14.276 Blancpain (Piaf) Chocolates

Cycle 14 – Item 276

8 (Sun) October 2023

Blancpain (Piaf) Chocolates

3.5

by Piaf

from Blancpain

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with IZ

While making the rounds yesterday in furtherance of W’s quest to purchase a new watch – currently narrowed down to Blancpain, IWC, and Panerai (see generally 14.275 Chungmu Gimap) – the boutiques gave us chocolates.

Of the 3 brands, I have an IWC and a pair of Panerais, the second of which was recently acquired and documented on the blog (see 14.262 Soya Sauce Chicken on Stirred Noodles).

Though well aware of Blancpain’s heritage – some claim that the Fifty Fathoms model, released in 1953, was the first true dive watch (Omega, Panerai, and Rolex also claim the title, depending on various specs); at the very least, the FF featured the very first unidirectional rotating bezel (you either know what that means and thus appreciate the significance of it, or you don’t and shouldn’t bother to learn) – I was just never into the brand (that famous bezel reminds me of a shiny toilet seat) … until the recent Blancpain X Swatch collaboration dropped.   Now I’m definitely keen, at least for one of the collab versions, no interest as yet in a full-on FF.  Hopefully, they’ve learned from the Omega X Swatch distribution debacle last year (see 13.080 Chicken ‘N Cheese Muffin), and so I will be able to get it soon enough.

Then again, I finally tried on a MoonSwatch, now generally available at Swatch stores – it sucks.  Perhaps with an actual Speedmaster in mind, the watch immediately feels flimsy and cheap, even though it’s the same weight and size and construction as any standard Swatch.  I wouldn’t wear it if someone gave me one for free.

Of the 4 varieties, I preferred the bitterness of the Extra Noir, while IZ liked the sweeter Lactée.

By far, Blancpain offered the best chocolates, made by local chocolatier Piaf.  The chocolates were soft and creamy in texture (I don’t know what this is called in chocolate parlance), yet pleasingly firm and luxuriously dense.  Incidentally, I’m categorizing the chocolates as French, partly because the shop is named after famed French singer Edith Piaf, partly because they import salt from France (see “rotating”).  So good that we went back and asked for a couple additional boxes.

Panerai gave the worst chocolates, just a mix of store-bought candies (and they tasted quite stale) – in fairness, they didn’t initially offer the chocolates but went into the back and found us a few boxes upon my request – also, Panerai served the best beverages (e.g., San Pellegrino Aranciata on ice).
IWC chocolates were okay, made in Jeju and thus “fresher” (according to the manager); I like that the wrappings include images of actual IWC models, including the perpetual calendar, which I own (in a different dial color and case metal).

I doubt that such freebies make a difference (I’m sure that Rolex never bothers), though I did receive chocolates from IWC in the fall of 2021 (see generally 12.248 A Solemn Meal of Crackers and Dried Fruit) and eventually purchased one the following year.

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

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