Andrew's passion leads him on a delicious trail of the shops that sweeten his city lifestyle.
My name is Andrew and I am a chocoholic.
Coming from the UK and growing up during the 1980s, I was surrounded by a number of world renowned chocolate brands such as Cadbury, Rowntree Mackintosh and Terry?s, who produced such favourites as Dairy Milk, Yorkie, Kit Kat and the Chocolate Orange. And as a child, TV was forever filled with Mars Bars, Nestle?s Milky Bars and Cadbury?s Flake. It was all of this that led to a slight obsession of needing to try any new bar as soon as I saw it advertised or it reached the shop floor.
Now as an ?adult? nothing much has changed. I still await new releases from the world favourite brands, but I have now also added a more connoisseur?s style approach to my almost daily intake of Chocolate. Having arrived in Adelaide and moving to the West End at the end of last year, I?ve quickly come to understand that as cities go, not only is?Adelaide a city of churches, but also a city of chocolate.
Adelaide and South Australia not only has its locally produced chocolate delights but it seems an abundance of great caf?s dedicated to the sweetened goodness. So in good researcher?s style I set off from my West End home to explore my local streets and taste the goods. Let?s take a tour:
Follow the trail.
A must visit caf? for all you chocoholics; Chocolat is a small family run South Australian chain with a main base in Rundle Street. Serving a wide selection of drinks and desserts including award winning ice cream, Chocolat offers a comfy, modern caf? atmosphere to relax in. Here I often select the standard Hot Chocolate as it is quite sweet, and enjoy one of their chocolate based muffins; served?slightly warm so it turns a little gooey. A nice touch is the little marshmallow they serve with each Hot Chocolate, which you can then choose to add or not to your drink. Chocolat also serves some fancier style cakes and has a selection of chocolates to meet every taste. Vienna Chocolate, which if you have a very sweet tooth or are having a bad day, is worth a try as the cream topped drink will fill you with glee (or maybe it?s just the naughtiness kicking in). Try getting a seat in the window to watch the world go by, or if warm enough sit outside and enjoy the buzz of the Rundle Street.
Slightly hidden off Rundle Street, Chocolate Bean is a Mecca for all?the chocolate addicts?of Adelaide, and they also cater well for those who are Vegan and on Gluten free diets. They serve a selection of Hot Chocolates from Dark to White and even a Chocolate Chai for those who don?t want something too sweet. My choice here is the Dark Hot Chocolate, as often the drinks are milky and the dark chocolate adds that little bit more flavour. Alongside the drink my dessert of choice is always the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake, which if you don?t get their early enough, often sells out quick. The Chocolate Bean also has a range of hand rolled truffles to tickle the taste buds if you don?t fancy a slice of cake. An extremely popular hole-in-the-wall caf?, finding a seat can be hard sometimes, so make sure you get in early to get a seat in this chocolate haven.
Established in Adelaide in 1915, Haigh?s has six stores in South Australia with three in the CBD. Its original store at Beehive Corner on Rundle Mall is often an irresistible payday stop off for me. Haigh?s has a wide selection of bars, truffles and other chocolate based products to select from, with my current favourite being the Coconut Rough (chocolate covered toasted coconut) alongside their delicately spiced drinking chocolate, which gives punches of cardamom and is also great as flavouring in cakes. Having seen other chocolate brands such as Thornton?s (UK) and Lindt branch out into chocolate based caf?s, how long before Haigh?s start serving up their chocolate drink to weary Rundle Mall shoppers? What I do like about Haigh?s is the inviting window displays which often rotates around a theme or flavour. At Easter it?s particularly fantastic; filled to the brim with their version of the Australianised Easter Bunny, the Easter Bilby.
Situated amongst the boutique shops and eateries in North Adelaide, the small yet inviting caf? Chocolatree has it all; a long selection of flavoured Hot Chocolates, an array of chocolate based desserts (including their take on chocolate pizza), and fine looking chocolates made by their own Chocolatiers. I like the smooth and sultry Hazelnut infused dark hot chocolate here (served with marshmallow) but I?m still to nail down a favourite dessert as there are so many. Again this place is often busy, but don?t be deterred if you have to wait for a table. Sunday mornings are often quite good, and a great way to shake off the night before with a brisk walk to North Adelaide and a mug of something chocolaty and sweet.
So as you can see, my move to the city was a good one; it seems we both share a sweet tooth and a love of Chocolate.
The stories on Already Home are made possible by a wide range of talented Adelaideans. If you think you can contribute ? suggest an idea or just get in touch.
Source: http://alreadyhome.com.au/food-and-drink/chocolate/
jay z new song torrie wilson alabama lsu bcs national championship bcs championship bcs national championship 2012 university of alabama
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.