A Chocolove Story: Risa Chocolates

I love Risa Chocolates. It never fails to brighten my day. If only I could have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it would be like living in chocolate paradise.

I still remember my first box of Risa Chocolates. It was during the Best Food Forward way back in April 2011 and luckily, I met the friendly owner Pam. I was able to try several chocolates such as Classic, Dark Rum, and Cerveza Negra (my favorite—and no, it will not make you drunk).

It has been a while since I last bought a box but I could still remember how great the truffles were. 

This time around, I bought more Cerveza Negra.

NEW PRODUCTS! Risa Chocolates has new products!!!

Chocolate Discovery: Russell Stover

If Russell Stover wasn’t that old, I would have asked him to marry me!

My mom bought this small piece of chocolate (well I find 57g small) just because she got curious with it. Priced at PHP99.75 at Candy Corner, it would have never appealed to me as there are several other cheaper yet still oh-so-good snacks I could buy instead. 

Anyway, my mom forgot all about the chocolate so it is now all mine (yahoo!) and after a few days, I’ve finally decided to try it.

Hmmm… it doesn’t look special at all to be priced at PHP99.75. While staring at it, the snooty glutton in me said “I would have bought Ferrero Rocher instead. Pffff!” But I felt that I was being unfair. (Come on! Russell Stover will cry.) Who knows, it might be good after all to justify the price.

Disclaimer: The chocolate got smashed inside my big bag.

 Lo and behold… it was pretty good.

It tasted a bit like Snickers but fewer nuts (the one I had was with almonds) and more caramel. What I loved about it was that the caramel doesn’t get stuck between your teeth (especially the molars). The chocolate was soft and every bite definitely had caramel and small bits of almonds.

A warning though to those who love chocolates but are not that fond of the too sweet variant: this one falls on the too sweet side. 

I.Think.I’m.In.Love.

Right after finishing the pack, I immediately checked the web for more information about this latest love of mine. I found out that it is way cheaper in the States (one box costs around $7!!!). 

Yes, Nutrition Facts. I am ignoring you!!!

Now, I can’t wait for October. I will definitely hoard a lot of Russell Stover goodies. (And perhaps a few of those WeightWatchers by Whitman’s as well.)

For now, I will visit S&R for price check. :)

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.