I was invited by Shane Hill to celebrate the launch of Koko Black’s very first Perth salon at Claremont Quarter on Wednesday.
With a glass of champagne in one hand and my camera in the other, I took a tour of the salon. To the right of the store I watched Kim Linssen, Head Chocolatier who has come all the way from Koko Black’s flagship store in Melbourne, arrange chocolate tarts.
Towards the centre of store there was an extensive range of fresh home-made Belgian chocolates and truffles. And as I walked further into the salon, there was a yummy display of desserts and home-made ice-cream.
After my self-guided tour of the salon, I found myself a seat next to a loyal Koko Black customer who had patiently waited 2 years for a salon to come to Perth. By this point I was absolutely craving chocolate and ready to starting tasting everything Koko Black had to offer!
Making truffles with the lovely Head Chocolatier, Kim Linssen…
I kind of made a variation…not quite round shaped truffle!
The Head Chocolatier, Kim Linssen said she thought my irregular shaped truffle with a fork staked through it could be a new innovation 
not sure what the onlookers thought though! But it tasted pretty good and I quite enjoyed dunking my chocolate goodness in the cocoa and chocolate flakes.
My Koko Black tastings…
The Savory Tart was a good filler before the choccies!
The Truffle Caramel was my favourite - I took home some of these for burger boy, ex-fatty, little miss bacon and mushie to try! Probably shouldn’t compare but I think the best way to describe this chocolate delight was that it tasted like a classier, fancier and more flavoursome Mars Bar (which is my favourite chocolate bar and ice-cream flavour).
The Caramelised Coconut (almond praline blended with caramelised coconut) is my second favourite. I had doubts at first as I don’t like very strong coconut tasting chocolates or almonds…but the coconut & almond was a nice ‘soft’ tasting blend - think it was the caramelisation which did it for me.
The Sienna Strawberry - Milk (French strawberry puree ganache in milk chocolate) had a sweet light strawberry flavour - I enjoyed this choccie very much too.
Amazing trays of chocolates just kept coming out…how could I resist!
Raspberry Ganache - Milk which tasted similar to the Sienna Strawberry Milk
Hazelnut Cluster - I’m not a fan of nuts but if you are, you’ll enjoy this
I didn’t try the Almond Praline but I heard it was yummy…
The Chocolate Mousse was delicious…I wish I hadn’t filled myself on the chocolates as I could only fit a few spoonfuls of this amazing chocolate creation. Loved whatever sugary delights was sprinkled on top!
The Belgian Hot Chocolate was a bit strong for me because I don’t like dark chocolate. I did like the thick consistency of it though and would probably enjoy the light hot chocolate - will have to try this next time.
At this point I didn’t have an inch of space left in my tummy but I had a small taste of the house-made ice-cream which was pretty good!
When the Chocolate Tarts were offered to me, I had to say no - I don’t think I’ve ever refused chocolate before!!
After a wonderful evening of over-indulging in mouth-watering chocolate I rolled home to burger boy with a gift bag filled with chocolates. My next visit to Koko Black will be to try out their Queen of Hearts high tea ($18.50 per person) - my fellow blogger Bowl of Honey writes about this on his food blog.
Thank you Shane Hill and Koko Black for having me!!
Follow my food journey…
