in line to pay at the supermarket in the mall downstairs, I spotted the word "Criollo" on some chocolate bars near the checkout counters (placing confectionary near the checkout counter is marketing that works). These Francois Pralus chocolates were expensive, more than twice the cost of the last chocolate I reviewed, but it was the first (and so far only) Criollo chocolate I have seen sold in a supermarket (believe me, we looked pretty hard across different stores). Pralus selects cacao for his plantations, where they are grown, harvested and fermented, and then roasted and made into delicious chocolates in his Roanne facility. Pralus makes everything himself, and is one of only three artisan chocolate craftsmen in France. That certainly explains why his chocolates are expensive. I don't think Pralus is a regular item at this supermarket, so I was pretty happy to encounter it. Why are Criollo chocolates so expensive and rare? Because the Criollo tree is so much more susceptible to plant diseases than the more hardy Forastero, so it follows that Criollo plantations have lower yields.

The packaging: "fresh nose, slightly minty and fruity, delicate to the taste, slightly acid":

The first thing that hit me when I opened the package was the aroma. The strong smell wasn't a bad thing, but it certainly didn't smell like the dark chocolates I'm used to. It did not taste bitter, in spite of its 75% cocoa solids content, and in fact has a milder yet complex taste compared to other Forastero or Trinitario chocolates I've eaten. I love the smooth texture on the tongue. The chocolate had a slightly acidic citrus note, which apparently is characteristic of the Criollo. We both really enjoyed it, and wish that Criollo chocolates were cheaper and more readily available.

All that's left of the chocolate at the time of writing:

Donovan Brothers Pure 80% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

My name is Jean, and I am a chocoholic. Yes, I have a chocolate addiction and I confess to eating dark chocolates everyday, but no, I don't think I have a problem and I am certainly not about to kick that habit. Especially since there are so many types of good quality (read: expensive) chocolates available in Hong Kong, all waiting for my hungry tastebuds and tummy! I remember how excited we were when we saw the beautiful range of dark chocolates in New York, and it's a similar situation in HK. We have already tried quite a number of the high-end dark chocolates on the supermarket shelves since moving to HK a few months ago, and some were good but most were not up to our liking. As a general rule, I avoid buying German brands because they haven't been that great. I do try to be responsible and buy free trade and organic, but unfortunately I haven't liked them as much as I wanted (for example, the Theo brand 85% dark chocolate had a rather obnoxious flavour that just didn't agree with my tastebuds). Rob mentioned recently that I ought to take note of the ones we like, just like how I used to when I first added a chocolate tag to my journal. Better late than never, right?

Our favourite choccie of the moment is the Donovan Brothers Pure 80% dark chocolate from New Zealand. This was a bit of a surprise because I didn't expect it to be as good as the European chocolates, and I was taking a chance on a rather large 210g bar - what if we didn't like it? We loved it - very smooth, and it wasn't as bitter as I'd expected for a chocolate containing 80% cacao. There are no additives, no preservatives, and no added flavours - just cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar. I like!

Birthday yummies

I am quite a simple girl, and I've never liked making a fuss over my birthday. It's only another day that marks another year to my age (which starts to not be a good thing from here on). Still, Rob despaired at not having had the time to book a fancy place for a celebratory meal, but I assured him that all I wanted was to have some congee at a simple congee eatery that I had came across on one of my exploratory ventures around the area on foot. That didn't stop him from surprising me with a box of expensive French chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat the moment he got out of bed that Saturday morning. Given that he did the same for my two previous birthdays, I should have at least expected a box of Godiva, but I was honestly surprised yet again.

