Hediard @ Tudor Court

Hediard of Paris, a delicatessen of luxury fine food, opened its boutique in Singapore at Tudor Court in April 2005. It was expanded to include a café/restaurant in May 2007. Its two retail counters are at Paragon and ION Orchard.

Hediard was started by Ferdinard Hediard when he opened his first shop in Paris in 1854. As of 2007, Hediard has five integrated boutiques in Paris, 20 boutiques and more than 100 retailers in France, 20 boutiques and more than 200 retailers worldwide, including 55 outlets in Japan, seven in Seoul and three in China (Shanghai, Beijing and Canton).

There are about 1,000 items available in Hediard Singapore. These include its specialty fruits products, chocolates, biscuits, confectionery, marmalades and jams, honey, spices, tea, coffee, wine, mustard, oils, vinegars, caviar, salmon, etc.

Hediard is well-known for its fruit jellies. Out of its 14 flavours, I personally prefer the citrus and sour range. The texture is just nice – it is not too hard or soft and they don’t stick to your teeth. I think only Canele’s lycee jelly which was sold during Chinese New Year is close enough. Hediard fruit jellies cost $14.90 per 100 gm and you get about 5 pieces.


Its chocolates are smooth and creamy. For its chocolates with fruit fillings, it seems they just coat their fruit jellies with chocolate, which give a different, though not entirely bad, mouth feel than those offered by other chocolatiers. Priced at $23 per 100 gm, which yields about 10 pieces, it is comparable to other chocolatiers.


As I have mentioned many times, it is always cheaper to buy per weight/piece. It is no different at Hediard. Prices can be steep, which is unavoidable, if you are buying in a box as a gift. For instance, a 330 gm gift box of assorted chocolates costs $89.90. Buying by weight, 330 gm should cost you $75.90. Thus you are paying $14 just for the traditional red box.

Do note that the café/restaurant is opened from 9 am, for breakfast, but closes very early at 8 pm. You can see the menu here.

Service at Hediard has always been very good and professional and the staff are very accommodating, though sometimes they can be very busy, which is understandable.

Cheeky Chocolates @ Iluma

I think there are a dozen or so of varieties of chocolates available at Cheeky Chocolates and two of them are with alcohol. They were displayed like jewelleries in individual display cases and are sold at $2.20 per piece.


I bought the Coffee Addict, Passion Fruit Euphoria, Bored Lemon, Happy Hazelnut, Lavender Love, Cheeky Chocolate, Dark & Sexy and Lust. I enjoyed the Coffee Addict, Happy Hazelnut and Cheeky Chocolate the most. The Passion Fruit and Lemon were average. The Dark & Sexy and Lust were a disappointment. Given their names and unique shapes they ought to be signature pieces and as such I expected more in terms of taste, texture and kick.

The Lavender Love in a heart shape was refreshing with its strong aroma and taste of lavender. I haven’t come across any other chocolatiers carrying this flavour and this could be another of their signature piece. It is a tad too tiny though and it would have been great if the size was bigger which would then give more substance and taste to it.

Overall some good finds. Otherwise just try their vast ranges of chocolate desserts, like their Cheeky Chocolate Warm Chocolate Cake.

The other outlet is at 223 Upper Thomson Road. Their website is still under construction.

Awfully Chocolate

Awfully Chocolate does not sell chocolates. I guess most people know that by now since they have been around since 1988. They sell three types of chocolate cakes (All Chocolate, Chocolate Banana and Chocolate Rum & Cherry), which most people know, and they sell chocolate ice cream, which some people don’t know.

Back then their first shop at Joo Chiat, which had since closed, made headlines with their all white minimalist décor with just a counter. You will be forgiven if you thought it was a reception counter for an aesthetic clinic or consultancy firm because they do not display their cakes at the shop front. All their cakes are kept in the cooler at the back of the shop which is cleverly condoned off. They still maintain this design concept for all their stores. When shown a video of my cousins’ children running around in the Awfully Chocolate shop in Cluny Court, my cousin’s Filipino domestic helper thought that they were at someone’s house.

Back then when you think of chocolate cakes, you think of them and the Chocolate Etoile by Temptations. I, and I think many people as well, have outgrown them as they are many choices nowadays. I still enjoyed them but I will not deliberately go all the way to their stores to get them.

I am writing this because I was there several days ago; because I like to recommend their ice cream; AND because they scoop their ice cream from the display tub! No mention of NEA regulation! (read my earlier post on Andersen’s Ice Cream).

Their ice cream, Hei (黑) or Black, is pure dark chocolate ice cream and very bitter as if you are eating frozen dark chocolate. Highly recommended.

