The Great Lindt Experiment

Apologies for the huge delay in posting - recently it's been a case of too much food, not enough writing! 

So without further ado, let me plunge right into the results of the great Lindt experiment.

Before I start however, I should explain my grading system. The grades range from 1-5 as follows:

1 star             Terrible – would never want to try it again

2 stars           Average but not impressive

3 stars           Good - wouldn’t mind another taste

4 stars           Excellent - could easily become a regular feature of my diet

5 stars           Beyond words - drives me absolutely crazy, anytime anywhere!

Lindt Bars

Pistachio (2 stars)

The first chocolate we tasted as part of the experiment, it wasn’t too impressive. Overly sweet, incredibly milky and the pistachio is barely discernible unless you allow all the chocolate to melt away in your mouth before munching on the tiny bit of pistachio in the center. It claims to have an almond filling, but I couldn’t taste it. Overall, the one word that came to mind was Milkybar (the nestle one)

Wafer (1 star)

I expected the likes of Nestle Kit Kat for this one – but Nestle does wafer better than Lindt. The wafer and the chocolate both had a strong hazelnut taste that overpowered any chocolate flavor you would hope for. A bit too sweet for my taste, and the one word that came to mind was Nutella.

Double Milk (2 stars)

The name suggests what to expect, and so I was mentally prepared for an onslaught of milky sweetness. And yes, while it was sweet, milky and creamy it was also pleasantly soothing like a soft blanket, something that would make a sugar-craving child quite happy! This one is reminiscent of kinder and my childhood days before the discovery of dark chocolate.

Cresta (1 star)

Cresta claims to be milk chocolate and crunchy nougat.  By this point I was already expecting Lindt’s characteristic too-sweet milk chocolate, but what came as a surprise was the overpowering nutty taste. On confirming with the ingredient list, I discovered 7.5% almonds and 5.5% hazelnuts – my taste buds didn’t lie! The nougat is crunchy and sticks in your teeth – it reminded me of my worst ever Patchi.

Almond (2 stars)

The almond is similar to the pistachio – a whole almond in the center covered in white chocolate and wrapped in a thin milk chocolate outer coating. Lindt got this one right though – the almond isn’t overpowered by the milky, creamy chocolate and the nutty taste and texture offers a pleasant contrast to the sweet and smooth texture of the chocolate. I felt like I could taste almond essence through the chocolate, but I was wrong – the ingredient list states that odd taste was hazelnut essence. Don’t ask why.

Caramel (3 stars)

I almost overlooked this one; I discovered it in the market a few weeks after the experiment was over. For once, my procrastination bore good fruit J  The Lindt caramel is surprisingly good although a tad too sweet. Lovers of caramel beware – this is good stuff. The caramel is not sticky but velvety smooth, liquidy and reminiscent of burnt sugar – in the nicest way possible. Caramel is not my thing, but if I had to choose, this would be my choice of caramel chocolate.

Swiss Classic Range

Dark – Extra Fine (4 stars)

A breath of fresh air finally! Not milky but still sweet, not creamy but smooth, melt-in-your-mouth, rich, dark and intense – this has to be one of my favourites in the Lindt range.

Milk – Raisin Nut (1 star)

Frankly, this one was a disappointment as I actually like raisins and nuts with chocolate. Cadbury fruit and nut definitely excels on this one. The raisins were too hard, chewy and sticky and the almond skins separated from the nut, leaving you chewing unpleasant bits long after the chocolate is over.

Milk – Extra Fine (2 stars)

Not exactly what I would term as ‘extra fine’. I’ve tasted better milk chocolate. Surprisingly, this is one Lindt bar I couldn’t term ‘smooth’. It felt like it stuck to my throat on the way down, although that could have been a reaction to having had way too much chocolate by this point. As expected, it was sweet and milky but not terrible, while not being impressive either.

