"Small doses...small doses"
I'm sure everyone has pretty much heard about the newly opened Koko black in Claremont Quarter. I love chocolate so after hearing about it, I did not waste time.
I've been to Koko black twice trying the chocolate platters and the high tea. My first time was late Friday night after dinner out with my friends..I was surprised it was open till 11pm and realise it's the perfect choice for those moments where you've had dinner with your friends and decide to have dessert elsewhere but end up clueless and loitering outside..sound familiar?
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| Lovely interiors |
Arriving at Koko black it was obvious that word has already gone out as it was PACKED! The place has a lovely European feel to it. We were unable to get a seat inside so settled with the numerous table seatings scattered outside. The waitresses served us a cup of water *which was totally necessary*, serviettes and cutlery. I was surprised as to how classy the place is and the service. I thought it would just be another San churros.
We all ordered the Belgian hot chocolate each and shared an autumn spoil platter. The hot chocolate was perfect...deliciously creamy with warm good quality chocolate no powder chocolate nonsense and to top it off lovely chocolate art on our cups.
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| Belgian hot chocolate |
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The Autumn spoil consisted of a variety of goodies presented on a wooden block. From the left is a cinnamon cake, ginger bread cookie, chocolate treats, Belgian mousse (so smooth and rich) and the delicious fresh pear sorbet that was much needed to cut through all the chocolate richness. This shared between the four of us was actually enough.
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| Autumn spoil |
After our chocolate indulgence..we were SOOOO full and chocolate out. I should've learnt from this experience...but nope...
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I was back in Koko black a few weeks later trying the queen of hearts high tea. The high tea is part of the menu so no reservations required and high tea is on everyday at all hours. I tried the high tea with 4 of my girlfriends and we came early to get a seating inside XD.
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| Empty Koko black haha |
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| Love the lights |
Each high tea tier caters for two people which includes a beverage of your choice. As we had 5 people we asked the lady if we could have a tier to cater the 5 of us. We were all charged 18.50pp and were only given two tiers with what doesn't look adjusted to cater for 5. That was a disappointing start as there was mostly one of each pastry so we had to share it between the 5 of us.
Luckily the high tea includes a choice of beverage so it did relieve us from the feeling of being ripped off. This time I had the Hazelnut Belgian hot chocolate. I never get sick of the lovely art on each cup and the Hazelnut had a very distinct nutty flavour which I enjoyed. A good change from the standard hot chocolate.
My other friends had the Belgian hot chocolate, chai tea and ice chocolate. The chai tea was a surprise..my friend had to pour it through a sieve..basically DIY hahaa...but each component looked perfectly brewed. My friend thought it tasted more of hot chocolate rather than chai tea though..but she didn't have a hot chocolate to compare it with.
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| Chai flavour hot chocolate |
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| Ice chocolate |
I thought the high tea was rather average..yes the pastries were housemade as my friend saw them making them but it wasn't anything unique..I guess you pay for what you get..$18.50pp is quite cheap for high tea though I was expecting abit more. The savoury toasted sandwiches were of two kinds, vegetarian sandwich with roasted capsicums and a non vegetarian one which I didn't get to try. The outside of the sandwiches were buttery crispy warm paired with the fillings were delicious..we all wanted more, the quiches were simple and delicious how can you go wrong with quiche right? though retailing at $3.50 per mini quiche was rather expensive.
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| Queen of hearts high tea |
The chocolate pastries were silky smooth as expected from a place that specialises in chocolates, there was a creme brulee which was the favourite amongst us all..my friend could taste a little bit of liqueur and with the perfectly flambe top it was yum, I thought the lemon tart was abit too sour for my liking but that's just my opinion and the chocolate cake wasn't anything special, it was the chocolate ganache on top that shined, just melted in our mouths.
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| More Koko black goodness |
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| ...and more |
After all so S-L-O-W-L-Y devouring our tiers we were soooo full and wondered why were we complaining about not having enough haha. It was surprisingly filling I guess the beverages did the trick and once again I was chocolate out. I don't want to discourage readers to order the high tea, in our case it wasn't worth sharing with the 5 of us, definitely better for two. Though I don't think I will be coming back for awhile...I guess Koko black lived up to its name providing rich, smooth, good quality chocolate...so good that I need time to recover from its awesomeness.
Tip 1: When high tea says for TWO...then...it is for TWO :P
Tip 2: Share share share...don't think about having a platter to yourself
Tip 3: Parking can be abit difficult especially if you're not sure where Koko black is situated..my tip is turn right into a small road beside (just after) hungry jacks when coming from Stirling hwy UWA and parking in the 2h parking lot at the left..walk straight down the road into Claremont Quarter entrance and you will be staring at koko black directly straight ahead. There is also underground parking.
Koko Black – Claremont Salon
The Lane, Claremont Quarter
Corner St Quentin Avenue and Bayview Terrace
Tel: +61 8 9284 2049
www.kokoblack.com
Opening Hours:
Monday – Thursday (8:00am – 10:00pm)
Friday (8:00am – 11:00pm)
Saturday (9:00am – 11:00pm)
Sunday (10:30am – 10:00pm)
