The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 01 Apr 2014 11:57 PM PDT

BY TAN WAN-PENG
April 02, 2014

The Royce' outlet at the Gardens Mall is the top-performing shop among its seven Klang Valley outlets. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 2, 2014.If you were to ask someone from a chocolate-making nation – say Belgium or Switzerland – what makes the chocolates from his country special, you'll often get an answer along the lines of "It's in the milk". Or it's in the spring water. Or cocoa butter. Or sugar granules or alchemy.

Chocolate-making, like winemaking, is all about technique. The process is similar in that a chocolate-maker needs to able to select, blend, combine and taste the beans, sugar and fats to end up with a perfect piece of chocolate.

Maiko Yamazaki has a dream job – tasting chocolates daily. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 2, 2014.Royce' is a chocolate-maker from Sapporo, Hokkaido. In a business dominated by Europeans and Americans, this Japanese chocolate-maker has acquired a fan base for its signature product – nama ("fresh" or "pure") chocolates.

What distinguishes nama is that it is a small truffle-like square, boasting a moisture content of 17% and the secret to its velvety smooth texture lies in the fresh cream sourced only from Hokkaido.

The family running Royce' are the Yamazakis. Maiko is the daughter of its founder, Yasuhiro. She joined the family business in 2008 and recalls her father's obsession with invention that led to the creation of the nama chocolates.

Yasuhiro had been experimenting – some time in 1999 – with some ganache when he hit on the idea of upping the cream content. Then, liquor was added to the cream and chocolate mixture, which adds a certain piquancy to the chocolates or what Royce' prefers to call "ganache cubes".

The ganache cubes are so fragile that the best way to eat them is with a spatula – so that not a cube comes into contact with your fingers and any body heat that would alter its temperature and ruin the experience of eating such a delicate confectionary.

Understandably, the ganache cubes, which Royce' swears will "melt in your mouth", have garnered so many fans far and wide that Royce' opened an outlet in New York in January 2013.

All Royce' chocolates are made in the Tobetsu-cho factory, using fresh cream from farms near the factory in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost region.

The Royce' nama maccha's flavour is subtle and non-cloying. – Pic courtesy of Royce', April 2, 2014.With so much fresh ingredients in a cube of nama chocolate and the cost of refrigeration during export, wouldn't it be easier to make the chocolates in situ.

"We tried to use American fresh cream in New York but it just didn't work," says Maiko.

The emphasis on freshness and quality gives Royce's chocolates a certain refinement that also reflects its founder's ethos.

"My father's dream is to make a 100% Japanese chocolate," says Maiko.

To that end, Rocye' is experimenting with growing cocoa plants in greenhouses on Okinawa island, the southernmost island with balmy tropical weather.

This is the sort of perfectionism that distinguishes Royce' from its European competitors and the sales figures are impressive.

All nama ganache cubes are made from fresh cream from Hokkaido. – Pic courtesy of Royce', April 2, 2014.Almost 50% of sales in Malaysia from seven retail outlets in the Klang Valley and the online store –the only e-store outside Japan – is derived from nama chocolates.

At a chocolate-tasting session, I liked the nama maccha (green tea) best for its subtle and non-cloying flavour. This is made from white chocolates and is so sublime, I could probably eat a box at one seating.

Fans of nama also look forward to the seasonal flavours produced throughout the year. Banana, Grand Marnier, strawberry, orange and mango, pear and rum are just some of the options available this year. – April 2, 2014.

For details, visit www.royce.com.my.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 2 April 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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