Chocoholics Anonymous

Now in my years of (little) wisdom, I have come to the "delicious" conclusion that nothing that tastes so good can be good for me. If I satisfy all my sweet cravings, I am bound to have diabetes; if I drink wine and beer to my heart’s content, my liver will one day just bloat irreparably; if I eat lechon and chicharon every time I salivate for it, I shall wake up with my hands clipped and useless from gout. Which makes me often wonder why did God and nature make what we want so much different from what is good for us?

So, I was very cynical when my wife pointed out to me the benefits of chocolates, which she is very much fond of. She showed me an article that came out recently. In a small study done in Italy, participants who ate 100 grams of dark chocolate – that is a little more than two 1.45-ounce Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bars – every day for 15 days had lower blood pressure and improved sensitivity to insulin. In non-medical terms, this means they were better able to metabolize blood sugar.

Why dark chocolate in particular? Dark chocolate has flavanols, and it is the flavanols that help keep the lining of blood vessels healthy.

"Flavanols also delay, but don’t stop, blood clotting that may cause a heart attack or a stroke," explains Sandra M. Hannum, a research dietician at the University of Illinois.

And so the next time you eat chocolate, take the dark and bitter one. And if you want even more flavanols, but are watching your weight, just sprinkle some cocoa powder on your hot cereals, yogurt or fruit. Cocoa powder has a higher amount of flavanols and virtually no fat or calories.

Now, isn’t that reason enough for many to rejoice? "So now, you have no reason to say no," Mary Ann nagged as she persuaded me to take her and her family to the ongoing chocolate buffet at The Peninsula Manila lobby last Saturday. In my years of (much) wisdom as a married man, I have also come to the bitter conclusion that agreeing with my wife is the better pill to swallow.

As we stepped into the lobby, we immediately felt good and were welcomed by the nice, soothing music played by the ensemble at the mezzanine. There is certainly something magical about Peninsula lobbies that are unmatched by other five-star hotels anywhere in the world. The lobby is grand and lavish, made more pronounced by the shiny white marble, the cathedral ceiling and always impressive, gigantic flower centerpiece by the entrance.

The crowd was mixed, from grandparents to little kids running around who most probably had their fill of chocolate already. The chocolate delectables were displayed amid red roses and burning candles to symbolize romance and love. Yet all the kids I saw were equally attracted to the buffet like metal to a magnet.

"These kids will not sleep all night," I thought. There was also a cacophony of more muffled voices than on usual nights. "It must be because of all the chocolates," I whispered to my wife.

As expected, the five ladies in our group headed straight to the buffet, leaving me and my brother-in-law Randy seated to watch their bags. What is it about chocolate and women? Randy followed them soon after. They came back with their plates full of dark and saucy chocolates.

"How do they know which one is good?" I wonder. I watched them enjoy every spoonful with much gusto and yet ever so proper.

"Can you just tell me which is good, so I can just go straight to that?" I asked the five choco-wicked ladies. They all started to chatter away simultaneously like they were in a trance. They could not even agree on what was good, which confused me even more.

Mary Ann’s sister Lorraine liked the chocolate soufflé of all, which she described as a warm, soft and moist choco mamon. "The rich choco filling makes it ever so moist and delightful," she said in between big spoonfuls.

Joy insisted it was the chocolate fondant that I should try. It was a semi-bitter soft cake, heavy with a ganache topping.

"No, you should get the burger-like chocolates with pistachio filling," her 67-year-old cousin, Atching Fe (who looks like she’s just in her late 40s) ordered. I looked at her plate, and indeed they look like miniature burgers, but dark brown and dusted with either caster sugar or cocoa powder. "They are light and crisp to the bite, but have a rich chocolate flavor" she insisted.

Randy swore by the ice cream, which he topped with white and dark chocolate shavings, toasted almonds, and more choco chips. He said it would beat all the cakes and pastries around.

I was being polite to my wife’s family, but they were not really helping me at all. So, I turned to my niece Lala, who is my only kapamilya in the group. "Maybe she can help," I thought. After all, blood is still thicker than chocolate eh (espresso).

"I do not know which I like, but I wish they have salty potato chips to give my taste buds a break so I can eat more chocolates," she said giddily as she popped one signature Peninsula truffle after another.

And when all else fails, you go back to the woman you trust most – your wife. I asked Mary Ann to accompany me to the buffet table.

"What would you recommend if I can only have one piece?" I asked.

"Definitely the cherry chocolate cordial, which is a combination of light chocolate syrup flavored with coconut liqueur and brandy marinated with dark cherry," she said.

Just when I was about to grab one, she went, "On second thought (never believe women when they say definitely), take the baked chocolate tart. It is flourless chocolate cake topped with chocolate fudge. Very rich and yummy," she vouched.

So, just when I lay my hand on one, she pulled it away and said, "Ah, knowing you, you will like the chocolate brownies or the chocolate crepes filled with dark and white chocolate mouse on white choco sauce, or, yes, the fresh fruit skewers dipped in rich choco fondue. Healthier but equally delicious."

My eyes rolled in exasperation. Why can wives not give plain and simple answers? Where do they get those extra words that they seem to need to expel per day? I believed the chocolate fix was getting into her already.

I decided to make my own choice and took a slice of the triple chocolate gateaux, which was a flourless choco cake with choco filling, and the tiramisu-like milk chocolate terrine. Both did not look as wickedly chocolate as the others. And I had no regrets.

I looked at my wife, whose smile cannot be bought as she devoured the chocolate bite after bite.

"It takes so little to make you happy," I thought aloud. "And if only you have less words each time I ask you a question, it will also take so little to make me happy."

"You should have married a man, then," she retorted. And how does one argue with that?

We went home, my wife bursting with energy and even chattier (she claimed she wanted to keep our driver awake), but we can say that those weren’t empty calories. In fact, our hearts may even thank us for indulging.

And for the men who, like me, are not much into chocolates, bring your women (please, one at a time) to The Peninsula Manila’s chocolate buffet. You will be thrilled by the effect it has on you and on her. It is no wonder they have the buffet at night. Even the Aztec emperor Montezuma was believed to have drunk large jugs of the frothy chocolate drink all day to enhance his libido. It beats Viagra anytime.

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The Peninsula Manila’s Sweet Indulgences Episode Deux is available every Friday and Saturday nights only, from 8:30 p.m. to midnight, priced at P495++, inclusive of one cup coffee or tea. Seventy percent of the sweets are made of Vahlrona chocolate, while the rest are of Belgian and French cocoa.