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Friday, August 21, 2009

Adora Handmade Chocolates, Earlwood


Gia truffles - soft hazelnut centre with a milk wafer

It's the last place you'd look for a chocolate shop.

Sitting on the side of the road, a lone retailer in a sprawl of suburbia, Adora Handmade Chocolates looks like a fish out of water.

And water isn't too far away. The sloping hill leads down to the Illawarra Road bridge over Cooks River, with Mahony Memorial Reserve on one side of the bridge, and Steel Park on the other. There are playgrounds and a bike track and grassy fields, making Adora a popular stop for mothers groups on weekdays, couples and families all weekend.


Flat white $4.00

For others it's the lure of chocolate, an extensive range of filled chocolates and truffles, all handmade without any artificial ingredients or preservatives.

Today I'm catching up with friends who have toddlers-in-tow. The outdoor seating is perfect for the restless and the noisy, although our picnic table perched precariously on the hill acts as a beginners' ski slope for our drinks (no drinks were harmed in this episode).


Babycino $2.80

The kids have a whole range of products specially created for me. Babycinos can, at times, seem like an easy money spinner for desperate parents. Good behaviour can also be bought with macarons, chocolate-dipped nougat, meringues, chunky biscuits topped with Smarties, or solid dinosaurs, frogs and teddy bears in milk, dark or white chocolate.


Biscuit with Smarties $2.50


Oat and fruit biscuit $2.50


Waffle $4.50

Whilst the waffle on the cake stand looks promising, it's disappointingly dry. The edges have lovely bits of caramelised syrup, but the waffle is cold and tastes as though it was toasted some time ago.


Hot chocolate $4.80

The best part about ordering a hot drink or milkshake is the inclusion of a filled chocolate for free. Chocolates are also sold by weight or in gift boxes. The glass display cabinet is a metropolis of chocolate towers, balls of chocolates and truffles dusted, studded, rolled and swirled with cocoa powder, coconut, nuts and more.

It's an agonising process, the tiny shopfront prone to being jammed with indecisive customers.


[Clockwise from bottom left]: Pistachio cluster, milk chocolate dinosaur
and Ginger - fresh grated ginger infused with cream dipped in dark chocolate

Every chocolate is a winner. The pistachio cluster is such a simple idea, but the pistachios have a lovely crunch that indicate freshness. A ginger chocolate has the gentle aromatic heat of fresh ginger, the chocolate shell smooth with a pleasing snap.

The milk chocolate dinosaur gets a chocolaty grin of approval.


Chocolate counter

Is self-restraint ever an option in a chocolate shop? Some of the more interesting flavoured truffles and chocolates include black sesame, cinnamon chilli, fresh raspberry ganache and orange champagne.


Tia Maria truffles
White coffee liqueur centre covered with coconut


Pistachio truffles


Ganache truffles
Traditional dark chocolate and cream covered with cocoa


Orange slices


Chocolate baskets


Lime truffles
Burst of lime white chocolate covered with roasted coconut


Chai tea truffles
Marsala chai brewed in cream and coated in icing sugar


Chocolate lollipops




View Larger Map
Adora Chocolates on Urbanspoon


Adora Handmade Chocolates

10 Homer St, Earlwood, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9559 5948

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 8.30am - 6.00pm
Saturday 8.30am - 4.30pm
Closed on public holidays


Sydney CBD store at
Wentworth Connection
Shop P9, 2A Blight Street, Sydney
(alongside the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel)
Tel: +61 (02) 9232 6601

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17 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 8/21/2009 11:55:00 pm


17 Comments:

  • At 8/22/2009 2:44 am, Blogger Yas @ hungry.digital.elf. said…

    Awww the chocolate baskets look sooo coool! I'd want to fill it with chocolate truffles!

    and man, I have such a soft spot for good waffles.

     
  • At 8/22/2009 6:26 am, Anonymous Simon said…

    I love the layered look to the hot chocolate. Pity about the waffle.

    Are truffles what they specialise in or was that just most of what you'd taken?

     
  • At 8/22/2009 1:41 pm, Anonymous Arwen from Hoglet K said…

    They've got some great flavours! The fresh ginger sounds great, and the chai tea too. It's also nice that they cater for kids.

