Chocolates & Clubbing...

I finally managed to find the time to sit down and blog about Friday's events. Hee~ Sounds as though I'm really busy right? Actually, I'm not. Wahahahaha. I'm just busy with clearing my room, doing my laundry, bringing the dog for a walk, giving the dog a bath et cetera. Okay, technically, that does sound like a lot of things, but practicality speaking, it doesn't really seem much but it does take up quite a bit of time.

So anyway, on Friday, May Ying and I went on a chocolate spree. Hahaha. We tried the same drinks (or at least as similar as possible) at both Koko Black and Max Brenner. We compared both. But first... here's what we ordered.

From Koko Black...


This is their menu. The selection for drinks is rather small though. But nonetheless, it still had all the all time favourites in it. But they had this wonderfully beautiful selection of boutique chocolates. They all looked so wonderful and tempting but also really, really sinful. We didn't get any of the chocs though (after all, I do have the tendency of getting sore throats especially if I don't drink water after eating chocs).

The ambience was really nice. We were at the branch at Royal Arcade Melbourne (by the way, Koko Black is opening at Chadstone. Yippee!). And they had quite a number of really cosy sofas and sofa seats that you could just sink in and enjoy the wonderful chocolates and chocolate drinks. ;) Simply divine.


May Ying had Koko Black Hot Chocolate. It's a freshly brewed traditional recipe made with dark Belgian chocolate without powder and uses only full cream milk only. Looks yummlicious. ;)


While I had Iced Chocolate. It's a rich combination of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with milk and topped with chocolate shavings. A cold and delicious treat.


What we paid...

Overall Rating:
Quality - 4/5
Taste - 4.5/5
Presentation - 4.5/5
Service - 4/5
Ambience - 4.5/5
Pricing - 4/5

Other Comments:
The milk used is really fresh and the drinks are not too sweet. Absolutely perfect if you want to have chocolates to snack with. Cosy setting and nice mood lighting, it's just right for a nice networking (and by networking, I actually mean gossiping) session (okay, Girl Talk would be more appropriate) or just chilling out with friends and family or even by yourself! On top of that, the service was really good. The waitress came fast to take orders and the drinks were served really fast. It was quite crowded but still, they managed to serve our drinks fast and quick.

Our next stop was Max Brenner @ Melbourne Central. That was where I met Shi Kai too. To pass things. ;) So anyway, the service there was really slow. When Shi Kai met us, we were just ordering. And then he left shortly to go to RMIT to settle some school stuff. After that, he actually came back. Just when he called (after leaving for around 15-20minutes), my drink just arrived. May Ying's drink arrived 10minutes before mine. That's how slow they are. REALLY SLOW and it wasn't that crowded.

From Max Brenner...


Their menu had a much wider selection. There were many more drinks to order and the variety was greater... But a number of drinks sounded a bit similar to one another.


While May Ying had Marshmallow American Chocolate... (It's essentially just whipped milk chocolate with melted marshmallow cubes)


I had Whipped Iced Chocolate Frappe... (It's just plain milk chocolate blended with ice but they had to use the word 'whipped'. Whipped ke lan!)

Both drinks just look okay. Mine looks like you can get it at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Nothing so fantastic about it. I waited so long for my drink that I thought that it would be something uber nice in terms of presentation. But then, when I saw the drink, my expression just showed this emotion that could be expressed in 3 very simple words - WHAT THE FUCK?!


And at the end of it, this was what we paid (for some shitty stuff)...

Overall Rating:
Quality - 3/5
Taste - 3/5
Presentation - 2.5/5
Service - 2.5/5
Ambience - 2.5/5
Pricing - 3/5

Other Comments:
Their presentation of the drinks wasn't all that fantastic. It just feels really normal. Even though they are about $0.50 - $1.00 cheaper than Koko Black, the quality of their drinks is inferior. The drinks taste thinner and aren't as delightful. The presentation makes you wonder why you didn't just go into Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to order their Chocolate Ice Blended. On top of that, the slow service puts people off. I actually saw my drink standing there for 5-10 minutes without anybody bothering to serve it. Then why not make it self service instead? The ambience isn't that good. Looks about the same as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or Starbucks or Gloria Jeans. It wasn't a cosy setting and the tables were too low for the chairs. Makes sitting there for long periods rather uncomfortable. It doesn't make you feel like you'll want to sit there long, to have a good chat. Just makes you feel like leaving once you finish your drink.

My Verdict:
I like Koko Black better! Hahaha. You pay slightly more, but it's really worth it. ;) Taste, ambience, presentation, service and quality are all much better than Max Brenner.

Okay, so that same night, Wage, PZ and I went to Sin City @ Heist.


That's just the 3 of us at Clayton Station waiting for the train...


Then here's my a little bit crumpled ticket...

There was this uber long queue but we weren't really queuing though... It's kind of hard to explain... And... We met Eunice there... Small world huh? Oh, Shi kai was there too. Actually, I knew that he was going all along. Hahahaha. I just wasn't so sure if I would end up going. Haha.


And so, this is Shi Kai, PZ, me and Wage... We're just nuahing around. It's damn boring. I repeat, BORING and it's spelt B-O-R-I-N-G. BORING. Pronunciation: 'bOr-i[ng].

Let me tell it why it was so. First of all, the air conditioning wasn't powerful enough. It was just CRAP. There was no ventilation and the club had to put up fans which wasn't really that useful unless you stood in front of it. Which was what I ended up doing. In fact, when there wasn't anyone on the couch, the four of us promptly plopped ourselves on it. Haha. That's how the pictures were taken. LoLz.

Well, but the mambo/retro/pop section was more fun. There was better breathing air, there was more space, the music didn't repeat itself after a while, the air was cooler and not so hot (air conditioning was working!), not so many drunk people around (considering that we got into the club around 11plus, 12am, there were already drunk people slobbering on each other and throwing themselves at the feet of others) and they were also showing Ocean's 12 (which I watched before so it wasn't a problem watching it muted).

We eventually left around 4plus reaching Hawker Cafe at 5am for supper. Or rather, almost 5am. Cuz Wage had stomach problems, we took a cab back after that. For 3 people, the cab fare wasn't all that bad I guess. $47.30. Beats taking the cab home alone. Hahahahaha~

Yeap... that pretty much sums up Friday's events. It's quite easy to see what I did on Saturday. I slept. And slept. ;)