Chocolate Fire

It was the perfect sanctuary on a stormy afternoon. After waiting for its opening for an hour, my friends and I left the nearby Starbucks and walked in the drizzle. Chocolate Fire. The name alone conjures deliciously explicit images of sin and pleasure which explained our utter excitement.

Even before it opened at 4 pm, as we peeked through the glass doors, I could tell the place was promising ambiance-wise. When we finally stepped in, it felt like the adult version of Willy Wonka's famed factory minus the freakiness.

When I walk into a place, say a clothing store, a cafe or a restaurant, one way to tell if I really like it is if I'd love to convert the space into my own apartment. Chocolate Fire is one of those places. It's a 2-storey establishment with exposed ceilings and walls adorned with paintings and unexpected trinkets. The interiors are a mix of wood, steel and concrete. Think downplayed, modern, industrial appeal.

As for the main attraction, well, it took us some time to decide what to get. There's a smorgasbord of anything chocolate from pyramids to frogs and several interesting chocolate covered items from Pringles to dried mangoes. They also offer (non-chocolate) sandwiches and baked goods. Among which is this spinach quiche that our friend ordered that the rest of us ended up eating about half of.

The six of us decided to share three desserts. I don't remember exactly what they're called but it was basically chocolate cake, ganache and banoffee. The banoffee was incredible. I still think about it. It's the obvious winner among the three, followed by the moist chocolate cake. I disliked the other one. Some opted to match  the sweets with equally sweet drinks while the rest of us with Chardonnay. I think it all went down smoother with alcohol--as with everything else.

What I also like about Chocolate Fire is it's tucked within the thick cluster of tall buildings in Salcedo Village, Makati yet the place is very relaxed and comfortable and most importantly, there were no TVs in sight.

If I were to die to and go to chocolate heaven, Chocolate Fire won't exactly be the place I'd want to end up in but I'd surely like to come back and spend more time here if only to remind myself how sweet life could be.

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