adriano zumbo cafe chocolat

edit: the adriano zumbo cafe chocolat has closed.
‘zumbo cafe is open, you should have your day off there!’ came the sms from bowb last thursday and at just the right moment too as i was contemplating what to do for 3 hours by myself in the city awaiting the boys’ ramen challenge that night. one bus ride later (442 from the qvb!) and im standing in the courtyard of adriano zumbo cafe chocolat (308 Darling St, Balmain (inside Balmain Mall, about 6 stores to the right of the patisserie)


for days, weeks, months we have been waiting for this cafe to open and belle had been awesome enough to give us updates complete with photos


the lights how they make me hungry, like giant mint balls no?


and there be chocolates! $9.50 per 100g


and more chocolates! and macarons at the back are $2each. there are some savoury stuff available but um youre at a chocolate cafe!


the cafe is not that big which gives it its charm i s’pose =P the gorgeous lounge area is a shiny wood paneled room filled with soft cushions of red, black and white


and hung high above was this impressive chandelier which for some reason reminded me of red licorice or twizzlers…


but you dont care about the inside right you just want to see the food! sadly on that first day the desserts hadnt begun and because it IS a chocolate cafe and all the chocolates looked so preety i decided i didnt need dinner and selected 5 to go along with my fabulous hot chocolate. the glass it was small but so deliciously chocolatey (2 days later when i return the glass has transformed into a giant mug whee!). both the fried egg and the rotten egg are my immediate first choices from the chocolate display, the fried egg a disk of white chocolate with a chewy fruity centre and a sprinkle of pepper and the rotten egg a milk chocolate disk studded with rice crispies and a chewy red centre which for some reason reminds me of the cookieman harlequin biscuit centres… the butterscotch is gleefully bitten into and its innards sucked out mmm salty sweet goodness and i selected the unfortunately named red wine cameltoe partly because of the name and partly because it was pink and shiny… apparently it is a pretty common chocolate mould and as bowb says what else can you expect from a 27 y.o boy =P


or a 25 y.o girl heh heh


visit number 2 to the cafe was with foodbloggers lorraine, belle and william, richard, chris and tim. while waiting for everyone to arrive we check out the gourmet traveller mag which had an article on the zumbo king before the lovely counter-girl rachel informed us that the menus werent ready yet and explained to us the 3 desserts that were available. we order 1 of each and before we know it our drinks arrive. lorraine picks the iced cherry chocolate ($4.50), belle opts for the dark hot chocolate and i the milk hot chocolate ($4). my hot chocolate is perfect and i am momentarily silenced and content to drink nothing but this drink for the rest of my life


then our desserts arrive and cameras are whipped out in a frenzy


the famous miss marple concoction from king zumbos patisserie laughs and makes an entrance as the miss marple deconstructed ($13.50)- marscapone crepes with maple & strawberry + orange jellies and i am instantly filled with dessert envy but luckily today we have decided we’re all family and plates are passed around and shared before returning to its original owner.


lorraine picks ‘the younger years’ – hot chocolate fondant with peanut butter icecream and raspberry injection ($13.50) and is rather amused with the syringe and kidney dish. the spoonful i managed to sneak was sublime i love peanut butter in pretty much any dessert


as soon as the words ‘it’s not a hamburger’ ($13.50) came out of rachel’s mouth i knew i had to have it even without knowing what it was lol and i was absolutely delighted because lately ive been on an icecream sandwich phase and my dessert was a chocolate macaron icecream sandwich with a dolce latte gelato and a rice pudding base garnished with crushed up chocolate cookie ‘soil’ we couldnt quite figure out why it tasted like a banoffee pie but hey im not complaining because it was fantastic!


after our desserts went to dessert heaven our group began stumbling off leaving lorraine, richard and i to have a chat with rachel who said she pretty much lives in that cafe arriving super early and staying until close. it’s also nice to know that you can bring the cakes you have bought from the patisserie to the cafe to eat. just as we step out the door we notice mr adriano zumbo himself standing at the coffee window. lorraine and i nudge each other ‘say something to him!’ ‘im shy you do it!’ ‘no way dude!’ he must have heard us because he turned and we ended up chatting with him, finding out his sister works in a morgue so she knows where to source new unused syringes for the desserts and laughing at him because he was covered in permanent marker from being chopper reid at a halloween party


it was great to see everyone again hope we can do it again soon and as for the rest of you go forth and visit the chocolate cafe!