Jun 24 2008
Where NOT to buy chocolates
As a chocolate lover, I am always on the lookout for a great place to buy chocolates and I absolutely love the specialty handmade ‘designer’ chocolate shops in a few shopping complexes in KL.
It is too bad that there are no such shops here in Penang but I can probably understand that there are probably not much market here since those chocolates are really expensive and we all know how kiamsiap (stingy) Penangites are.
So, a few months back I stumbled upon The Chocolate Boutique in Leith Street here in Penang. Actually I knew about it when it opened last year but never got around to paying it a visit until a few months back. At first, I thought it’s like one of those specialty chocolate shops in KL.
Well, I was wrong! And I regretted ever stepping foot into that place to buy chocolates.
Far from being one of the specialty chocolate shops selling to-die-for handmade truffles, this so-called chocolate boutique sells generic mass production chocolates under the brand name, Beryl. Now, I’ve been buying chocolates for years so I know what Beryl is. It is a local chocolate brand and though the quality is quite okay, it is definitely not Belgian chocolate!
There is nothing wrong if they are merely selling Beryl chocolates but the worse part is that the prices of the chocolates are way too expensive. For example, a box of 200g Beryl chocolate in the supermarket costs RM10. Fair enough right? Well, if you go to the chocolate boutique, the EXACT SAME box of 200g Beryl chocolate costs RM30!
It was obvious that this so-called chocolate boutique is only out to make a killing from foreign tourists who may not know that they are being ‘robbed’.
Luckily I walked out of that place with my wallet intact. Just imagine, if I had not known about the actual pricing of the Beryl chocolates in the supermarkets, I would have been cheated too.
The plus points? They have a lot of different chocolates there (with fruit fillings, with durian, with strawberries, tiramisu flavour, etc), ample free parking space and the service is top notch.
Still…Unless you want to be ripped off…..
Definitely not recommended if you plan to buy chocolates. Better that you stick to supermarkets and if you are looking for variety and more imported ones, go to Cold Storage.
Price: $$$$

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Courtesy of Jessie, The Hungry Mouse
Courtesy of April, The Hungry Engineer



