Some Conclusions

I am almost done collating feedback from friends and folks! Whilst most comments were encouraging and almost flattering, I was actually more motivated by the negative/neutral ones. It got me brainstorming into new flavours. What was more interesting is I am starting to notice some patterns how people enjoy their chocolates. From a small pool of 15-20 friends who have tried the 8th June recipes, I have drawn some extremely-unsubstantiated conclusions and stereotypes:-

1) Most like dark chocolates. (only 1 wished I had used milk instead)

2) Much to my surprise, most do enjoy nuts with their chocs. (some like it caramelised, some do like it lighted salted!)

3) Those who enjoy nuts with their chocs don't enjoy the nibs. (huh... am I the only weird one who love nibs?)

4) Some especially like the barks thin! not skinny thin like Lindt thins, but not blockish like regular bars either (oh yeah...)

5) The cynics just don't like things with their chocolates; Nuts and what-nots are contaminants (yes, designers are often purists)

I love dark chocolates, enjoy good, fresh, toasted nuts with them, LOVE the dark chocolate bark with cocoa nibs, like the bark thin enough to give a light snap and enjoy plain good bars tremendously. Not exactly the most critical person am I? (^_-)

Pseudo Chocolatier on Fridays - 3 Chocolate Barks

I am not sure if I can discipline myself to do this regularly, but I have finally started my chocolate dessert sessions. "Fridays would work well..." I thought, as I can share all the cocoa goodies with my dear folks and friends over the weekend. It would be unimaginable to be selfish to have a kg of good chocolate to myself (for fear of gaining the kgs too of course). Once a cookie churning monster, I never baked a tub of cookies, I always made a mountainful. I can't bear to do so much washing for just 40 cookies! At least 200, or enough to feed a few groups of friends! For chocolate recipes requiring tempering, it is also due to practical reasons as well; It is tough to temper small quantities of chocolate. This time round, I tempered 1 kg of chocolate with the seeding method, and I'm already finding it hard to handle the temperature fluctuations.

Loads of patience, good daylight, soothing music would be great ingredients for some chocolate recipes. Though they are no-bake recipes, that 6 hours in the kitchen still feels a terrific baking therapy. 3 Chocolate Barks with the Valrhona 70% Guanaja. I can't be a dessert critic because I am never too picky. I like all 3, so I am going to depend on my friends and folks to give some honest feedback.



Dark Chocolate Bark with Caramelized Macadamia & Orange Grate
Always a macadamia mania, I added orange grate during the caramelizing to add a citrus note.



Dark Chocolate Bark with Demerara & Cocoa Nibs
For lovers of good dark chocolate. The cocoa nibs add a crunch, without taking away the limelight from the chocolate. I hesitated adding demerara, (so I only added for half a tray). The demerara accentuates the bitterness of the cocoa nibs, yet gives a sweet aftertaste. keke.. yummmm.....



Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachio, Hazelnuts & Salted Pumpkin seeds
Recipe adapted from Chocolate Obsession by Michael Recchiuti & Fran Gage, this has got to be one of best looking chocolate barks around. I really love the purplish pistachios. ^^

Trainstation-Spotting

This entry doesn't have anything brownish nor creamy... it's a little dusty, blue-grey and not that yummy. ^^

I normally sleep on trains, but on one particular ride from Taichung to Kaohsiong, I didn't sleep a wink. A whole collection of train stops form an interesting album, different font types, different medium.







My favorite is Jhih Ben.

The Artisan

S.C. bought 2 very nice boxes of chocolates for me, and asked l.t. to bring them back to Singapore. Irony was, when I was happily savouring the sweet treats, she was down with a nasty bout of chicken pox in London. I haven't gotten the depressing and potentially scarring pox yet, and I was praying tight my vaccination (some more than 12 years ago) might still be keeping the nasty virus at bay. "Probably not..." friends told me the vaccination doesn't last more than 10 years, and if Wikipedia is a reliable good source (protection of no more than 5 years), I should have lost the immunity for at least 7 years by now! Huh... I should stop procrastination and get ready for further immunization.

Well, s.c., if you are reading this, I am hoping you feel better and all the herbal teas you mom prepared has helped. Look on the bright side, now you are likely to have lifelong immunity. No risk of getting it during pregnancy, which can cause serious problems for babies... :(

Okie, let's talk about something less itch-inducing...




I have finished the whole box of L'artisan du chocolat (the one in camel brown square box). A big YUUUUMMMMMMM... each little piece has a different flavour. Though I can't make out the flavours of more than half of them (in some cases, I was very greedy and ate them a little too quickly.. heh), I love them all. The texture is great; the ganache is smooth and melt in the mouth. Those with nuts and seeds were very finely crushed (but not powdery) and form a velvety paste with good "口感“. (how do I translate that?) The chocolate taste lingered a long time after the eating, which is real nice...



I really like it that they were all simple rectangular blocks (not to mention it's really bite size, so I really didn't need to share with anyone... haha), and the many flavours distinguished in very simple subtle ways. They were neat, pretty and uniformly irregular enough, to evoke a certain sense of "handmadeness" with skill and professionism. Many chocolatiers have different moulds for different flavours, and I personally find most moulds too elaborate and the finish too "sleek" and polished. Personal choice really! I am a sucker for great packaging and presentation, but what really matters is the taste...

What would very absolutely enticing, is the inclusion of a little flavour booklet that would fit in the box, featuring all the flavours like what they did on their online flavour catalogue. Guess there are just too many flavours... ^_^

I won't act like a connoisseur because I am really not one, but I hope to recommend to whoever might have a similar box to taste their chocolates at room temperature. I tasted a few pieces before putting the box in the fridge, and they melt almost instantly in the mouth, and the flavour very distinct. After refrigerating them (I really have to, because it's an average of 28 degree celsius all day here), and eating them straight from the fridge, it (of course) took a long time to melt in the mouth, and I was very tempted (and some cases succumbed) to chew them before they started to melt, which I find didn't do justice to getting full utility from these delightful treats. Subsequently, I ate them only after resting them for a while (after refrigeration) at room temperature, and I enjoyed them a lot more.

I dedicate this entry to dear s.c.. Though it's a trifle too late to wish you something like "speedy recovery"(hahaha... and I'm sure you feel better already), just want to let you know that little box is absolutely treasure-ful! Thanks madame!

Ribbons Galore...

It's wonderful to receive presents, and more so to be presented with a prettily wrapped one. Since Christmas last year and my wedding recently, I have accumulated a vast collection of ribbons and textured papers (as I handmake all the wedding favors/cards etc.). It gives great satisfaction to tie a perfect bow, and I can't seem to get enough of it. After the invitations, I used ribbons for wedding favors, and after I am done with favors, I designed another post-wedding album which uses ribbons too. To make things slightly worse, I have a weakness for double faced ribbons which often cost up to twice as much as single faced ribbons. In lay man terms, double faced ribbons have same texture on both sides. I find them a whole lot more "intergral" and "ribbony". But as a friend has described, she feels this fetish is a mere extension of my sometimes-senseless pursuit of perfectionism. Erm.... I can almost agree with her on that...

But as the months passed, the fascination grew. I didn't buy them what I needed, I bought everything I fancied, and I bought them in bulk from manufacturers and distributors. (some really great stuff are only available from rare collections from hard-to-find distributors, and I can't bear to get just a few yards since I travelled such a distance). It's scary how much there is now. I have a dedicated drawer to ribbons. I probably have enough supplies for gift wrapping for the next 50 years; friends and folks can probably bring their gifts over for the next 50 years too, and I bet I will still have a surplus.

As with all things in a series or collection, it brings great joy to photograph, and a neat challenge for ribbons because I wanted to capture the textures accurately. I started off photographing some for auctioning on ebay. Then it became more of a hobby. I waited for early mornings and late afternoons, which seem to work well for me (gives very good daylighting) given my resources (my apartment cum studio/camera etc.). Here are some pictures.