Celebrating chocolate

It’s time to indulge that sweet tooth and gorge on some unique  dishes, as city restaurants are going out of their way to offer delectable desserts on World Chocolate Day.

Be it a scoop of chocolate ice cream, a sinful piece of chocolate cake or a gooey chocolate brownie, everyone has their own guilty pleasure s when it comes to chocolate. But today — World Chocolate Day — is officially the day when you can indulge in as much chocolate as you want without batting an eyelid. City restaurants and cafes are going all out to bring you the most decadent desserts to help you celebrate the chocolate day.

While cakes and pastries are run-of-the-mill delights, Paji Balaji, a restaurant in Thane has come up a unique dessert by fusing dosas, wraps and chocolate. Shedding light on their Chocolate Dosa Wrap, owner Pradeep Chaudhary says, “The wrap has a rice and chocolate base. It’s similar to a dosa base but we add chocolate to the base. We also load the dosa with chocolate sauce, chocolate wafers, a chocolate bar and serve it with a special chocolate dip.” This out-of-the-box combination came about as the owner wanted to please many palates. “We wanted to create a dish for dosa, as well as chocolate lovers.” They also have Dosa Pancake, which is loaded with chocolate spread and syrup.

Toffee Brittle Nut

But, if you’re looking for something ‘lit’ this World Chocolate Day, Chocolate Ball On Fire by Pa Pa Ya is the dish to dig into. Sahil Singh, Sr. Executive Chef, describes it by saying, “It is a big chocolate ball stuffed with vanilla ice-cream, chocolate ganache, cheesecake and cream and is served on a bed of coffee cream and cookie and almond crumble.” For a hint of drama, flambé alcohol is poured over the  ball. Finally, it is drizzled with toffee syrup, melting the chocolate and leaving you with a dessert that is definitely Instagram worthy.

While no one will think the worst of you for ditching your diet plans for a day, if you want something that is low on calories, the Dessert Tea menu from Kettlery Tea Bar & Kitchen is what you should be looking up to. Owners Praneta Mehta and Sandeep Kotecha came up with the Dessert Tea line for health conscious people. Praneta says, “We have a tea called Bon Voyage which is blended with actual coco and chocolate as well as coconut. Despite being a low calorie tea, it still feels similar to a chocolate drink, and would satisfy your chocolate craving.” To infuse natural sweetness, they use Rooibos Tea which blends perfectly with coco or any chocolate flavour. “We have Choco Wonder Nutella and Toffee Brittle Nut teas, which are perfect for Chocolate Day,” adds Praneta.

But if you are an ardent chocolate fan and don’t want to pick from a select range, head to a chocolate buffet at The Bay View at Hotle Marine Plaza, serving three textured Chocolate Mousse, Pomegranate Chocolate Disc, and  Chocolate Ravioli to name a few.

Chocolate Dosa Wrap

One can also enjoy a filling chocolate dish at Coffee by Di Bella Exclusive, as they serve waffles with a generous scoop of chocolate ice cream and whipped cream. Rahul Leekha, Director, says, “The unique thing about the Chocolate Waffle Explosion is that every part of the waffle is completely layered with a hazelnut-flavoured chocolate syrup in such a way that not a part of the waffle can be seen. It’s truly a sinful indulgent chocolate waffle, keeping true to its name.”

For pizza lovers, 1441 Pizzeria has a chocolaty offer to make. On a bill of over Rs 500, you get a Nutella pizza free. So no more thinking just dig into your plate of chocolate this day.

MT22