After 'months' of separation, SL and I finally met up yesterday.
Food was on the agenda, of course.
SL found this great patisserie in Kensington Church Street, which she really want to take me to. But I had this chocolatier which I also want to go to. The simple solution would be going to both places, right? And what's better than having TWO afternoon teas to celebrate our reunion?
As we found out, both places are close to the High Street Kensington tube station. We decide to meet at 5pm. Underground engineering work delayed my arrival somewhat. Nevertheless, it didn't stop our emotions run wild as we greet each other in the station (ok.ok. I exaggerated a little. But still, I was really glad to meet up with SL once again.). 
My choice is to have cake first because dinner is at 7:30pm and I need to digest the cake. The cakes at Maison Blanc turned out to be great. I chose a chocolate crème brulee cake which has a rich chocolaty body, a crunchy base and a slightly soft crème brulee centre. It is very very rich and I had to take it very slowly.
With much effort and perseverance, I managed to finish the cake in about an hour. Next stop was the chocolatier, Pierre Marcolini. SP and I saw the shop when we were in Belgium and it was forever packed with people. I’ve read various reviews on their chocolates and they all seem very positive. When I found out that they have a shop in London, I’ve decided this chocolate experience has to be shared with my dear foodie friend, Ms L.
Knowing that the chocolatier is close to the High Street Kensington tube station, we knew we didn’t have to walk far. I also knew that the shop is off the street that Maison Blanc is on. However, the street name ‘Lancer Court’ suggested a tiny street. Out come SL’s trusty A-Z (street directory). After some investigation, we only knew it is very close to us, but we still couldn’t locate it on our map. After a few minutes with the map, SL saw that the street is actually almost directly opposite us!
We then slowly drag our ‘caked-out’ body to our next stop. That took around 30 seconds.
I’ve been spoiled with fine chocolate recently, so ordinary chocolate no longer makes the cut. I had high expectations for Pierre Marcolini.
We picked a few choices from their range and decided to sit down outside the shop to continue our conversations. The tea and moka arrived shortly.
clockwise from top left (information from SL): caraibe (bitter ganache, 66% cocoa), venezuela (venezuela beans, 72% bitter), coeur framboise (raspberry pulp with ganache coated with white chocolate), another venezuela, and a truffe du jour (carribean bar coated with cocoa powder)
SL and I agreed that venezuela was our favourite. I still think Mary’s dark chocolate is the best. It is a little unfair to Pierre Marcolini in a way, as I’ve only tried a few pieces from their range. On the other hand, I’ve tried at least 2kg assortments of Mary’s chocolates. I have to say that not everything from their range is the best that I’ve had.
I think that the coeur framboise from Pierre Marcolini is very innovative and it is certainly the only raspberry chocolate that I would voluntary consume. It is also supposedly one of their most popular chocolate around Valentine’s Day! (A big hint for the boys!)
I didn’t have as much chocolate as I want because I was still rather full from the big brunch and the cake, and there were a big dinner to come. My suggestion for next time is that we should be less greedy *grin* and only have one afternoon tea in one day!
For more information:
http://www.pierremarcolini.co.uk
http://www.maisonblanc.co.uk
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