Restaurant food menu

Do not, I repeat - do not visit this chocolate restaurant, especially if you’re a sweet tooth like me! You will become an addict in no time, and spend all your income on tickets to Moscow!

“Shokoladnica” is the queen of sweets. More specific, a queen of chocolate. When you’re there for the first time - promise me you’ll order the chocolate pancakes. Or should I say - THE pancakes?

They are the Alpha and Omega of chocolate, the pride of Moscow and the ultimate diet slayers. My curse and blessing. My everything.

Once you taste them - there is no going back. You will fall prey to the dark side forever. Dark chocolate side, that is.

As one of my friends put it - “too bad we’re not allowed to lick the plates after we’re finished”. Believe me, you’ll feel the same once you’re done!

But that’s not all! There are all of sorts of pancakes you can have, with meat, cheese, caviar, salmon, mushrooms and whatever else that comes to your mind. But start with the chocolate. You promised, remember?

Supplement the pancakes with delicious salads and soups - and you’ll be on the seventh heaven. But wait - we forgot about the dessert!

First, a few words about the tea. “Shokoladnica” is the place to find the most exotic kinds of it, so go on and experiment! Would you like to taste “The Flowers Drawn on The Silk”? Or perhaps “The Dragon’s Well”? Maybe “Pu Erh”?

If it sounds too exotic, choose between green, black, fruit and berry tea - I’m sure you’ll find something you like. And have you seen the cakes? Made of cheese, honey, delicious souffle and, of course, chocolate, they are mmmmm-hmmm!

If you’re looking to have a great evening in Moscow- “Shokoladnica” is the place to go. You will leave this chocolate restaurant knowing one thing for sure - you’re definitely coming back!

Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons opened at Crown Casino with great reviews and very fair prices. With that combination in mind we headed for the restaurant. There are no bookings so my group just rocked up for Sunday lunch.

We came to the restaurant but it looked close. We saw the menu on its stand at the front door but the doors were closed and it looked closed inside. You can’t see inside either as the outside is covered in art of old Italian buildings.

We walked passed it and around the corner. No open doors. We walked back to where the menu was on the stand and peered through the glass. We couldn’t see anything through the art on the doors. We looked around again. It looked closed. We decided to try the doors maybe they are open, why would they be closed? The giant glass doors opened and inside the restaurant was full.

This didn’t impress any of us. They should have the doors open inviting people in not keep them guessing. I wonder how many people wanted to go to the restaurant but seeing it all closed up thought the restaurant was closed and went elsewhere. This was the first of many disappointments .

The decor inside looks like large bathroom tiles from the seventies. The waiters look like scientist but are actually dressed as butchers. They wore jeans with a butcher coat. It is meant to represent the way the butchers in the old days wore the coats to prepare the meat. Hmmm…

On the table there are cutlery buckets which fit into each table. The knives almost look like machetes. The prongs on the forks were incredibly long. Everytime I tried to eat the sausage I ordered I kept biting those damn prongs!

The menu is on paper place mats. It is not easy to read. It is a little confusing considering the headings are in Italian.

I wanted something Italian and something different to what I normally order so I tried the G,A & Sons own Pork Sausages, Made from 100% Black Berkshire Free Range Pigs, Lentils and Pearl Onions.

My friend tried the Orecchiette Pasta, Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and Basil and my other friend tried the Hand Dived Wild Hervey Bay Scallops with Watercress, Radish Salad, Lemon, Green Chilli and Garlic.

It was disappointing.

My meal was served in a red enamel dish like the bushmen have in their napsacks in the outback. The meal was made for a truck driver with no class, it was all slop. It was three large sausages with lentils heaped on and three onions. It could almost be cheap prison food. The meal was incredibly salty and the sausages were dry.

The Hervey Bay Scallops with the the salad was poor. There were five scallops with scrapings of a little carrot, radish and juices. You come hungry and you leave hungry.

Unfortunately dessert wasn’t any better.

It’s always hard when you are lactose intolerant to find a suitable dessert to eat. I chose Chocolate Meringue, House Made Clotted Cream and Spiced Strawberry Compote.

It wasn’t a wise choice.

It was incredibly inelegant to eat. I was chewing on the meringue like a cow chews grass. It was hard to cut pieces with my fork. I was terrified my meringue would go flying across the room every time I tried to cut a piece to eat. The strawberries did not taste right. A few hours later the cream turned my stomach.

My friends decided to share the “Zuppa Inglese” My Trifle which is meant to be shared by two people or more. It wasn’t sweet. It was almost savoury. Maybe they should start a new category and put it under that. It certainly needed to be put under something.

And that is our first and last outing to Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons.

