I have a chocolate craving. Not just any chocolate. REAL gooey, sticky, melty, chewy chocolate. I really love those chocolates filled with more chocolate inside, except the chocolate inside is the chewy, gooey kind. YUM. Chocolate is supposed to make you happy. I suggest extra chocolate rations for the troops in the Gulf. I think Bush and Saddam need chocolate too. I think I need chocolate too.

There's nothing worse than bad chocolate. And by bad chocolate, I don't mean expired chocolate. I mean those bland plastic-tasting brown cubes/balls passing off as chocolate. Haven't you ever had those mass-produced chocolates that come in a big flat rectangular tin, with the word "assorted" on the cover? Ok, we're not talking Lindt or Godiva here. We're talking the seriously mass produced type of chocolates you sometimes find in last-minute put together new year hampers. Most of the time, the chocolate will be surrounding a tiny portion of nut. Different types of nuts of course, hence the "assorted" label. The chocolate ball is usually shiny on the outside (because of all the oil and fat) and crumbly on the inside. Now, "crumbly chocolate" are not the 2 words that go together best.

On the other hand, I do have fond memories of mass produced chocolate (I assure you, I am not a bigot). Remember when we were in school/Sunday School? Every time Easter rolled around (no pun intended), we'd get these tiny chocolate eggs in retro alumnium foil wrapping (complete with polka dots and funky patterns). Those chocolate eggs were yummy because they were special :) And probably because we didn't know any better. And how's a kid to know who Godiva is??

Now, our palates have been opened to a world of alternatives to the ordinary chocolate in the market (I'm really not a bigot!). The Margaret River Chocolate Factory, for those of you who do not know, has opened a branch in Freo. If you're coming down from South Street, turn left at the Shell Station and go all the way down. It should be somewhere on your left. If my memory doesn't fail me. It's next to an old petrol station (!). By the way, if you continue all the way down that road, you'll eventually come to a dead end and there's a park there. It's really beautiful. There's a nice gazebo too. A pleasant change from King's Park I guess :)

Lest you think this blog post is dedicated to slamming all mass producers of chocolate, it is not. I just didn't want to talk about SARS anymore. I've also had a taste of the chocolate given to NSmen in Singapore as part of their combat rations. I shall remain quiet on my verdict of that chocolate.

You know what? I think I dreamt about chocolate last night. That’s a whole lot better than the dreams I used to have of WWII, getting hopelessly lost in a maze, being involved in a drug scam…