Lindt Excellence Wasabi Dark Chocolate

Prrrreeeeeesentingggggggggggg, the Lindt Excellence Wasabi Dark Chocolate! Yes, you heard that right. There's WASABI in chocolate, and only Lindt & Sprüngli AG could have pulled this off so beautifully. Apparently KitKat in Japan has a Wasabi version too, but it isn't dark, so it doesn't count.

OK, and for those who aren't quite sure what Wasabi is, it is a plant belonging to the family of cabbages, mustard and horseradish. Authentic Wasabi is found mostly in Japan. It has a strong flavour and is pungent in the way mustard is. Sold in root, powder or paste form, Wasabi is used as a condiment in many culinary preparations.

My favourite chocolate makers have brought these unlikely bedfellows together for a divine union, resulting in a product as fine as their Chilli chocolate. However, unlike Chilli, Wasabi is a harder, unusual, and takes-time-to-get-used-to flavour and may find fewer takers. That doesn't make the chocolate less perfect, though.

I spotted the Wasabi variety at a local shop, and was intrigued. I tried to imagine how that fiery taste would meld with the dark-bittersweet chocolate all the way home. But nothing quite prepared me for the ecstasy and surprise of the first bite. I was like 'How, HOW do they do this?' The balance of the opposite flavours is fine, with the pungency of Wasabi coming through mildly and consistently. The dark chocolate is, as usual, smooth and rich with 47% cacao.

I am not a fan of flavoured chocolates, and Mint chocolates I especially despise; but Lindt's unique masterful combinations are slowly helping me cross over. The Lindt Excellence Wasabi Dark Chocolate is truly a work of culinary art, and one doesn't mind shelling out INR 230 for a 100 g pack. Because, once you have tasted it, all you want to do is...

RATING: 4.5/5

Nestle Kit Kat Dark

I was wondering yesterday how I would avoid using this blog as an excuse to buy and eat chocolates everyday. Excited as I am about this baby, I would have to restrict myself to one review (hence, one chocolate) every three days, I thought. But the Universe obviously had plans to foil my efforts in the gym in the morning and it shortchanged me...literally. Running out to work I realised I had only 500 rupee notes in my wallet, and I knew I would have better luck with those notes in Timbucktoo than with Mumbai auto wallahs at 10 am.

So I had to go to a nearby grocer's to buy choc...er, get change. And look, mama, what sneaked into my hands when I wasn't looking. A bar of Nestle KitKat Dark chocolate! I am not the one to pick up wafer chocolates because they're only half chocolate, if you know what I mean. But the word DARK called out to me like cream does a cat.

But at only 40% 'darkness', Nestle's KitKat Dark isn't much of a treat to a chocolate lover partial to this kind. It's not exactly smooth either for those who will not be distracted by the wafer part of it. Unfortunately, the wafer part does not impress either because it doesn't crackle with the crackliness the TVCs promise. Moreover, this 27.5 gm pack has only three fingers, which is horridly inadequate, especially if there are colleagues around looking lovingly at your already tiny bar.

The good thing, however, is the pocket-friendliness of this chocolate. Priced at Rs. 20, it is good for dark chocolate aspirants and better still for weight watchers since 'It is only 40 kcal per finger (9.2g)'.

RATING: 2.5/5