St Georges Bakehouse

Merkel and Myrtle visited the St George’s Bakehouse at 476 Portrush Road recently. This was a well-stocked bakery sporting a number of awards for it production of meat pies. The coffee was Grinders Organic Blend. The hot chocolate was good and rich but was more expensive than the coffees at four dollars. The hot chocolate was served in a ceramic cup and saucer and topped with a white froth.

Amalfi Pizzeria Ristorante

Amalfi, at 29 Frome Street, has been established in Adelaide for many years. Merkel met there recently with old friends who had first dined together at the Italian restaurant more than twenty years ago. Amalfi has a good menu of pizzas, pasta and other Italian dishes. The service was excellent as exemplified by Nicholas, our attentive waiter.

The hot chocolate came in a brown ceramic cup and saucer. It was topped with white froth and liberal sprinkle of chocolate powder. The flavour was rich, dark and not too sweet.

Perfect Blend

The Perfect Blend coffee shop takes replaced Crust ‘n Crumbs in Cumberland Park shopping centre on the corner of Goodwood Road and Cross Road. This is a little bakery and coffee shop. It has been tastefully redecorated since it was Crust ‘n Crumbs.

The hot chocolate was $3.50 and came in a glass with a metal handle on a saucer. The hot chocolate was topped with forth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder it was richer and tastier than the one provide at Crust ‘n Crumbs.

Young Street Café

The Young Street Deli has had a big makeover and is now the Young Street Café. This is on the corner of Young Street and George Street, Unley. The seating is more comfortable and the décor is more like a Café and less like a deli.  Merkel and Myrtle visited there for breakfast and indulged in muesli and pancakes.

The hot chocolate came in a glass and Saucer with a white marshmallow. It was topped with a pile of white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The hot chocolate was good and rich and not too sweet.  The cost was $3.70.

Bakery Girls

Bakery Girls has has replaced Duthy’s Bakehouse at 82 Duthy Street, Malvern next to Doof Doof. It provides comfortable wooden tables and upholstered chairs inside and there a couple of table outside. This is now a comfortable café with a nice selection of inexpensive snacks.

The hot chocolate was served in a bright yellow ceramic cup and saucer. It was topped with a white froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. The hot chocolate was pleasant and well presented.

Stumps

A new café has been established at 150 King William Road, Hyde Park. Stumps replaces Café Paradiso after this Café had provided many years of dependable service. The Café was thoroughly renovated before opening and the new establishment is more spacious with more modern décor.  It has thick polished timber tables and has an oversize set of cricket stumps as a feature. It is open for breakfast and lunch and provides seating inside or under the awning looking over King William Road.

The hot chocolate came in a red Vittoria cup and saucer. It was topped with white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. Your reviewer preferred the hot chocolate from the old Café Paradiso as it was richer, less sweet and came with marshmallows.

Plaza Takeaway

The Plaza Takeaway is in the Topham Mall Plaza opposite The Dessert Spot. It is small shop mainly for takeaway but has a number of marble-topped tables outside but still Sheltered by the Topham Mall car park. It would be a nice spot if it was not frequented by smokers.

The hot chocolate was $3.50 with plenty of froth and chocolate on top. The drink was good and rich and came in a ceramic cup and saucer

Trip to Victoria

Merkel and Myrtle recently went interstate to Victoria for a visit. The destination was Horsham but first they stopped over at Border Town.

The Morning Loaf Bakery at 81 North Tce, Border Town is big establishment selling a big range of cakes and pies and also Australian Souveniers. The meals are served on enamel plates. The hot chocolate came in a Piaza Doro cup and saucer. A big marshmallow was also provided. The cost was four dollars.

The Fig Tree Café is at 57 Firebrace Street, Horsham. It was a cosy place to have a hot chocolate while it was raining in Horhsam. A marshmallow was provided and the drink was topped with a white froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder.

At the Oven Door Bakery in Horsham Merkel got a hot chocolate with two marshmallows. It was served in a Grinders coffee cup and was good and chocolaty.

