“Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” she says, her hand nevertheless reaching toward
the proffered box. Chocolate represents all that is decadent, delicious
and exotic. Even Casanova was reportedly a great fan of chocolate’s erotic
qualities-and that was a man who knew there is no such thing as too much
of a good thing.
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To Seduce
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Photos:
Rae Huo
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“Holy…cocoa bean,” one thinks, as the Naga truffle spreads coconut
extract, milk chocolate and fragrant curry powder across your mouth.
The Naga is just one of the exotic truffles made by Vosges’ owner/chocolatier,
the Chicago-based Katrina Markoff. Her haut-chocolats are worldly,
with ingredients such as Pastis, Chinese star anise, violets-even
Big Island honey. The layered flavors, the lingering sensations.
We’re blushing. A nine-piece box is $23 at Neiman Marcus (Ala Moana
Center, 951-8887).
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To Comfort
To bite, or not to bite? To crack through the shell of the chocolate-covered
cherry and enjoy it all at once, or slowly let it dissolve, savoring
the syrup before you hit the satisfying pop of the fruit itself?
Take time to try both, as these old-fashioned confections are far
better than their drugstore impersonators: balanced sweetness and
cocoa-forward, dark-chocolate richness. $9.75 for six ounces at
Ethel M. Chocolates (Ala Moana Center; 957-0101). To healWorld-famous
Chocolatier Jacques Torres created a chocolate bar with herbs to
help stomach a too-full stomach. With 61.5 percent cacao, you can
really taste the dusky undertones of the cacao beans playing off
the peppermint, basil and cardamon flavors. $5 a bar at Origins
(visit www.origins.com for
locations).
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To Heal
World-famous Chocolatier Jacques Torres created a chocolate bar
with herbs to help stomach a too-full stomach. With 61.5 percent
cacao, you can really taste the dusky undertones of the cacao beans
playing off the peppermint, basil and cardamon flavors. $5 a bar
at Origins (visit www.origins.com
for locations).
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To Intrigue
The gray, wind-churned sea meets a lonely beach in France. Fran’s
Chocolates Dark Gray Salt Caramels are the result: an unusual, luxurious
creation. The caramels are hand dipped in dark chocolate, then sprinkled
with just a dash of gray sea salt harvested off the Brittany Coast.
Oui, this makes them really delicious. $12.50 for a box of seven
at Honolulu Chocolate Co. (Ward Centre, 591-2997).
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To Impress
That famous gold box, the anticipation of a teasing ribbon tie.
Godiva has long been famous for its truffles. With flavors such
as mojito (spearmint and rum flavors spiked with a squeeze of Key
Lime in a white-chocolate ganache) and “pabana” (passion-fruit juice
and banana mixed into a base of milk chocolate ganache), we don’t
know where to start. Four-piece box of truffles, $8 at Godiva (visit
www.godiva.com for locations.)
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