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

Ads by Google
Yummy Cakes For You
Celebrate Your Special Occassions Find Your Favourte Cake, Shop Here!
MySimplifieds.Com/Cakes


Healthy Fat Burning Foods
Check out these 5 surprising foods that help to burn your body fat.
www.FatBurningFoods411.com


Banana Cake Recipe
Delicious Banana Cake Recipe Free and Easy to Make! Come See.
Easy-Birthday-Cakes.com

1 comment:

  1. Seems like a great place to go when you want a great chocolate experience.

    Regards,
    Haley McAdams
    Food Manager Certification Texas

    ReplyDelete