“Against all odds, you know, these growers who were at one time among thousands— and now we’re down to really a handful of growers— the best plots are the ones that have survived… the ones… that have remained really are the ones that are worth keeping.” -Ning-Geng Ong, Founder of Chocolate Concierge For over a …

“The Malaysian grower cannot survive at prices that are coming out of Africa. The living standards are different; labor costs are different.” Ning-Geng Ong, Founder of Chocolate Concierge Malaysian origin chocolates are about as common as Cambodian or Hawaiian chocolates. That is, they exist— but you can’t really find them unless you go to the …

Flying into Kuala Lumpur, all you can see from above are oil palm trees, an emerald green that’s quietly choking Malaysian forests. These trees bear the fruits from which palm oil is extracted, and they don’t invite company, a fact which has proved fatal for Malaysia’s biodiversity. The land surrounding Kuala Lumpur used to be …

Malaysian Borneo is an absolutely stunning place. I can’t speak to any of the rest of the island, as I’ve never been, but I was floored by the island’s natural beauty— and the historical abundance of cacao. Malaysia’s been growing cocoa for over two centuries, with the first trees blooming on peninsular Malaysia. These days, …

The city of George Town on Penang Island is known for being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a foodie’s paradise. While there are plenty of local Indian, Malay, and Chinese food options, what we really came to check out was the chocolate. Penang has a relatively small number of chocolate cafes, but considering how …

In Kuala Lumpur, chocolate shops are numerous and varied in nature. The only thing they really have in common is that all of them carry chocolate made in Malaysia, mostly using Malaysian cocoa. Similar to Tokyo, most Kuala Lumpur chocolate cafes & shops are found in malls scattered across the city. Unfortunately, there’s no single …