Perrymans Artisan Bakery, City

Perrymans Bakery specialises in making range of pies, pasties and sausage rolls. After many years established in North Adelaide they have opened an outlet at 42 Grote Street. The décor is clean and comfortable a good review of their pies and other fare is provided by fellow blogger the Office Eater.

The hot chocolate came in a small brown ceramic cup topped with for and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The flavour was good but not overly rich and Perrymans provided a complementary Anzac biscuit which was delicious. All the food was low cost and the hot chocolate probably cost only about three dollars.

The Stranded Store

The Stranded Store is in the heartland of Colonel Light Gardens at number 14 The Strand. Colonel Light Gardens is a pleasant suburb with large population of young familes and four-wheel drives that probably never leave the sealed roads. The Stranded Store is very popular breakfast and lunch venue during weekends and bookings are advisable. It is a table-service restaurant and is part of the 2012 SALA Festival. The stranded breakfast was hearty and well presented.

The hot chocolate came in a glass with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top. The drink was not hot enough to cause any issues with holding the glass. The hot chocolate was probably organic and fair-trade although the milk chocolate flavour was unremarkable. The cost was $3.70.

Argo Single Origin

Argo are now doing single origin hot chocolates. The only other place I am aware of doing this is the Chocolate @ No. 5 in Hahndorf. I had the choice between an Indonesian milk chocolate and a Trinidad dark chocolate. I chose the dark chocolate which had an excellent dark chocolate flavour but was not too bitter.

I returned the next day and tried the Indonesion hot chocolate. This was a Swiss style milk chocolate with a good flavour but I perfered the Trindad Dark Chocolate. The Trinidad Dark Chocolate was $4.40 but the Indonesian Milk chocolate was on special at $3.90.

Well done Argo for providing a choice of good hot chocolate flavours.

Out of the Pan

Out of the Pan is a fine dining restaurant advertised as being in Littlehampton although my street directory indicates it is 82 Main Road in Nairne. The service is quick and friendly and the décor has a white and silver theme. There was a talented duo performing on Sunday afternoon when Myrtle and I visited the resaurant. It is also a SALA exhibitor displaying artwork of Jane Harman and Stacey Lock. These were oil paintings and also some decorative woodsaws. The food was tasty and it all contributed to a pleasant afternoon.

The hot chocolate came in a ceramic beaker and saucer. The crockery proclaimed that the coffees and presumably the hot chocolate were Grinder Organic Blend and Fairtrade. The drink was topped with a white froth with a liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. The chocolate was good flavour but not particularly rich and cost $3.50.

Caffe Primo, Blackwood

Caffe Primo outlets at Unley and the City have disappeared but the on at Blackwood is still going strong. The Blackwood Caffé Primo provides a picturesque location in the hills and good breakfasts on a Sunday. It is exhibiting two contrasting artists for the SALA Festival 2012 in an exhibition called Variations 2. Both artists provided two paintings showing a variation on a theme.

The hot chocolate came in a glass and saucer with a marshmallow. There were chocolate syrup designs on the inside of the glass but this did not overly sweeten the drink.  It was topped with brown froth and a line of chocolate powder. The taste was a good, rich milk chocolate flavour.

Funk, Rocky Road

Funk Coffee and Food have a special Rocky Road Hot Chocolate at present. I visited the impressive Victoria Square outlet in the SA Water building recently and tried this special offering. It had was made with thick hot chocolate topped with nuts, coconut, mini marshmallows and cherry segments. There were so many bits an pieces on top that it was not possible to sip the drink. Fortunately a spoon was provided so this could be eaten more like a dessert in a mug than a drink. The end result was a tasty, crunchy delight and cost $4.50.

Menz Raspberry Chocs

While I am not a regular reviewer of chocolate confectionary, the fame of Merkel Marmaduke has spread to the people at Menz. The tastebuds that are finely tuned to sampling different types of hot chocolate were asked to try Menz's latest "Raspberry Chocs. Menz are of course the makers of the iconic FruChocs. In a recent Advertiser article apricot flavour chocolates were favourites for South Australian and this was largely due to the success of FruChocs.

Raspberry Chocs are similar size and shape to FruChocs, and they are covered in the same milk chocolate. The chocolate covers a raspberry flavoured gelatine centre which makes the treat a lot more chewy than the FruChoc.

Raspberry and chocolate go well together and the raspberry hot chocolate at Au Martin Calme was testament to this. I prefer a dark chocolate to counteract the sweetness of the Raspberry. Overall the Raspberry Chocs are too sweet for my liking. The raspbery flavour is not pronounced enough despite natural flavours and colours that go ino this treat. I however tried this on less mature palates. My kids loved these and I expect other children would too.

I note that a fellow blogger has tried dark chocolate FruChocs.  Now that sounds worth a try.