It costs $3.80 for a single scoop or $11.80 for a pint. If you want them delivered to you, you can order online but there is a minimum order and a delivery charge of $10.70.

Chocolat Factory

No, there is no spelling error. Yes, there is no “e” at the end of chocolate as far as this chocolatier from Spain is concerned.

Chocolat Factory has been in Singapore for more than three years now. Shanghai is the only other Asian city that carries this brand. Do not confuse them with the local chocolatier previously known as Chocolate Factory. I understand there was some dispute over the similarity in names. Though the local Chocolate (with an “e’) Factory is now known as Laurent Bernard Chocolatier, its website still used its previous name.

Chocolat Factory, who call themselves the Pleasure Experts, carry quite a vast range of chocolate products in unique packaging, which won design awards not only in Barcelona but in London and Germany as well. There is chocolate jam with sweet pear, bitter orange, chestnut or mint ($14 per bottle) and even chocolate pasta.


Its truffles and pralines are made with Belgian chocolate. They also have a vast range with liquor. The size of the non-liquor truffles is bite-size – you get about 10 pieces per 100 gsm. It is creamy and smooth and very good indeed. You cannot just eat one


At $15 and $17.50 per 100 gsm for pralines and truffles respectively, it is cheaper than some of our local chocolatiers, and taste just as good, if not better. What’s more, there is currently a 15% discount for purchases above $80 when you use either your UOB or Citibank Credit Cards. So head on down to Paragon (B1-K11) or OUB Centre (01-06) now. Chocolat Factory doesn’t have a local website but there is an English version of its website in Spain.

Prestat Fine Chocolates

Prestat was officially established in London in 1902. Its chocolates are the favourite of Royal Family, in particular The Queen Mother, HM Queen Elizabeth.

I have tried both the Prunes and Apricots in (60%) Dark Chocolate. Both are priced at $29 per box of 150 gm. The tastes of prunes and apricots overpowered that of the expected thin coat of chocolate. It would have been cheaper and more chocolaty had I bought the fruits and dark chocolate separately and eat them together. I don’t blame them. Fruit-dips are usually disappointing to me. I suppose when I eat chocolates, I expect chocolates to play the predominant role. However I enjoyed the dark chocolate coated orange peel sold by Canelé during the Chinese New Year period.

I find Prestat truffles and dark chocolate ranges nothing to scream about. Perhaps I am not used to “English” chocolates. Given its high price, $58 for 200 gm of truffles, it is over-rated. Worst when you are paying a premium when the prices in UK are so much cheaper. Yes, prices will be higher as compared to the place of origin because of airfreight and so on. But the price differentiate of Prestat chocolates is particularly higher compared to other brands. I do notice that for most non-local chocolates in Singapore, prices are generally more expensive here compared to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

There are definitely better, and even cheaper, alternatives available. But if you have not tried Prestat chocolates before, now is a good time to try. Currently there is a promotion where you pay $68 (instead of the usual $116, that’s more than 40% discount) for a box each of their Milk Marc and Pink Marc De Champagne Truffles. There are also good discounts for some of their other ranges.

Chocz.

I couldn’t possibly eat chocolate just once a year. To get my fix, I do have to travel and make a special trip and I don’t normally travel just for one thing. So when I have the cravings and am too lazy to make a special trip, I get Chocz. as I happen to pass by it once a week.

Singapore brand Chocz., which started in 2001, specialises in Swiss chocolate. Their Swiss chocolates are made in Singapore whilst the Leonidas Chocolates from Belgium are airflown here once a week.

Amongst the Swiss range, I like the Dark Truffle, Cappuccino, Exquisite and Almond Rocher Dark. Their Mango Truffle does not taste like mango at all. However if you are not set on tasting mango, it is quite nice; the paste goes well with the white chocolate and it is not that sweet. Sadly, their Good Night (dark sesame paste in milk ganache) also does not have strong sesame flavour. The best dark sesame paste chocolate I feel is from Canelé.

If you have not noticed by now, I have a preference for Belgian and dark chocolates. Hence for Leonidas Chocolates, which has both a dark and milk chocolate variety for every flavours, I naturally go for the dark variety. Leonidas Chocolates do tend to have a nutty flavour. If it is a Leonidas, I will eat it!

Chocz. chocolates are priced at $19.80 per 100 gm. Currently there is a promotion where you will get 20% discount if you buy at least 200 gm of their Swiss range. For their Belgian range, you need only to buy at least 100 gm to get 20% discount. That’s only $15.84 per 100 gm of Leonidas! Load it up man!!

