Amsterdam is a beauty, no doubt about that. But it is clearly no chocolate celebrity like Paris or Brussels. In a way that's a shame (after all it got the biggest cocoa harbor in the world). However, as already mentioned on this site quite some time ago, things are getting better and better. Selflessly, I hence decided to give Amsterdam candy makers and chocolatiers a try and blog about it (it's touch, I know). With similarly dubious excusses I also started my own blog.

I started with Amsterdam's two most popular chocolatiers: Puccini Bomboni and Unlimited Delicious . Both have been around for many years and follow fairly different concepts.

Sweet, pretty chocolates at Puccini Bomboni (Amsterdam, NL)

Puccini makes impressive hand-made bonbons. Impressive in two ways: they are beautiful (see picture!) and MASSIVE. Literally. Every bonbon weights about three times as much as a traditionally shaped one. Economically that seems to be a smart move, as it drastically reduced the labor needed per weight. The size, however, really obstructs the pleasure of eating them for me. One of their chocolates and Im done.
Most have fairly classical ganache fillings. Some of the fruitier ones are very fruity, which I liked (plum pruim for example). In blogs and forums I found many people mentioning fancy, non-standard flavors, often refering to their pepper bonbon as a sign for crazyness. But every chocolatier nowadays does spices and other stuff, so I would say there is not much original about that. I know, I sound a bit negative. In fact, the bonbons are not bad at all! Its rather that I expected something more. My main criticism is that Puccini bonbons are too big and lack finesse (or however youd call it). Too rough, unsubtle.

Cakes and chocolates at Unlimited Delicious (Amsterdam, NL)

In several respects it's quite the opposite if it comes to Unlimited Delicious . Their pieces look less original then the Puccini ones, but I find that they are nice and small, which makes them better to eat than the Puccini monster bonbons.
I tasted quite a lot of their bonbons by now and they generally are professionally made, technically flawless bonbons, mostly with silky textured ganache fillings.Tasty and creamy, nothing to complain about you could think. But somehow... I really miss some more courage, bravery, or excitement. Many bonbons are just too well-behaved and hence on the boring side. Not all, though. Some are great and delicious, like their long-time classic "Rosemary Sea Salt". If you happen to be closeby some day, give it a try.

Links:
Puccini Bomboni
Unlimited Delicious