Hot Chocolate Festival: Bel Cafe

Along with the Dine Out Festival, Hot Chocolate Festival has returned to Vancouver. They will be in town from Jan 17th to Feb 14th - perfect timing for some chocolaty sweetness! These events are always a delight to explore since I get a chance to experience fun and creative dishes made by Vancouver's very loved cafes and restaurants.

Below is the list of the participants: 

• 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters + Lucky’s Doughnuts
• Bel Cafe
• Bella Gelateria + To Die For Banana Bread
• Butter Baked Goods 
• Chez Christophe 
• Chocolate Arts
• Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France
• Diva at the Met 
• East Van Roasters
• French Made Baking
• Gem Chocolates
• Glenburn Soda Fountain & Cafe 
• Koko Monk Chocolates
• Last Crumb Cafe
• Mink Chocolates & Cafe
• Schokolade Artisan Chocolate
• Soirette Macarons & Tea
• Terra Breads 
• Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe
• Thomas Haas 
• Uva Wine Bar + Bittered Sling

This year, I have chosen Bel Cafe since it is the place that pops up in my head first when I have sweet tooth. I also wondered how the awards winning chef  David Hawksworth's hot chocolate would look and taste like.

Tahitian Dream is what they have created for this year's Hot Chocolate Festival. By the looks and taste of it I am guessing that it is made of white chocolate instead of milk or dark chocolate. It is topped with a coconut flavoured marsh mellow and served with Tahitian vanilla shortbread. I am one of those people who enjoy 70-80% cacao dark chocolate so I thought the hot chocolate was sweeter than what I usually like. And with the marsh mellow that slowly melted into the hot chocolate, at the end I couldn't taste the chocolate so much. I mean, I do go to Bel Cafe when I crave sweetness but it was just way to sweet for my liking. I have to say it was below my expectations :-( The shortbread was what saved the dish though! It was soft and buttery which melted as soon as I popped it in my mouth. 

We arrived at the cafe around 4:00 on a Saturday and the seats were all full and the desserts were mostly sold out. I didn't get much choices so I just got a few pastries and macarons.....

...which Ryan destroyed later on... lol

If you have extreme sweet tooth (which I thought I was), and love white chocolate, Bel Cafe's hot chocolate might meet your expectations. Do visit during quieter times though if you want to try their other delicious desserts as well! 

Bel Cafe

1. Rosewood Hotel Georgia, 801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3G1
2. (604) 673-7000

  Mon - Fri: 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

  Weekends: 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Although I did not enjoy Tahitian Dream too much, it still was a fun experience and I am glad that I have tried it out. After all, they are only available for a limited time! 

Hope you enjoyed the post,

xoxo

Vivian