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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

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!

11 comments:

Pei-Lin said...

Hi, Janine. I admire you for taking the time to research and put together this post for the benefit of all home bakers.

There's a bakery supplies store called Artisan Supplies near my home in Ampang, K.L., that carries some quality branded chocolate and cocoa products (Callebaut; Cacao Barry; SICAO; etc.; no Valrhona, however), alongside some other baking necessities. The links below may help somewhat, but are the best I can find:

https://foursquare.com/v/artisan-supplies-sdn-bhd/4ebb53d7b803cf8e0e90b338

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Artisan-Supplies-Sdn-Bhd/232768903449804

Personally, I'd buy only chocolate and cocoa products, (rare) frozen fruit purees, pastes for flavoring purpose, and certain utensils from them. Most of their items are expensive, e.g., cream cheese. I guess, compared to regular bakery supplies stores such as Yen Bakery Supply (Taman Lembah Maju, Ampang) and Bake With Yen (Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya), Artisan Supplies is on the higher end of the spectrum. Nonetheless, the good news for me is I no longer need to lug bags of quality chocolate and cocoa powder back from Singapore, which I'd done with Valrhona two years ago. Lol.

Thanks for sharing!

kitchen flavours said...

Hi Janine,
Thanks for the useful info! These will definitely come in handy!

Amelia said...

Hi Janine, thanks for sharing the info.
Valrhona is not available in JB, I got mine from Singapore.

I have not drop by Perling Indah past one year cos usually buy most of my stuff from Bakewell.

Have a nice day.

MaryMoh said...

Oh wow...that's a lot of info about chocolate and chocolate brand. I'm here in UK, where chocolate are everywhere and only know a few brands because my girls eat them. I should go out and make a survey :D I only know that chocolate back home are very expensive. Hope you have lots of fun with chocolate, especially in baking. MaryMoh at http://www.keeplearningkeepsmiling.com

Blackswan said...

Thks for visiting Luxury Haven! Interesting blog & very informative post you've got here. It's nice to see familiar people in your blogroll & hope I'll be one of your fave reads too.

Looking fwd to sharing & do join my Giveaway: Luxurious Stay For 2 Worth RM1,000 At Casa Del Rio, Melaka!, open to all readers worldwide! More giveaways coming up!

Janine said...

thanks for all the useful comments guys!

and amelia, i'm definitely checking out bakewell when i've the time to!

Sarah.F said...

Dear Janine,

I am working at Classic Fine Foods, and thank you for quoting us on your blog.

We do sell Valrhona chocolate but for the moment only to hotels / restaurants and food services businesses. ( the minimum quantity now is about 3 Kg ), please don't hesitate to contact us if you find people to share and want to order !
www.classicfinefoods.com.my

The good news however for all chocolate lovers, is that the webshop is definitly ongoing, and will have 100g to 250g Valrhona tablets available. Launch date in october / november 2012 !

Follow us on Facebook if you want to be the first to know of the opening date of the shop !
http://www.facebook.com/CFFCCB

I too enjoy cooking with great ingredients :) Valrhona is definitely one of my favorite chocolate for cooking !

Sarah

Unknown said...

Great advises. I liked very much your post, they are gold for chocolate lovers.
























couverture chocolate

Sarah.F said...

Good morning,

After my last comments in June 2012.

I am happy to tell you that Valrhona chocolates are now available in retail at Jaya Grocer in Intermark near Ampang Park and KLCC in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully we will manage to have it available in more supermarkets in the future !

The webshop although facing delay is still in project, so thank you for being patient :)

For all Valrhona news in Malaysia, I invite you again to like our Facebook page !
www.facebook.com/CFFCCB - Classic Fine Foods and Classic Coffee & Beverage Malaysia.

Sarah

pepesyed said...

Yes! Intermark is nearby :)

pepesyed said...

Yes! Intermark is nearby :)

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