Mmmmm chocolate. Beautifully packaged chocolate. Dare i say the packaging is even nicer than the contents? SO, pictures of some of the Singapore Chocolat Factory stores have been circulating the web quite a bit ~ and when i ran into the one at Changi Airport, how could i not grab some for the 18 hour flight? Ok, well the chocolate rain (cocoa powder with the watering can spout) isn't easy for immediate consumption, its packaging was too fun not to show you... and of course they got all uppity and wouldn't let me take any pics in the store, so i guess it worked, i had to BUY the stuff instead!

Tiny bit of background? Read up more about this Spanish Chocalatier, Chocolat Factory on their site. But for the REALLY fun stuff? Check out the poster, packaging close ups, looks at the chocolate and more on the next page!

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Tags: chocolate - food - gifts - packaging - reviews - shopping - travel

Oacoca ~ remember the recent .org post #16193? It came across my email and totally had me craving chocolate when i posted it that night ~ and a box came today, so to follow up, you have to see how cute this "indulgence worthy of the guilt" really is... and i liked the packaging, and insulated giant silver ziploc with reusable icepack inside... So check out pics of these deliciously decadent upgrades on the usual peanut butter cup...

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Tags: candy - chocolate - food - gifts - packaging - reviews - shopping - unboxing

For their latest Design Issue, Canadian magazine The Block commissioned chocolatier Thomas Haas to replicate the now-iconic 1949 Eames House in CHOCOLATE! Funniest thing is that this house is right down the street, and i've probably driven by multiple times a day for years...

"This sweet miniature design mimics the original structure Charles and Ray Eames created as part of Arts & Architecture magazine's Case Study Houses program. The program asked prominent architects of the day to design affordable and cost-efficient homes as possible solutions to the post-WWII housing boom. The modernist Pacific Palisades home is a semi-prefab wonder; the airy steel-and-glass structure with its brightly coloured panels was built in just three days. The Block's modernist chocolate dollhouse took 30 hours to complete."

Check out the photos, The Block issue cover, and article (including Thomas Haas' Chocolate Shortbread Recipe)... perhaps it's inspiration for gingerbread house building this year?

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Tags: architecture - chocolate - eames - food - magazines - recipes

Two of my favorite vices - dark chocolate and scotch... combined?!?!?! K Chocolatier by Diane Krön's K HIBALLS filled with Blue Label Scotch and Ketel One Vodka - a more sophisticated variation of the recipes of chocolate once exclusive to Emperor Franz Josef of Austro-Hungary, that i'm sure the Emperor would adore were he alive today - will absolutely raise the bar for any chocolate/liquor experience. But first, let me fill you in on the background of the most delectable chocolates you may ever feast on. Food Network calls K Chocolatier by Diane Krön "the Rolls Royce of Chocolates".

These chocolates have blown my mind since childhood, and i can't believe i forgot about them the last few years! Thank goodness i rediscovered them today while wandering in Malibu... as far as things exclusively found in LA, this is one you absolutely must try. For a quick background on K Chocolatier by Diane Krön...

"In 1973, Diane and Tom Krön established Krön Chocolatier in New York City based on recipes from Tom's great grandfather, chocolate-maker to Emperor Franz Josef of Austro-Hungary. They soon became very famous for the quality and novelty of their chocolates (Tom invented the chocolate-covered strawberry) and opened many Krön stores across the U.S. Diane and Tom Krön sold Krön Chocolatier in 1983 and retired from the chocolate business to travel and raise their family. New management took over and the company went in other directions. Now Diane Krön is back ! Lured by the excitement of Beverly Hills, Diane decided to develop a new company, and in 2000, created a new brand of luxury chocolates with new combinations and more sophisticated recipes. K CHOCOLATIER is based on those secret Krön family formulations of cocoa powder ratio and viscosity, but with a difference: using as little sugar as possible."

