How to hide your best chocolates

hope greenwood chocolate butterflies

There are times you don’t feel like sharing – like when you buy a nice box of chocolates that you want to save up for a special occasion. However, if you have people going in and out and grabbing anything that, er…grabs their fancy from the fridge, doing so can be a bit of a challenge.

hide your chocolates

Here’s how I would go about it. This is a DIY guide to hiding your chocolates.

boxing chocolates

Step 1: Conceal the box of chocolates by putting it into another box of goodies which someone would not want to eat. I used an empty box of mooncakes. The Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed and I figured no one would be interested in eating mooncakes – at least for another year.

covering chocolates

Step 2: Cover the top of the box with an innocuous piece of paper. I used the bottom sleeve which describes the mooncakes.

hiding chocolates

Step 3: This is the most important bit. You have to hide it in plain sight! I put it under a container for baking flour, yeast and eggs in the pantry so it looks totally uninteresting.

You can also do the same “love tweak” to other similar items which are in high demand and thus in risk of getting pilfered. I love butter and I like to keep a slab to use in my cooking. I’ve seen people eat a stick of butter with every meal – spreading it on roast chicken like most people would season it with black pepper!

butter

That actually happened at my homestay in Christchurch, New Zealand when I was 15. There was a college aged guy that was always very protective of his butter (which he bought himself). Meals are provided by the homestay owner and she was very fond of cooking roast chicken due to the ease of the dish. He’ll literally eat ½ a slab of butter during each meal, spreading thick chunks the size of a heaped tablespoon on each bite of chicken!

hiding stuff

I would have concealed it by putting it into another empty box which no one would open – like this macaron mix! You just cover it up with flour when you’re done and voilà – no more missing butter. It works better if you put it with other things which are *more* interesting e.g. here’s a cabinet filled with cognac, Scotch, wine, premium hot chocolate, chocolate biscuits, marshmallows. There’s bound to be something else that catches a potential pilferer’s eye – young or old. You just need to be careful when you take it out. Heh.

These love tweaks are actually my submissions for a contest! It’s about how you want to protect something you’re very passionate about in the best way possible. Have you got an DIY idea for a love tweak? Share your love tweak and win RM 3,000 weekly!

t-rex guard

This contest lasts till 12th October. Just describe your Love Tweak and include a photo if you can. 3 Love Tweaks will be selected and given the acid test. A celebrity guest will pick the most useful Love Tweak as the winner. It’s just that simple to get RM 3,000 so go ahead and think of a good one! Submit your entries and get more information about how to go about it at the Zurich Insurance Malaysia Facebook.

Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Limited Edition Mooncake Collection

Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Collection

I saw the Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Limited Edition Collection last week at the Suria KLCC shop in Malaysia. I was quite intrigued and thought it would make a lovely gift for my girlfriend. There’s a box that cost RM 463 (I think) and I figured it’ll be worth it since it’s premium chocolate mooncakes and you only get it once a year.

Godiva 2013 Full Moon Indulgence

This is the poster I saw – Full Moon Indulgence.

Godiva 2013 Mooncakes Limited Edition

However, when I came back just 24 hours later, the box set was sold out! This really is a limited edition run. There’s a RM 249 box set but I didn’t quite like that since it has the regular GODIVA range of chocolates inside.

Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Limited Edition

Thus, I bought the GODIVA 2013 Mid-Autumn Festival Limited Edition box that was in the poster – it’s RM 159 for one large chocolate mooncake and 8 mini chocolate mooncakes.

Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Price

That’s the most expensive box of mooncakes I’ve ever purchased! It’s worth it though coz it’s for my better half. 🙂

There are two types of large chocolate mooncakes – this Belgium purveyor of fine chocolates produced a dark chocolate version and a milk chocolate version. The RM 159 box only has the dark chocolate version but there are 8 mini-mooncakes called Pepite Mooncake Chocolates that gives you a taste of the entire range of the Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Festival collection!

