Lindt Chocolate Cafe

It was a case of self-induced chocolate overdose last Sunday.

The IMAX pre-movie advertisement was nasty. It started with these huge IMAX sized chocolate desserts floating on the screen, followed by a soothing voice telling us “this is a gentle reminder not to have too much popcorn.”

Seriously, since I started at the gym I’ve been watching my calories (shock horror!) but this ad totally broke any of my inhibitions and self-discipline. “We’re going to Lindt after the movie!”

There were too many choices it makes my head hurt, and too many temptations it makes my waistline tremble. Anything you can imagine about chocolate was there – an assortment of cakes, tortes, gateaux, slabs, biscuits, macaroons, ice cream, hot or iced chocolate drinks, as well as the Lindt chocolate flavours you never see in supermarkets. The moment you lay eyes on these happy creations you toss the hard work at the gym out the window… and you indulge.

My friend went for a chocolate cake made of 70% cocoa chocolate – it was fabulously dark and intensely chocolatey. I went for the indulgence for one – their chocolate degustation plate with a bit of everything (warm silky chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream, chocolate truffle, chocolate and hazelnut praline slab, chocolate macaroon, and a small piece of St Moritz cake which is layers of white, milk and dark chocolate mousse). First bite into the ice cream – smooth (but sweet). Second bite into the ice cream with a bit of the chocolate sauce – smooth (but sweet). Then came the attack on all fronts – a bit of chocolate slab (yum), a bit of St Moritz (luscious), a bit of my iced dark chocolate drink (which I gulped lustily), and after just one bite of everything I declared myself incapacitated by cocoa and sugar overdose.

The iced chocolate drink was fantastic, it was rich but not thick, very chocolatey and surprisingly not too sweet. Or maybe it was in comparison with the St Moritz, which was divine but sugar loaded. Towards the end I could not really tell the flavours anymore – all my tastebuds were sugar-coated. I’d also felt a slight pressure on my temples and much to my friend’s amusement, I giggled and behaved like I was tipsy (“oh I’m on a chocolate and sugar high… oh no… oh no…”)

I still say this was well worth the trip – who can I blame but myself for not being able to handle the divine sweetness and rich cocoa? After this experience I still love chocolate, though when I should head back for another self-induced overdose, I shall shelf that thought till indefinitely…

Tip for your visit to the café – go with a small group, get yourself a table first, grab a menu and make your decision while you’re in the queue if the café is busy. The degustation plate for 1 is really enough for 2 or more – especially if you’re weak like me. Their coffee is more expensive than the average café coffee ($4.50) so I would recommend trying their specialty chocolate drinks instead. So what if you get a chocolate/sugar overload – you only live once!

Viscardi's

Viscardi's Ristorante is the restaurant by the Event/Convention Center Le Montage (Leichhardt/Lilyfield area), which is the location of my best friend's wedding (NOT of the Julia Roberts variety, thank you very much) later this year. We intended to have brunch there but missed their breakfast venue by 10 minutes! But having steak at 11:40 was way too heavy so we all went for something simple - Pasta.

Orders for our lunch - Penne alla Romanov - penne with salmon in vodka cream sauce - my choice. The other two orders were Linguine al'arrabiata - linguine in tomato based sauce, basil and chilli, and Linguine Cinque Terre - linguine with prawn, pesto, tomato and cream.

Verdicts? YUM. YUM. YUM. Each mouthful drew a "mmm" and I kid you not, it was so satisfying we could not stop saying "mmm" constantly. The creamy pastas were smooth and rich and full of flavour, but not thick and heavy like some other restaurants do, and absolutely delicious to the last bite. Arrabiata was text-book "ripe red tomato aroma", very delicious, and I could eat that forever (or until my stomach explodes). We reckon the Linguine Cinque Terre must be tossed with freshly made pesto - because it tasted so fresh, the pesto tasted almost minty. Not one of us even thought to reach over for the salt and pepper shakers - no need. They were PERFECT pastas. And guess what, they each costed less than $20 - which is not that much more expensive than what most Italian restaurants charge (eg Dolcissimo charges about $15-25 for their pastas), so we agreed unanimously that this place was excellent value for money!!

Then we had coffee. Because my pasta was creamy and filled me up a little, I decided to have an espresso. TOP CHOICE. Excellent coffee, thank you Mr Barista. A badly made espresso or coffee made of mediocre beans leave a bitter after taste. This espresso was actually not bitter to the taste - truly aromatic and full-bodied with a thick layer of rich crema on top, and actually left a somewhat sweet aftertaste! Argh and it was only $3.... compared to the rubbish served by Starbucks, which was more like $3.55 worth of skim milk with no more than a splash of coffee flavour, THIS is what you call coffee!!

As you can see we were incredibly pleased and satisfied with this place, and for the first time in weeks my friends were able to relax and really enjoy and feel their meal... I was so happy for them... and many thanks to their letting me tag along and share this experience.... truly divine!