The Gardens Coffee Rooms

This is a converted house at 1 Salisbury Cresent, Colonel Light Gardens with antique furnishing. It is tucked away in the suburbs but is in in view of Goodwood Road. The house has been left with its rooms in tact so patrons can choose from four rooms in which to dine. The Gardens Coffee Rooms provides a menu of light meals and desserts.

The hot chocolate was was served in a glass with handle on a saucer. A white marshmallow was provided. The drink was topped with a white froth and liberal sprinkling of chocolate powder. The chocolate flavour was rich, dark and not too sweet. Just the way Merkel likes it. The cost was $3.60.

   

 

 

 

Café a Go Go, Botanic Gardens

Merkel and the Marmaduke family went to the Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens one fine weekend and walked around the beautiful gardens. The Café a Go Go van previously reviewed at a footy match was in the lower car park and Merkel reacquainted himself with their hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate was $4.00 for a small cup and $5.00 for a medium cup. The cups were takeaway paper cups. The drink was finished with froth and a sprinkle of cocoa. The flavour was dark and rich. The texture was a bit thinner than the best hot chocolates but it was still a good drink on a fine day.

Finos Snack Bar

This is a traditional snack bar at 128 Unley Road. It is mainly focussed on the takeway trade and does pies, pasties and hamburgers. It does have three table inside and will provide dine-in service.

The hot chocolate comes in a decorative china tea cup. The drink is topped with a thin froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. Unfortunately the drink was fairly weak and watery. The cost was about three dollars.

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.

Gingers Coffee Studio

Gingers Coffee Studio has recently opened up at 109a Goodwood Road. Merkel and Myrtle visited the studio for breakfast. There is plenty of seating inside and the furnishings are comfortable with a retro touch. Our waitress, Melanie was very friendly and provided quick table service. We chose from a tasty selection of breakfasts on the menu. This is one of the venues for the 2012 SALA festival which starts August 3. Patrons can preview the well-crafted paintings prior to the festival.

The hot chocolate came in a large ceramic cup and saucer and was topped with a delicate piece of Latte art. This was not a creamy hot chocolate, but the flavour was rich and dark and pleasant to drink.

Saffron Sky

Saffron Sky on King William Road has taken over the Darriwill Farm shop in King William Road, Hyde Park. This is now a fully functioning Café rather than the old gifts and gourmet retail store. The place has been renovated and looks pretty snazzy with brown and white décor. The Cocolat cakes are still available but the Cocolat brand is not as prominent.

The hot chocolate comes in a small ceramic cup topped with froth with some latte art on top. This more of a standard coffee bar drink than the organic coffee sold at the previous shop. The drink was rich and dark with good flavour. The cost was $3.60.

Argo on the Square

Sometime ago Argo on the Parade with its outlet in Norwood took over the running of the Ink Café. The Ink Café has now been renonvated and rebranded as a new Café, Argo on the Square has appeared in its place. It now features funky design and decorative orchids in the Shop 4, Victoria Square. It serves breakfast and lunch and has a range of exotic sandwiches and wraps on the menu.

Also on the menu was a Mint Hot Chocolate which encouraged me to try it. It was $3.40 for the regular size and came in a black ceramic cup topped a white froth and chocolate flakes. The mint taste was a natural mint flavour rather than the standard artificial flavour which is often too sweet. As a result this was probably the best mint hot chocolate I have had.

Red Door Bakery, Goodwood

A new Red Door Barkery at 54 King William Road, Goodwood. This follows the successful formula of the shop in Croyden with the same name. They have a menu of fresh bakery goods including a good range of home made pies, sausage roles and croissants. There are a number of tables insided and outside for eating in and enjoying a coffee or hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate is listed on the menu board as being "made from chocolate buttons". This is the same high quality Belgian chocolate as I tasted at Croyden complete with a white and a pink marshmallow. This time it was served in a glass and saucer and topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of choclate powder. The cost was $4.20.

