GOOD chocolate, without a doubt, boosts happiness and love. The food product known as chocolate is a liquid, solid, or paste that can be consumed on its own or as a flavouring for other dishes. It is prepared from roasted and powdered cacao seed kernels. The BUZZ Team recently paid a visit to Kedai Coklat in Petaling Jaya, a full-service chocolate shop that serves pastries, beverages, truffles, and other chocolate-based treats. We spoke to Michael Woo and Lee See Pin, founders of Kedai Coklat to explore their vision behind this husband and wife team shop.
In 2016, the pair started Cocoraw Chocolates, a company that specialises in chocolate treats. Their boxed chocolate truffles were available online and at bazaars. A year later, a shack-like kiosk was opened inside the Cziplee bookshop in Bangsar. It was the primary turning point for the company, according to Michael, because they had a more reliable operating location. At that point, Kedai Coklat’s basic concept began to take shape.
Midway through 2021, when they chose to close their final mall outlet, Kedai Coklat was established. The couple had always wanted to open a whole chocolate business. With this larger location, they were able to provide a wider range of goods and are able to highlight the regional chocolate scene in one central location.
“We have built great relationships with independent local chocolate makers over the past few years, and Kedai Coklat was the stage where their produce can take centre stage,” said Micheal.
Since the epidemic, cafés and restaurants have had difficulty making a living.For the couple, launching Kedai Coklat was a big risk, but they were eager to take it. Micheal stated: “We made a calculated risk to open our first complete outlet because the startup costs are comparable, and we anticipated an improvement in the economy when Covid limitations were relaxed. We weren’t exactly naive however, and after testing our solutions throughout the epidemic, we were confident in their suitability.”
When we initially entered their store, I was already quite thrilled since I am a huge fan of chocolate. They had a lovely environment that was serene and, most importantly, plenty of different kinds of chocolate. We sampled some of their famous chocolate tarts and were given four of their top-selling items.
We began with the chocolate terrine (RM18). See Pin said that the single origin Kelantan chocolate was only offered warmly in this location. Others had suggested that it would taste better if served cold; nonetheless, I thought the warm, rich, chocolaty flavour was absolutely perfect. It was delicious with the sweet whipped chatinit cream and chocolate crumbs on top.
We continued with a Hazelnut Chocolate Tart (RM16) after that. This almost gave the impression of eating a large sized Ferero Rocher. The nuts around the tart were the ideal sweetness. The smooth, creamy, rich chocolate hazelnut is perfect for all hazelnut fans. We could now feel the effects of the sugar rush taking over our bodies, so I put down the tarts and tried three of their top-selling beverages, starting off with matcha chocolate (RM15). The chocolate and matcha in the beverage blended well.
And I can promise you that their honeycomb chocolate (RM15) is worth every single penny. The honeycomb had a delicious honey flavour and was crispy.
We finished with hot chocolate using Malaysian single-origin chocolate. Now, this beverage had a little sour flavour. Here’s the thing about this drink, you either like it or you don’t. Personally, I thought it was fantastic.
The initial sour taste might cause first-time drinkers to think the chocolate was ‘spoiled’. In fact, true chocolate beans have a sour aftertaste. I was ready to take another bite so, we tried the tiramisu chocolate tart (RM16). This tart is delicious if you enjoy the flavour combination of rich dark chocolate and coffee. It’s creamy, airy, and just a little bit decadent.
I offered the final tart, a milk chocolate tart (RM12), to my co-worker because I had already had enough chocolate for the day. He commented on how different it tasted from other chocolates he had tried previously, and stated he would always choose it when visiting Kedai Coklat.
Kedai Coklat is typically thought of as a chocolate café where there are customers seated inside enjoying their own confections, pastries, and beverages. At the same time, they are also viewed by some as a retail establishment that offers chocolate truffles, single origin bean-to-bar Malaysian chocolates, and a variety of high-quality artisanal Malaysian chocolate goods.
Additionally, they were careful to position Kedai Coklat as a little forum where like-minded chocolate enthusiasts may share opinions and discover more about the regional independent chocolate sector.
The pair assured that further events aimed at educating the public about Malaysian chocolates and the handmade chocolate industry in general will take place in the upcoming months. “We plan to bring together all of Malaysia’s independent chocolate producers very soon so that everyone is aware of the people behind the brands.”
Kedai Coklat
Address: 16, Jalan SS 2/103, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening Hours: Tuesdays to Thursdays (12pm-8pm), Fridays to Sundays (11am-9.30pm)
