For the Connoisseurs

A Box of Nama — cubes of chocolates filled with a mixture of chopped chocolate and heavy cream — is most likely to melt on the way from the shop to home. But Royce’s signature product,when purchased from its newly-opened store at Palladium,Phoenix Mills,is packed in a thermal bag with a frozen cooling packed gel so that it keeps the flavour of fresh cream,churned out in a farm near its factory in Hokaito,Japan,intact. Some of the other products,like the crisp potato chips covered with chocolate,chocolate almonds dusted with bitter cocoa powder,come with a pair of tongs — used to lift it from the box at the time of being consumed — to ensure that the texture remains intact.

It is this kind of fine,luxurious chocolate experience that Royce,the Japanese chocolate brand,has brought to India with its first store that opened in Mumbai on Friday. “Bringing Royce here is our attempt to introduce,for the first time,in India truly innovative,high quality and fresh chocolates,that have an understated yet cult following all over the world,” says Avani Raheja,co-founder,Burgundy Hospitality,that has brought Royce to India. The range of chocolates,curated according to Indian tastes,vary from the pure Criollo,made from fresh Venezuela cocoa beans,to the quirky Potatochips chocolates. While the boxes start from Rs 1,000,chocolate bars are priced at Rs 450 upwards.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com