Saturday, April 25, 2009

The art of chocolate

Saturday April 25, 2009
The art of chocolate
By KEE HUA CHEE


A restaurant that champions ‘Love, Life & Chocolates’, Schokolart is where all chocolate lovers must visit.

Schokolart. It’s an unusual name — tough to spell and does not roll off the tongue like a smoothie, but take one sip of any of this restaurant’s signature chocolate drinks, and you are not likely to forget the name.

Schokolart is derived from the words “art” and schokolade, the German word for chocolate, and is supposed to signify that here be the art of chocolate.


Interesting dish: Savour the Chocolate Satay at Schokolart.

“Our chef is German,” explains Patricia Pee, one of Schokolart’s three partners.

“My favourite mantra is ‘Chocolate, coffee and men are better when rich’. Another is ‘Chocolate is cheaper than therapy. You feel good faster, and you don’t need an appointment’,” says Pee, grinning.

“Okay, a last nugget of advice — ‘The three most satisfying things in life are sneezing, scratching and eating chocolate’.”

Scholokart started when Pee and her friend Jasmine Low met Matthias Schuebel in 2007. Born in Munich, Schuebel won the Culinary Olympics in Berlin in 1996, winning the gold medal in pastry. Held every four years, the Culinary Olympics is the oldest and most prestigious international culinary competition in the world.

“I represented Furama Hotel in Hong Kong when I won,” Schuebel recalls.

“I have spent 14 years in Asia and met Kalavathi, my wife, in Singapore at the Ritz Carlton, where I was executive pastry chef. I then went to work at the Bangkok Peninsula before marrying in Singapore. I worked for two years at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, before deciding to settle here because I love Malaysia,” he explains.


Tempting: Schokolart’s Signature Whole Cake.

Schuebel had always wanted to open his own chocolate cake and confectionary shop, and when he met Pee and Low, the opportunity to realise his dream arose. Despite its “chocolate art” name, Schokolart offers fairly regular food as well, like roesti, the national Swiss dish, and Swiss Chicken Pie, which is neither pretentious nor chocolatey.

“But we can’t get enough of chocolates, so we have a Chocolate Bar with 48 cocktails and 24 mocktails, and a 5ft-chocolate fountain with tapas during our weekend chocolate buffet hi-tea,” Scheubel clarifies.

“We offer chocolate chicken satay, roast lamb fillet with chocolate and caramel sauce, and fried chicken wings with chocolate spice dip. Our pralines are handmade with fine Swiss chocolate using my original recipes, making Schokolart exclusive and one-of-a-kind in Kuala Lumpur,” he adds.

I sample the Vol-du-Vent (Swiss Chicken Pie, RM20.90), and find it deliciously hot and quite filling, being loaded with chunky meat, potatoes and mushrooms. The Chocolate Satay (six sticks for RM20.90) is a dream. The generously portioned chicken were first marinated in chocolate but the delicious sauce is pretty traditional as it’s peanut-based, with just a hint of chocolate to it.

The outlet’s two other chocolate-based main courses are the Chocolate Lamb (RM28.90) and Chocolate Chicken (RM20.90). Their Tessiner Roesti with Jalapeno Hot Smoked Sausage (RM15.90) is a crowd favourite because the combination of smoky flavours and textures is irresistible.

The Pan Fried Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce (RM24.90) is fresh and firm and — amidst the general decadence, where even the décor reminds one of a French boudoir — comes across as a healthy and most sensible choice.


Heaven sent: Hot Temptation served in a Hugga-Mugga cup.

Two drinks stand out: Soul Mate (RM16.90), which is Schokolart’s signature tipple with pure dark chocolate loaded with peanut butter, and Hot Temptation (RM12.90), the freshest and most divine chocolate cuppa in a Hugga-Mugga cup!

This Hugga-Mugga cup was specially designed by Schokolart to fit both palms, and can be purchased if it catches your fancy.

“The desserts and cakes are all chocolate-based; there is no running away from it!” says Low cheekily. “You are spoilt for choice as our pralines have fillings like raspberry and wasabi, caramel with szechuan pepper, almond with strawberry, and more.”

In conjunction with Mothers’ Day, Schokolart is offering a special 1kg cake at RM68 (normal RM78) but orders must be placed in advance.

