tastebudds

The chocolate 'salon' is run by Master Confectioner Dominique Persoone and his wife, Fabienne de Staercke, both from The Chocolate Line in Belgium. Master Chocolatier Dries
Cnockaert often can be seen behind the display glass meticuluosly at work, adding doses of creativity to his sinful yet heavenly creations. On the right you will see glass displays which remind me of the kind you see in jewellery stores. Others behind the counter greet you with a smile as they rush to prepare orders, as the 'salon' is often packed with frequent businesspeople. Most of them come for light business discussions, others come to unwind after a hard day's work.

The most popular pick amongst Melburnians is probably the Iced Chocolate. And with summer gearing up, it has become a clear favourite. Everything chocolate-chocolate and vanilla ice cream, with homemade chocolate syrup lathed against the insides, topped with delicate chocolate shavings which melt in your mouth(sorry M&Ms). Also worth noting are the shards of chocolate embedded in the ice cream, with a touch of honeycomb in them. Truly a treat for the senses! But of course it doesn't come cheap. $5.50 per glass, but I assure you it's worth your money.

Also availabe is the Belgian Spoil. It is basically an assorted platter of chocolate items, each having a unique flavour. The richest of which is undeniably the dark chocolate mousse, sprinkled with finely chopped nuts. There's also chocolate ice cream (again) in it's pure form, but nonetheless creamy and smooooooth. haha I just love that word, so excuse me. On the other side of the elongated platter is a single piece of shortbread, also buttery in texture and flavour. And right at the very end there are two pieces of chocolate. Innocent looking I must say. One's a typical piece of milk chocolate, but the other's interesting. A demure coat of dark chocolate that looks like it's been lashed by chocolate whips, with an unusual paste-like STRAWBERRY centre which tasted slightly 'savoury' as critiqued by a friend, but then it's STRAWBERRY!!!! Who would have thought of that??!!! I guess the guy's as creative as they say he is...haha. And to provide a sense of balance and transition, there's a cube(literally) of chocolate cake sitting in the middle of the platter to bridge the liquids on one end and the solids on the other, since cake tends to have a slighlt squishy texture to it. Haha, this is so bullshit. Belgian Spoil comes with two hot chocolates or iced chocolates as mentioned above, all at a price of $18. So go ahead and splurge if they fancy your budds; oops i mean buds!

I do apologise for not including other items on the menu, plainly because, one, I can't take so much chocolate in one sitting; two, my dad's not a millionaire, so I presume yours isn't either. Nevertheless do take a peek and soak up the chocolatey atmosphere!

17/20 budds

Koko Black
Shop 4 Royal Arcade
335 Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000
Ph: 9639 8911>>>>>>it's best to leave a reservation in order not to be disappointed
Fax: 9663 5197
www.kokoblack.com

Feedback: gneake@gmail.com