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2009-02-14
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Having written OR reviews for cha.ke.li, La Maison, and most recently VERO, I must say my love for chocolate has been expanding at greater magnitude by the minute. The feelings have never been stronger and cannot be extinguished like you can just give it up. The love of chocolate is not exclusively on my part, in fact, many of us are in love with it, I just happen to enjoy expressing my affection in words just as I enjoy the pleasure of it all. Writing this on Valentine's Day just makes it all t
Debauve & Gallais was founded in 1800, and has since taken France by storm with chocolate as its singlemost weapon of seduction (to the palates). For over 2 centuries the greatest names in history has fallen in love with it, namely, Napoleon and Marie-Antoinette had both expressed love openly on Debauve & Gallais' chocolates. History aside, the brand celebrated its first opening here in HONG KONG. Located inside Lee Gardens with a wide entrance, the staff are extra nice and knowledgable about everything inside the display case. Should you decide which pieces you will order, with gloved hands the staff will pick them up, place them on a little tray, and weigh them out before you pay for the chocolates.
While dazzled under my eyes, It is merely impossible to try out everything on display. That, will take a few visits, but upon minutes of consideration, I allowed my intuition to make my decisions for me -- though it may be unfair since I really did judge by the looks. Here's a brief account of what I tried.
CANNELE (Creamy Ganache with Caramelized Butter Molded in a 60% cocoa dark chocolate)
The dark chocolate coating has a crisp to it, and inside the snap I tasted instant creaminess -- a deep breath later, the buttery filling slowly melted as it spread out on all the tastebuds. Sweet caramel blending with ever so perfect butter taste to yield a simple variation of sugar-and-butter I have missed since the last time I had caramel tasting like this one. The lightness offset the intensity of the cocoa, and the texture of the filling also offered a strong contrast with the snap of the chocolate coating.
PERIGORD LAIT (Walnut Paste Covered in a Rough Milk Chocolate Topped with Green Walnut)
Do not be alarmed with the term green walnut, it's not as toasty as most walnuts you eat. The milk chocolate is slightly sweeter and more gooey but the walnut paste inside was a completely different matter. Forget marzipan and painful memories of sweetened nut paste that tasted of nothing. This walnut paste has a strong potent taste of the nut and reminded me of just cracked walnuts. Dark chocolate would have made it heavier but milk chocolate was just sweet enough.
PALET VLTIME (85% Ganache with 72% dark chocolate cover)
A Square of ganache creamier and richer than the ones I've had in La Maison. This one may be simple, but the slight smokiness in the dark chocolate paired well with the coating. Feeling the chocolate slowly filling up your mouth, and at the end of the swallowing you feel your entire being filled with the essence of cocoa. That, was something that you want to last, at least I wanted more on this one.
PISTOLES DE MARIE-ANTOINETTE/DES DAMES (Orange Tree Flower infused 60% Cocoa Dark Chocolate)
Each one of these "gold coins" featured a logo of Debauve & Gallais. They may be thin disks of chocolate, but try putting the entire thing on your tongue and restrain your teeth from biting into it. You will first feel the dark chocolate melting, then try to take a breath in, as the aroma of orange blossom infusion takes over, yielding floral notes to the otherwise dark chocolate. Its sensation was quite similar to sipping tisane with dark chocolate, except it's all in one complete act. These PISTOLES are also relatively cheaper than the bonbons sold here.
DIABLOTIN (Hazelnuts with Delicious Gjanduja 72% Dark Chocolate)
Fluted sides and thick piping of Gjanduja Rose on the top, the filling inside the chocolate was a praline made of milk and ground hazelnuts. It has a rustic appearance on the slight crumbles of nuts, blending throughout the thickest and creamy filling gjanduja. This is one of my nut-based favorites here. The chocolate and nut proportions were nicely balanced without one overpowering the other, leaving a prolong linger of nuttiness in the mouth.
CHATAGNE (Chestnut Paste with Antilla Rum and Coated with 60% Cocoa Chocolate)
Oooo...This is the one that made me swoon a little from inside out. Chestnut and Rum has been quite a nice pair together, and this one shows no exception. A crisp into the filling you'll understand what I mean. First there is the potent caramel taste of Rum, followed by the finest of chestnut paste ever so fine and velvety. If there is anything, it's that the rum seems to have overpowered the chestnuts a little bit, leaving a rather dry aftertaste to the mouth after feeling a delicate buttery texture from the filling.
The trip to Debauve & Gallais opened my eyes to the possibilities in chocolates and realized how I could've missed out on old-school chocolates at all. On second thought, this love should be widespread to chocoholics alike, and everyone else who has or has yet felt one's inward swooning when having a good piece of chocolate. It's one that needs to be explored further and go deeper each time -- feeling the utmost satisfaction within the sensual pleasures harvested from the deepest of desires and love for chocolate. You can comfort yourself by claiming it's good for health, much as Brillat-Savarin has said decades ago..."What is Health? It is Chocolate". Embrace the passion you have for it. If you haven't already developed one, you should at least try it out. You may like it and never look back as well, just like I did.
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