White- Almond Nougat (2 stars)

After tasting this one, I definitely decided I like almonds in chocolate, they do compliment each other well. The nougat sticks in your teeth and the chocolate is white (which really is just cocoa butter, and not so much real cocoa beans, which in my mind doesn’t really count as chocolate), but the almonds work as the redeeming factor and overall, I thought it exceeded my expectations.

Dark – Hazelnut (5 stars)

This one I nearly missed too – another find I made only weeks after the experiment was over. (Procrastination isn’t all that bad now is it?) This is the single bar of chocolate I’ve almost polished off completely within less than a week of its arrival. As you can probably see from the picture, I only remembered to take a picture after the bar was half over! I’ve always loved hazelnut, and loved dark chocolate, and although the hazelnut overtones in almost all lindt milk chocolate has been getting me mildly annoyed, this bar my friends was a revelation. The combination of the strongly nutty, crunchy hazelnuts with the rich, intense, smooth dark chocolate is pure bliss. And the contrasting tastes make it possible to have another one, and another one, and another one….you get the idea J Seriously addicting – it’s the perfect accompaniment to a good movie!

Excellence

If there’s one thing I must say about the Lindt Excellence range, it is that I absolutely love the packaging! Made of stiff cardboard so that you can easily reseal them and stop all that amazing flavour from bring stolen by the air J

85% Cocoa (1 star)

All I have to say is that I love dark chocolate, but not this much. The aroma when you open the pack is exquisite, but my taste buds still haven’t developed a taste for chocolate as bitter as this one. It reminds me of my last espresso made of coffee beans that had been roasted a tad too much. The ingredient list was interesting though – it was the only bar that had crude sugar and fat reduced cocoa – possibly the healthiest chocolate bar out there?

70% Cocoa (3 stars)

Much better than the 85%, the 70% has all the goodness of pure, rich, intense dark chocolate with a beautiful vanilla undertone but with an added sweetness that makes it enjoyable to the layman. While eating it though, the one thought that was running through my head was that 65% may just be the perfect dark chocolate…

Intense Orange (4 stars)

Just opening the pack releases a most intoxicating whiff of fresh oranges and dark chocolate. The almond slivers are mildly distracting, while not adding much to the taste. But the dried orange bits, with the dark chocolate make for a truly exquisite flavour, aroma and taste that few other combinations can beat. This was my top choice till I discovered the Swiss Thins version (see below).

Mint Intense (4 stars)

Mint chocolate, though incredibly popular, has never been a personal favourite. So I have to say I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this particular bar. My guess is that it provided a very welcome relief after all the milky sweetness of the other chocolates we tried on the day. Fresh, crisp and sweet to the right degree, this was a truly a revelation, a wake-up call, a palate cleanser. A sip of water right after tasted oh so refreshing and made this chocolate bar stand out tall and proud among all the rest.

Intense Orange Swiss Thins (5 stars)

The same intoxicating whiff of fresh oranges and dark chocolate await you when you open this box, but the orange is stronger, more concentrated, more intense. There are no distracting almond bits which is the only thing that I don’t like about the original ‘intense orange’ bar. I can’t seem to make up my mind as to whether I like the chewy dried orange bits or the strong orange essence that goes right through the chocolate more. What I do love is the smooth, melt-in-your mouth, fresh orange contrasting deep, strong bitter chocolate that you can just leave on your tongue to melt without worrying about chewing…ahh now that’s pure chocolate bliss!

Extra Creamy (1 star)

The name does this one justice. It’s extra creamy all right, leaving an almost greasy aftertaste. The word that comes to mind is buttery… Not something I would choose to eat voluntarily.

Chilli (3 stars)

This one is more intriguing than anything else. Not your everyday chocolate – it’s more like something you would have when you’re in a risk-taking mood, when you want to do something really crazy and exciting (I know I know…I might be the only person on the face of the planet who would think of eating chilli chocolate as a daredevil stunt) It’s dark and smooth, like any of the dark chocolate in the excellence range, and you don’t taste the difference till it goes down your throat…and then slowly you feel the fiery heat, the burn creeping down your throat and it’s eerily weird and creepily cool all at the same time. I give this one a higher rating simply because it’s fun!

