I usually prefer direct flights if I can manage it. Why take two days to get to Asia when you can take one? But there is one exception: when the connection gives me a few hours in Hong Kong. My visits to Hong Kong have been getting shorter, but more frequent. I used to stay for weeks at a time, but now I get mini doses of the city, and honestly, it’s perfect for that. The airport train is fast and frequent, and Hong Kong is one of those magical walking cities where every corner rewards you with something fascinating to see or taste.
The theme of this trip to Hong Kong was simple: Slok. Slok is an award-winning chocolate maker based in Hong Kong, and I’m obsessed. If you want to be blown away by a single origin dark chocolate and taste what cocoa beans taste like when they are treated with respect, try one of their plain bars. Their drinking chocolates are flawless. And don’t get me started on their flavoured bars. Dried scallop, soy sauce crystal, fermented bean curd… Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Lok (the genius behind Slok) gave me a list of café’s that serve the drinking chocolate in Central so we made a plan. Three hot chocolates in a row? Totally doable. So, we set off. We wandered past shops selling Chinese medicinal ingredients, piles of dried everything spilling from open bags and guarded, in almost all cases, by a resident cat (presumably paid in rats). Narrow trams zipped by us on the main road. We turned left and follow a local with a very cute dog up a steep set of steps and into what was clearly his daily coffee stop. Sometimes I follow interesting looking locals when I travel (in a non-creepy way I promise), just to get off the beaten path. This time, though, the café was our destination too. The other two cafes on our list were both unexpectedly closed today due to private engagements so by the time we got here we had unreaslistically high expectations.
This hot chocolate was so beautiful I took copious notes so that I could write up this blog post. In a rare moment of calm thanks to the kids being mesmerised by the well-behaved dog we followed in, I scribbled down thoughts about the café’s vibe, the staff, the music (all fantastic). I swooned over the aromas in the chocolate, the experience of holding the beautiful mug it was served in and share more information about the mug made in Sydney, Australia, made by Chef vs Clay.
I wish more cafes treated drinking chocolate with the same reverence they give coffee. This one did, complete with tasting notes and origin info. The chocolate, crafted by Slok, was made with beans sourced from the Philippines, 72%, prepared in a water-based drink.
I scribbled on my note pad the complex tasting journey the sips of drinking chocolate took me on, as vibrant and colourful as Hong Kong itself. The notes shifted as I sipped, lingering long after each mouthful. The tasting card mentioned honey, longan and jujube fruit, but I tasted something entirely different, and loved them all. I wrote it all down, and then, when the day came to write up this post, couldn’t find my notes anywhere. If you happen to find the sheet of paper I used, I’d love to have it back. The summary though is simple: a perfect drinking chocolate moment and defiantly up there on my list of ultimates worth travelling for.
As we left this jewel of a café, I stopped to tell the staff working how incredible their chocolate is. They seemed surprised. Coffee people, you’re missing out. Slok’s chocolate is absolutely worth a detour to Hong Kong. And luckily, there are many café’s serving it.
Address: Shop B on LG/F, Wah Shin House, 6-10 Shin Hing Street, Hong Kong
Open: Sunday-Thursday 10:00-19:00, Friday-Saturday 10:00-20:00
And for more about Slok https://www.instagram.com/slokchocolate