Box of fine chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat:

This box of chocolates bore the title Tamanaco, and featured small squares of chocolates from different origins: Maracatou, Moroni, Acarigua, Soledad and Malambé. These little beauties are "fresh" chocolates with smooth melt-in-your-mouth ganache fillings, and each type has quite different flavours when eaten one after another, something I undertake with great enthusiasm. My favourite is the Soledad ("full-flavoured and refined dark ganache") followed by Acarigua ("sweet and mellow dark ganache"). No surprise that Malambé scores the least points ("milk ganache with caramel notes"), but it was pretty good for a milk chocolate. These won't last very long, both the fact that these fresh chocolates only have a short shelf life of 2 weeks, and that they will be long gone before then.

The weather sucked on my birthday, but the pouring rain didn't stop us from heading out to that congee shop on Jordan Rd. It is always an experience trying to place an order when no one in the shop understands you, and vice versa, and we somehow ended up with an extra bowl of congee. We didn't mind too much though, because congee is mostly fluid and not very energy dense, so it wasn't difficult to finish off everything. We got Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee (this was only so-so, but can't complain about the price - only HK$13 (~AU$1.70 or 140yen), Congee with Beef (raw minced beef placed in a bowl, and it gets cooked when the hot congee is poured on top), Fried Noodles (simple fried noodles that contained nothing else except for a small amount of cabbage), and a Savoury Rice Dumpling (with mung beans and pork, which was pretty yummy although Rob wasn't a big fan).

Carbs galore: two bowls of congee, noodles and rice dumpling:

There was Bak tong gou ("white sugar cake" aka Chinese White Honeycomb Cake, Steamed White Cake, White Sugar Sponge, Steamed Rice Cakes) at the entrance to the shop, and we ordered one because Rob had never eaten one before.

Steamed white sugar cake:

The serving given to us was huge, and we felt bad that we couldn't finish it, but we wanted to leave room for pastries at King Bakery I knew was nearby. We'd bought pastries from another franchise and liked them, so we knew that these would be pretty good too. We got an egg tart which was delicious enough, though not quite as good as the one at a certain teahouse. We also had the lao por peng ("wife cake" aka sweetheart cake) which is a popular Chinese cake yet I don't remember ever eating it before. It has a lovely filling made from winter melon (which, by the way, is yummy when candied, usually eaten during Chinese New Year), almond, sesame and five spice. These cakes were really cheap too, at HK$2.50 each (roughly AU$0.30 or 25yen). So far our buys from this bakery have been good, and I look forward to trying other baked goodies at King Bakery.

Sweetheart cake and egg tart:

I had a lovely birthday, eating lots of yummies, and spending it with the two people dearest to me. Couldn't have asked for anything more.

My birthday treats @ home

For my birthday this year, Rob got me a large box of Godiva chocolate truffles - even larger than the one he got me last year! He sure knows how to pamper me - not with flowers nor jewellery, but with dark chocolate truffles!

Delicious truffles:


My sister Honey brought Nonya cuisine home when she cooked Ayam Pongteh (chicken and potato stew) using our grandmother's recipe. It was yummy, and I was glad to not have to cook dinner that day!

Chicken Pongteh, just like my mum's and grandma's!


The birthday treats didn't stop there - I enjoyed a sinfully extravagant dinner with Rob while Honey babysat Zak at home, and I will post photos up of that dinner next!

Sushi and Ice cream, Tokyo

I mentioned previously that my sister Honey recently arrived in Tokyo to stay for a while. Naturally I've been taking her to our favourite eats, including to our favourite sushi restaurant at Sushi Zanmai in Tsukiji.

On our first visit, Honey and I shared an order of the Sashimi Set as an afternoon snack (we had the 1 year old with us, so we chose a table instead of sitting at the counter). The set included kohada (gizzard shard), maguro (tuna), ikura (salmon roe), ika (squid), akagai (ark shell) and botan ebi (spotted shrimp). All were fresh and delicious. On our second visit only a week later with my friends visiting from Australia, we left Zak at home with Rob so that Honey and my friends could have the counter experience. As always, the quality was excellent, and everyone enjoyed the variety of sushi that is not available back home in Australia, such as uni (sea urchin roe/gonads), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp) and joh-anago ('top quality' sea eel).

