Chocolate Coated Polvs

The exact origin of polvoron is unknown. Some say that polvoron goes way back before the Spanish era, and is Arabic in origin. A member of the Polvotron Group of Polvoron Connoisseurs of the Philippines (PGPCP) even believes that its origin is not from this planet. What we know for sure is that, polvoron is HERE TO STAY. Polvoron is continuously evolving and many polvorific innovations have been created. There's polvoron with pinipig, rice, cookies & cream, cashew, ube, coffee, and many more.

(photo from: http://www.philamfood.com/Manila-Polvoron-Malunggay-Pinipig-8.46oz.html)

In this write up, we are going to review a very interesting polvorific innovation. Who would have thought that polvoron could be coated with another ancient delicacy? Chocolate! Chocolate Coated Polvoron or Chocolate Covered Polvoron (CCP), is basically polvoron that's wrapped around chocolate. PGPCP recently reviewed the three most famous and most easy to find CCPs in Manila.

Photo: Top: House of Polvoron Artisan Series Chocolate Covered Polvoron. Bottom left: Goldilocks Choco Covered Polvoron. Bottom right: ChocoVron Chocolate Covered Polvoron.

Goldilocks Choco Covered Polvoron

Goldilocks polvoron is probably the most famous polvoron in the Philippines. They have several flavors to choose from and all of them are actually good. Goldilocks CCP is the thinnest of the three. Looking at the CCP's plastic cover photo, you will notice that its size is different from the rest of the Goldilocks polvoron selection, EXCEPT the Goldilocks classic polvoron (the one wrapped with cellophane). But is the cover photo accurate? We've opened one to show you a noticeable difference.

The chocolate coating of the actual Goldie CCP is way thicker than the ones on the cover photo. PGPCP unanimously concluded that the flavor of the chocolate is subjugating the flavor of the polvoron inside; you can hardly taste the polvoron. Hashtag #UNBALANCED. This is not good because the polvoron should be the center of the masterpice, and not the chocolate. Goldilocks should consider filling in more polvoron inside, or lessen the chocolate coating to balance things out. Polvorific? No.

HOP Chocolate Covered Polvoron

Interesting cover. This polvs' packaging is serious-looking. Unlike Goldilocks and ChocoVron, HOP's CCP doesn't have a cover photo as to give a luring mystery. Is the veil hiding something beautiful? 

First of all, props to the packaging. They designed it in such a way that the polvoron inside will not be damaged when opened. It's designed to be opened easily.

Thick chocolate and plenty of polvoron inside. This is how it should be. There is #BALANCE. This is a well designed polvoron. The chocolate coating is sweet, and the polvoron inside is a bit salty to balance the taste. Once you bite it, you will first taste the sweetness of the chocolate, followed by a touch of saltiness, and then coup de graced by HOP's smooth powder. This is POLVORIFIC! If you're into polvoron, this one you got to try. 

ChocoVron Chocolate Covered Polvoron

ChocoVron has 3 kinds of chocolate coating: chocolate, white chocolate, and the other one is just a combination of the two. In this review, we used the normal chocolate coating (not the white one). There's no plain polvoron for this type of coating so we had to choose between pinipig and cookies & cream. We got the c&c since it's easier to find.

Among the three, this has the friendliest looking packaging. Bright blue, just for you! ChocoVron polvoron looks like a UFO because of its smooth circular shape. But it's not just the shape that's round. The flavor itself is well rounded too, just like the HOP's polvs.

ChocoVron's internal looks similar to HOP's CCP but they taste different from each other. This one doesn't need that salty taste to balance the chocolate and polvoron. It simply has a symmetrical yin-yang! ChocoVron's CCP is simple and fun to eat. The coating is not too sweet, and the polvoron is inside is really powdery and smooth. ChocoVron c&c CCP is POLVORIFIC! Excellent, sweet, and powdery. However, they really need to do something about the packaging. You're lucky if you open one that's in one piece.

Polvorized!