ONYX Chocolates
A sampler’s paradise, ONYX is a sweet trip across international cuisine.
It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like chocolate. From Easter bunnies to bean-to-bar cacao delicacy, chocolate hits our respective sweet spots like few other things. Finding your particular favourite tells as much about your personality as your choice of clothes.
Located in a set-back walk-up in Toronto’s Chinatown East, you would never think twice passing it by. I stumbled upon it only by accident while searching for Wong’s Ice Cream. The quiet and kind gentleman working behind the counter didn’t attempt to sell me on the chocolates. (afterwards I emailed to learn he is Gabe Toth, the sole-propietor of the business). In fact he was almost dismissive of their importance. As a former connoisseur store-owner I knew instantly that the reservedness was actually confidence. I skipped the ice cream and went straight for the chocolates. My entire concept of chocolate was redefined in that moment.
Onyx is a rare amalgamation of a variety of chocolate styles in that it walks the line between simple and complex. The chocolate base itself is extremely approachable with a heavy bias to smooth milky texture, average sweetness and no overt cacao harshness. Think of it as a much more refined version of Dairy Milk and you’ll get an idea for how wide an appeal it can draw. I’m sure the owner will cringe at this comparison, but I say it in the most generous way possible. He has chosen a foundation which will please the most people possible, while upping the quality game to the highest levels. This is a valiant quest and will “upgrade” many an unsophisticated chocolate lover, the same way people start with Starbucks, search out an independent coffee shop and then invest thousands of dollars in home brewing… but I digress.
The magic of ONYX starts with the look:
A selection of Onyx current flavours.
The rounded dome serves as a diminutive and almost utilitarian base on which to highlight the combination of colours and patterns of each flavour. Like little gemstones they glisten and sparkle in the light and the colour combinations are as artistic and perfectly emotive as a Rothko.
Simply going to look at the selection is worthwhile, imagining what each taste will be like based on the appearance. In combination with the even more exotic names, the mystery of each little gem is a pleasure in itself.
Each one is a completely unique experience, obviously laboriously combined so that the story leaps off the milky underpinnings in an explosion of sensory delight. In the same way we might stare at wine bottle labels, we are trying to intuit what each one means and will give us.
The tasting of an ONYX chocolate is also like wine. The nose, palate and finish are a good allegory to the chocolate’s appearance, mouth feel and flavour-unveiling and the sophistication of each element is definitely on par with good wine.
What’s more, tasting 8 or 16 distinct flavours at a sitting is perhaps more exciting.
That’s the great thing about chocolates. The size and potency of each one is on a scale that matches our human capacity to try quite a few without getting sick. Trust me, I’ve pushed the limits! Like with a sushi meal, our taste buds can hold up to 10 or 12 pieces fairly well, especially if we start with the lighter tastes and work towards the heavier, fatter, flavours.
In my most recent tasting, I restrained myself to 8 flavours (from left to right): Cassis Violet, Pei Pa Koa 枇杷膏, Salted Egg Black Sesame, Durian, Marc du Champagne, Shichimi Kalamansi, Five Spice Crunch, and Lychee Rose.
Clearly, Onyx has a strong bent towards Asian flavours (as do I) which is refreshingly unique and no doubt influenced by the Chinatown vibe. However, the flavours cross all sorts of international domains, from teas and coffees to fruits to liquors to traditional food dishes. This is a food-lovers paradise in chocolate form.
Since each bonbon is so unique and would take a page of text to accurately describe, i’ll touch just on the Durian to give you an idea of the complexity of flavour.
First off, the chocolate is quite light, physically. It is not dense or dry as in a dark pure chocolate. It has a delicateness and not-quite-ready-to-melt consistency that is very pleasurable. Biting in is smooth and easy with no stickiness. The glaze or sheen on the exterior seems to offer good integrity and just enough resistance for a good bite.
The appearance on the Durian is gorgeous, like a Jackson Pollock painting. Do they hand drip every single one? I suspect so. Was I patient enough to individually taste the green white and yellow to tell if each was a distinct flavour - no.
As the first flavour reaches your taste buds, it’s distinctly chocolate. Milky smooth. No hint of waxiness or oiliness. This is pure, but also completely accessible. The sugar is moderate, even slightly more sweet than I might like, but probably to the majority of taste preferences.
After the chocolate flavour rolls around on the top of the tongue for a second, the smell first of Durian starts to envelope your nose buds and activate the little excitement centre in the front of your brain. For those who haven’t smelled or tasted durian before, this will be a wild and thrilling experience. Durian is banned in many Asian places for the power of its smell, but like natto or other overpowering flavours, after you’ve tried it a few times it has the tendency to create an addictive bond.
ONYX has nailed the essence of durian here while perfectly balancing it against the chocolate. Even the texture inside has a little graininess which reminds you perfectly of durian. Slightly fruity like an apricot, with warm buttery overtones, a hint of peach nectar acidity at the end. It’s masterful. Nobody wants to eat (or prepare) a whole durian at home. To get the entire satisfaction of durian in such a small refined flavour vessel is a delight.
As the chocolate dissolves, the taste spreads out and liquifies, both intensifying and harmonizing at the same time. The durian becomes chocolate, the chocolate becomes durian until it thins and vanishes. Then it’s time for the next one.
The other choices of flavours are exactly the same in the small journey they provide— take the essence of a flavour from an already special dish or food and condense it down into bonbon-sized 30 second experience. You might choose a theme—say all Asian foods, or all drinks, or all liquors— or don’t look at the ID card and surprise yourself by trying to guess.
CONCLUSION
None of us could travel the past year and a half because of Covid. Some of us have never really traveled but want to. Many of us have fond memories of special flavours of our childhood or from formative times in the past. All of us are chocolate lovers.
Given as a gift or for your own special treat, there is an amazing breadth of flavour options that will tickle the sense memory of anyone and take you on a journey of desire.
ONYX chocolates are a conduit for reliving those taste memories, and for traveling to those exotic places we may have been before (or wished to go). In the current state of the world, I can think of no better purveyor of such exoticism. Eminently delicious, satisfying, and entertaining, it is clear ONYX is made with love and generosity. The value of experience versus the cost is extraordinary.
From the owner, Gabe Toth, following the publication of this review:
When it comes to flavours, the inspiration comes from travels. I wanted to create something more unique and play with flavours that you can't buy anywhere else. Chocolate is so versatile and allows pairing with ingredients that are not the most common ones. At the same time I wanted to bring back childhood memories to some of my customers who grew up in Asia, or whose parents stick to traditions. At the same time these flavours remind me of my own travels and food explorations.
PRICE
$20.00+ USD
AVAILABILITY
ONYX Chocolates
617 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1Y2
THE RATING
9/10 Absolute
10/10 Relative
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