THE COCOA PROJECT — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

A little gem specialising in Vietnamese chocolate. European chocolate is often viewed as a luxury item in Vietnam, but locally made chocolate like this is the real thing. No fillers, more sustainable, and with flavours you won’t find anywhere else. We loved the chewy banana one especially - it didn’t have the overly sweet synthetic flavour you’d usually find in banana flavoured candy.

The leaflet talk about how the beans are processed, so we were surprised to see “cocoa mass” instead of “cacao beans” in the list of ingredients, which suggests the cocoa mass has been purchased from another supplier. But it did smell like roasted cocoa inside the building so we are unsure if this is just a labelling issue or if the marketing intentionally makes it seem like they are a bean-to-bar maker.

We bought a lot of chocolate for gifts and for ourselves, and got a free tote bag included. There are also nice merch for sale like notebooks, stickers and other stationary.

The iced chocolate was too sweet for me, but I find that locals tend to like it that way. The interior was cool and nicely designed, though chairs might have been a bit more comfortable for a longer stay. The garden outside is a really nice touch and includes...

First time trying out this restaurant from a friend's recommendation, experience was a breeze! Pros: The space was spetacular! Very nit, well-lit and decorated, outdoor areas were photogenic with lots of greens and corners for good social media poses, indoor areas were just as good if not saying it was slightly bettery, the chairs felt very enjoyable sitting here for couple of hours. Staffs are very nice and helpful, explained to us the drinks in the menu when we asked!

Cons: The menus is very expensive for the area. Drinks were just ok, probably 7/10 for both the latte and cappuccino we had. Food were slightly better, tasted alright but the cookie dough we had, the sea salt supposed to be sprinkled on top right after baking so it could blend better to the cookies, not when it already cooled down, sprinkled it then only made it quite salty, portion was a bit tiny for the price: 8/10 in our opinions. But overall, with prices at mid high and high ranges, not too far from Starbucks' prices, I would expect a lot...

EDIT: Great reply and explanations from the shop. Thank you. Interesting for a chocolate snack and some good chocolate delicacies. Their cacao drink was rich and not too sweet for once. The chocolate cashews tasted very good. The chocolates candies are ok for the price (a bit pricey). This place seems to have a story to tell since it is calling itself "Cocoa project" and has a workshop at the bottom where you can see the chocolate candies production. When we asked the staff for some recommendations and explanation about what this place is about they didn't really care to give us any information. The recommendations was: just pick any chocolate they are all good. The question about the chocolate origin and content didn't get any answer. The place looks good, the food is ok and a bit expansive but it feels empty and sad. There is a great potential to make more memorable...