Still family run (we met one of the sons at the Malibu store) ~ they produce these chocolates locally in their Gardena factory, and create daily batches in limited quantities. They are available exclusively in their Beverly Hills and Malibu boutiques, and if you are anywhere near the area, stop in - even if just to try the samples - and luckily you can now also shop online with them, since they ship nearly everywhere See more images of the beautiful packaging, some other variations... and i couldn't help it, so a little rant about my childhood memories of K Chocolatier by Diane Krön as well.

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Tags: beverly hills - chocolate - drinks - food - los angeles

NOTCOT Note: I sent Justine (aka Rugenius) on a mission since she's living in the UK, to go buy some of these delicious Fru Puds and Gu Puds and take some pics and let me live vicariously through her... Here's what she's reported back, with pics!

Fru Puds and Gu Puds certainly know how to do packaging. It's hard not to pick them up at the market. In fact, I picked some within my first few weeks in the UK! It's hard to deny the sensuous chocolatey goodness advertised on that packaging....and I'm alway a sucker for a nice black matte. I think we started with chocolate mousse, the traditional. So when the order came in from NOTCOT to check out some more of their range, I was all too happy to oblige. I thought we should go for something a bit different though. So we went for the Gu chocolate pots and the Fru carrot cake bites. See all my pics of packaging, unboxing, and indulging below!

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Tags: chocolate - desserts - food - gifts - packaging - shopping

Seeing as i'm pretty much lost in a state of continuous consumption with this holiday season - particularly thanks to the gift guides - it was nice to be gifted with this "Christmas Survival Chocolate" this morning... nothing like some playful graphic design to help you hang in there, and it doesn't hurt that its filled with chocolate! By New Zealand brand, Bloomberry, this line of playfully wrapped confections is quite cute ~ but the signage like figures on the xmas pack are definitely the best. Also loving that they designed nice wrappers for the interiors... see below.

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Tags: chocolate - food - gifts - shopping

Not much to say here... but i'm not sure why the systematic destruction of chocolate bunnies to eerie music in their pastel worlds in three scenes is so satisfying this morning. Watch Sander Plug's Chocolade Haas - Commissioned by Cut-n-Paste for Grote Kunst voor Kleine Mensen (Big Art for Small People) In collaboration with: Lernert Engelberts.

Tags: animals - art - chocolate - video

The most tempting thing to grace my screen this morning is the D.L. & Co's Mori Ex Cacao Skulls... Particularly this black Curious Chili "An eccentric blend of chilies and spices immersed in smooth chocolate ganache, generating a warmth that rises to an almost deadly heat, before leaving you spent, yet craving more." Take a look at the other two skulls as well as the gift box trio below! In Bitter White Brandied Cherry and Scorched Caramel, how can you resist?

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Tags: chocolate - food - gifts - shopping

Chocolate combined with beautifully sculpted animals AND proceeds to aid WSPA, the world society for the protection of animals? That fits what we're all about pretty perfectly. Walteria Living's Endangered Species Chocolates designed by Kathleen Walsh and Anita Mothersbaugh are part of their new HMS (her majesty's ship) Collection. Each box contains a Pygmy Hippopotamus, Mountain Gorilla, and Koala Bear. The series makes reference to consumption with an emphasis on conservation education. See close ups below for the incredible attention to detail in these chocolates, as much as i may love chocolate, these may just be too beautiful to consume.

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Tags: chocolate - gifts - shopping

Mmmm York Mints... the packaging makes me drool as much as the mints i think... but on the black and white tin... as much as i love the typography of the old school tin, the Nicole Miller black and white is just gorgeous. These are a collaboration between Hersheys and Young Survival Coalition, an organization that unites young women against breast cancer.

Tags: chocolate - fashion - food - gifts - shopping

Bubble Wrap and chocolate lovers rejoice! Latest discovery in SF that i'm addicted to... De Lessio's Bubble Wrap Chocolate. It's incredible. Addictive. SO SO GOOD. Picked up slabs of the 72% Dark Chocolate with Peet's Espresso Beans, Bittersweet with Almond and Raisins, and Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter. But visually its fascinating that it really does look like bubble wrap (with deflated bubbles)... the real question is... do they pour their chocolate on bubble wrap? is it some crazy mold? how does it work?

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Tags: chocolate - food - gifts - shopping