Melbourne Hot Chocolate Review #3

Location: Lygon Street (other franchises elsewhere)
Cost: $5.90
Temperature: Piping Hot
Take-away: Yes

This week I got acquainted with my old amigo, San Churro's Spanish Hot Chocolate with Hazelnut. This drink used to be called Baci Hot Chocolate but obviously word must have got back to management that Baci is an Italian delicacy and not authentically Spanish. Therefore it has now been given a name that I can't quite remember but I'm sure it started with A, so after extensive research of the Spanish word for Hazelnut I conclude that the new drink must be Christened Avellano or something of the sort.

So does a hot chocolate by any other name still taste as sweet? Yes. I enjoyed possessively mulling over my hazelnut hot chocolate while others walked by on Lygon Street and looked longingly through the windows. I sat there a while because the serving size is very decent and with the heat that the hot chocolate comes to your table at it's best to go slowly if you don't like scorched taste buds. I think this temperature is great though because no-one likes a cold chocolate (unless it's iced), the only minimal downside to the temperature is that a slight skin of chocolate can form on top if you don't keep stirring your cup of delight. I say delight because I feel that is the best word to describe the flavour, there is the delicious base of Spanish Chocolate that is full yet not heavy, and then the Hazelnut dances delicately on top adding a zing to the overall taste. The texture is not rough but I've definitely had smoother.
So will I be meeting my old amigo again? Most certainly!

Melbourne Hot Chocolate Review #2

Max Brenner's Hot Chocolate
Location: Melbourne Central
Temperature: Warm
Cost: $6.00
Take-away: yes

I've tried lots of hot chocolates at Max Brenner over the past 4 years and a worrying trend has come to my attention. I'm no Commerce student so I don't quite understand what the technical term for this is but basically the price of the hot chocolate has increased steadily and the quality has decreased steadily. The hot chocolate is still a good beverage, but I have that devil of prior experience whispering in my ear "It used to be better...and CHEAPER!"

I hate to seem like an old biddy, but back in my day, you could afford a hot choclate and would get two waffles without dinting your wallet. These waffles have now been reduced to waffle and the ice cream, chocolate pot and strawberries on the side are no longer 'standard' but classified as 'extras'. Damn it Max, you've sold out. You have turned the purest form of love, the love of chocolate, into a slogan. That ain't right!

Sure the Hug Mugs and Alice cups are darling and there's enough 50's nostalgia to sink the Good Ship Lollipop, what really matters is the hot chocolate so this is my honest review.
Max Brenner's milk chocolate has this delicate hint of caramel/toffee?...Well something sweet that my tastebuds can't identify but always want more of. You know it sounds a lot like sugar, but this lovely taste is the basis of all the Hot Chocolates. I've tried the Original, Danish Toffee, Waffle Ball and American Marshmellow all made with Milk Chocolate and I will base my comments on the later mentioned.
I first had this drink a few years back but can still remember how good it was. The chocolate liquid was densely flavoured with caramel undertones and enhanced by the layer of mini-marshmallow that floated mellowly on top, gently nestled in milk froth. Ahhhh.
That experience was tainted last week by the watered down chocolate liquid that had a distant memory of caramel flavour and two cheap marshmallows plopped unmelted in 2cms of froth. The worst part is that this experience cost me at least $2 more than the last!

No one likes to be cheated and that is the feeling I get now whenever I walk into Max Brenner's. It's like Max has become the unfaithful lover who I keep running back to hoping I will get back the joy I once had. Alas I have been scorned enough and for the good of my morale and my mortgage, I'm not going back.
Just a note for those who do enter Max's den, get the chocolate brownie with ice-cream for $8.50 as it's the only reasonably priced and rewarding experience on the menu...also invite me, so then I would only be eating there out of social politeness.

Melbourne Hot Chocolate Review #1

So it may be because I'm still hungover at 3:30pm on a Saturday and feeling quite sorry for myself, but I'm beginning to crave some human conversation on my blog that I or a very close friend haven't typed.
The reason I started this blog was to get people out and about, enjoying the food and other delights of Melbourne. So please, yes I am pleading, if you go and share my experiences that I've blogged about TELL ME! I don't mind if you want to challenge my reviews, suggest places I should go or tell me how much you like my shoes.

I also understand that when you want something to happen you have to do a bit of hard work yourself. Thus I have decided that every week you lovely readers will get a review of the best Melbourne Hot Chocolates. I know it will be hard for me to drink a hot chocolate every week but it's a chore I must do.

Thus we begin

Brunetti's Italian Hot Chocolate
Locations: Carlton, City Square and Camberwell
Cost: $4.40 with cream.
Temperature: Hot
Take away: Yes

First times are usually a disappointment. It can be awkward, heart breaking and uncomfortable. Much like my first Italian Hot Chocolate at Brunetti’s. I was seventeen and trying ever so hard to grow up. I had become acquainted with cappuccino and sushi and believed I was ready for European Hot Chocolate. From the first sip I was sad. I could barely manage a few gulps of the rich concoction. Bitterly disappointed I swore I would never try it again, ever. However those few sips were enough to corrupt my taste buds, as I sipped on lukewarm chocolate from ‘coffee shops’ I dreamed of the chocolate intensity that had so briefly coated the back of my teaspoon.

I gave in a year later as I struggled through my first year of university. Inconvenient two hour class breaks and the chill of Melbourne’s winter could be fixed with one cup of Brunetti’s Italian Hot Chocolate. The serving size is a small glass, although it may look small it's just right. The liquid chocolate is dark and rich with a taste that verges on the right side of bitter. It is incredibly smooth and evenly coats the back of your teaspoon. I prefer mine without cream on top, but it is not ruined by the addition. To increase the delight, do buy one of their scrumptious little biscuits to go with it. There’s nothing wrong with a bit on the side ;)