Karlo Pacana
The Chocolate Chamber in Cebu
Craving for the food of the gods? Looking for a boutique café where you can indulge yourself with world-class artisan chocolates? Want to buy a one-of-a-kind gift for your loved ones that’s truly Filipino?
The King of Sinulog is off to The Chocolate Chamber located at Sarrosa Hotel in Mabolo to have an idea of the art of chocolate-making the Filipino way. This boutique café is owned by Raquel Choa, a tablea connoisseur and dubbed the Chocolate Queen of Cebu. Read on as I share to you what this establishment has to offer during our Cebu Food Crawl visit.
Getting there
Assuming you’re already in Cebu City, just tell the taxi driver to drop you off at Sarrosa International Hotel in Mabolo and find the café at the ground floor by the highway. If you’re bringing a car with you, there’s basement parking provided for by the hotel. There are also Jeepneys (03A) that pass this route.
Ambiance
Elegance and artistry envelop the place. Upon entry, you’ll immediately see a map of the world painted by hand using cocoa liquor showing where cacao is sourced. On the floor is an assemblage of the traditional method of grounding and pounding using mortar and pestle, with clay pots filled with roasted cacao beans, cacao plumps and cacao fruit as well.
On your right, is the take-out counter where you can order their artisan chocolate products and adorned by a very inviting chocolate fountain. A separate area is allocated as well for dine-in guests that usually depicts a practice called Chocolatada, like that of having tea with British royalty. The Chocolate Chamber is perfect place for everyone.
Experience
Miss Choa shared to us her tablea tale, her loving relationship with her grandmother who taught her everything there is to know about cacao from farming up to the endless possibilities of chocolate treats. She demonstrated the uses of mortar and pestle to ground the roasted cacao beans and let us smell the invigorating scent of unadulterated tablea. Her son, a trained chocolatier demonstrated the art of molding tablea liquor to silky bite-sized chocolates.
We then had the Chocolatada, not with tea but with sikwate made from Ralfe Gourmet Tablea while feasting on hand-rolled truffles, cerveza negra cake, flourless cake, pandesal with choco peanut butter filling and the mouthwatering chocolate pizzas that also come with a vegetarian version. These pizzas are limited as they only produce 10 doughs per day. If you’d ask me how they taste like, inexplicable goodness. After the snack break, she toured us around and introduced all the products one by one and how they were made.
Price
I was not able to get a price for their in-house menu like with the pizza and cakes but I know you’ll still take the risk of visiting this boutique café no matter the cost. They also have another branch at the newly-opened Robinsons Galleria. But just for you to have an idea of their gift items, I was able to get a copy of their brochure. Their Tablea Roll at 250g cost PHP450, Choco-Vanilla Cookie Butter at 500g cost PHP550, Chocolate Assortment of 6pcs. Praline, 2pcs. Alfajores and 6pcs. Rice Crispies cost PHP550, Choco Nib Cookies at 365g cost PHP650 and Assorted Truffles at 210g cost PHP1,250 to name a few.
Overall
If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind chocolate experience that’s distinctively Filipino, then The Chocolate Chamber Boutique Café is perfect for you. Have a Chocolatada Weekend with your friends. Later!
Contact Information
The Chocolate Chamber is located at Units C2-C5, Ground Floor, Sarrosa International Hotel, F. Cabahug corner President Quirino Street, Mabolo, Cebu City 6000 Philippines. For inquiries and reservations, you may contact them at +63917 827 2318. For more details, you may check out their Facebook page and their official website. They are open from 9AM to 10PM from Mondays to Saturdays and 1PM to 8PM on Sundays.
Also Read: Chocolate Overload at Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Boutique