Godiva 2013 Mooncakes

The 3 different flavored chocolate mooncakes are:

White Chocolate Mooncake: Strawberry-Pomegranate Crunchy

This is a white chocolate mooncake with a filling of crispy strawberry crunch and pomegranate chocolate ganache. I liked this one the most – the white chocolate exterior tastes sweet and the strawberries inside has bits of fruit still on it!

Milk Chocolate Mooncake: Apricot-Peach Crunchy

The milk chocolate exterior is made with Ghana milk cocoa, Turkish hazelnut and Louisiana walnut. The two different nuts makes up the two layers inside the chocolate mooncake and the two different fruits makes it taste like a nectarine dipped chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Mooncake: Mango-Passion Fruit Crunch

This is 64% Peruvian dark chocolate as the exterior with soy beans in Hawaiian almond paste and caramel hazelnut to balance the bitter dark chocolate. I like the mango and passion fruit inside too! This is also available in the large size that we’re going to eat tonight!

I think you can buy the large chocolate mooncakes individually for about RM 80 (calculating back from the box price) but I got the 9 piece Mid-Autumn Gift Box since I wanted to try all three flavors and the large mooncakes are only available in dark and milk chocolate.

godiva 2013 collection us

It’s the most expensive mooncake I’ve ever bought but I think it’s also the most unique one! We’ve had the Pepite Mooncake Chocolates (one of each flavor) and we’re saving the big one for tonight. The 9-piece Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Festival Collection has one large dark chocolate mooncake and 8 pepeite mooncake chocolates (2 of white chocolate, 3 each of white and dark chocolate).

Godiva 2013 Mid-Autumn Mooncake

The box looks good too – it’s packed in a full moon configuration! 🙂

10 weird and wonderful things from last month

1. Kiwano (Horned Melon)

kiwano

This is a RM 15 fruit we found at the grocery. The kiwano is also called a horned melon. It’s about the size of a kiwi – quite expensive for its size – and you’re supposed to eat it like one. I’ve never seen it in any other import specialty grocers so we got one to share.

horned melon

The kiwano fruit has lots of segments inside with seeds coated with jelly-like fruit and it tastes like cucumbers!

kiwano seeds

One of the most interesting fruits I’ve had to pleasure to eat – it’s like a refreshing *explosion* of clean, thirst quenching flavors in your mouth!

2. Huge 5kg Nutella

nutella 5kg

I eat a lot of Nutella and when I saw this in Langkawi (was there a couple of weeks ago and bought quite a bit of duty free goods) I couldn’t resist buying it. It’s 5,000 grams worth of Nutella in a huge plastic iconic container for just RM 145!

nutella traveler edition

However, we decided we couldn’t lug that beast back and settled for the Traveler’s Edition of Nutella – which is made in Italy and not Australia!

3. Klonut

klonut

Yup, it’s a clone of the cronut. We actually had it way back in July at Dessert Storm. There was a RM 7 promo with three flavors – Peanut Butter and Caramel Klonut, Kaya & Coconut Klonut and Boysenberry Jam and Chocolate Klonut.

dessert storm

It’s pretty good but it’s not the beautiful offspring of a croissant and a donut. The recipe for the pastry is slightly different here.

4. Chocolate coated Oreos

oreo travelers edition

This is a travel exclusive that we opened up last month. It’s only sold in airports (and such places) and it’s basically an Oreo covered in chocolate!

chocolate covered oreos

It’s made in Spain and delicious! I wish I had this when I did my own battered and deep fried Mars and other candy bars.

5. Snickers Ice Cream

snickers ice cream

Got a pint of Snickers Ice Cream (from France) and finished it on the same day while watching movies at home. A pint isn’t really enough for us, and thus over the weekend…

6. 31% off hand packed Baskin Robbins ice cream

br 31

I got two pints during the weekend coz we eat a lot of ice cream. My better half chose Chocolate Mousse Royale and I chose Sweet & Salty. I don’t know what happened but the batch that day didn’t have *any* salty pretzel pieces (which is why I like the flavor).

baskin robbins

There’s only caramel in the ice cream – probably coz the outlet topped the newly opened box with some leftovers (which was also contaminated with the neighbouring Blueberry Pabba Cotta). I should have asked the servers to just get me the ones from the new box instead of that but they were too busy – the 31% discount days always seems to be a hectic mess for the staff.

