Gone to the dark side of… chocolates.

I just love dark chocolates for it made me feel less guilty of finishing a box of it in one go.

I often do the grocery shopping whenever I’m not very busy. I’m proud to say that I could shop a month’s worth of supplies in less than 30 minutes. Yes, I have mastered the grocery near our place. However, there are also times when I just look around hoping to see something new or interesting (as long as it is reasonably priced, I will buy it). Thus I was so happy when I saw my favorite chocolates KitKat and Macadamia... DARK and BITTER.

I'm in love!

And I love you too! (Great! I'm a two-timer!)

At first I was afraid that these might just be like the failed attempts of chocolate brands claiming that the chocolate beneath the wrapper with screaming DARK/BITTER/PURE COCOA is indeed dark; but in reality, it was still milk chocolate… only with its sweetness level toned down one tiny bit.

I.was.wrong.

Looks dusty but who knows, that might be the "secret ingredient" :)

Meiji’s Macadamia Bitter truly used dark chocolate. The word bitter was a bit too strong though. The chocolate’s taste was similar to Meiji’s Dark Chocolate bars… one of my cheap thrills. It was dark but not extremely dark to the point that it is no longer enjoyable. (Note: This one though is a bit pricier compared to the chocolate bars because of the macadamia).

Let's play a game! Which one is dark?

As for Nestle’s Dark KitKat… I was impressed. It is longer compared to the normal milk chocolate KitKat and (biased) it is definitely better. I love dark chocolate and Nestle managed to come up with an affordable chocolate that is quite dark (but not too much that will make you go blaaaah!) yet something the little tykes could enjoy.

Both chocolates has something to munch on (macadamia for Meiji and waffle for KitKat) making it delicious snacks that will make you eat it for… hours (well, with some chips, water, and soda—well, that’s what I call the I-will-just-relax-and-watch-a-movie snack).

Then again, the unforgettable truffles of Risa Chocolates and the delectable chocolate goodness of Royce are still my favorites.

Fired up for Chocolates

There are just so many food gatherings and events this August! 

Last weekend, I went to the Corks and Forks: An International Food and Wine Fest held at the Grand Ballroom of Marriott Hotel to check out the best food from New Zealand and Australia.

I was surprised when I saw that Chocolate Fire was one of the exhibitors. I’ve been telling just about anyone how much I wanted to visit this restaurant with a very tempting name. And by anyone, that including strangers (yes, I love sharing my passion for food with everyone).

I got so excited when I saw the Chocolate Fire stall with its chocolate-dipped strawberries and truffles. It was such a pretty sight.

I asked if the chocolates melt easily and the seller told me that it needs to be in a cool place. I decided to roam around first and buy chocolates before leaving.

Well, I just went back and forth to the stall for more than 10 times. I just can’t wait to try it.

After realizing that I just have no patience when it comes to chocolates, I decided to buy a bit earlier. Soon, I found myself paying the seller more than PHP500 for a few chocolates. Yes, Chocolate Fire’s chocolates are a tad expensive but all of my friends who tried its chocolates told me that it was worth it.



Sold at PHP115 each during the event. Regular price is PHP125.



The strawberries were delightful to shoot. The red color was so vibrant. Okay, enough with how pretty the strawberries were and now for the taste…

The strawberries were a bit on the sour side and it worked well with the chocolates (both milk and dark chocolate but I prefer dark chocolates). It was not so special though. I thought it was something that will make me cry… because I reached chocolate heaven. Well, it didn't.



PHP40 each. Definitely worth it!



The truffles though were really really good. I was not really expecting much from the truffles for the strawberries were highlighted more but I just fell in love with the truffles of Chocolate Fire. I bought the dark chocolate variant of hazelnut sprinkled truffles and cocoa powder covered truffles.

It was extremely velvety. This is one good example that proves that not everything extreme is bad. Sometimes it could bring… happiness. Well, it did for me. J

I can’t wait to try the other chocolates Chocolate Fire offers. I HAVE to visit their restaurant soon.