Madagascar 65% Cocoa (5 stars)

Boy was I happy when I saw this bar on the shelf! I had predicted (link to 70% bar) that 65% would be the right dark, and I was right. This is the perfect dark chocolate my friends, very few can compare to this one. Dark and rich yet velvety and smooth, with strong vanilla undertones – this is an amazing chocolate bar. Lindt, after all that milky sweet chocolate you have fed me recently – this one redeems you J

With the Excellence range coming to an end, we couldn’t help but think of one flavour that Lindt has neglected – Cinnamon. I wonder how a cinnamon dark chocolate bar would taste…mmm….

Lindor

Hazelnut (1 star)

I’ve always had great respect for the Lindor range – the contrasting textures of the ultra-smooth interior and the firmer exterior has made for many sit-back-with-your-eyes-closed moments. I did have high expectations for the hazelnut Lindor, but it was a terrible terrible disappointment - milky, creamy, sugary sweet with hazelnut bits that are not expected in a Lindor and a weird weird aftertaste. The ingredient list shed some light on this – The top four ingredients were sugar, vegetable fats, cocoa butter and whole milk powder. Blech…

White (3 stars)

You tend to expect sweet milkiness from white chocolate, and this is definitely what the White Lindor is. But it’s also incredibly smooth and soft and surprisingly good! No complaints here – it’s the best that white chocolate can be.

Milk (2 stars)

Better than the hazelnut, yet still incredibly soft and creamy.  No hazelnut overtones as is so common in Lindt milk chocolate, which was a relief and thus made it stand out as different. But Lindor is for luxury – creamy, soothing luxury and if you’re not in for a truly fattening chocolate – this one isn’t for you.

Extra Dark (5 stars)

Ahhhh the extra dark Lindor – finally a Lindor where the Cocoa comes before the sugar on the ingredient list – truly a breath of fresh air after all the other Lindors. Smooth, rich and intense – it was soothingly luxurious while still being dark and mysterious. This is my Lindor – the one that makes for a sit-back-with-your-eyes-closed moment.

Petits Desserts

Milk – Mousse au Chocolat (1 star)

The picture on the cover looks so incredibly enticing, I had been anticipating this most gorgeously soft and fluffy mousse-like textured chocolate. Sigh…another disappointment. It was too hazelnutty. Why do you have to make all your milk chocolates taste like hazelnuts Lindt? Why? Why? Why?

Tiramisu (2 stars)

The aroma of coffee and liqueur greets you as you open the box, and the taste doesn’t disappoint. Definitely tastes strongly of coffee and liqueur, although the ingredient list claims there isn’t any liqueur. The creaminess is definitely reminiscent of tiramisu, while the so-called ‘crunchy biscuit’ tastes like granulated sugar – the only weird part. On the whole, not a bad chocolate in itself, although if you come expecting tiramisu, you will be disappointed – there is no way anyone can capture the luxury of tiramisu in a chocolate bar! Sort of like how you have chicken-flavoured chips…doesn’t quite cut it.

Dark – Mousse au Chocolat (4 stars)

Ahhh finally, a Petits Desserts that did not disappoint – true to the beautiful pictorisation on the cover, this really did feel like you were eating dark chocolate mousse – smooth, soft, fluffy and light. Pure temptation, it felt like you were wrapping yourself in a soft, warm blanket.

Finally, at the end of the long arduous process of tasting every single Lindt available in the local market (and I’m sure this isn’t an exhaustive list) I have had a revelation! I always considered Lindt to be my favourite chocolatier, but now I realise it’s not Lindt that I love, it’s dark chocolate. And Lindt seems to be one of the few dark chocolate brands in the market, which is why by default it has gained my loyalty. I should probably explore more – I’m sure there are better chocolatiers out there. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them!

