My go to for holiday gifting, especially when it comes to getting someone who has everything: is chocolate. But not just your grocery store bars or your mass packaged boxes. I like something with more character to gift. Something that adds some whimsy to someone’s life, and something they would second guess re-gifting because it is just so special.
And this season, Mon Paris has a few options to consider. Their approach is to bring a little taste of Paris to Metro Vancouver, where they are well known for their modern interpretations of classic cakes, chocolates, pastries, and confections. All of which they boast use the finest ingredients.
The following are a couple of their treats I have tasted. Starting with the perfect centre piece for any table. This Holiday Tree is available in a green milk chocolate or red dark chocolate with a variety of nuts and dried fruits. The bulbs that make up the tree look as if you can simply pick at it. One by one until you hit stump. But from personal experience we found the need to be more forceful with this one. The result: delicious shard/ of dark chocolate around crunchy nut and tough stringy dried mango. Great to look at, but not for as is sharing. Best to divide and conquer.
The Holiday Chocolate Bar Box is a set of 5 festive chocolate bars. I have never seen chocolate bars like this before, and loved the way they looked. So chic, you can’t help but to eat them in smaller dainty bites that allow you to best savour each. These half-cylinder-shaped bars come in three seasonal flavours which include Chestnut and Rum in dark chocolate; Speculoos and raspberry in white chocolate; and Lime Cheesecake in milk chocolate. Not your traditional Christmas flavours, if you don’t already know the flavour profile going in, it is hard to guess.
Each with a soft gooey centre under its crisp chocolate shell. The lime cheesecake was refreshing with citrus. The rum and chestnut had a mild liquor essence you can make out, but is muted with the sweetness of the roasted chestnut. And the Speculoos and raspberry was my favourite. I had hoped it would be a peanut-butter and jelly pairing, but liked the crunchy bits in the Speculoos, making it the only bar with a different texture. As a whole, this makes for a great little stocking stuffer.
For a more visually stunning gift consider the Poinsettia Flower Pot. An edible display of milk, dark, and ruby chocolate. Presented in a clear box, you can leave it on your desk as decoration until you finally succumb to your cravings and eat it.
Other decorative chocolate tokens include their Chocolate “Gingerbread” House, which is a milk-chocolate house all dressed up for the holidays with four assorted signature truffles inside. And their Ornament which is a milk or dark chocolate decorative tree ornament with two signature truffles inside.
Other holiday options include their Yule Logs that serves eight, making it a great dessert for any party, or a token of appreciation to the hostess. Available in a variety of flavours.
Blackcurrant Jingle Bells: Blackcurrant mousse and blueberry compote with vanilla biscuit and cream.
Chocolate Speculoos: Spiced vanilla crémeaux and ginger biscuit with dark chocolate mousse.
Cranberry Cheer: Cranberry and ruby-chocolate crunch, vanilla crème brûlée, redcurrant confit, and almond biscuit with cranberry mousse.
Chocolate Boxes: 16 bonbons in a variety of signature flavours, enrobed in dark, milk, and white Belgian chocolate.
Although Christmas is around the corner and this post might not be as relevant, you can still shop the remnants post holiday, probably at a discounted price. And/or bookmark the thought, so you can be on the look out for their future spring collection that is sure to include hearts for valentines and bunnies and eggs for Easter.
Mon Paris Pâtisserie
4396 Beresford St., Burnaby, BC V5H 2Y4
604-564-5665
monparis.ca
