Max Brenner

Chocolate by the Bald Man... Max Brenner launched his first Philippine chocolate shop along the street curb at the Makati Avenue side of Greenbelt maybe some 10 years ago.  The original location is now occupied by the Hermes store, and the chocolate shop has been transfered to the ground floor of Greenbelt 5.  The new shop is a much smaller place, but has a nice garden view.

The menu covers the whole range of chocolate delights, from cakes, desserts, ice cream, shakes, hot and cold drinks.  I had the Ecuadorian hot chocolate, served in a cup with no handles (you have to hold it with both hands--it's hot at first but you get used to the heat after a while), and it was nice and thick.  If you take some pastries and drinks, expect to spend something like P400 per head.

A giant vat of hot chocolate!

The Bald Man?  He's part of the staff, but alas, he's not Max Brenner...

I lingered a bit after the fast business meeting, enjoying the last few drops of my cup.  It was a Thursday afternoon and we had the place all to ourselves.  Somehow, I missed the hustle and bustle of the old place, it was a bit livelier, but maybe you could attribute that to seasonality--Vicky and I would go to the old place on weekends, early evenings and for that after dinner cup of hot choco!