Thick and chocolatey

Before actually moving to Delhi, I would often hear of restaurants names thrown flippantly around in conversations and like everyone else try and conjure an image to go with names - Kareem's or Flavours or Basil & Thyme(a particularly favourite of mine for visualising) or even just the Bengali market.

Last night I visited Flavours, having heard huge amounts about the Italian food there. Somehow it started out as a stop gap arrangement from where we were to preceed for dinner elsewhere but we landed up eating at this place itself.

We actually headed there to have their much coveted (and often not there) hot chocolate. Now this is a hot chocolate with a difference. Its dark, bitter and was described to be as being think(almost akin to one served in 'Chocolat').

It's this lure that drew us or I should say me, to this restaurant. Even while ordering the drink waitspeople insist on pointing out that it is a bitter drink and well don't say later that you were not warned.

Waiting at the table, I could smell the burning of chocolate and eagerly and even impatiently waited for the my cuppa of the drink of the gods.

All hot chocolates uptil now have been milky excuses for them except for in Mocha where at least the first few times I had, it felt like the real thing and not something my mother would drown in milk and mask as 'hot chocolate' but I digress.

This steaming cup of chocolate was brought to my table in a sturdy white cup with an ugly steel bowl of fine sugar. My first reaction was ....Aaaaah actual liquid chocolate. The only other time I have come this close to it was when I tried (and succeeded I might add) making hot chocolate sauce from Amul's cooking chocolate.

First spoonful was taken in just like that.. so that I would never take the delectable, creamy sweetness of chocolate for granted. Then I added some suagr and continued to sip the now slightly bitter, slightly sweet chocolate drink.

This was the first course. I, of course, donot think the dinner really matters!