Directory

Retail Directory 2009 

Chocolate Industry

Singapore

We’ve never been ones to pass up chocolate of any kind, and this intriguingly named boutique and café has been hitting all our sweet spots since it opened in Singapore last Christmas. Branding mavericks Asylum have kept the narrow space simply furnished with a long display table shoe-horned between a wall sheathed with neat stacks of chocolate boxes and a back wall dripping with stylized melting chocolate. It’s not immediately evident, but there are two stars here. The first is the menu of a hundred tempting flavours, helpfully grouped into themes. So, the Exotic Series includes Sichuan Pepper, Peanut Butter and Red Bean; the Connoisseur lures with 61-76% cocoa from single origin plantations in Cuba, Ghana, Saint Domingue and Sao Thome; while the Alcohol Series clouds good judgment with Lychee Martini, Cognac and Grand Marnier. The second luminary in the mix is the handsome packaging which is swathed in a charming melee of patterns including animal prints, stylish fonts, and even photographs of rain-streaked neon signs. We hear there are franchise plans to take the idea off-island, but for the moment, it’s strictly a tropical sugar rush.

#01-30 Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore
65. 6338 5191

www.chocolateresearchfacility.com