Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Chocolate Appreciation Evening with Van Houten ♥

Do you love chocolate?! How do you eat your chocolate?! And how do you appreciate them?!


Chocolate is my favourite snack. My feet go weak on anything with chocolate. I always want my waffle to be covered with thick layer of chocolate spread; opt for rich chocolaty ice cream; sinful chocolate cake; and I even want my facial mask to be rich in chocolaty scent. 

DSC_0644

Well, I do love having wine with chocolate too :)


***


Just some weeks ago, I was invited to indulge and appreciate chocolate with Van Houten in Chinoz on the park, KLCC. Thanks to Van Houten for this lovely invitation 

DSC_0657

On the evening, we had Deanne Yusoff to share her passion towards chocolate with us. We were also taught to appreciate the chocolate with our five senses - look, smell, touch, listen and taste. 

DSC_0663

1# Vision
We were given a bar of plain semi sweet chocolate and we were asked to use our vision. A good chocolate should have consistent colour, texture and natural finishing looking, free from air bubbles and blemishes. 



2# Touch
Then, use your touch sensory to rip open the wrappers, run the fingers down the bar of chocolate, When we touch the chocolate, it should not melt immediately in hands. 


3# Smell
Next, it's time to use the olfactory receptors. Savouring chocolate begins with the moment after unwrapping and inhale the aromatic cocoa. 


4# Listen
Listen to the sound of snapping chocolate. A clear, clean snap indicated that the chocolate has better quality. This is because higher quality of chocolate has greater level of cocoa butter and smaller particle size. Therefore, a snap will give a clear sound. 


5# Taste
Finally, it's time for the last sense. We used our gustatory system to appreciate the chocolate. Good quality chocolate tends to have a long, pleasant aftertaste that lingers in your mouth.
Mmmmm....

DSC_0669

After the appreciation session, we were introduced with the pairing session. I didn't know that chocolate compatible well with coffee! (just forget about the mocha ya...)


The first pair was cafe latte and semi sweet chocolate. Put a small block of chocolate on your tongue, take a sip of cafe latte and allow the chocolate to dissolve slowly in your mouth. Mmm, I love this pairing the most as this combination gave special kick to my taste buds. 

DSC_0675

We also had milk chocolate to go with espresso con panna

DSC_0684

and to go with espresso 

DSC_0680

Churos with Van Houten Chocolate Dippings


***

DSC_0640

Cocoaphilia 
[ko ko fee lee yah]


noun:
a. appreciation of chocolate
b. refers to the passion of a person, who is nuts over chocolate
c. someone who knows that Van Houten is good chocolate. 


It defines chocolate lovers who are passionate about chocolate. They are the one who appreciate the rich, fine taste of chocolate made with finest coca and high quality ingredients. 


So, are you one of the Cocoaphilia(s)??? 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love chocolate too...aside from the FAT FACTOR...I think it able to cheer up a person (myself). Churos with Chocolate Dippings.....I LIKE IT!!!

Taufulou said...

wahh..that's lots of chocolate and coffee for the night..

i sure will be stay up very awake if makan all . .

Eat Only Lar! said...

Looks nice, especially the churros and chocolate! Never knew chocolate can be enjoyed in so many ways.

ahteekitchen said...

哇哇!! 可以品尝那么多种的巧克力真的太幸福了!!

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely one of the cocoaphilia, especially dark chocolate! :D

Anonymous said...

We love chocolates a lot too! You must have a lot of fun back there trying different kind of chocolate combinations, Ai Wei :)

ai wei said...

melissathegreat,
lol, forget about the fat and think only the benefits of chocolate! chocolate improves concentration and reduce fatigue :P


taufulou,
yeahhh, and ken told us he couldn't sleep the whole night. lolx


eatonlylar,
you guys should try on the pairing with coffee. it's superb :)


ahtee,
也令我胖了不少呀。呜呜。。。


Wyyv,
same here, i am the dark-chocoholic! yep, the night was fun, trying out with lots of combination and chocolate. :)

Baby Sumo said...

Sob sob, was invited to this event too but couldnt make it. Miss another chance to meet you :(

missyblurkit said...

chocolates? i am weak in my legs too.

as much as i love the flavour and scent, i like them bitter. the sweet ones don;t go with me partially coz I am not much of a sweet tooth. But more I worry that I may just have my sugar rush and start running around the room:P

Kelvin said...

Drooling now, i dun really like sweet stuff but chocolate is my all time fav snacks :)

Babe_KL said...

sobs, just like Baby Sumo, I was invited but cant make it :( missed out all the chocs

Christine said...

Too bad the churros wasn't as good. I love how they teach us to pair the choc with coffee.. ESP Chris ;)

ai wei said...

baby sumo,
awww, no worry.
there are more up coming opportunity :)


missyblurkit,
same here, i love dark chocolate. the bitter, the better. but kl dun have those really pure chocolate. friend bought one back of aus, 90% dark choc. it was very bitter, but i feel guilt free. hehe


kelvin,
haha, opt for those semi sweet or dark choc :) they are non sweet


babe kl,
cheers! sure got more event like this :)


christine,
hehe
addicted hor?! chris, let's have choc n coffee pairing parteeeee ^^

missyblurkit said...

a friend brought some seriously dark chocolate that coated whole almonds from australia. it was brilliant. the bitter rich chocolate gave the almonds another "life". yummy!

Lady Clothing Guide said...

I found the chance to win the cocoaphilla chocolate for FREE... go visit fan page of "Cocoaphilia malaysia" http://www.facebook.com/Cocoaphiliamalaysia. Btw just write the "reason to love chocolate"...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...