7. Cognac filled chocolate sticks

chocolate cognac

I bought this during our trip to Langkawi. I thought it was rather expensive at RM 34.50 for 15 chocolate sticks. This GOLDKENN product is certainly priced higher than the usual Anthon Berg bottle-shaped liquor chocolates…

cognac sticks

…but it tastes absolutely fabulous! The cocoa dusted chocolate sticks were filled with tangible cognac and it’s well worth the RM 2+ per bite price…and that’s duty free prices! 🙂

8. Absolut Hibiskus

absolut unique

I also got this really awesome and cool looking Absolut Unique display plaque. I’ve seen the Absolut Unique bottles around for a while now – each time I travel, I saw quite a lot of different bottles with different serial numbers…and now I have a unique mounted one!

absolut hibiskus

I also got a bottle of Absolut Hibiskus – it’s the first floral flavored vodka and it was launched in conjunction with Merdeka (Independence Day). The hibiscus is our national flower, geddit? 😀

It tastes good – am planning to make some cocktails with these, aptly with edible flowers (which you’re going to hear and see a lot more of).

9. Self-heating soup can

hot soup

We had this for dinner last night! I got this earlier this year during one of our grocery shopping trips. I think there was a promotion for RM 14 for two cans. Each “can” of soup is the same size and shape as a regular soda can!

self heating soup

The interesting bit about this is the self-heating part – there’s chemicals at the bottom of the can which heats the can when pressed and activated. You have to shake it for 30 seconds and steam actually comes out of the unopened can (along with a distasteful chemical smell).

heating soup

There’s a strip of indicator on the side which *changes color* according to temperature and you just open the can like a regular soft drink and drink it when it cools down. I thought it’s quite cool, just like the MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat – a military food rations kit) I got when I was in the Boy’s Brigade. Haha!

10. Pig teats

pig teats

Yup, those are exactly what it looks like! It just came in a package for a super awesome secret cooking project that I did over the weekend!

pig nipples

It’s going to be…er, revealed next week! 😀

theobroma CHOCOLATE Lounge

theobroma

theobroma CHOCOLATE Lounge
is a dessert establishment specializing in everything chocolate. It’s an international franchise with outlets in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. The first chocolate lounge in Malaysia that I recall was the popular chocz in Suria KLCC.

theobroma interior

Theobroma is located right in the middle of 1 Utama shopping mall’s passageway, much like it’s predecessor chocz. The setting doesn’t deter chocolate lovers from the lounge though, mainly due to the ample partitions and leather tub chairs, which is well insulated from the throngs of shoppers.

theobroma montage

Theobroma also sells a wide range of chocolate and cakes – it’s the place to be for people with a sweet tooth.

fair lady

I ordered the Fair Lady (RM 12.90) that came in a mug and warmer. It’s one of their specialties made with Belgian milk chocolate. The melted chocolate on the rim of the mug is not the result of carelessness, but the signature finish of theobroma. It’s rich and creamy, with the warmer keeping the drink hot throughout the experience.

fair lady macro

The Fair Lady comes with Belgian milk chocolate shavings down the middle of the frothy drink – a very nice touch. It melts as you consume it, due to the temperature of the beverage. It’s sinfully delicious, and comes highly recommended from me.

