Chocolate is always a good gift for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, the editor of visitbeijing.com.cn would like to recommend a special chocolate store.

In 1998, two Singaporean lawyers Lyn Lee and John Yip manifested their love of chocolate into a dedicated store, the artfully named Awfully Chocolate. Eleven years on, Singapore is home to 6 branches, and the brand has spread to Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Shanghai and Beijing in mainland China.

The décor of the branch in Dongzhimen's Raffles City is minimalist white throughout with just four stools to accommodate those who opt to eat in-store (the majority of Awfully Chocolate’s clientele are of the take-away variety).

The simple menu comprises indulgent chocolate cake with three varieties of double-layer filling: 'All Chocolate Cake’ (140RMB for 6”), ‘Chocolate Banana Cake’ (170RMB for 6”) and ‘Chocolate Rum & Cherry Cake’ (180RMB for 6”). All are also available in 8, 10 and 12 inch sizes although these must be pre-ordered two days in advance.

This is rounded off by “Hei” (black) chocolate ice cream [25RMB for a single scoop, 45RMB for a double scoop or (for dedicated chocoholics) 80RMB for a pint], which we sampled and gave a resolute thumbs-up.

The real icing on the cake (ahem) however, are the soon to be launched chocolate ‘moon cakes’, which will be available from the beginning of September right up until the mid-autumn festival which this year lands on October 3rd.

For all those who are less than keen on the taste of traditional moon cake but fervently wish to keep the traditions of the festival alive, these are your answer. Awfully Chocolate’s take on the celebratory cake is quite ingenious (not to mention delicious), involving a solid block of cake-shaped chocolate with soft and hard chocolate layers encasing crunchy biscuit-sprinkled chocolate.

They come elegantly boxed in sets of four (128RMB) and are, as Teresa noted, “a perfect gift for friends or colleagues as a modern and fun way to celebrate the mid-autumn festival”.

It’s easy to see why Awfully Chocolate is so successful. Its high quality fare (imported all the way from Belgium) will delight Beijing’s resident chocoholics and its indulgent nod to one of China’s favorite festivals is sure to convert even the most hardened of traditionalists.

Location: B1-05a, Raffles City, Dongzhimen, Beijing,China

Chinese address: 北京东直门来福士广场B1-05a

Tel: 010-8409 8452