Rock-Hard Waffle @ Choco Melt, Ibn Battuta Mall

i take this as a lesson : next time do it yourself, at home! one of the biggest disappointments i’ve ever encountered in dubai when it comes to dessert.

the place looked so promising, yet what is served did not reflect the adorable interior, the amazing array of colorful display and definitely was NOT worth the price we paid. rugi je ade tempat cantik-cantik!

we went to the ‘choco melt’ in ibn battuta mall. like i said, the kiosk is cute, and eye-catching. it’s right by the bowling arena at the mall. you wouldn’t miss it as you enter ‘india’ from ‘china’. oh, it’s also right behind the ‘elephant’.

what caught my eyes at first was the row of MELTED CHOCOLATE along the counter. it was really, really inviting. few machines were running, with wheels on them and chocolate kept being poured and the wheels just kept turning and turning and turning – you’d be in a trance watching the melted chocolate runs through the machine!

intoxicating!

my favorite – hazelnut milk chocolate!

mr. khairul’s favorite – white chocolate

…and they’ve got plain milk chocolate too of course, and dark chocolate for those who like some bittersweet taste in their dessert.

and wait – look. at. the. display.

rows of fruits dipped in chocolate. apples dipped in chocolate. bananas waiting to be dipped in chocolate. oreos dipped in chocolate. i particularly LOVE the apples dipped in milk choc and white choc, and made to look like bride and groom. comel gile!

i was really tempted to order ANY dish from this cute shop, so we ordered ‘waffle melt’ – waffle with one choice of fruit and one type of chocolate. i picked strawberry because it’s khaleef and kahfi’s favorite, and a choice of hazenut milk chocolate.

we waited. and waited. and waited. after about half an hour, we were told we had to wait another whole 15 minutes because THE STAFF HAD LEFT THE WAFFLE TOO LONG on the waffle maker, and now it’s kind ruined.

WHAT? ok, fine. i’ll wait. and it’d better be good!

when it came – owwwwkayyyy. the waffle looked flat, not fluffy, completely unattractive. the strawberries looked fresh, and they put A LOT of strawberries. and they’re generous on the chocolate melt too. i’m not sure this is the general practice, or they give extra because they made us wait..

i cannot even begin to describe the horrendousness of this dish that i love so much.

1. the waffle is hard. VERY. i cannot use my plastic fork to cut through the waffle
2. the texture is VERY BAD. it’s hard, through and through – i mean, it’s forgivable if it’s hard on the outside and soft on the inside but this is HARD ALL THE WAY.
3. and it’s not even crunchy. it’s hard and chewy. liat.
4. i know something is up with the batter that they use. i can’t say for sure – been put aside too long? wrong measurement of ingredients? i dunno, but it resulted in one BAD waffle!

the best part was, when i approached the staff to tell them how HARD the waffle is, they sheepishly replied, “a lot of customer also complained.”

*sound of silence*

dah tu, hang dok buat jugak waffle keras macam ni buat apa?

i had the best of intention. i just wanted to tell them that the waffle is too hard. please tell your manager, or owner or whoever that it’s probably the batter, or the way you make the waffle. change it. improve it. because i like this shop. that’s what i told the staff on duty.

the staff was polite and apologetic, so aku tak la mengamuk sangat. kesian pulak. bukan la salah dia completely kan. haha.

ape-ape hal pun rezeki jangan ditolak! the waffle may be HARD, but the fresh sour strawberry went really well with the sweetness of the hazelnut chocolate. we tried to finish the waffle but couldn’t. there were too much hard parts that we had to leave out.

to be fair (see, i’m still trying to think positive!), i guess the ‘choco melt’ shop is trying to bank on their chocolate-dipped items – like the choc-dipped apple, or choc-dipped marshmallows. that’s their specialty i guess. well, i sincerely suggest they stick with what they do best, and stop making below average waffles!