We arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. and there were people already munching away. After checking in, we had our picture taken which apparently will be at their website. Before we left, we took our own picture for posterity.
As we entered the venue, we were handed a wine glass which was ours to keep and use for the various wine tastings. Sandi went straight to the sparkling wine. They had some nice and not so nice dessert wines, port wines and good limoncello. Our first chocolate stop was the best.....they were from Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach. These chocolates were deeelicious; from caramel to white chocolate with a grapefruit filling and some others. We were able to try 3-4 varieties. They had samples in mini jars of white chocolate and caramel filling which were light and just divine. Unfortunately, they were not for sale and you could only get them at the Montage in Laguna Beach. We then proceeded to taste other chocolates that were not good. We even went on a long line to try these beautiful chocolates. When it was our turn, we pointed to what we wanted to try only to be told that we would have to purchase them for $3.00 each. The sample they gave us was smaller than a peanut! You almost needed a magnifying glass. It was a blessing in disguise because all 4 of us simultaneously spit it out. It had cardamon in it and it was absolutely terrible! We were glad we didn't pay $3.00 for their chocolate.
We had some fried cream puffs which weren't bad at all, sponge cake with icing that was too sweet and mini cupcakes that also were too sweet. After all the little sweets, we craved for something salty. Gary was on a mission to find out what was good so he went ahead and came back to us to report what was worth lining up for. We got some type of siopao with pork, caramelized onions and feta cheese. That was quite good. There was booth that had different cheeses and we all enjoyed that one especially the bleu cheese.
We tried some more desserts but most of them was really a disappointment. After a few more sweets, we again wanted something salty to take the sweetness away. We ended up at the 9021 Pho (French Vietnamese Restaurant) They were offering a chocolate pho. That was very good. Very light with a hint of chocolate. I later called the restaurant since I did not see it on their menu which they handed out. I found out that they do not make or sell this dish. It was just made for yesterday's occasion. What a pity!
To summarize, it was fun to go to this festival especially with good friends. There weren't enough pastries, the chocolates were pretty but not good except the ones from Montage. The anticipation and the journey were much more fun than the destination. Although I must say, if we didn't go,we would not have made the Montage discovery of their very fine chocolates.
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