The Edible Lava

Hello readers!

This post is all about the edible lava. Yep, you heard (read?) me right. EDIBLE LAVA.

Now I’m sure you readers know that I’m not really talking about the actual hot lava from the volcano. That’ll burn your tongue for sure.

I’m talking about the delightful Chocolate Lava Cake. Not entirely sure if that’s what everyone is calling it since I’ve been to restaurants and cafes that serve this dessert as Chocolate Pudding instead. But in my opinion, the name Chocolate Lava Cake is more fitting because of the hot melted chocolate oozing out when you break the cake.

I had my first Chocolate Lava Cake when my ex-colleague brought me to Bello Café in Kiulap. I was hooked right from the first bite. It was extremely delightful. The hot melted chocolate served with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream did wonders in my mouth and that one slice of kiwi added was a nice touch.

Bello's

After that first experience of eating lava cake, I decided to try out lava cakes in other cafes and restaurants to see if they can top the one at Bello's.

The next one I tried was at Marilyn’s Café in Kuala Belait. It tasted pretty good. Though the presentation was not nearly as nice as the ones in Bello Cafe, they did serve the lava cake with ice cream and they served it in a ramekin. Oh and at Marilyn’s, they call it Chocolate Pudding. It was difficult for me to order it at first because they didn’t know what I meant. It was when I described it to them that they corrected me and told me that it’s called Chocolate Pudding. I just agreed to whatever they were saying as long as I got to eat it :D

Marilyn's

Okay, so the lava cake in Marilyn’s was almost as nice as the one in Bello’s. I’ve heard a few of my friends rave about the lava cake in Fratini’s, Kuala Belait and decided to try that one next. Again, it’s also called Chocolate Pudding there. Presentation wise, I quite like it. They didn’t serve it with ice cream though but they did top the cake with a cherry and they served it in a ramekin. The taste? I find it inconsistent. Because I’ve gone there for dinner a couple of times and ordered the same thing for dessert, I found that it sometimes taste great and the next time, the melted chocolate would be too runny. It should be a little bit thick, in my opinion. 

I also tried the lava cake at another Italian restaurant; Mauri’s, Kuala Belait. They served it in a ramekin as well but unlike Fratini’s, this restaurant served the lava cake with ice cream. I actually prefer the lava cake when it’s served with ice cream because I like how the taste of both hot melted chocolate and cold ice cream brought to my mouth. Having said that, Mauri's was a plus for me :)

Fratini's

Mauri's

Last one on the list is the lava cake at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s, Miri and I came upon it by chance because my husband and I were only suppose to get coffee before we head back to Kuala Belait, but the minute I saw the label ‘Lava Cake’ in the bakery display case, I knew I just had to try it out. And I did just that. 

This time, it was very different. They did not serve it in a ramekin but just placed in on a plate instead. I actually really like the look of the cake even though it wasn’t served with ice cream, or cherries and kiwis. The cake was topped with hardened chocolate syrup and also vanilla shavings. Simple presentation but quite pleasing to the eye. I will definitely say that this lava cake is head to head with the one at Bello’s, even though it wasn't served with my preferable ice cream. It tasted really good and I loved the crust of the cake as well. It’s too bad that the CBTLs in Brunei are not serving this because believe me, I would be coming in a lot for it ;)

CBTL, Miri

Oh wow. I’ve been going on and on in this post :/ I hope you readers are not too bored and hopefully you’ve enjoyed what I’ve written so far. Photos of the lava cakes are personally taken by yours truly (I had to dig through my hard disk to find the photos) and I apologized for the bad lighting but they're still nice to look at, right? 

Oh and also, don’t forget to try out the Chocolate Lava Cakes if you haven’t tried one yet! Would really recommend the one at Bello's if you're living in Bandar Seri Begawan and Marilyn's if you're living in Kuala Belait :)

And another thing, the price for all these chocolate lava cakes ranges from BND4.00 to BND6.00. The one in Miri is priced at MYR7.00 if I'm not mistaken. So what are you waiting for? Go try one!

The Dessert Named after A Russian Ballerina

taste.com

I have had this love-hate relationship with food for years now and I'm sure that everyone has this kind of relationship too ;)

But in this blog, I will be talking more about desserts & this post is specifically about a meringue-based dessert.

Being the sweet-tooth that I am, I do realize that eating too much of a sweet thing(s) is not good for the health and even for the teeth (I do brush my teeth, so no worries there!) But seeing all kinds of different desserts makes it difficult for me to resist, especially when I see pavlovas. I kid you not, every time I see pavlovas anywhere (stores, food bazaars, social media), expect to hear a loud gasp coming out of my mouth. Even if it's just a picture of them. My husband would shush me then, but it's a good thing he understands his wife's love for pavlovas.

weightwatchers.com

Look at that beauty. If I could insert emojis in this post, it would definitely be the one with heart-shaped eyes and there would be tons of them! Okay, I realize I'm exaggerating but really, I absolutely LOVE pavlovas! 

Now, if I were living in New Zealand and Australia, I would probably have this dessert all year round (there have been debates though, on which of the two countries this dessert originated from). Living in Brunei, I'm lucky enough to have found dessert-makers who make the best pavlovas, in my opinion. 

I know, I know. I can easily make it myself, but I haven't got the chance yet. So for now, I fulfil my cravings for pavlovas by going to 'Aranda Cafe featuring Kitchen of Jasmine' in Jerudong. They make mini pavlovas though, but it's still delightful to my taste buds and makes me want to buy more of them.

squarefeet.asia

At BND1.00 per piece, I find the price to be quite reasonable. They of course, sell other mouth-watering desserts as well. So for you dessert-loving people who share the same love I have for desserts and especially pavlovas, head over there and get your cravings fixed.

Here is the address;
No.17, Block E, Jerudong Atiya Complex, Spg 100, Jalan Jerudong


p/s: I could not find it on the Google Map, unfortunately. I don't think they've set it up yet but hopefully you readers are able to find it!