And with that my dear readers we bid farewell to the wonderful world of chocolates and move back to solid food once more!

Till next time folks!

Edit: I know I promised I would write a 'series' of posts on the experiment, but it seemed logical to write out one long post especially since I made everyone wait this long!

The Great Lindt Experiment

My chocolate poll revealed Lindt to be the number one chocolate choice (something I was incredibly pleased with - Lindt being my own personal favourite chocolatier). As a result, I embarked on a comprehensive research and review of the Lindt offerings available in the local market.

Any ideas I had about this project going to be great fun/ a piece of cake (or chocolate as the case may be!) / the most pleasant project I could ever embark on were soon proved to be total hogwash. It was a tough tough ride my friends, and don't any one of you start to envy me. All my hopes of organising a single serious evening chocolate tasting session were dashed to the ground, the foremost reason being, and I should really be typing in caps, there is only so much chocolate one can take at any given time!

It might have been a deep-seated aversion to sweet things, a bare tolerance to almost dislike of milky, creamy things, I honestly don't know. I'm sure my chocolate-loving readers (and I know I have many of these) are going to want to hang me for blasphemy today, but even looking at those half-eaten chocolate bars now lying on my dining table, brings up queasy feelings of disgust. Too much chocolate people, too much chocolate.

My chocolate-eating partner-in-crime unfortunately fared no better. We had to split the chocolate sampling into 3 sessions, each one leading us to dread the next even more.

Don't get me wrong, this in no way bears on Lindt's ability as a chocolatier, but simply on my, possibly odd tastebuds. All said and done, I did learn a lot from the experience, gained a lot of respect for professional chocolate tasters and I had a revelation - which shall be revealed to you, in the final post of this series.

So anyway this post is sort of like a teaser, for in my next few posts I will be sharing the results of the Great Lindt Experiment.

So, hang in there folks! :)

Al Ibrahimi Dinner Buffet

I've heard much of the Al Ibrahimi all-you-can-eat dinner option, and I pass the restaurant almost daily on my way home from work (or anywhere else for that matter).

Having had a light breakfast and no lunch, I figured yesterday was a particularly good day to try a buffet. (I started writing this post the day after the expedition.....it's not exactly yesterday anymore...more like sometime last week!)

So off I went with my trusty dining companion walking in a typical balmy summer evening to Al Ibrahimi. We arrived exactly at 7, which coincidentally was when the buffet starts. The service was pretty good, the staff only too willing to show us around the buffet and explain every dish before we decided the fare looked tempting enough to stay. The tables were simple and fairly clean, although a few stray food spots on the tablecloth told us that they hadn't been changed after the last meal.

We decided to start with a salad but didn't find much in terms of variety. There was fattoush and tabouleh, both arabic salads, which I decided to avoid as I thought arabic food would be best done in an arabic restaurant. I shouldn't have put so much thought into it, for by the end of the meal I had sampled everything, and gotten myself immensely confused anyway!

There were a lot of deep fried items like pappadums and pakodas in the center, surrounded by many different dressings - just not enough salads to put them on! Two types of raitha (spiced yoghurt), hummous and some freshly cut cucumbers and other salad-y veggies were also present. The salads are more of a side-dish than a starter, so I just filled a plate with pickles and pappadums, filled a bowl with some raitha and brought them to the table to accompany me for the rest of the meal.

The salads failing as a starter, I thought perhaps we could try soup for a starter. They had two flavours, Chicken Corn and Hot N Sour. Both were very average - I've tasted better. The chicken corn soup was marginally better than the hot and sour (which should have been called spring onion soup for all the sliced spring onions that were in it!)

Course two was a sampling of the grills on offer.

Meagre - was the word that came to mind, although whatever was there was good. Two chicken grills and two fish (although one fish item was fried) was all that was on offer. I would have much preferred some meat grills as part of the variety.

The garlic tandoori fish was the highlight, mildly spiced, very garlicky and grilled to perfection.

