January 30, 2013

• The Peninsula Hong Kong Chocolates

  The line was way longer than we had expected. So long that they couldn’t accept any more people to wait in line for a table for their high-tea session that only available from 2PM-6PM. The fact that we were in the middle of high tourist season made it worse. This was our second attempt for an opportunity to experience an afternoon-tea dining at The Peninsula Hotel, located at the Kowloon island side of Hong Kong.

  I was with Gary (@currypuffy) and Nick (@beowulf222). We were extremely bummed by our luck, or lack there of. We still determined to pamper our sweet tooth and decided to go elsewhere for high tea. But we still had to wait for Doris (@snowjunky8), another xangan whom I was to meet for the first time. And so to kill time, we went down to the basement arcade of the hotel, where some shops are located. Down at the low-ceiling arcade, we stumbled upon the hotel’s gift shop, selling various edible gifts, including many of the hotel own handmade chocolates. Some have an expiration date longer than others, ranging from a week to 3 weeks, depending on the flavors. Considering that it was my last day in Hong Kong and I had yet the chance to experience The Peninsula Hotel’s high tea, I thought to myself that these chocolates would make a good remedy for my disappointment. And so I got myself a box of six chocolates from their selection of about thirty or so flavors. This is my Hong Kong souvenir for myself.

  It was not until about a couple of weeks after my return back to Indonesia when I finally opened my souvenir. The chocolates were in a dark brown synthetic leathered box, wrapped with a deep forest green colored ribbon with the words ‘THE PENINSULA’ imprinted in white. The box interior is deep enough to carry a dozen chocolates, for it allows a tray of six pieces of chocolates to be stacked on top of another six-piece set. Upon opening the gold patterned cellophane white wax paper that covered the top tier of the interior of the box, six petite beauties instantly colored my sight. They exuded a sweet smell of pure cacao, combined with a certain ratio of milk and sugar that made it unmistakably the sweet smell of chocolates.

  

  I’m not that big of a fan of chocolates. However, I can still appreciate good quality made ones and don't mind having them once or twice, and when I do, I almost always go for the dark variety. The strength of the earthy cacao liquor of the dark variety can be intoxicating, without being too sweet. The six pieces I purchased include two squared dark chocolates; one with lavender chocolate ganache and the other with basil-lemon chocolate ganache. The other four were round shaped chocolates; a green colored dark chocolate shell with a filling of kalamansi lime jelly on top of chocolate ganache, a maroon colored milk chocolate shell with a filling of kumquat-saffron jelly on top of chocolate ganache, a white spotted dark chocolate shell with a filling of fleur de sel chocolate ganache, and a deep orange colored white chocolate shell filled with citrus jelly on top of chocolate ganache.

  

  From them six, I found kumquat-saffron and lavender ones to be my least favorite, for they lacked the strength of flavor enough to give that ‘pow’ moment when their flavor profiles touched the surface of my taste sensory, as the dark chocolate began to melt with the warm temperature of my mouth. Smooth and velvety in texture and just enough sweetness to compliment the earthiness of the dark chocolate flavor, all in all these are fine hand crafted edible arts. Not to be missed for those who crave a sweet euphoria to brighten their crappy day. Or any day, for that matter.

  • 11:13 pm
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