     
  • At 8/22/2009 3:05 pm, Anonymous divemummy said…

    a great place for an indulgent coffee and chocolate - especially after taking the kids to the playground in Steel Park, a stone's throw over the river.

    Wish they'd open on Sundays!

     
  • At 8/22/2009 4:40 pm, Blogger Simon Leong said…

    looks like chocolate paradise. i've had a hot choc at the one next to Sofitel Wentworth Hotel. chocs were nice.

     
  • At 8/22/2009 6:26 pm, Anonymous margaret said…

    Wow! The sweets here look amazing! Definitely writing this address down for a future visit.

     
  • At 8/22/2009 9:47 pm, Blogger Hilda Tjajadi said…

    I absolutely LOVE adora chocolate, i bought a pack at the good food & wine show!

    Like all chocolate places, i wish they were always open haha

     
  • At 8/23/2009 12:04 am, Blogger Stephcookie said…

    Ooh I remember trying their chocolate at their good food & wine show stall, it was lovely! The truffle flavours sound so appealing, esp the chai tea one!

     
  • At 8/23/2009 8:35 am, Blogger Iron Chef Shellie said…

    a post TOTALLY devoted to chocolate? omg *bows in your greatness* haha

     
  • At 8/23/2009 10:35 am, Blogger kurrabikid said…

    I am slightly biased since Adora is a few minutes from my house and therefore something of a local haunt, but I have to say they do a MIGHTY FINE chocolate-dipped date. Oh the heavenliness!

     
  • At 8/23/2009 12:09 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Awww you got a chocolate dinosaur? :P Sooo cuuttee hee hee RAARRR! Hmm I should take a visit cos I actually haven't tried that much Adora chocolates, thx :)

     
  • At 8/24/2009 2:19 am, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Yas - Oh yes, the chocolate baskets would be so much fun. Not sure what would be more exciting - getting that many truffles or being able to ask the basket they arrived in!

    Good waffles are always a treat, or perhaps in your case, a regular! lol

    Hi Simon - They do more chocolates than truffles but the reflections through the glass weren't very kind to the chocolate shots (all housed at the front). There's more info on their website.

    Hi Arwen - The fresh ginger was so good, and it's always lovely when kids are catered for. In the current baby boom, a very good marketing strategy too!

    Hi divemummy - I think the promise of chocolate and coffee is one sure way for kids to convince their folks to take them to the park!

    Hi Simon Food Favourites - It's great they have a city location. You wouldn't expect such a fancy outlet would have its home base in a simple shop in Earlwood.

    Hi Margaret - Hope you enjoy your visit!

    Hi Hilda - Perhaps it's just as well they're not open all the time! Resistance would be futile!

    Hi Stephcookie - Great to see them being a regular fixture at the Good Food Show and the Aroma Coffee Festival. Haven't tried the chai choc yet, but it sounds good!

    Hi Iron Chef Shellie - You mean the great size of my waist? lol.

    Hi kurrabikid - A chocolate-covered date sounds very decadent. I'm intrigued by the orange slices too.

    Hi FFichiban - lol. I had the ginger choc. The dinosaur choc was for one of the kids (with the babycino, remember?).

     
  • At 8/24/2009 11:22 am, Blogger Betty @ The Hungry Girl said…

    Adora is seriously walking distance from me and I've never been! Have been meaning to go for so long though. Everything looks so good!

     
  • At 8/24/2009 9:56 pm, Anonymous realityraver said…

    I think Adora makes the best chocolates in Sydney. I think I have tried just about all of them.

    Unfortunately last week my 4 year old tipped over one of the precarious outdoor tables so will have to wait awhile so they forget about the amount of chaos we caused.

     
  • At 8/26/2009 12:34 am, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Betty - Ahh you will have to check it out sometime. It's great that you can get a free chocolate with every drink - a nice way to try the range slowly :)

    Hi realityraver - Oh dear, I hope 4yo is ok! I would've thought they'd be plying you with chocolate!

     
  • At 8/26/2009 6:26 pm, Anonymous billy@atablefortwo said…

    funny the only one time I visited this place is also with a friend of mine, with a toddler. I like the free chocolate with coffee orders

     
  • At 8/27/2009 1:24 am, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Billy - Yes nothing like a free chocolate with your coffee. It makes me feel like a little kid, getting a treat of my own choosing :)

     

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