My dining partner that evening enjoyed the fresh sesame naan that was quite unique. I've never personally seen it being made or served in Abu Dhabi, although it did bring back pleasant memories of the time we ate these wonderfully thick, soft, buttery and sesame-topped bread freshly made at the Global Vilage in Dubai...mmmm....

Course three - Paya Curry. This was a highlight for me, although this is one dish that is a developed taste and not everyone can enjoy it at first go.

Paya is basically lamb/goat's feet cooked on a slow fire for hours. It's usually eaten as a soup and is a traditional breakfast dish in Pakistan and even parts of India. If the idea of eating trotters is unappealing, the soup itself tastes incredible and is a must-try. I would go as far as to say that this should be Ibrahimi's signature dish. Spicy, yet soothing somehow with a very unique flavour that even I'm at a loss for words for how to describe! Note: This dish must be eaten hot!

Course four - the rice dishes. There were two - the mutton biriyani and the chicken pulao. The mutton biriyani was spicy and the cuts of meat were clean and cooked incredibly well, although the rice did seem a tad overcooked. The chicken pulao on the other hand, was brilliant. Very mild and subtle in its taste, it provided a lovely break from the rest of the spicy food and the basmati rice grains were long and flavourful as good basmati should be. This easily took the place of my favourite of the evening, in close competition with the paya curry.

Whatever you do, DO NOT make the mistake of trying out the "chinese" offerings. This was my course five, and although everything looked really good on display, it all tasted decidedly odd. The rice seemed undercooked, they used canned mushrooms for the stir-fried veggies, the sweet and sour prawns tasted stale and overall the experience was not pleasant. The only items that were edible were the vegetable fried noodles (though a tad oily they were not terrible) and the beef chilli. Take my advice, go to a chinese restaurant if you desperately crave chinese! At Al Ibrahimi, stick to the native Pakistani dishes and you should be alright.

Speaking of native dish, one that disappointed badly was the harees. This should technically be quite similar to 'Haleem' (See Shan post), but it was nothing like it. The traditional 'wheat' seemed to be replaced by oats, and it felt like we were eating meat-flavoured oats....Seriously, if that sounds weird, believe me it was. One half of a teaspoon was all I could manage, and even that seemed too much! Blech.....

DON'T try it unless you want to be put off Haleem/Harees for life!

The chefs made fresh batturas (deep fried round bread) to be eaten with channa (chickpeas curry) and although they looked really tempting hot out of the pan, it was too much to manage. I thought being able to see the kitchen was a nice touch though...

With all the spice and oil, we really needed something more than water to wash it all down, but to our dismay, there was nothing on the menu but fizzy drinks, milkshakes (?!?!) and fruit juices/smoothies! Odd accompaniments to a heavy meal I would think. The staff were only too happy to oblige however when we asked for an ice tea - although not on the menu. Wayy too much ice, but otherwise drinkable, lemon wedge and all!

Finally, the desserts. This was the best of the lot, with a immense variety, and we were slightly disappointed that we were too full to really enjoy it. The one thing they did lack was labelling, and so I'm not sure exactly what I ate. Avoid the cakes/brownies/mousse (they had chocolate(like artificially flavoured chocolate - something out of a box perhaps?) and coffee(too runny)). Stick to the warm desserts, like the bread-pudding-like-thingie or the kheer-like-thingie or the sweet-vermicelli-like-thingie (I did say there were no labels!) :P I quite enjoyed the green and orange jello though, not due to any special taste, but simply because it reminded me of my childhood, and the quivering green jello brought back lovely memories of watching the first Jurassic Park in the movie theatre. (Remember that scene with the kids eating the green jello, and it starts quivering in time to Mr. Dino's footsteps? :D)

Fun times were had by all, even though the food wasn't exquisite. Seeing the adorable little vertically-challenged doorman on our way out was the icing on the cake, and as we walked back slowly in the breezy night air with tummies silently protesting over too much food, we decided if there's ever a next time, let's go a la carte...

Till next time folks!