Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sweet Dreams

Food and travel guest blogger hkLifestyleGeek gives us her next scoop on fantastic restaurants around town and travel tips. Contact her at hklifestylegeek@hkfashiongeek.com

Disclosure: Jean-Paul Hevin is a client of FashionGeek’s day job company. All views are presented by guest blogger LifestyleGeek


Chocoholics beware -- there's another place in town to sate your deepest darkest cravings.Famed Parisian chocolatier Jean-Paul Hevin was recently in Hong Kong to officially open his newest chocolate boutique, and unveil his creations for Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day.

The Parisian-style "Boutique et Bar a Chocolat" is on Lyndhurst Terrace making it convenient for those in Mid-Levels so they don't have to schlep all the way to IFC mall or have to dig out their passport to cross the border into Kowloon at the other location in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui.

The two-storey place is very cosy, with the delectable chocolates on view on the ground floor and then a small bar upstairs where you can sample the famous dark treats, desserts, macaroons or even lunch.
Apparently Hevin's chocolates are only on display for three days so one wonders what happens to them after that... This strict standard of quality I have yet to hear of in other chocolate boutiques, making his requirements quite extraordinary.
And hearing him talk about chocolates only confirms this man is passionate about what he does.

Hevin loves his chocolates so much he eats some everyday -- even just before going to bed, believing that it has health benefits, including stimulating blood circulation. He is very particular about his cocoa and travels to various countries, inspecting the farms where the cocoa beans are harvested, fermented and packaged. Once he gets his cocoa, he tries to make the best chocolate out of them without adding sugar.

During his Hong Kong visit he led some folks on a chocolate tasting of five different countries, each with their own distinct flavours, much like wine.

And here are some of his tasting notes:

Caracas, Venezuela: He recommends this chocolate for first-timers sampling his products. It's aromatic and intense, with spicy notes and hints of yellow fruits like banana, peach and apricots. The taste is round and soft.

Colombia: This is a well-balanced chocolate that tastes of caramelised biscuit, a roasted coffee flavour.

Cuba: Floral and spicy, with a strong intensity and aroma.

Madagascar: Acidic cocoa that is very rich. Hevin says he uses this chocolate mostly in cakes and mousses. He considers this chocolate one of the best in the world.

Piura, Peru: Spicy vanilla, chestnut flavours, and can have floral notes.
Hevin also demonstrated how to make his signature hot chocolate, where he added fresh whole milk with chocolate powder and whisked them under low heat for several minutes. After pouring them into the small cups he added raspberry foam on top to add more dimension to the taste.

Needless to say the hot chocolate was definitely welcome on a chilly day.

Prices are competitive with other high-end chocolate boutiques such as La Maison Chocolat, with a box of eight pieces for Valentine's Day going for HK$240 or macaroons for HK$130. The Jean-Paul Hevin tasting tablettes from the countries mentioned above is HK$580.

It's worth indulging here -- Hevin definitely uses high-quality ingredients and makes sure you come out with greater appreciation for chocolate.

Jean-Paul Hevin
13 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central
2851 0633
www.jphevin.com.hk

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1 comment:

  1. Man, the place is really awesome and the pics dishes really seem to be mouthwatering. thank you for posting them here. Will surely go to this place.

    ReplyDelete