Review: The York Cocoa House

Chocolate. A love-love relationship if there ever was one.

I recently took a trip to a wonderful little cafe in York: The York Cocoa House. For those of you who don't know, York was home to both Terrys and Rowntrees chocolate houses, and the city certainly makes the most of this part of its history.

The cafe opened in November 2011and Sophie, the creator, wanted to set up a place that would celebrate the personal connection people can have with chocolate. What a lovely idea!

On with the review....

The York Cocoa House celebrates chocolate by using it in EVERYTHING, even savoury dishes:

It's not a unique concept, but I think this little cafe was full of charm and certainly takes chocolate-making and chocolate history very seriously!

The main draw after a heavy day's shopping was the hot chocolate here. We sat down in the little cafe section which is to the right of the entrance (central is the gift shop, to the left is where the workshops take place...more on that later!)

The boyfriend ordered a caramel hot chocolate and I got a "moderate" dark one, as I didn't have the courage to go for the 96%! Yes people, that exists!

I was desperate, so I glued my eyes on the little counter to watch them make it. I wasn't disappointed, and was treated to every chocolate lover's dream: a generous handful of chocolate buttons being stirred into hot milk....

Is there any better way to make it?

We ordered a chocolate biscuit alongside (as well as the samples provided with the drinks) and within seconds it was gone!

Creamy, chocolatey and delicious. I can't recommend it enough! As you can see they have all kinds of flavoured chocolate, or you can have a shot of liqueur in to warm up on a cold day.

The rest:

The walls are covered in vintage signs and postcards of old chocolate bars and companies, which gives the whole place a retro feel.

I loved the cash register in particular:

Here is a list of the workshops they have going on a regular basis:

But, if you're just passing through, then you can make your own chocolate lollipop almost every day. 

The gift shop is a great place to hunt down some unusual flavours...

We got to try this. It is the first time my boyfriend hasn't eaten the second half of something...and definately not for me! These aren't the only flavours though, and the gold and silver dusting gives the truffles a delightful sheen:

So, why am I doing a review of the York Cocoa house? 

- Firstly, I am in the process of moving to York, so get ready for lots more local reviews! 

- Secondly, it is a really unique little cafe. It's a great place to stop off during a day of shopping for a simple drink. I often find if you don't want a pub or a meal then it can be difficult to find somewhere that isn't Costa!

- Finally, it celebrates a part of York that is one of the many things I love about it: the history!

Have you ever been to the York cocoa house? Or even come across another chocolate cafe?

www.yorkcocoahouse.co.uk

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Cambodia 2: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Angkor Wat

The second and final post on Cambodia features temples, temples and more temples! Seriously, they were everywhere. These were all near the city of Siem Reap, in the north.

The temples we saw had an incredible charm as they had been abandoned for many years before opening to the public. This lead many to end up like this...

This beauty was used in the Tomb Raider film. You can see why!

The most famous temple in Cambodia (so famous it is on their flag) is Angkor Wat, meaning 'City of Temples'. Currently the largest religious monument in the world, this temple was a Hindu one and later changed to Buddhist. We had the 'privilege' of seeing it at 4.30 in the morning...

But as the sun came up, it was the perfect place to get a photo of the reflection pool.

Ankor Wat is a marvel, and has been heralded by Cambodians as a key part of their culture and history. The temple is a complex of buildings, all intricately carved with Hindu and Buddhist imagery:

The temple complex began in the 12th Century, which is hard to believe when you look at the design:

The next temple? Bayon, complete with serene looking faces guarding the towers:

I tried to join in, with great success:

Bayon was by far my favourite! The evening was followed by some traditional Cambodian dancing, very similar to Thai dance:

Our next stop was the best part of my whole three-week trip. Just outside of Siem Reap there is a little village where poverty is very rife, but a wonderful project is taking place to provide free medical care and education; New Hope.

The project recently built a new surgery, school and training restaurant, but the old school building is now used as housing for local families. The kids there were so happy, it made you forget all worries from back home about silly things:

The new surgery, funded by donations and companies like Gadventures:

One of our party even did her ice bucket challenge during assembly!

Sot Kemsour, the founder of New Hope on the right!

The project takes on volunteers from all around the world, and the money goes directly to the Cambodian school rather than admin or UK staff wages.  I definitely want to come back here!

So, as you can imagine I was sad to leave Cambodia as it was incredible. I cannot recommend visiting it enough!

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Cambodia

Cambodia was a very special country.

Its modern history goes from one of the most powerful empires in South East Asia to a country devastated by a genocidal regime. As a tourist, this means Cambodia is a mix of heartbreak and utter historic perfection...

Our first stop was the capital of Phnom Penh.

We took a 'cyclo' tour around the city, run by a charity that employs those who would otherwise struggle to find work:

Phnom Penh was no where near as bad as Saigon or Hanoi, and the people were even willing to give us a friendly wave!

What is the food like, I hear you ask? Well...

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like! As they are so deeply fried, locusts and tarantulas actually don't  taste half bad! The key is to repeat 'this is lovely chicken, this is lovely (boney and chewy) chicken' whilst chewing...

I was always interested to go to Cambodia for the simple fact that the Khmer Rouge genocide struck me (see my reading list here). Over a few years in the 70's nearly 25% of the population was exterminated. Currently in Cambodia the population stands at about 50% under 30; proof of what happened and its effects. I didn't think it was appropriate to take many photos of both the Killing Fields and the S-21/Tuol Sleng prison, but I took a few for the blog:

One of the survivors was even at the end of the tour:

Awe-inspiring man!

I really can't do justice to this episode in Cambodia's history, except to say that I will put various links at the bottom for you to explore - please do! The the leaders are only now being brought to justice.

It was certainly an intense day, so we then went on to the Royal Palace. Cambodia currently has a monarchy (restored in 1993), and the current King is in his 50's and sadly hasn't produced an heir (our guide said he has never had a girlfriend either). He is however a trained ballet dancer! He also lives in the 'restricted area' of the Palace complex. My friend and I actually wondered into it by accident, only to be told it was STRICTLY OFF LIMITS... 

We didn't mind though, it was so beautiful anyway.

As if that wasn't enough, a quick quad biking tour of the Cambodian countryside in a thunderstorm was in order! Here is me in my sexy poncho:

Unfortunately, I will have to do a second post as there is too much to tell!

Have you ever been to Cambodia? If so, do comment!

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If you want to find out about the Khmer Rouge genocide:
Cambodia: The Betrayal - one of the first Western documentaries on the regime.
BBC summary of the regime.
Survival in the Killing Fields - the best book I read from a survivor.