Hyde Park Bakery

There is a new Bakery in Hyde Park at simply called the Hyde Park Bakery. It is at the corner of King William Road and Mitchell Street at 1 Mitchell Street. It is diagonally opposite Kibbies. Next to Kibbies, Wenzels Cakes has closed down. It may not not be a coincidence that one baker has disappeared from this area around the same time that another one has been established.

The Hyde Park Bakery is a spacious bakery with about eight tables inside for dining in. It is newly renovated with a wonderful exposed stone wall on the east side. The service is friendly and there are quiches, foccacias, cakes and pies on the menu of takeaway or dining in.

The hot chocolate is $3.80 and comes in a glass and saucer with a marshmallow. The glass is hot touch so you will need to utilise the paper napkins in dispenser to hold the drink unless you let it cool down. The drink is decorated with a white froth and spider-web syrup design on top and some syrup inside the glass. This decoration is attractive but makes the drink too sweet. The flavour is smooth and chocolaty.

Deli at the Hilton Hotel

Merkel and Myrtle visited the Deli at the Hilton Hotel on Victoria Square.  The couple ordered sandwhiches and sat in the comfortable area under an impressive foyer ceiling. The hot chocolate came in its metal tray with a soda water beside. This is a nice presentation although it was missing a twist of lemon and a marshmallow which was provided when they last visited, more than a year ago. The hot chocolate was still rich with a good flavour. It was served in a plain mug and topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocolate on top.

Signature Café

Signature Café is a litte Café on Charles Street which runs off Rundle Mall at the entrance of Charles Street Plaza. The venue has a short menu of interesting meals.

The hot chocolates and coffees come well decorated. The hot chocolate was provided in a ceramic mug topped with a white frothe and plenty of chocolate sprinkled on top. The chocolate flavour was rich, but it was a bit sweet toward the bottom.

Blefari Smiley Hot Chocolate

Blefari on Victoria Square has added a new innovation to its Belgian hot chocolates. It is the smiley faced latte art.

By Blackbird

A new café has opened up on King William Road replacing the second outlet of Au Matin Calme which only had a short residency in this road of Cafes. Merkel and Myrtle visited their recently for breakfast. There is a range of seating inside and a couple of table outside. It has minimally retro décor with an old light stand, radio and sewing stand on display. The menu included a range of pastries and pies. There was not much other fare available.

Merkel was attracted because of the Adelaide Matters which suggested the hot chocolate was made to a unique recipe. The hot chocolate came in an elegant hot chocolate mug. It was topped with a froth and pattern. The drink was a Belgian chocolate flavour which is often the case with good patisseries that serve hot chocolate. Merkel craved a richer chocolate flavour but it was a pleasant drink.
 

Café Troppo

Café Troppo is a small licensed venue at 42 Whitmore Square, Adelaide. It has an informal hippie atmosphere and glass walls through which you can look out over the street and the square. A range of light meals such as pizza, baguettes, pies and salads are on the menu.

The coffees and hot chocolates are free-trade and made with organic milk. The hot chocolate is $3.80 and comes in an elegant pottery mug. The drink is topped with a froth and sprinkle of shredded chocolate. The chocolate taste is good and is not overly rich or sweet.

Aami Stadium

Merkel was privileged to be at Aami Stadium when his football team, the Adelaide Crows beat the Geelong Cats. This was an exellent game and one which has showed Australia that the Crows are a real contender this year. It was a cold night and Merkel stayed for the Under 18 SANFL match afterwards. This was a perfect excuse to look for a hot chocolate.

Fortunately under the members stand there was a Coffex stall selling coffee and hot chocolate. There was a queue and a bit of a wait, but the friendly staff took care over their hot beverages. The hot chocolate was served in a paper cup with a good froth on top. It was good and rich but too sweet by the time I got to the bottom of the cup. The cost was $4.40.

Lenzerheide

Lenzerheide is a long-established restaurant at 146 Belair Road, Hawthorn. It provides fine dining with excellent table service. Merkel and Myrtle were dining with friends in the splendid surroundings. While Merkel cannot afford to eat here too often the food was delicious and looked great.
The hot chocolate was presented in a modern double sided cup which preserves the heat on the inside without burning the fingertips on the outside. Merkel first encountered one of these at Mapo which has since disappeared from James Place. The drink was topped with a white froth and a sprinkle of chocalate powder. The chocolate was an average café drink and was not particularly rich. This was a disappointment where everything else at the Lenzerheide was a pretty special. The cost was $4.50.

