Serious Chocolate Delights at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is now offering guests the services of a Chocolate Sommelier at Amber. This gastronomic professional will guide guests with their cocoa drink selection, and offer insights and taste experiences to some of the finest chocolate in the world.

The role of Chocolate Sommelier is performed by Amber’s Wine Sommelier who has been trained by the hotel’s Executive Chef, Richard Ekkebus, and Pastry Chef, Lisa Phillips. The sommelier’s trained palette in the art of wine recognition and rigorous education in the smallest minutiae of wine knowledge makes him the perfect candidate for this position.

Guests can now enjoy delicious cocoa drinks by combining different textures and complementary flavours from a variety of the world’s finest chocolates. Amber’s selection includes Tanzanie from Africa at 75% cocoa; San Domingue from Dominican Republic at 70% cocoa; Manjari from Madagascar at 64% cocoa and white Valrhona Ivoire chocolate at 35% cocoa. Each of these delectable cocoa beverages can be custom blended with guests’ choice of exotic flavours, such as pink pepper corn and chilli; ginger, bay leaf, star anise and cinnamon; raspberry, coconut or simply a dash of whipped cream.

“There has been a growing interest and demand for fine chocolate from around the world. Food connoisseurs are as particular in their choice of chocolates as they are with their choice of wine,” said Richard Ekkebus, the hotel’s Executive Chef. “People usually judge the quality of chocolate by its cocoa content, but we have learnt that it is in fact the soil and climate where the cocoa bean grows that creates the real taste difference, regardless of cocoa content. For example, Madagascar chocolate has a remarkable note of fresh raspberries and is of exceptional quality even with only 64% cocoa. The addition of a trained Chocolate Sommelier to Amber not only enhances our menu selection, but also presents a great opportunity for guests to increase their understanding of this delicacy.”

The Chocolate Sommelier will act as an ‘Ambassador of Chocolate’ every weekend lunch time in Amber, when guests can enjoy a delectable dessert buffet featuring a trio of white, milk, and black Valrhona chocolate fountains, together with over 30 different types of sweet temptations. Dessert will be accompanied by unlimited servings of hot chocolate drinks, tailor-made by the Chocolate Sommelier.

The weekend lunch and dessert buffet is priced at HK$348 for adults and HK$138 for children, including a free-flow of sparkling wine, red and white wine, beer, fresh fruit juices and soft drinks.

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