Monday vacay into a French Chocolaterie

Ok, this is the real deal. Out of the four places I’ve trekked to for the Hot Chocolate Festival thus far, Chocolaterie De La Nouvelle France is the one to beat. Nestled in a little shop on 21st Avenue off Main Street, I had high hopes for this place. The name alone screams French chocolate (and translated, I believe means “New France Chocolatier”)! I was treated to the hot chocolate of the day by the Chocolate Realtor herself, Nina Pousette – a French-trained pastry chef – so when she says it’s the real deal, believe moi, it is.

Surprise Flower - 66% Mexican dark chocolate, infused with Jasmine

I know that the shop is most known for their chocolates, but I was super impressed by their festival selection. The Surprise Flower comes with the flower of the day, and although I usually don’t like smelling flowers – much less tasting them – the smooth, rich, dark drinking chocolate more than made up for the taste of Jasmine. It was a nice change, and definitely the most intriguing festival flavour I’ve tried so far. It also came with a little chocolate tart with gold dust on it – which is edible! Gold is good for you right?

The shop also gives you a choice between a cup of hot chocolate or just a shot – so you can sip that 66% like a glass of scotch if you’d like. For a sweet tooth, I found the cup rich enough, so the shot must just take you a bit overboard. There are only a few seats indoors, but there are tables outdoors too – which would be nice on a sunny day like today. The one server on Monday afternoon even spoke French and has only been in Vancouver for a year. Can’t get more authentic than that.

Be sure to check out the Surprise Flower this upcoming week if you haven’t already.

Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France
198 E. 21st Avenue & Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5V 1P8
604-566-1065
info@chocolaterienouvellefrance.ca
chocolaterienouvellefrance.ca
Visit their Facebook Page here
Twitter @MainStChocolate

Hours: 7 days a week, 12-6pm

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Waterfront treat at Leonidas

For my third expedition during the Hot Chocolate Festival, I headed to Leonidas with a friend. With a beautiful waterfront location just outside of the Vancouver Convention Centre West, you can’t go wrong. What I didn’t know about Leonidas is that it’s an international brand. The selection of chocolates and other desserts alone is enough to make you drool.

My choice of decadence was the Tosca, a dark chocolate and pistachio flavoured treat. For about $7.50, the drink came with a choice of chocolate or belgian waffle. I figured it was tastebud sabotage to eat chocolate upon chocolate, so I went for the waffle instead.

I had to get an aerial shot of the “meal” because it shows how much attention they pay to presentation –  on top of the chocolate froth is an “L” as well as in chocolate sauce on the waffle plate. The server also told us that the whipped cream was white-chocolate flavoured. That, with some fruit on the side…well you just can’t ask for a better afternoon snack.

The waffle wasn’t heavily sweet, which was great because the sweetness of the whipped cream and fruit was a good pair… and then the taste of the hot chocolate – mmm. The drink wasn’t very rich and tasted a bit on the milkier side to me than dark, but that hint of pistachio was real nice.

As for the location, there are about 5 tables for two, so during peak times it could be full… also since it takes about 5 minutes just to make a purchase decision, the traffic by the door can pile up. But all for good reason, I suppose. With such an ideal location, there’s no excuse to visit again and try out their chocolates.

Leonidas
#29-1055 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC V6C 3T4
604-647-7559
chocolat@leonidaswaterfront.com
leonidaswaterfront.com
Twitter @leonidaschocola (They’re definitely Twitter friendly)

Hours:

Mon-Fri 10am-6:30pm
Sat-Sun 11am-6pm

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Living raw bliss at Organic Lives

I’ve wanted to visit Organic Lives for a long time and especially since food blogger Mijune Pak highly recommended their Coconut Cream Pie… after all, Organic Lives is said to be the city’s best raw vegan restaurant, and desserts recommended by non-vegans are all good in my book.

The main location is at Quebec Street and 2nd Avenue, but I planned out my Chinese New Year to eat with company downtown, so ventured to the brand-spanking new location at the Chopra Yoga Centre on Granville of Hastings.

At the downtown location, it’s more of a take and go. There are seats, but no tables, so unless you’re having a quick bite, it’s probably best to take your meal with you. I ordered the Pecan Sushi, Pad Thai, and Ridiculous dessert to share with my sister. The menu is definitely more limited than the main location’s, but some of the selections are the same. The counterperson was still getting used to the computer payment system and the order took about 10 minutes to make, but good god, was it worth the wait! I wasn’t even going to take photos, but I had to show you how beautiful this stuff looks, even in to-go boxes. Great photos is one reason why people should convert to vegetarianism!

Pecan Sushi: Pecans, alfalfa, cucumber, carrots, mango, tomato, seaweed, wasabi 

There was also a side sauce with the sushi whose flavours I can’t identify, but it was more on the sweet side. The sushi didn’t taste like your average Japanese sushi, as there was no rice. This baby is all good stuff and I was even ok with the dash of wasabi, which I normally don’t like. The mango was also a nice punch of sweetness.

Pad Thai: Noodles, peanut sauce, spinach, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, parsley, red chili sauce, nuts

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