If you have a garden or a lawn, chances are you have encountered stinging nettles. Their tiny hairs sting when you brush up against them and leave lingering burning sensation, making the plant a major garden pest. Stinging nettles dunked in boiling water, however, lose their irritant toxins. You can get even with your stinging nettles by turning them into a vitamin-rich and therapeutic herbal addition to natural home cooking.

While brushing up against stinging nettles causes a rash, eating nettles speeds the healing of rashes, especially those caused by food allergy. The greens contain caffeic malic acid, which stops a series of chemical steps through which histamine causes the release of cytokines, inflammation-causing chemicals involved in great range of irritant processes in the body ranging from allergy to cancer. Eating nettle greens also encourages urination and is a practical remedy for fluid retention.

Handle nettles with gloves before cooking. Be sure not to bring the nettle in contact with your eyes. Blanching the greens in boiling water for 1-2 minutes removes their sting. Purees of stinging nettle leaf tips are park-bench green and make an interesting alternative to spinach in raviolis, frittatas, and omelets. Nettles are available as close as your yard, or in many green markets.

Stinging Nettle Soup This puree of stinging nettles will be almost neon green, a bright spring tonic soup. If you suffer spring allergies, this soup may bring you relief.

1/2 pound (225 g) of stinging nettles (about a quart)
6 cups (about 225 g) of green Swiss chard, stems removed, chopped
1 cup sliced onion
1 small potato, thinly sliced
6 cups (1200 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
2 (30 g) tablespoons butter
1/2 cup (120 ml) cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring 3 quarts (about 3 liters) of water to a rolling boil. Handling stinging nettle greens with gloves, rinse them in cold water and then immerse them in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and chop coarsely. Remove any tough stems.

2. Melt the butter in a stockpot and add potato and onion. Cook over medium heating, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the chard, salt, and stock. Bring to a boil and add nettles. Simmer until potato is so soft that it cannot be picked up with a fork, about 20 minutes.

3. Puree the soup until smooth, then return to stove. Add cream, heat until hot, and season with salt and pepper.

Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons opened at Crown Casino with great reviews and very fair prices. With that combination in mind we headed for the restaurant. There are no bookings so my group just rocked up for Sunday lunch.

We came to the restaurant but it looked close. We saw the menu on its stand at the front door but the doors were closed and it looked closed inside. You can’t see inside either as the outside is covered in art of old Italian buildings.

We walked passed it and around the corner. No open doors. We walked back to where the menu was on the stand and peered through the glass. We couldn’t see anything through the art on the doors. We looked around again. It looked closed. We decided to try the doors maybe they are open, why would they be closed? The giant glass doors opened and inside the restaurant was full.

This didn’t impress any of us. They should have the doors open inviting people in not keep them guessing. I wonder how many people wanted to go to the restaurant but seeing it all closed up thought the restaurant was closed and went elsewhere. This was the first of many disappointments .

The decor inside looks like large bathroom tiles from the seventies. The waiters look like scientist but are actually dressed as butchers. They wore jeans with a butcher coat. It is meant to represent the way the butchers in the old days wore the coats to prepare the meat. Hmmm…

On the table there are cutlery buckets which fit into each table. The knives almost look like machetes. The prongs on the forks were incredibly long. Everytime I tried to eat the sausage I ordered I kept biting those damn prongs!

The menu is on paper place mats. It is not easy to read. It is a little confusing considering the headings are in Italian.

I wanted something Italian and something different to what I normally order so I tried the G,A & Sons own Pork Sausages, Made from 100% Black Berkshire Free Range Pigs, Lentils and Pearl Onions.

My friend tried the Orecchiette Pasta, Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and Basil and my other friend tried the Hand Dived Wild Hervey Bay Scallops with Watercress, Radish Salad, Lemon, Green Chilli and Garlic.

It was disappointing.

My meal was served in a red enamel dish like the bushmen have in their napsacks in the outback. The meal was made for a truck driver with no class, it was all slop. It was three large sausages with lentils heaped on and three onions. It could almost be cheap prison food. The meal was incredibly salty and the sausages were dry.

The Hervey Bay Scallops with the the salad was poor. There were five scallops with scrapings of a little carrot, radish and juices. You come hungry and you leave hungry.

Unfortunately dessert wasn’t any better.

It’s always hard when you are lactose intolerant to find a suitable dessert to eat. I chose Chocolate Meringue, House Made Clotted Cream and Spiced Strawberry Compote.

It wasn’t a wise choice.

It was incredibly inelegant to eat. I was chewing on the meringue like a cow chews grass. It was hard to cut pieces with my fork. I was terrified my meringue would go flying across the room every time I tried to cut a piece to eat. The strawberries did not taste right. A few hours later the cream turned my stomach.

My friends decided to share the “Zuppa Inglese” My Trifle which is meant to be shared by two people or more. It wasn’t sweet. It was almost savoury. Maybe they should start a new category and put it under that. It certainly needed to be put under something.

And that is our first and last outing to Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons.