Hiatus

Busy with tons of other summer activities and research, plus took up a few additional hobbies. Relevant to this blog, I have started Yelping restaurant reviews rather than posting them here. Check them out here:

http://diana-xie.yelp.com/

Also, Tumblr: edamamefigs.tumblr.com

I will periodically update the blog with more chocolate reviews and other goodies, but usually when I go on some sort of buying spree for these things once I travel again.

Thanks for reading!

Jacques Torres Truffles & Ganaches

Jacques Torres Truffles & Ganaches

Jacques Torres Boutique @ Rockefeller (also one @ Chelsea Market)

Do not be suckered by the pretty colors and designs…much lesser than Maison du Chocolate in quality, consistency, smooth/buttery-ness, creativity of flavors. Only a tiny step above Godiva taste. Slightly cheaper per piece if you’re watching your wallet. But it’s much more worth it to save the money for slightly fewer pieces at Maison. Overrated too. http://www.mrchocolate.com/

Taste: 8/10

Photo credits: http://guestofaguest.com/nyc-charity/the-best-items-to-bid-on-at-nyc-prep-school-auctions/

NYC - Dolfin Chocolate Bars

Dolfin Chocolate

Gourmet grocer @ Chelsea Market

•           Lavender
•           Hot Masala (& other spiced bars)
•           Dark Chocolate (any %)
•           Green Tea & Jasmin
•           Earl Grey (the only one recommended)

I lump all the Dolfin chocolate bars into one review, because, simply put the chocolate quality and consistency is terrible for Dolfin’s price range. Nothing stands out about this bar, milk chocolate is far too sweet and cheap tasting. At times gritty. I appreciate the creativity and quality of the ingredients, and given a good quality chocolate medium these would make excellent bars. Unfortunately, the chocolate itself is of poor quality. I only recommend the Earl Grey flavor, which despite the average-ness of the chocolate has a wonderful tea flavor. http://www.dolfin.be/

Taste: 6.5/10 $0.30/tasting square

Sunday Comics - Where Old People Go

http://www.invisiblehairsuit.com/old_people.htm

NYC - Portuguese Kale Soup (Hale & Hearty)

Hale & Hearty – Portuguese Kale Soup

Chelsea Market

The best cup of soup I have ever tasted. Calories were posted (<200 per medium cup), remarkably healthy and tastes deliciously healthy, incredible depth of flavor and heartiness. Perfect ingredients to soup ratio: kale, sausage (not the crappy Italian or generic kind but a variety I cannot pinpoint but is undoubtedly of high quality & low fattiness), beans, and a melting pot of other ingredients that enhanced the deliciousness of it all. Well worth the price. http://www.haleandhearty.com/

Taste: 10/10 $5.95/medium cup

 

100% Pure Grapefruit Juice (Manhattan Fruit Exchange)

100% Pure Grapefruit Juice (No sugar or other ingredients added)

Brand: Manhattan Fruit Exchange & Juice Factory @ Chelsea Market

Just as freshly squeezed grapefruit juice should taste. Not your grandma’s bitter Florida Grapefruit juice out of the carton…hell no. This shit tastes natural and might as well have been hand-pressed by yourself with a juicer, with juicy, plump bits of grapefruit pulp floating around in juice with absolutely nothing else added. The perfect amount of sweetness and mild acidity of grapefruit, nothing more, nothing less. Pricey with a humble-looking handmade sticker label from the local Chelsea Market, this is as local/natural as it gets. Absolutely recommended if you're willing to shell the money.

Taste: 10/10 $4

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugglerpm/sets/72157623044458172/

Maison du Chocolat Truffles & Ganaches

Maison du Chocolat truffles & ganaches

Maison du Chocolate Boutique @ Rockefeller Center

Melt-in-your-mouth smoothness, you can tell immediately that these truffles are worth the price in both quality and craft. The ganache is firm as butter, but soft and silky as a feather. Once bitten into, it bursts into a soft wave of complex notes unlike a feeling I have never experienced with other truffles. On a scale from 1 to 10, Godiva is a 3, Jacques Torres 8, and Maison du Chocolat an 11.  Perfect balance of buttery and bittersweet,  in addition to a deep complexity of flavors beyond ordinary truffles or Jacques Torres. Quality and consistency is remarkable, well worth every penny of the price if you go for the non-plain ones (avoid the mint ones, especially the gooey mint fillings, as minty tastes usually overwhelm the rest of the flavors). P.S. There was one particular piece that was almost orgasmic in taste...I forgot the name but I think the inside was caramel. However, the caramel was not gooey/sticky, but rather incorporated into this buttery, solid ganache. (Looks just like the one in picture above) http://www.lamaisonduchocolat.com/en/

Taste: 10/10 $2.50/piece

Photo credits: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-oneill/an-afternoon-in-la-maison_b_223901.html

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2008/08/la_maison_du_chocolat_to_open_on_wall_street_with_new_look.html

Shortbread With Stem Ginger (Shortbread House of Edinburgh)

Finest Shortbread With Stem Ginger

Brand: Shortbread House of Edinburgh (Handmade in Scotland)

A step above Walker’s, nice buttery flavor with the perfect crumbly consistency of genuine shortbread. Studded with bits of candied ginger of perfect size and slight sweetness, this is the only ginger product I've ever tasted that does not possess a sickly, overwhelming ginger flavor. Quite the opposite, these tiny ginger bits enhanced the flavor of this shortbread, and I daresay makes it even better than the original. http://www.shortbreadhouse.com

Taste: 9/10 3 packets (2 each) for $2.50 (on sale @ Chelsea Market)

Askonsie – 72% Tenede, Tanzania Dark Chocolate

Askonsie –72% Tenede, Tanzania Dark Chocolate

Semi-sweet, bitter taste with fruity, earthy/bark notes. Slightly acidic, in such a way that makes it slightly sour as well. Not my cup of tea -- utterly unremarkable save for its complexity of flavors that are a step above $3.99 bars, but not justified by the price.

Taste: 8/10 Quality: 9/10 Consistency: 9.5/10

http://www.askinosie.com/

Photo credits: http://drexeliuschocolates.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/askinosie-chocolate-tanzania-review/

Vosges – Oaxaca 75%

Vosges – Oaxaca 75%

Vosges Boutique @ Soho

Chilles ingredients clearly tasted, but does not enhance chocolate taste. Overwhelms the complexity and quality of Vosges chocolate medium that supposedly is justified by the $7.50/bar price tag. Unremarkable, not recommended given the high price.

Taste: 7.5/10 Quality: 9/10 Consistency: 9/10

Spiced dark chocolate is ridiculously overrated. I am pretty sure the idea of peppering bars with spices, with perhaps the best intent, ultimately became a form of generating variety, such that a steady stream of novel flavors could be perpetuated in the overpriced dark chocolate market catering to the wealthy and wannabe connesoiurs. This bar is completely unremarkable, both in complexity and spice taste. It’s a plain chocolate bar, with no particularly obvious flavor notes, that has the taste of plain ole’ spices in it. That is it, and that is all. Although those who adore the spice and dark chocolate combination may like this bar (I have yet to meet such a person), I was completely unimpressed by both the quality and taste of it. The $7.50 price tag did not help, and I am glad I only tasted this via free sampling.

Ingredients: guajillo & pasilla chillies + Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

NYC - Fat Witch Brownies

Witch’s Bakery – Original Brownie

Chelsea Market (other location: Hell’s Kitchen)

Consistency and cocoa ratio has room for improvement, but nevertheless this is an amazing brownie. Extraordinarily rich and buttery (and most likely equally dense in calories as well), I highly recommend purchasing at least the $1.50 tasting squares for taste of one of NYC’s best brownies. Soft with the oily smush of a brownie you know has tons of buttery goodness inside - depending on your taste, this may or may not be an ideal consistency. The level of butteri-ness is most likely what has caused Witch's to receive so many accolades. Even if you do not like that smushy consistency, the taste is well worth the purchase. http://www.fatwitch.com/

Taste: 9/10 Quality: 8/10 Consistency: 8/10 $1.50/ tasting square size

NYC Spring Break 2011

Just came back from NYC and had the most amazing range of experiences. Boutiques, gourmet grocers, and sights I've never seen, I could go on and on about everything. While my flight was delayed, decided to write as many reviews as I could about the things I tried. Posts coming up. Everyday this week, at least one post a' day about something I tried in NYC.