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Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe, The Rocks, Sydney


Red delight $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Belgian chocolate buche filled with raspberry fruit cream

First the Lindt Cafe. Now it's Guylian's turn to open its own chocolate cafe. Are these chocolate giants attempting to diversify, or are these cafes being leveraged as a branding tool, especially for the public's gift-shopping loyalty?

With Chocolatesuze making the trek into town for the Vibe Entertains cookbook launch, we met up a little earlier to partake in some chocolating beforehand.



The Rocks branch is the second Guylian cafe to open, joining its nearby sister cafe at East Circular Quay. Much of the furnishings are very similar between the two, with a giant cascading glass bubble feature overhead, distinctive gold light fittings hanging from a timber ceiling and huge chocolate seashell fixtures on the wall.

The glass cabinets at the front are groaning with a gluttonous selection of cakes, slices, pastries and chocolates. We do a quick check that photos are ok, given that both our cameras are quite large and the cafe is quiet. "Sure! go ahead", says our waitress, much to our glee.


Dark choc raspberry cheesecake $38.00


Enjoy in $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Hazelnut diacquoise and raspberry cream with Guylian 70% chocolate bavarois


Guylian choc raspberry financier $3.50 takeaway


Guylian chocolate twists and wraps 70c each


Beethoven cappuccino cream chocolates


Dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Slow-baked Guylian Aztec 65% chocolate with raspberry cream cheese


Milk chocolate hazelnut torte $13.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Devil's food cake with Guylian milk choc and hazelnut praline ganache


Guylian tiramisu $14.50 ($9.00 takeaway)
Sponge ladyfinger, espresso syrup and mascarpone sabayon

After much discussion and deliberation, we finally agree to share the chocolate degustation plate, even though Suze really really really wants to try the Ice cream taste pallet. "A pallet!" she says with eyes widened. "Maybe it'll come on a paddle like they do with beers!"

As we wait for our dessert plate, Suze passes me a plastic bag. "Happy birthday! It's a little late and only small," she apologises. Small? It's the coolest thing I've ever seen!


Birthday pressies



It's a tiny bowl of mung bean soup. Kawaii!



And the breadou? It's a bun but you can't eat it, cos it's made of spongy rubber! The paper on the bottom suggests it be used a mouse wrist pad or stress reliever. It even smells like a sweet bun. So very cool. Thanks Suze :)


Guylian dark and milk hot chocolates $7.00 each
(or included with the chocolate degustation plate)

Our hot chocolates arrive soon after, a square of chocolate resting in the bottom of the cup, metal jugs of frothed chocolate milk alongside them.



Our sugar bowl contains an extra chocolate each. If only all sugar bowls arrived like this.



We each take turns pouring so we both get the all-important money shot.


Guylian dark hot chocolate

Whilst it looks promising, I find my dark hot chocolate not very cocoa-y but painfully sweet. The square of chocolate is a cute gimmick, but it doesn't really melt into the milk very well, creating thick strands of molten chocolate that really need to be eaten with a spoon.


Chocolate degustation plate $30.00
Selection of cakes, desserts, chocolates and ice cream with hot chocolate

Our chocolate degustation plate arrives on the table but no explanation is given as to its contents. We take photos and finally manage to flag down a staff member five minutes later in order to get some details on what we're eating. One cup contains a chocolate mousse, the other has a praline ice cream. The cakes include the red delight, a macadamia brownie and the baked chocolate cake. The three chocolates are variations on hazelnut and toffee.


Praline ice cream

There's plenty of dessert on our platter but I find there's not much of a 'journey' in flavours or textures which is a little disappointing. Bizarrely, we both think the macadamia brownie and chocolate mousse have a super sweet honey-like flavour. My favourite is definitely the red delight with its thin crisp shell, soft foamy chocolate mousse and contrasting raspberry centre. The chocolates are also lovely, although the toffee one is again a tad too sweet.


Red delight
Belgian chocolate buche filled with raspberry fruit cream

It's great to have a cafe devoted entirely to desserts though. More chocolate? Bring it on!



Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe at the Rocks
91 George Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8274 7500
Open 7 days from 8am til late


Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe is also open at East Circular Quay
Shop 10, Opera Quays
3 Macquarie Street Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8274 7900
Open 7 days from 8am til late


Related GrabYourFork posts:
Adrian Zumbo Patissier and Cafe Chocolat, Balmain
Lindt Cafe, Darling Harbour
Lindt Cafe, Martin Place
Max Brenner, Bondi Junction
Max Brenner, Paddington

14 comments:

  1. Oh it was your birthday? happy birthday!! That mung bean bowl is sooo cute :)

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  2. woah! you are on fire this week!! 3 posts straight and all desserts! Love the little breadou wrist rest, I just can help feeling sticky thinking the idea of having a breadou under my wrist the whole time, at least it bounces back to its original form afterwards.

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  3. omg. you should try the french patisserie next door. the croissant is so smooth, the cakes are so good, promise, you won't be disappointed!!!!

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  4. lol i wonder what post is gonna be next... *chortles* glad you liked your pressie!

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  5. Happy belated Bday tooo! Should have told us on Sunday, would have shouted you a dessert ;) That breadou is awesome and it smells like one too? woooww ^^!

    Haha we must have been the only ppl to NOT get the complimentary chocolates with the drinks :( boo they must be sexist! :(

    Oh I didn't see the degustation platter when I went :S but great post ^^!

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  6. Happy belated birthday Helen! :) You sure are on a sugar hit lately .. totally jealous here! Keep 'em coming!! I am a huge fan of your blog!

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  7. Hi Y - It was a couple of weeks ago but thanks :) The mung bean bowl is very cute. Rather than hang it from my phone, I might turn it into a magnet for my fridge!

    Hi Billy - I have a huge backlog of posts and I'm determined to get them up! The breadou is so cute although the coconut sprinkles are rather messy styrofoam bubbles. I wonder how many people I can fool into thinking it's real...

    Hi lonelygurlzz - Oh I love La Renaissance Patisserie Francais. Their cannelles are divine but so often sold out :(

    Hi chocolatesuze - haha, fooled you, but yeah you're close. I am aware of possible sugar overload, but it'll be next! The pressie is way cool. Thanks again and cheers for the hilarious company.

    Hi Ffichiban - Thanks, and hey no problem, I think I already scored plenty of free of cake tastings on Sunday!

    No complimentary chocolates? Better keep an eye on that one next time!

    Hi Min Ai - There's another sugar hit due very soon. And glad you're enjoying the blog. Keep them comments coming :)

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  8. Oh yeah, that's right! I thought the whole birthday thing sounded a bit familiar! You should use it as a keyring! It's too cute to be stuck on the fridge :P

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  9. Hi Y - But I look at my fridge all the time... lol. Besides I'm bad with my keys - they tend to get thrown about all over the place. Yeah it was a bit of birthday month with lotsa dinners - not that I was complaining of course!

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  10. We didn't have a spectacular experience too.. in fact, it was pretty awful - http://beverly.livejournal.com/666576.html

    I rate Lindt or Max Brenner better by far, any day! :)

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  11. Hi Beverly - I can't seem to read your entry - even when I log into LJ it's marked as private?

    But disappointing dessert is always a bummer. I like the idea of late night dessert cafes though. Finally somewhere to satiate the sweet tooth!

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  12. Oh whoops, forgot to tell you my food-review entries are all Friends only, so just add here (http://www.livejournal.com/friends/add.bml?user=beverly) and away we go!

    Wish Max Brenner/Lindt would open late.. now that would be awesome ;)

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  13. This weekend I tried a wonderful belgian waffle with fresh fruits to dip in strong dark chocolate and on top of this: a scoop of praliné ice-cream. It was wonderful and unlike what I thought it was not heavy at all. Chocolate is really orgasmic! I could'nt do without it but can't have it everyday (kilos, kilos, kilos!)

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  14. Hi Beverly - Thanks for the info. I think Sydney is slowly moving to a late night cafe culture - good news for all the dessert fanatics!

    Hi Amy - It's a shame that all the good things in life aren't always good for your waistline. Moderation, as they say, and always seek the best you can find :)

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