I’ve been a fan of most things Korean since I first visited Seoul many years ago to speak at a conference. Any free time I had, I went exploring. I walked for hours in any direction that looked interesting, tasted any foods that smelt good. When I returned, I spent years watching kdramas, reading the subtitles until I started to understand the gist of what was being said. So last year I jumped at the opportunity to bring my family to fall in love with Seoul as well.
There are some amazing chocolate makers in Korea. While in Seoul, head straight to CacaoDada. I can still taste the chocolates as I type this, long after any of my large stash of bars bought after my visit there has, sadly, finished. When we visited it was hot, very hot, and the shop completely empty. No chocolate was being made, although you could see through into the chocolate making area. We walked, wide eyed, through their display of products, tasting each one as we went.
We tried many different things here and all were excellent. The highlight was the chance to have a chat with the chocolate duo themselves, Hyungwon Yoon and Yurim Go. They do magic with beans they source from Costa Esmeraldas in Ecuador which are available in bar form but also transformed into a thick drinking chocolate. Their Tanzania bar made using beans sourced from Koko Kamili is my son’s favourite milk chocolate bar ever.
Cacao Dada: 15 Huiujeong-ro 10-gil, Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea Open Thursday-Saturday 11am to 8pm. Cacaodada.com