princess of iceland

Doris opted for the Princess of Iceland (RM 10.90) – a cold chocolate concoction with beautiful swirls adorning the sides. This Belgian iced chocolate beverage is made with dark and milk chocolate and comes with a scoop of premium chocolate ice cream on top. It’s thirst quenching, but I prefer my Fair Lady for pure, unadulterated chocolate pleasure. 🙂

chocolate affair

We also ordered the signature Chocolate Affair (RM 25.90) – a chocolate fondue with four seasonal fruits for two people. Ours came with bananas, oranges, kiwi fruit…

chocolate affair strawberry

…and strawberries hidden at the back. A strawberry dipped in chocolate is a sweet and tangy contrast that has to be experienced at least once. The melted chocolate inside the warmer can also be consumed straight for a sugar rush or dipped with the marshmallows that come with the platter.

theobroma us

There is something not quite right about me feeding my girlfriend a banana and her reciprocating with a strawberry but I assure you that any innuendo is unintended. 😉

theobroma splash

…even the Splash Damage (TM) that occurred when she accidentally dropped her strawberry down my pants.

theobroma end

theobroma CHOCOLATE Lounge is a great place for people with a sweet tooth. It’s a perfect destination for post lunch or dinner desserts and celebrates all things chocolate – which I’m told is better than sex.

Ferrero Rocher – World Record Attempt

ferrero rocher

I have been thinking about beating the current record for Most Ferrero Rocher chocolates eaten in one minute which stands at a meager five (5) chocolates consumed. I have gone through the details and to quality, you have to unwrap, eat, and swallow the chocolates within one minute. This is my attempt:

I was too ambitious and ended up biting off more than I could chew (haha) but it’s quite possible to beat this record and get my name in the Guinness World Records book with a bit of practice. This was done in the afternoon while making mooncakes (post up tomorrow). I’ve been a bit busy lately making mooncakes, being the best buddy (which is different from best man – it’s a HK custom that has found its way here) for a friend’s wedding, attending said friend’s wedding, and the Mid Autumn Festival lined up tomorrow.

Here are some selected posts from HDS:

Telekom Malaysia – very efficient one!

Project Bachelor Breakfast – Bacon omelet with Edam cheese

Cheers all! Update again tomorrow.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Triple Decker

cadbury triple decker

Cadbury Dairy Milk Triple Decker (now with Mint flavor) is the latest offering from the Cadbury line of products. I got one at the airport since its new.

cadbury triple decker choc

It is described as “a layered combination of DAIRY MILK milk chocolate, DREAM real white chocolate and mint flavored confectionary”.

cadbury_triple decker layers

The concoction actually tastes rather nice…the milk chocolate and white chocolate flavors blend nicely and it ends on a minty tone.

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Chocz.

chocz

Chocz is located in Suria KLCC and the place has a very good
reputation, from the various reviews that other bloggers did. I was
very keen on checking out this all chocolate specialty establishment,
particularly the much lauded chocolate nectar drinking ceremony.

chocz display 1

chocz display 2

Chocz. (with a period, it seems) is unique in the sense that it
offers a wide variety of almost exclusively chocolate products. They
offer a wide range of chocolate and chocolate based products from
drinks to moon cakes.

chocz strawberry fantasy

There was also a promotion going on when we went there – Strawberry
Fantasy. Chocz had a mini table selling pre-dipped strawberries at RM 2
each for regular sized ones and RM 4 for large ones. There are also
pre-bagged options at RM 10.

chocz seating

The establishment also has seating arrangements for the ones who
want to indulge in chocolate at the premises. There are comfy sofas and
chairs for groups as well as couples. The seating area isn’t exactly
private, but it’s nice to watch the world go by.

chocz nectar para

The flagship drinks are the chocolate nectar drinking ceremony and
tchocolat1 and we ordered both. The photo above shows the paraphernalia
used in The Ultimate Drinking Chocolate. It comes with a quote from the
Aztec Emperor Montezuma extolling the virtues of this nectar chocolate
drinking ceremony.

chocz nectar

It is served in a special hand made burner, each set with a special
stainless steel spoon straw, metal cup, ceremonial tea light, chocolate
chunks and a serving of warm milk. There are three options for the
chocolate chunks – dark, milk and white. We opted for dark chocolate.

chocz nectar chunks

The 5 Steps to Chocolate Heaven literature describes how to make the drinking chocolate nectar:
Step 1 Begin the ceremony by lighting the flame.
Step 2 Fill half of the metal cup with warm milk.
Step 3 Add chocolate chunks until desired density.
Step 4 Stir constantly with the spoon until smooth dense chocolate is achieved.
Step 5 Relax…now you are ready to suck the sweet nectar through the straw.

