My chocolate love affair

Monty's Chocolates at Paddington is my favourite chocolate shop in Brisbane thus far. They import and sell chocolates that are made in many different places in the world, including Madagascar, Germany and France. On my latest venture into the shop, I was served by the owner himself, who introduced me to what he believed to be the best chocolate bar in the entire shop - Francois Pralus's Barre Infernale from France.

This thick chocolate bar comes in two different versions: milk (45% cocoa solids) and dark chocolate (75% cocoa solids). The milk version contain whole toasted hazelnuts from Piemont in a delicious almond and hazelnut praline filling, all of which is then enrobed in a crisp milk chocolate shell. The dark version is the same except with whole toasted almonds from Valencia and with a dark chocolate coat.

The shop owner finger-estimated that a 1.5cm slice (yep, it's supposed to be served in slices, and not attacked directly with the jaws - if you could resist that urge!) would be enough for one serve. I laughed out loud. I am not one to count number of serves when it comes to chocolate. I was torn between the dark and the milk chocolate choices, as I adore both; but I ended up going with the milk chocolate bar, as my siblings, with whom I planned to share it, prefer milk chocolate - not that that ended up being very relevant, because I ate most of it myself! I was drawn to it, like Edmund to the Snow Queen's Turkish Delight. It made me a selfish, greedy person, who coveted every slice, the evil, devilishly scrumptious thing! It's a delicious combination of textural qualities: the nuts, the chocolate coat, and the praline filling truly created the perfect balance of crunch and soft, melt-in-the-mouth creaminess. I tried to resist, but the whole bar was gone in 2 nights. Frankly, I was surprised I had enough self-control to stash the remaining third of the bar away that first night.

Heavenly bliss in every slice!

In terms of price point, I will have to admit it was on the high side, which is why I really shouldn't be surprised that the chocolate tasted that good. AU$29.90 for a 160g bar is pretty pricey, and I realised after checking it online that the owner put a huge mark up on the product. The official online store sells each bar for 10 euros, which, at the current currency conversion rate, works out to be AU$11.76. I'm sure even after you include shipping price it would not cost much extra. Unfortunately, the shop does not deliver to Australia, so we really have no choice but to pay the extortionate overhead costs. Ah, the lengths we go to in order to indulge in good quality chocolate!

Despite the crazily high price for this product, I would definitely purchase it again when I feel like treating or rewarding myself, and I strongly recommend it to everyone who is not allergic to nuts, chocolate or dairy products. Forget Prozac and alcohol, this is the best pick-me-up, which will instantly improve your mood; or at least it successfully does so for me. It's definitely not something you would be munching on casually everyday, unless you are in the high income bracket. In fact, the shop owner recommended this product as a gift that will be loved by all recipients. I don't doubt that, but somehow, I don't think my gift of Francois Pralus's delicious creation will ever make it out of the house!