Hardware Café

Bunnings Warehouse is not the place you would normally think of to have a hot chocolate but even hot chocolate connoisseurs have to buy hardware on occasions. The Hardware Café is a comfortable café inside the Mile End Bunnings Warehouse. It provides pre-packaged snacks and has an espresso machine.

The hot chocolate is unfortunately delivered in a paper cup even for customers dining in. It comes with a bubbly froth and a sprinkle on top in the shape of hammer. Customers have the options of marshmallow but it is dunked in the drink as there is no saucer. The chocolate flavour is a surprising good dark chocolate and the drink is a creamy texture.

Blefari has Belgian Chocolate

Blefari have been writing their specialist single origin coffees on the sandwich board outside this the Café in Victoria Square. Recently your reviewer noticed that Callebaut hot chocolate was being advertised on this board. Callebaut is the most popular maker of Belgian hot chocolate even though according to Wikipedia, the company has been taken over by a Swiss company.

The hot chocolate was indeed a good Belgian chocolate flavour. The cost was $3.70 and it was an improvement on the Blefari's already good standard of hot chocolate.

Thai Orchid

The Thai Orchid is well-established Adelaide Thai Restaurant. It is blessed by a wonderful view of the sea at Henley Beach. This is an ideal place to watch the sun setting. They provide and extensive menu of tasty Thai food and provide friendly table service.

The hot chocolate came in a glass and saucer. The glass had a napkin expertly wrapped around it to preserve my fingertips. The saucer had an ornate brass tea spoon which matched the other Thai Orchid cutlery. The hot chocolate was topped with light bubbly froth and sprinke of chocolate powder. This was a good hot chocolate as it was rich but not too sweet. The cost was unkown as the meal was bought for me by some generous visitors from overseas.

 

A Mother's Milk

The name of this café comes from a quote about coffee and there is some information on their facebook page. It is at 105 Unley Road. The Décor is rustic with exposed brick and stressed timber and the seating is in a number of small rooms and out on the verandah.

A Mother's Milk provides good Belgian hot chocolate. It was served in a brown cup and saucer topped with a white froth and sprinkle of chocolate powder. The cost was only $3.30.

Annex Café

Merkel and Myrtle atttended the South Australian Scabble championships over the weekend. They missed out on the prizes but they made friends with many fine scrabblers and had the opportunity to try new hot chocolate venues over lunch.

The Annex Café is small Café at 3 Waterloo Street, Glenelg, just off Jetty Road. It has seating inside and outside and is venue for live music and poetry reading. It is not to be confused with the Californian chat room on the internet but it does have a web presence on facebook.

The hot chocolate came in a big red mug with a froth and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. The flavour was milk chocolate and not rich enough for Merkel's taste. The cost was $3.70.

T bar, Adelaide Central Market

Merkel and Myrtle return to the Tbar at the Adelaide Central Market recently. The chocolate was a bit weak. It was served in glass which was hot for the fingertips with a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top. Unlike the Tbar at Adelaide Central Plaza on Rundle mall, there was no froth decoration on top. The cost was $3.40 but this included a pink and a white marshmallow.

Gourment Glazed

Gourmet Glazed is a donut shop in City Cross arcade but also does an iced chocolate which caught Merkel's eye on a hot day. The iced Chocciata came in a plastic container. Their was plenty of crushed ice in this drink. It was reasonably chocolaty to start with but by the end the drink was weak and watery. It was a cool drink on a hot day and cost $5.90.

Bar 9 Belgian

Merkel and Myrtle returned to Bar 9 recently for breakfast. Merkel ordered the Belgian hot chocolate and was served the drink in an elegant pottery mug. It was topped with with a brown forth and sprinkle of chocolate powder over one side of the mug. The chocolate could have been richer but was unmistakably Belgian. The cost was $4.80.