brilliant berlin

My boyfriend and I recently spent a few days in Berlin to celebrate Weihnachten and Silvester. The Christmas atmosphere was wonderful, with dazzling lights adorning the streets and monuments.

Our fabulous hotel, the Hilton am Gendarmenmarkt

Berliner Dom

Christmas decorations at Checkpoint Charlie

We arrived in the afternoon, and took in some sights before going to the Pergamon Museum, which is a treasure trove of fascinating relics:

On our way back we stopped at Fassbender & Rausch, an amazing chocolate shop with famous sights such as the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, die Gedächtniskirche and even a volcano made out of chocolate - serious restraint had to kick in...

We had dinner at Gendarmerie, which has a wall with a huge painting across it - and the food was equally colourful and spectacular!

Guten Appetit!



death by chocolate

Last night we walked along the river to the stunning Marina Bay Sands hotel, watching the sunset.

  

We then went to the Skypark at the top of the hotel to take full advantage of their lavish Chocolate Bar. The food was ridiculous - everything was so beautifully crafted and rich so we had to pace ourselves over 5 hours in order to savour each one without being sick!

 

Candied hazelnuts and macadamias, banana steamed chocolate, fresh fruits, chocolate bread and butter pudding

 

 

Milk chocolate passion macarons, mixed berries tart, orange mousse with fruits de soleil, mixed berry compote with berry chocolate

 

White chocolate coconut macarons, milk chocolate passion macarons, dark chocolate mint macarons, lemon crunch bavarois, white chocolate green tea tiramisu, white chocolate banana parfait

 

Various cookies, javara lime tarts, caramel mousse with hazelnut cream, raspberry whim

 

Mango soursoup pudding, cream cheese nutty tart,cheesecake pops, hazelnut royal, hazelnut orange chocolate ghana

 

Hazelnut fianciers, early grey exotic cream, chocolate nougat torte, dark chocolate raspberry mousse, opera torte, ivara passion fruit chocolate

 

Chocolate fianciers, pistachio fianciers, nuts and truffles

The views were absolutely incredible, and there was even an infinity pool across the entire Skypark - we were in heaven!

HIGH tea

Yesterday we went to the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong for their incredible Chocolate Afternoon Tea in the Chocolate Library. Its proportions were epic in every sense of the word - in fact, it's the highest tea in the world, located on the 103rd floor of the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon.

The food was an absolute dream - even the savoury nibbles had a chocolate component! We all had the Signature Dark Hot Chocolate (a meal in itself...) and had to seriously pace ourselves for fear of being outdone by the mighty Chocolate Box, but three hours later we emerged triumphant - and about two stone heavier. Bliss.

 

The menu

 

 

Signature Dark Hot Chocolate

 

 

Exterior and interior of the magic chocolate box

 

 

When we asked if the air conditioning could be turned down a little, not only did they immediately do so, but they even brought us cashmere shawls (in Ritz-Carlton presentation boxes, of course) to wear so that we would warm up!

 

The Chocolate Library overlooks a restaurant called Tosca, which is equally stunning:

 

Huge vases filled with marshmallows and chocolate raisins (just in case we hadn't eaten enough chocolate...)