It was either hot chocolate or gelato or froyo

Where do we go after dinner?

This is one of the hardest questions to answer after one finishes dinner at around 7 plus to 8 at night.

Unlike Asia where one can still go shopping, or at least in Singapore one can shop till at least 9 or 10, the option of shopping and browsing after a weekend dinner is really out of the question here in Melbourne. So my dinner partner and I decided to chill out somewhere instead.

And so it begins, the search for a nice place to chill out that would offer a nice treat. The patisseries close early, around 5 or 6, on weekends [except for Brunetti’s in Carlton]. In Singapore, you can still get some sweet confections after 8 or 9, but in Melbourne, if you want cake, you’re not going to get it. Specialty coffee is out of the question too.

So what’s left are probably the coffee chains e.g. Starbucks, Chinese dessert places [don’t get me started on this…I tried Blackball once and for the $6.90 I paid for the almond dessert…I felt really cheated…they basically used almond powder and hot water…and added some red beans, pearls and the sweet potato and yam balls], hot chocolate chains, gelaterias/ice cream, and froyo shops.

Anyhow, Chinese dessert was ruled out. And so James drove down the stretch of Lygon St towards the city [from the quiet section of East Brunswick] to arrive at the hustle and bustle of Lygon St at Carlton. The place was a flurry of activity with many wait staff beckoning you to eat in their restaurants. Patrons were dining al-fresco – mostly Italian cuisine – most restaurants serve Italian there. I think one would eat at this stretch of Lygon St just to soak in the bustling and convivial atmosphere – think Boat Quay/Clarke Quay. There are a couple of gelaterias, ice cream shops and froyos. And I discovered a bookshop Readings that opens late into the night on Saturdays.

It took a while to find free parking along Lygon St, but we were lucky enough. So we took a slow walk round the precinct before settling on Koko Black.

Hot chocolate seems to be a fixture in Melbourne with several chain stores such as San Churro (which started in Melbourne), Max Brenner, Theobroma, and Koko Black (which started in Melbourne and is now in major Australian cities and in NZ – though surprisingly Sydney isn’t on the list).

Actually these places aren’t strictly selling only hot chocolate. They do offer other items such as desserts and handcrafted chocolates, desserts and all that. So it’s probably more correct to call them salons.

Still feeling full from the dinner, and not wanting a chocolate overload, I ordered a Hot Chocolate [Classic Belgian] described in the menu to be freshly brewed to a traditional Belgian recipe.

And the first sip did take my breath away. It was rich, velvety and smooth – not like those hot chocolates you buy off from the supermarket. There was a slight hint of a coconut-like fragrance or nutty taste that swirled in my palate after each sip. I was in heaven.

I tried making hot chocolate at home. I had bought a packet of unsweetened hot chocolate from San Churro a couple of days before my evening out at Koko Black. Perhaps it’s due to the way I prepared the beverage, microwaving the milk instead of steaming the milk, my drink turned out more Milo than hot chocolate instead; perhaps it is because I used low-fat milk instead of full cream and I used the unsweetened version over the sweetened version.

Oh well, I guess with winter approaching and with the limited places I can hang out in the evening, I guess Koko Black and the other chocolate salons would be seeing more of my business.