Thus, we added all the dark chocolate chunks into the warm milk
(heat comes from a candle beneath the burner) since we wanted a very
dense and thick nectar. We stirred until the white milk turned into
dark chocolate. I tried sipping it through the spoon straw hybrid and
nearly scalded my tongue.

chocz nectar stir

It was indeed very nice, worthy of being called nectar…it’s like
drinking pure chocolate with just enough liquidity to be sucked into a
straw. My girlfriend didn’t like it though…she’s generally not very
big on chocolate but I did get her to drink the tchocolat1, which is
the other flagship drink of Chocz.

chocz tchocolat1

Tchocolat1 is described in the menu as a powerful concoction
regarded as the drink of the gods. It is served in a ceremonial
drinking mug and there are several variations, of which we chose the
Aztec version, which is “dark bittersweet chocolate with a dash of red
chili spice”. I immediately took a big gulp from it while it was still
hot and I pronounce it GOOD! The chili was very discernable and
provides a unique kick to the drink.

chocz strawberry choc

We also ordered from the Strawberry Fantasy promotion. There is the
set option of Strawberries & cream for RM 15++ and Strawberries
with hot chocolate for RM 18++. We chose the latter, and it came in the
form of a bowl of fresh strawberries and a burner with a lit candle on
the side providing hot chocolate for dipping the strawberries in. It
was nice, but the Aztec tchocolat1 overshadows this comparatively
simple offering.

chocz water

Chocz is a great place, but there is too much of a good thing. I was
craving for water, just plain water, please, by the time we finished
the chocolate based cuisine. 😉

Fassbind Kirsch liquor chocolates

fassbind kirsch choc

Fassbind Kirsch chocolates is another product line in the liquor chocolate industry that is made from real alcohol.

fassbind brand choc

Fassbind is a little known brand and kirsch is classified under
“brandy” if I’m not mistaken. It tastes like good brandy. Fassbind
Kirsch can be found in its original state at 41% alcohol.

fassbind kirsch filled chocs

The liquor filled chocolates comes in the form of standard block
milk chocolates filled with the liquor in question – in this case, it’s
Fassbind Kirsch.

fassbind kirsch syrup

It’s important to note that the centers are filled with liquid
liquor, so please don’t make the mistake of biting into it and letting
it spill all over…like me. 😉

Stolichnaya vodka chocolates

kch liquor chocs

I found a wide range of liquor based chocolates in the confectionary
shop at the airport while waiting for my flight just now. I’ve had them
before, but never did get a chance to review them.

stolichnaya choc

I decided to get one for a snack – the Stolichnaya vodka chocolate. These aren’t liquor flavoured chocolates – these are the nice ones with REAL liquor syrup inside.

stoli choc swiss

The vodka is imported from Russia, obviously. Stoli is Russian vodka. The chocolate is Swiss chocolate though.

stoli choc shots

I estimate that each block has the alcohol equivalent of 1/4 of a
vodka shot, so that makes two shot glasses worth of Stolichnaya vodka
in the chocolates. It certainly won’t get you anywhere, but it tastes
good.

stoli choc center

The center really is intriguing…filled with vodka syrup, which
will spill if you tip it. It tastes great, nice texture with the burst
of familiar vodka when you bite into the chocolates. Highly
recommended, it’s made with real alcohol, but don’t expect that to get
you anywhere, just go for the great taste.

stoli choc children
Contains alcohol / Not to be given to children!

This has got to be the funniest sign I’ve seen on a package…

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