Did you know that there is such a thing as a fear for chocolates? Come to think of it, there is probably a -phobia out there of any thing. But xocolatophobia is one of my most dreaded (I would really hate to have it) because that would mean I will not be able to devour chocolates! What a lonely predicament! I’m not a chocoholic, by the way. I’m just well, a chocolate liker. I’m easy to please when it comes to chocolates. I just like the cheap ones from the Philippines. Pang-Flat Tops lang ang beauty ko. Haha! Or okay, Galaxy. But sometimes I also venture into the gourmet, luxurious world of chocolates in Godiva, Aani and Dani… ahhh smooth, decadent, and luxurious! Sometimes, I like the texture of gooey, melted chocolate (my version of liquid gold) so chocolate lounges, which are fast becoming popular in Riyadh, are a welcome addition to the Riyadh food landscape.

Dip n Dip is one of the newest chocolate lounges and cafe in Riyadh. It has a great location at the third floor of Riyadh Gallery. It’s near the food court (take the elevator near H&M and Desigual). This is the first branch in Riyadh but the third in Saudi Arabia with branches in Dhahran and Jeddah. Dip n Dip is the brainchild of Firas Daker and Amer Al Haffar whose great love for fine chocolate ushered in the opening of the first Dip N Dip kiosk in February 2009. The brand grew and soon, the franchise opened stores in Armenia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Egypt, Oman, Canada, etc. Dip n Dip is soaring high and I, for one, couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

Dip n Dip is a chocolate heaven. I think that’s an understatement considering that most of the items in their menu has Belgian chocolate in it. Seriously, why even bother putting other ingredients?! Haha! The branch of Dip n Dip in Riyadh Gallery has an indoor dining area for families. Its walls are painted in red and their tables are brown (chocolatey brown!) and another side has a unique overlapping circles pattern with lights that highlight the white chocolatey white of it (I made that up for lack of adjectives haha). Each table has a small manual “stove” for the fondue and leather cases for the utensils.

The decision on what to order usually falls to me because if I’m indecisive, you should get to know my friends. They’re the epitome of dependence (on me, haha!). Well, since I’m the one who dragged my friend here, I perused the menu feigning decision maker persona. I can choose! And chose I did. If you don’t know what to choose, Dip n Dip has devised a way to help you. This page will save you:

Close your eyes, move your finger randomly on this page and stop. Open your eyes and whatever it is that’s under your finger, that’s what you order! Easy and fun yeah?

Only I didn’t do that. Booo! Haha! I promise next time! Haha! I relied on the items with hearts beside their names because those are the staff’s picks. I’m thinking they’re probably the bestsellers. They have kid’s choices too so you know what you can suggest your kids when you eat here. That is, if they don’t point and choose faster than you can say, “What do you want?” Anyway, our picks for our brunch:

The drinks that we initially wanted were not available the day we went. The waiter said they were out of lemons for the Tea Shake and out of mint for the Chocolaty Mint Milk Shake. So we ended up with these two:

The Ice Cappuccino one came to our table on a long curvy glass and the right amount of ice. It didn’t have sugar and I would hate to put sugar granules on an iced drink because they won’t melt fast enough. However, this proved to be a good thing too because it went well with all the chocolates that we devoured during that hour. The bitterness of the coffee cut me some slack in between dips and bites of chocolatey crepes.

My friend had the StrawBana Smoothie. She took a cue from me to cut back on chocolate when it comes to our beverage so that it will not just be chocolates running in our system. It was a typical fruity and sweet smoothie.

And on to the chocolatey treats:

This is a crepe. Yes it is! Intriguing right? It’s a pouch made of crepe and the pouch is dusted with cinnamon powder and filled with apples, bananas, and cream cheese. I like how simple yet complex this Cinnamon Pouch Crepe is. The crepe itself is light and soft. The fruits inside have different textures: the green apple slices are crunchy, the banana slices are sweet and soft, and the cream cheese is tart and fluffy. Dipped in chocolate, it’s bursting with a unique flavor that alternates from sweet to a bit sour to salty to sweet. My tastebuds were on a frenzy! I love how this crepe is not just sweet all throughout.

The Chocolate Banana Waffle we ordered came to our table like this:

Literal na banana and waffle lang?! Haha! Where is the chocolate? But the waffle and banana slices looked cute in the plate though. It’s a smiley! Hahaha! After a minute, the waiter came back to our table with a small pitcher-like glass filled with melted chocolate. He raised his hand and poured the chocolate on to the waffle from a good one meter up in the air. Haha! The chocolate descended into a thin line and spiraled its way to the waiting bananas and waffle. The drizzle was amazing to behold.

Once done, the plate looked like this:

Where’s the waffle? It drowned in chocolate! Hahaha! The waffle was okay. It wasn’t something spectacular. It was just okay.

We also ordered Milk Chocolate Fondue, as this is ‘Dip n Dip’ so we wanted to dip something to the chocolate!

What’s rather sad about this fondue called Dip n Dip Mania is that they don’t have a set that has a little bit of every thing. Each ingredient comes in a bowl and it costs SR 20 each! Yes, that bowl of marshmallow is already SR 20! I was so tempted to just get the chocolate and run to Panda and get myself a pack of marshmallows for less than 5 riyals! That bowl of cream puffs is also SR 20. Maybe that I can understand. A bowl of strawberries is SR 28 each! Wow! So if for example you want a mix of fruits and sweets, you’ll eventually have SR 100 on your tab! Well, it is good for sharing so maybe you can divide it among your group. Our fondue just came in a bowl with no lighted candle beneath it so it wasn’t warm. It was just a sad-looking melted chocolate in a small cup. (Sorry, we’re used to fondue in little ceramic bowls above lighted candles so it stays warm and decadent.)

One regret we had is not opting to have the dark chocolate or the white chocolate so I can only describe the milk chocolate. Haha! The milk chocolate was not too sweet although my friend quipped that it was like Nutella, only without the hazelnut. One dish with loads of this brown elixir is enough to satiate the chocoholic in us.

We should have stopped with these orders but noooooo… we caught a glimpse of the Dipatte selections and our curiosity got the better of us. We ordered this very nice-looking Strawberry Dipatte.

It was a glass filled with white chocolate with strawberry syrup resting at the bottom and a skewer of strawberries running across the glass’ mouth like a bridge. I think we were supposed to dunk the fruit into the liquid and savor it. It was interesting, like dipping a strawberry into milk rendering it slightly sweeter. I soon swirled the syrup with the white liquid and it created a light pink drink. It tasted like strawberry milk. Your kids will love it. Haha! For us, not so much. It was like drinking warm milk for a good night’s sleep. Only during our visit, it was 11:00 in the morning and we want to stay alert and awake for the whole day.

Dip n Dip is indeed a chocolate lover’s heaven. It’s a place where you can indulge in the sweetness of food and drinks, and where you can enjoy the company of your family and friends. It gets easily full at night but it’s worth the wait especially if you’re looking for a new dessert to try. We heard that their crepe pasta is good. Yup, it looks like fettuccini; it’s shredded crepe. Visit Dip n Dip and tell us if you get hooked deep enough.

Dip n Dip

Third floor (food court near Cold Stone), Riyadh Gallery

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

W: http://www.dipndip.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dip-N-Dip-Riyadh-Gallery/389161304593349?fref=ts

Twitter: @dipndip

Instagram: @dipndip