Showing posts with label Chocolates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolates. Show all posts

BELGIUM: What Belgian Chocolates to Taste in Brussels

November 22, 2014


BELGIUM: What Belgian Chocolates to Taste in Brussels

My brother recently came home from a trip to Brussels. As "pasalubong" he brought home Belgian chocolates to share with us what he experienced and enjoyed during his trip. These are not ordinary Belgian chocolates you see in your local stores. So I'm sharing with you the notable Belgian chocolatier that the tour guide recommended to him. Below I am quoting  his description of each Belgian chocolate he gave us:  


"I gave you three kinds of Belgian chocolates, based on my Brussels trip."

NEUHAUS

(since 1857)

"1) Neuhaus (in red orange box) - According to the guide, Neuhaus is the first one to come up with edible chocolate (because before it was just the cocoa drink). It is the inventor of the PRALINES. So I gave you a box with different kinds of pralines. It is the most commercial of the three boxes, because it is sweeter and has less chocolate percentage. "

Neuhaus Collection Discovery 25 pieces
25 euros


Why buy Neuhaus: To taste the products of the chocolatier who invented the pralines.

Website: 
http://www.neuhaus-online-store.com/chocolate-store-en.htm

Facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/neuhaus

Where to find Neuhaus: 
http://www.neuhaus-online-store.com/en/store-locator.htm?cu=euro&or=2853921976



MARY
(since 1919)

"2) Mary (in the white round box) - Mary Delluc is the first female chocolate maker, and the Belgian royal family buys from here. It is known for the TRUFFLES, so I got the truffles. The other two boxes have only one of each kind, but this box has two of each kind."


Assortment of truffles
39 euros

Description of the truffles:



Why buy Mary: To taste the products of the chocolatier who supplies truffles to the Royal House of Belgium

Website: 

Where to find Mary:





PIERRE MARCOLINI

(since 1995)

"3) Pierre Marcolini (in the black box) - For our guide, this is the best chocolate. It has the highest chocolate percentage, so it is more dark and bitter. Marcolini is known as a GOURMET CHOCOLATE maker, and experiments with unique flavors. It came up with the Earl Grey black tea flavor, among others. Therefore, I suggest that this is for the parents only, since I don't think the tastebuds of the kids will be able to appreciate these yet."








Why buy Pierre Marcolini: To taste how chocolate can be infused with different flavors, hence the description of "gourmet" or luxury chocolates.

Website: 

Facebook page: 

Where to find Pierre Marcolini:



MY REVIEW:

I love MARY. I can only describe it as melt-in-your mouth fine chocolate truffles. It is best consumed after it is left to "warm up" in room temperature. Being in a tropical climate like the Philippines, we need to place these fine chocolates inside the refrigerator to prevent it from melting if left in our normal room temperature ranging from 23 to 32 degrees centrigrade.

My children love NEUHAUS. It's easy to love and meets their expectations of what a praline must taste like.

No one in my family liked PIERRE MARCOLINI. It is too "gourmet" for our taste buds and not what we expect of chocolates. But it's nice to be able to taste it, especially the interesting flavors of earl grey infused in the chocolates. However our taste buds are too "amateur" to recognize the different nuances of the unique flavors infused in the chocolates. So we couldn't fully appreciate it.