Schokolart

Pork-free

K01-05, Solaris Mont Kiara
2, Jalan Solaris
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 6203 0968

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Chocoholic heaven

Saturday April 11, 2009
Chocoholic heaven


The Big Red Food Review is Red FM deejay Alison J Victor’s (Aly) experience with fellow deejays as these foodies dine at various eateries in the Klang Valley

DECADENT. That is the word that pops into my mind as a selection of hot and cold beverages are lined up in front of us.

We are in KL’s first-ever boutique chocoholic’s haven, Schokolart – a premier designer restaurant in Soho KL. Retro chairs, a bronzed mirror-tiled bar and marble flooring teamed with specially designed crockery give it a chic café ambience, without the pretention.

Schokolart’s tagline – “Love, Life and Cho­colates” – starts to make sense as Dilly (Red Breakfast) starts on Schokolart’s signature ice-blended, the SoulMate. A dark chocolate peanut butter shake that is rich and creamy and ice-cold. Forget diamonds; this is a girl’s best friend!

Recovering from the flu, I opted for the Chocomint Toddy (Kahlua, White Peppermint, Choc Base, Whipped Cream).


Truly decadent: Roasted Lamb Loin with Chocolate and Spices.

“Who needs a man when you’ve got chocolate?” I joke. I look round the table and realise that indeed, we were four ‘boy’ deejays short. Even though Schokolart fo­­cuses on women, I really felt that the boys were missing out.

They missed out on 36 different types of chocolate cocktails, in­­cluding 12 different types of chocolate shots and its signature cocktail, “Fast & Furious”. They missed out on six dif­ferent kinds of Roesti, served from Switzerland’s Cantons districts.

My favourite was the BernerRoesti, pan-fried grated potato with diced turkey bacon and drizzled with fresh milk. Crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside, it was served with a side of thick mushroom gravy and a choice of Bratwurst – a hearty traditional Swiss meal.

The Bratwursts were homemade, succulent chicken sausages in three flavours; Jalapeno Hot Smoked, Bratwurst with Mushroom and Cheese, and Bratwurst with Garlic Chive and Onion. Add a dollop of authentic German mustard, and the combination was delicious.

Another heartwarming dish reminiscent of skiing in the Alps is the Lucern Pie: chunky chicken, mushroom and vegetables tucked away under a soft and flaky puff pastry.

If you are more adventurous, try Schokolart’s Satay, its signature dish! Tender chicken thigh marinated with dark bittersweet chocolate, grilled to perfection and served with homemade spicy peanut sauce and fried buns.

Then came the Roasted Lamb Loin with Chocolate and Spices, served with Glarner Roesti.

Shareena (Red Weekends) and I loved the melt-in-the-mouth tender lamb smothered in dark, rich bittersweet chocolate sauce.

We tried a few more interesting drinks like the Chocolate Martini (Vodka, Dark Choc Liqueur, Cacao Brown) and the La Esmeralda, also called the Mexican Hot Chocolate, which is spiced with chilli powder and frothed with cinnamon syrup.

The main reason most people head to Schokolart is its desserts and chocolate Ganache with exotic fillings.

Every piece is handmade by pastry chefs trained by the outlet’s award winning German Master chocolatier, and every piece is unique. Try the Raspberry Wasabi, Caramel with Szechuan Pepper, Crispy Almond and Strawberry Crunch. Take them home with you in divine packaging. Trendy, classy pearl pink boxes with embossed silver ribbons – a keepsake from the chocolate experience of a lifetime.

Sitting on the outdoor terrace, with a view the Petronas Twin Towers, I close my eyes, inhale the intoxicating aromas from my Adult Hot Chocolate, a blend of chocolate, Vodka, Frangelico and Irish cream, and polish off the last of the Chocolate Marcarpone Cheese Cake. Mmm. This was my Love, my Life, my Chocolates!

Try Schokolart for yourself! Starting Monday, listeners will have a chance to win vouchers and exclusive membership to Schokolart in The Big Red Food Review, Eleven2Three with Aly on Red FM, Today’s Best Music.

Klang Valley 104.9, Georgetown & Seberang Prai 107.6, Taiping 98.2, Tapah 104.9, Ipoh 106.4, Johor Baru 92.8, Batu Pahat & Malacca 98.9, Negri Sembilan 106, Kuantan & Pahang 91.6, Kedah & Perlis 98.1

This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.