Chocolate is a food that delights and unites the world. Originating from the region now known as Mexico, countries and companies across the globe have been creating candies, pastries and drinks from cocoa for more than two centuries. Today, some of the best and most famous chocolate comes from Europe. And for the next one month, Vasco’s all day-dining restaurant, at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur, is celebrating chocolate with a special buffet spread called the “Chocolate Factory”.
If you are a chocolate lover and you are in KL, you should check out the “Chocolate Factory” which brings you over 20 different types of the best chocolates from various regions across Europe. It is no surprise that Vasco’s, Hilton KL is celebrating this treasured global cuisine, as the restaurant itself is inspired by Vasco Da Gama, the intrepid world explorer.
As a special addition to the regular buffet at Vasco’s, The Chocolate Factory boasts 2 tables of chocolate buffet spread. For the true chocolate enthusiast, you can enjoy the chocolate as unadulterated nuggets of pure chocolate. The buffet is loaded with nuggets, pastels and buttons of chocolates in various forms – even the bowls are made of chocolate! These include high quality chocolates such as Valrhona from France, Felchlin from Switzerland and Kondima from Germany, and they range from white to milk, to dark chocolate. The individual chocolates are so rich and creamy, it was hard to put them down to taste some of the other delights the Chocolate Factory buffet offered.
In addition to the chocolate nuggets themselves, you can also find verrines, profiteroles, rocky road and more. The truffles were a particular favourite of mine, both the milk chocolate truffle and the lemon truffle, which had a subtle lemon taste to it, and balanced the sweet chocolate nicely. If you like to mix fruit with your chocolate, specialities like the dark chocolate cup with strawberry mouse and raspberry Pannacota should hit the spot just right.
The chocolate celebration has also been infused into a number of decadent desserts which also adorn the Chocolate Factory buffet spread. Mille Feuille, Opera Cake and Hazelnut Chocolate Cream cake are just a few of the tempting pastries you’ll find. One of the favourites that I indulged in was the chocolate tart. A slightly dark chocolate tart, it was festooned with dark cherries, strawberries and white chocolate on the top, and had a crust that was crispy, airy and delicious. The chocolate buffet even includes a local pastry favourite, Kuih Batik. The Kuih Batik was rich but not too sweet, with gooey chocolate and crumbly cake pieces. A real treat for this local gal.
The Chocolate Factory travels beyond the chocolate buffet itself, and into the ‘live baking station’, also within Vasco’s. Don’t miss the freshly baked chocolate lava cake and chocolate filled doughnut, both of which are specially prepared for this event only. Even the bread and butter pudding, which is a regular part of the buffet, has joined the festivities with chocolate morsels added to the pudding. All three were a delight to my taste buds. The warm chocolate lava cake is lightly crispy on the outside and with smooth and thick lava on the inside. My favourite was the doughnut, which has a light milk chocolate filling and a doughnut pastry that is just perfectly balanced - not too heavy and not too light.
In addition to this special Chocolate Factory buffet, Vasco’s has its extensive buffet with dishes that span the globe, including fresh sushi, raw oysters, roast beef and chicken, pizza and pasta, and local Malay, Chinese and India cuisine that will put your taste buds on a world tour of delights.
All in, I found the Chocolate Factory a sinfully delicious addition to the Vasco’s buffet. Between the vast array of cuisine in the regular buffet and the Chocolate Factory additions, it made the price of RM188nett easier to swallow, especially when you consider it is all you can eat, with a wide variety of coffee and teas to help wash it all down. Go to Vasco’s Chocolate Factory buffet with a hungry tummy and a craving for chocolate and you won’t be disappointed.
Overall: **** (4 out of 5 stars)
The Chocolate Factory is available daily from 1 August – 31 August 2019 from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm. A part of the full buffet, it is RM188nett per adult and RM68nett per child. 20% discounts are applicable for credit card partners and in-house guests, while standard Hilton Dining APAC discounts also apply. For bookings call +603 2264 2596