Is it just me or do you also associate a particular flavor with a very specific mood? Reminiscing of that flavor turns into longing, longing turns into craving, craving turns into obsession, and obsession turns into critique.
When I think of a Chocolate Fondant it takes me back to my training years where my friends and I would finish our gyno rotations and end up in an open-roof restaurant across the street.
Each of us had one very specific thing to order from the menu and soon enough we didn't need to mention what we wanted. Just the sight of us 5 guys walking into the restaurant would initiate a machine-like process which would end with our favorite bite on the tabletops.
I was doing very well binging on caramel ice lattes. It was a good source of glucose for whatever the day had in the schedule for me and the caffeine kick was always a major plus. I am not entirely sure when and why did I make the switch to the fondant. Maybe I wanted something to eat and a drink wasn't doing enough. But this is all just speculation.
The last few days I spent I had a wonderful time reliving those exact feelings I had years back. The feeling of being surrounded by your friends who had nothing better to do than pull each others' legs all while caring for each other. The hopes and drives to accomplish something bigger and the satisfaction of having completed a productive round.
Each bite came with a refreshed moment from the past. Days that I really cherish. It was as if reliving that moment under the open sun and clear sky. A calm breeze flowing through the trees that are just at the brink of turning their leaves orange. And all this, from a bite of chocolate fondant.
Amato
There is much to say about Amato's chocolate fondant. The best way to put it is that it is a part of my most cherished memories with a cherry on top. It is a hint of the extra mile while still doing just enough to remain authentic.
Amato is where it all began. The dessert menu didn't have anything waiting for me, or maybe I was in the mood for the fondant and chose not to look for anything else. Right after this, I began a binge trip where every restaurant I went to, all I wanted for dessert was a chocolate fondant.
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Whoever said vanilla isn't a flavor has clearly never paired it with a chocolate lava cake with powdered sugar on top. I loved the extra touches Amato had added to the dessert to make it a little more unique.
I used to love waiting for the melting chocolate and the melting ice cream to meet halfway while chatting up my colleagues. Only this time it would have been extra special because the plate was dotted with chocolate and orange.
The scoop of vanilla sat on a comfortable mint leaf and wore a thin orange slice. But let's go ahead to the moment of truth...
Oh, would you look at that! The moelleux is the most satisfying thing to ever exist. The lava is the main attraction and in this fondant, the moelleux is just the right consistency.
Fill that into a thin gateau that tears, but doesn't crumble, when the spoon digs into it and pair it with a beautiful scoop of vanilla ice cream and that is an excellent chocolate fondant!
Menya Musashi
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Menya Musashi has rightfully acquired a special place in the exclusive corners of my heart which are reserved for food and restaurants. It is thanks to their incredibly delicious food but also for the eye-opener Vastya, the waiter, had given me.
My very first visit to this fine culinary establishment was within these last few days where my unsatiated craving for chocolate fondant is still rampant. And you better believe it that I asked for the chocolate even if it wasn't on the menu.
Vastya then went ahead and recommended me to try their brownie since it was the closest to a chocolate fondant visually. At first, I was a disbeliever.
Lo and behold. 150 grams of out-of-this-world experience. A basic brownie with cherry filling, sitting under a scoop of ginger ice cream. Served warm with a bowl of orange sauce and everything sprinkled with powdered sugar.
This was a joy ride on a Harley Davidson with epic battle music playing in the background. I had never tried ginger ice cream. The flavor is so subtle and yet so strong when cold. I had also never tried orange sauce in a dessert and now I am thinking "Why didn't I ever!?"
The chocolate brownie with cherry filling, ginger ice cream, and orange sauce is a combination I never thought would sit well with me. I never thought of this combination either. I thoroughly enjoyed this, but I don't think it tops my desire for chocolate fondant. But I could go for ginger ice cream any day of the week.
Counsellor
What does a pub have to do anything with desserts you ask? Let me tell you. Desserts in a pub are like a tatted, muscular, huge scar on the face, grumpy-looking bouncer of a local horse race. There is a chance the bouncer may or may not know a thing about racing, but once you become good friends he'll take you to his niece's painting school and show you his soft side and you'll feel guilty for ever judging him.
In short, if you are lucky, desserts from a pub may be the most surprising pleasant surprise that you were never expecting.
The chocolate fondant from the counselor pub was nothing short of a four-headed clover. For one, it looked closest to the chocolate fondant I cherish so much from back in the day. Although, that one almost always came in a long rectangular plate.
To be fair, I didn't have too many high expectations from the pub. I only wanted to get my fix. The gateau looked a little weak and the vanilla ice cream looked like it had a fake passport, I mean it does look a little off-color, no?
But all that didn't stop this from delivering. Warm cake with cold ice cream. One bite of this and I realized it was really difficult, and maybe impossible to ever disappoint me with a chocolate fondant since it is the memories I relive and the taste only comes secondary.
That right there is the moment of truth.
Yes, the moelleux was a little too thick and the gateau was a little too thin. But that aside, how can you still not appreciate this work of beauty. Especially when it comes from the people that are best known for grills and beer sets.
I really appreciated the portions. The ice cream was almost the same size as the cake. I dug into this dessert with a huge smile and enjoyed it to the very last bite. It is safe to say, I will be revisiting my old days again and my sweet tooth has still a lot coming to it.
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