The Zanmai Sashimi set; and Joh-Anago (grilled sea eel), which is one of my favourite sushi items at Zanmai:


After our sushi brunch, we headed into Ginza on foot, past the Kabuki theatre, and by pure chance we arrived on the main street (Chuo-dori) at 12pm on the dot which is the the time when the street becomes a "pedestrians paradise" (only on weekends). We watched as the police waited for the nearby clock to start chiming and then set up road blocks to cordon off motor traffic for pedestrians-only access on the street.

With Honey on Chuo-dori in Ginza:


I brought our group to Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier where we indulged in delicious (but pricey) ice cream (I've had ice cream from this chocolatier twice before).

Poring over the ice cream menu in front of the ice cream cafe section of Pierre Marcolini (next door is the chocolate cafe); Honey's 2-scoop ice cream cone:


The display case inside, showcasing cakes and eclairs as well as ice cream;:

Birthday treat

Yesterday was the day I was born more than a quarter of a century ago. With a 3-week old infant at home now, it wasn't too easy for us to go out for a simple celebration. So instead Rob brought dinner to us after work: takeaway from our favourite Indian restaurant, Nawab. I've blogged about the food twice already, so I won't go into much detail here except to say that the food was great and delicious as always eventhough we had to takeaway.

Clockwise from top left - Chicken Biryani, Lamb Korma, Dahl Spinach, and 4-piece Chicken Tikka; with Plain Naan, Bhatoora and Mughlai Naan:


Rob surprised me with a rather large box of chocolate truffles from Godiva, and I'd greedily eaten one before I'd even thought of taking a photo of them.

Decadent chocolatey treats:


It's a good thing that I'm breastfeeding so I can sort of justify pigging out. I've so far lost about 90% of the weight gained during pregnancy (and I'm eating almost twice as much!), but this box of truffles, coupled with the rich Indian food, will certainly stop the progress for awhile!

Sweets @ Daimaru in Tokyo Station

Always wanting to end a meal with something sweet, we headed into the confectionery floor of the Daimaru department store at the Tokyo Station after our pizza lunch on Saturday. In addition to devoting the 1st floor to chocolater, cakes and all sorts of sweets, the basement floor of Daimaru is the food section where you can buy freshly baked bread from several bakeries, sushi and sashimi from the fresh produce area and order many kinds of take away food from the various stalls ranging from Chinese-style dumplings (i.e. gyoza) to freshly squeezed fruit juice. My favourite area of any Japanese department stores has to be the food area.

The confectionery floor is almost always crowded during weekends and holidays. Only after a short while after stepping in, the selection of chocolate delectables offered by Wittamer caught Rob's eye and he made a beeline towards the counter. Behind the display glass laid various kinds of Belgian truffles, and although the price per piece was pretty high, we decided that we ought to try at least one (our will is weak when it comes to good chocolates).

The display showcasing delicious exquisite Belgian bite-sized chocolates at the Wittamer counter:


We bought one piece each of the Orange Truffle and the Fondant Truffle for ~300yen (~AU$3) each, which the salesgirl then proceeded to carefully place in a tiny box. She was about to place the box a lovely bag when we told her it wasn't necessary - hey, we gotta do our bit for the environment, right? The Orange Truffle had an orange-flavoured coconut filling with a thin crisp chocolate coating. The Fondant Truffle appeared simpler but tasted richer and more luscious than the Orange one due to its chocolate cream filling.

What's inside the box is what matters:


We also liked the look of what was being offered at Keith's Manhattan, which included tarts, pastries, cakes and jellies. The Fruits Choux Roll (420yen) jumped out at us and we could not resist how delicious it looked. It was deliciously rich due to the creamy filling yet refreshing at the same time due to the fruits. It was good.

One of the display cases at Keith's Manhattan:


The meticulous packaging, and its contents:


Since Tokyo Station is a mere 20minute walk from our apartment, no doubt we'll be back here again to make our way around to try all the other counters in the sweets department of Daimaru.