not sure when it started but my chocolate dictionary has gone beyond the cadbury, van houten & hersheys. right now, its all about valrhona, amedei & michel cluizel. i first started out with valrhona & ghirardelli baking chocolates and soon after, i ventured into the gourmet ones for eating, sold in bars. the above is the michel cluizel chocolat noir which i got it from culina @ $10 a 100g bar.
of coz, when it comes to appreciating fine chocs, i'm no connoisseur and is still very far from being one. i just know how to eat! my friend sihan, on the other hand, is the one who's really good at it. she knows all the single estates chocs (like wine) at the back of her hand and can detect floral or fruity notes in them! the two above bars - the valrhona manjari orange & 72% araguani were given to me by her. what a sweet gesture and i totally appreciate it! i especially love the manjari orange coz i'm a sucker for the chocolate & orange combination. while chocolate & banana is a combination that you can't go wrong with, i think the choc/orange one is much better! the 72% araguani is also another of my favorite coz of its unsurpassed aroma & the smoothness that glides down my throat. despite it being a 72% choc, it's not at all bitter nor acidic.
and so, she brought me to xotiq chocolatier located @ shaw tower where it's the 1st chocolate shop that specialises in single estate chocs. and how could i leave empty handed? obviously not. i bought a gift box that contained an assortment of michel cluizel, amedei & valrhona chocolates, all 36 pcs in total. one of the them was the amedei toscano black 70% used in the ice-cream in seventh heaven, but i failed to appreciate that. on the contrary, what caught my eye (and tastebuds) was the michel cluizel 47% lait milk choc. it was simply not like any other milk chocs i've tried and it just blew my socks away the moment i tasted it. most milk chocs were cloying sweet but not the 47% lait.
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