IRENE SINO-CRUZ
For chocolate lovers, a visit to The Chocolate Chamber would be a gastronomic delight. This unique restaurant serves not only the traditional sikwate or pure chocolate drink but also cakes, soup, pasta and pizza with pure chocolate as one of the main ingredients or used as a flavoring.
While pure chocolate contains 54 to 60 fats, it’s not fattening because it is of the unsaturated or healthy type of fat, Chocolate Princess Hannah Choa says. “It can actually manage your blood sugar level and even the weight. Surprisingly, cacao has health benefits.”
The Chocolate Princess Hannah Choa
Dark chocolate is said to be packed full of important minerals, including iron, magnesium, zinc, copper and phosphorus. These minerals are used to support factors such as immunity (zinc), can help keep your bones and teeth healthy (phosphorus), and contribute to better sleep quality (magnesium), according to an article posted on the Medical News Today website.
The researchers of a small study conducted in 2015 also found that participants who ate 25 g of dark chocolate daily for eight weeks had significantly lower blood pressure than those who ate the same quantity of white chocolate.
Another research published in 2016 in the Journal of Nutritional Science, dark chocolate has phytonutrients called flavonoids. These plant chemicals are said to be antioxidants, which could help in cancer prevention and promote healthy heart.
Sikwate
To fully enjoy the sikwate, one has the follow the 5S, which is to smell and swirl while it is in the cup, then savor and swish the drink inside one’s mouth before swallowing it, Ms. Choa says.
The Chocolate Chamber has been coming up with innovative products using the roasted cacao beans.
Salted Caramel grated with the Asin Tibuok
Aside from the “sikwate,” they also offer another drink called the Salted Caramel, which is a little bit sweeter and contains grated Cacao de Bola and Asin Tibuok. They also sell Chocolate Trio – the white chocolate, pure chocolate and spicy chocolate.
The Chocolate Trio
The shop also features chocolate cakes, one of which is the Red Horse Chocolate Cake. This cake does not use water, milk and egg but uses only beer with the flour and chocolate.
Red Horse Chocolate Cake
Mushroom Soup
Tuna Angel’s Hair Pasta
Their Mushroom soup is infused with 100% mashed cacao with grated Cacao de Bola and Asin Tibuok.
Another item on their menu is the Tuna Angel’s Hair Pasta which uses cacao oil and grated Cacao de Bola and Asin Tibuok.
