Where to get chocolate in Malaysia [Valrhona, Barry Callebaut, Cacao Barry, etc]

Right at the start, I think I should qualify the title to state that it's mainly just Johor Bahru (which I'm most familiar with) and a little bit of Kuala Lumpur. I'm not familiar with the other states/baking places, so I really can't definitively say. For details of shops and prices of ingredients in Singapore, check out these two links. For shops in JB, here's the link.

Also, I thought there might be some confusion about the chocolate brands, so a little history might be helpful here.

Barry Callebaut is perhaps one of the world's largest chocolate manufacturer. When I was in Belgium, Callebaut was THE brand to buy, and with good reason too. The chocolate really is good, although I'm not sure how it compares to Valrhona since I didn't taste them together. The name "Barry Callebaut" actually comes from two companies - Cacao Barry and Callebaut. Cacao Barry was the French company and Callebaut was the Belgian company, and both of them merged in 1996 to form Barry Callebaut. Ironically, Barry Callebaut is now based in Zurich - neutral territory perhaps? 

To add to the confusion, Barry Callebaut, after merging, decided to come up with a new brand, SICAO, presumably to cater to the Southeast Asian consumers, retailing it as a cheaper alternative. So you can probably visualize this as a three-tiered thing, with SICAO being on the lowest tier (the cheapest brand of chocolate), followed by Cacao Barry and then Callebaut right at the top - with price and quality being the top too. 

Valrhona on the other hand, is still located in the same town it was founded in - Tain-l'Hermitage in Hermitage, near Lyon. I wish I could say I've been there before, but the most I did was to bypass Lyon twice, once on my way from Paris to Geneva, and other from Paris to Nice. Oh well, there's always next time! They also hold classes at the same place, although they have set up schools in Tokyo and Versailles as well. 

PS: Did you know that there is a Chocolate Academy in Port Klang which run chocolate-related classes and which is owned by the Barry Callebaut group? :] (and no, I am not paid to say all these)

Where to get baking chocolate in Malaysia (mainly Johor Bahru)

Common brands in Malaysia

• Tulip
• Nona
• Van Houten
• Hersheys
• Beryl
• SICAO
• Cacao Barry
• Felchlin 
• Barry Callebaut

The first three brands I have listed are the typical brands you can find in any supermarket - relatively cheap, and not exactly 'real' chocolate since it's a compound chocolate. What do I mean by compound chocolate? Well, 'real' chocolate is made with cocoa butter and cocoa solids, but compound chocolate uses vegetable fat (like coconut or palm oil) as well as sweeteners and emulsifiers :/ Call me elitist but there is a difference in quality and taste okay! 

Anyway, something to be proud of as a Malaysia --> besides Tulip which is manufactured in Indonesia and maybe Callebaut or Cacao Barry which might be manufactured and packed in Europe, all other chocolate brands above come from Malaysia! Malaysia does have quite a number of cocoa plantations, and I hope to visit one in the near future! The chocolates are listed in increasing price. As you can see, if the chocolate retails for less than RM30 per kilogram, it is most likely chocolate compound - so don't be fooled yeah!

Now, as far as I'm aware, Valrhona is almost impossible to find in JB, but available in KL. I've listed a couple of places in JB (and KL) where you can find the chocolates:

1. Perling Indah

• Perling Indah has the largest variety of chocolate available in JB that I know of. You might notice that I might be a little biased towards Perling Indah as compared to other baking shops in JB, but that's really because I stay near this shop and I can't say for the prices in the other shops!
• Here are some prices: 
• Van Houten - RM9.20 for a 150g 'baking chocolate' bar
• Beryl white/dark/milk chocolate compound - RM15.80/kg
• Beryl 62% chocolate buttons - RM50/kg
• Tulip - RM16.50/kg
• Tropica chocolate compound - RM15/kg
• Le Bourne chocolate compound - RM16.50/kg 
• Selbourne milk/dark chocolate compound - RM18/kg
• Callebaut - RM140 for a 2.5kg pack (53.8%)
• Cacao Barry - RM58/kg
• SICAO milk/dark block - RM62 for a 1.5kg pack, RM72 for a 2.5kg pack
• Cacao Barry amber cocoa powder - RM78/kg

2. Aeroshield JB

• Aeroshield has its headquarters in KL at Pandan Indah (check out its website here). If getting it in  JB, contact Mr Danny Lai at 010 6623542.
• Here are some prices: 
• Callebaut dark coverture - RM97.50 for a 2.5kg pack
• Callebaut cocoa powder - RM40/kg (available only in 5kg pack)
• Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder - RM50/kg 
• SICAO 70% chocolate callets - RM45 for a 1.5kg pack 

3. Pastry Pro

• Pastry Pro is located in Kepong. Check out its website here. 
• It only carries Felchlin, which is a Swiss brand. Felchlin Maracaibo 65% retails for about RM22.35 for 250g pack. 
• Just as a comparison, Felchlin retails at ToTT in Singapore for $72/2kg, and this is the smallest size available. 

4. Gourmandines

• This is an online only retail shop, which provides free delivery for purchases above RM250. If I'm not wrong, it is the only place in KL to get Valrhona chocolate. It sells a whole lot of other things too, such as gourmet cheeses and pasta, at pretty cheap prices. 
• Here are some prices: 
• Valrhona Manjari (64%) / Jivara (40%) / Ivory Buttons - RM25/200g; RM108/kg
• Valrhona Guanaja (70%) also available but prices not online. 

5. Classic Fine Foods

• I also found this website which appears to retail Valrhona chocolate, but the e-shopping website is under construction for the longest time, so erm..call them if you really want to know if they sell Valrhona?

6. Artisan Supplies

• Pei-Lin graciously provided details of this shop she frequents in KL, where you can get quality branded chocolate (no Valrhona) as well as frozen purees. 
• Their fb page is here. See her comment below for more details! 

And last but not least, I have received a number of queries and am glad to announce that if you are in Malaysia and would like me to help you in getting any chocolate products (in Singapore or in JB), I would be more than happy to help you to get them in my own time. You will have to, of course, pay for my transport, the price of the item you want to get, as well as postage fees (preferably registered/pos laju) for mailing it to you. I don't really want to discuss details here, but just email me if you have any queries!