Jones the Grocer, Chaddy

I am deeply shocked that my first review is of a hot chocolate I had at Chadstone shopping centre. A place I regard as Dante's tenth circle of hell. A vast cavern of toddler tantrum-inducing sensory overload and fanatical consuming of everything same-same-but-different.

During the week my husband had an epiphany tasting some Mast Brothers chocolate. He had to buy some and the only stockist in cooee of us was Jones the Grocer. So, this morning we took the unprecedented step of meeting some friends at Chaddy for brunch.

The hot chocolate: Made with couveture Belgian chocolate it was sweet, rich and creamy. A streak of crunchy granules across the top added a pleasant texture to the froth on top. It is a big step up from the bog standard hot chocolates in most cafes, but shy of the innovative beverages others have introduced into the designer hot drink realm.

The price: $4

The setting: A stylish cafe with high glassed walls that let in plenty of light so we had full views of the car park.

Family friendly aspects: For a Saturday morning it was refreshingly uncrowded. No one seemed to care our toddlers had the run of the place. The kid's hot chocolate was the same high quality as the adult version (that said, my toddler would drink anything within a sniff of chocolate anyway).  

Would I have another: Was the hot chocolate worth a trip to hell? Not really, but when combined with the find of Mast Brothers chocolate we may be back. As a drive-by shooting visit.

For more on a unique product found in a same-same world, check out this review of Mast Brothers.

Coffee criminal

I live in Melbourne and I don't like coffee. In a city that takes coffee terribly seriously this makes me a criminal.

"I don't trust people who don't drink coffee", once stated a horrified friend (he obviously got over it). Drive by ST ALi in South Melbourne, speciality coffee experts, on a weekend and you'll see a long queue of people waiting for a hit. I just don't understand their passion.

What makes it worse is I am a full time mum living in Richmond. A new cafe pops up seemingly every five minutes around here. Most prams on the circuit (park, library, playgroups, etc) have coffee cups firmly in place on the handle bar. All mums proclaim they can't survive without it.

However, like everyone else, I love hanging out in Melbourne's fine cafes with my young family. I have to drink something while I am there. Thankfully the city is learning that us freakish cousins of coffee fanatics are thirsty for something truly great too, besides coffee.

Thus, I have become a Melbourne hot chocolate connoisseur.

I am starting this blog to chronicle my experiences hunting down seriously good hot chocolate in the city and its surrounds.