Diwali sweets should mean chocolates!!

Hope you guys had a great Diwali. Spent this Diwali in Bangalore and performed the one ritual that I love. I make it a point to do it every time I go to Bangalore and used to do it every month I lived in Bangalore. It all stems from my chocoholism that has got me as a willing victim since I was in school. You really can't help but become one when your mum is a teacher and brings home chocolates of whichever bratty's kid's birthday it was. Back then, I used to identify the kid with not his exam essay (which mom used to force me to read) but which chocolate he/she tried to impress me (yup, not mum, me) with ;)
Two decades later and about as many visits to the dentists, I am still chasing and living a chocoholics dream, in spite of the burgeoning waistline.
Being in such a chocolaty mood, here are the best chocolate stuff you can gorge on in the cities that I have lived in. Not too long a list, as I wanted to pen down the best that I have had...

The Chocolate Bomb (also called the Lava bomb): Little Italy, Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore: This is exactly what they say it: a bomb. A jab with the fork is all it takes to set it off. The hot molten chocolate inside is yummy. There was this place in Lokhandwala called Cocco's that had the whole menu comprising of, yep, cocoa and nothing else. The Choco bomb there was superlative. Why did it shut down, why??

Dark Temptation: Barista Outlets: This is a temptation for me every time I go there for coffee. Comprising of a decadent chocolate pastry, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Some outlets serve the pastry too hot and gooey while some serve it stone cold. The outlets at Oshiwara, MG road Bangalore and the erstwhile outlet at Koregaon Park Pune are the places that get it right always.

Double Trouble: Mad Over Donuts, Oberoi Mall, Mumbai: Yup, its a donut. Though once you bite into one, you can see how its more like a flimsy cover holding all the chocolate! Be warned, its pretty messy to eat this one. This donut comes without a hole as the top is layered with milk chocolate and the donut is stuffed with molten dark chocolate. One of the yummiest and strangest of all places to satiate you choco-cravings.

Death By Chocolate: The Corner House, All Bangalore Outlets: Yes, I know its a ice-cream place. But do you know that this dessert is something that I cannot finish the large size of? Yes, its a huge deal!!! Anyway, this baby has chocolate ice-cream, chocolate brownie, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream with nuts. It comes in junior and large sizes and trust you me, its a meal in itself irrespective of the potion size.

Chocolate Avalanche: Mocha Outlets: Ingredients of this most decadent dessert are chocolate ice cream with chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce, chocolate brownie AND pieces of chocolate! Yes, that is a whole lot of chocolate and it ain't for the faint-stomached or for someone who is watching the waistline (yes, i am, but not while eating this kinda stuff!!)

Will keep adding to this list whenever I find a culinary choco feast that matches any of these. Till then, happy gorging...

Oh, and wouldn't it be great if people actually started buying into the whole gifting chocolates for Diwali instead of the over-sweet (yes, there is such a thing) milky sweets. Make a note all ye who have the fortune of meeting me the next Diwali.