Godiva Chocolatier

Legend had it that the people of Coventry, in England, were suffering because of heavy taxation under the rule of Lord Leofric. His wife, known for her lustrous hair and beauty, protested and pleaded with him to remit the tax. He refused but would be willing to do so if she would ride naked on a horse through the streets and all the people stayed indoors with their windows shut. For the sake of the common people, she rode through the town naked and her husband kept his word and abolished the tax. She was Lady Godiva, a gift of God.

Eighty years ago in Brussels, Belgium, a master chocolatier, Joseph Draps founded a chocolate company and sought a name that “embodied the timeless qualities of passion, style, sensuality and modern boldness.” He chose Godiva.

Godiva was perhaps the earliest, and hence oldest, gourmet chocolatier that opened shop in Singapore. It was most likely in 1998 or 1999 and its first flagship shop was at Hilton Hotel Shopping Gallery.

Godiva, which sells their pralines and truffles at $25 and $30 per 100 gm respectively, is possibly the most expensive chocolates available in Singapore (for now). Teuscher (of Switzerland) sell their pralines & truffles at $28.80 per 100 gm whilst Prestat (of UK) sell their truffles at $29 per 100 gm. If Gucci sells their chocolates here they may become the most expensive going by the prices they charge in Ginza, Tokyo.

Godiva chocolates that are available here (and in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan) are made in Belgium. They are airflown here twice a week. Godiva chocolates that are available in US are made in US and they are much sweeter and less expensive.

Godiva used to sell their ice-cream here but have stopped long time ago. I was so disappointed then that I forgot to ask why.

Because of its high price (each truffle is about $5; you get six truffles per 100 gm) and there are other good choices, I nowadays usually eat Godiva chocolates once a year in August. That’s because I will receive a one-time-purchase birthday voucher from them which entitles me to 20% discount for up to $500-worth of chocolates. Other times, it is only 10% discount. I usually get about one kg by getting three to four each of every type of truffles which do not contain liquor.

I like all of them. Besides individual flavour, to savour the velvety smooth chocolate and let it slowly melts in the mouth is heavenly. Every night I will just eat two, before 8.00 pm. I call them my 仙丹(elixir of life pills) - they give me strength, vitality and fulfillment. If it is in the day, such as during the weekends or when I am on leave, I will eat three to four. Sometimes I find I have difficulty sleeping if I take more than two pieces after 8.00 pm. Anyway, it is now my usual practice not to snack after 8.00 pm if I intend to sleep at my usual hours or early.

Indeed, Godiva truffles is a gift from God.

Chocoélf Chocolaterie

On every box of chocolate from Chocoélf Chocolaterie, the touching story of how the company came about is retold:

Many years ago we met an adorable little boy.

His parents doted on him, but he was unhappy

He was blind, unwell, and the hospital was his second home.

The doctors cared for him, but none could lift his spirit.

One day we heard this little boy chuckle in delight.

A kind nurse had given him a little piece of Chocolate.

As he nibbled away, he forgot his darkness.

As the Chocolate melted away, so did his pain.

For a long while, a merry grin lit up his angelic face.

The sight of this transformed little boy was one of pure magic.

At that moment Chocoélf was born.

Our way of spreading joy with the most heartfelt of chocolates.

Taste the Pure Magic in Every Box.

“Chocolate means many things to many people:

For the Aztecs, it was money. Spanish monks drank it for health.

To us in Chocoélf, Chocolate is Magic.”

Let us share this magic with you.

Well, I find each piece of Chocoélf chocolate kind of small. For Godiva truffles, I usually need to eat two to three pieces before I feel “satisfied”. For Chocoélf, I need to eat six at one go to feel the same “satisfaction”. For example, their Amande Admirer or Almond Duet, which consist of a roasted almond on top of the chocolate, the almond takes up one-third to half the size. Thus the amount of chocolate is “lacking”, for want of a better word. Amongst those that I have tasted, I like Pure Dark Imp, Arabica Aroma and Coffee Major. Their chocolate is not as sweet as those from Chocz.

Unless it is a gift, otherwise for self-consumption I will always buy chocolate by the piece or weight. It is more expensive buying them in a box as you are paying for the box as well. Unfortunately, Chocoélf do not sell their chocolate by the piece or by weight. Going by their prices of $4.50 for a 2-piece box and $200 for a 100-piece box, each piece is about $2 to $2.25. The guy I spoke to told me each piece is about 10 to 18 grams. The price is therefore comparable to some of the other local brand chocolatiers.

Their pralines and truffles are only available at their shop at Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre (162 West Coast Way) and online. If your order is $200 or more, there is no delivery charge; otherwise a charge of $20 is levied.

If there are specific pieces you want, you can request for them. Otherwise, Chocoélf will just pick whatever is available. Thus if you must insist on certain pieces, longer advance notice is recommended.