I have a friend called Jenny, and she is one of the kindest, sweetest, and strongest women I have ever known (or could hope to know). It’s probably just as well that cloning doesn’t really exist yet, because if it did, everyone would want a copy of this girl.
Once, several years ago, we were sitting on couches in our uni library when I told Jenny, in a perfectly calm and rational voice, that I liked the way the BBC Robin Hood looked in his pants. Jenny realised that this was the closest I could bring myself to admitting that I thought a man had a nice bottom, and then she laughed so hard she cried.
More recently, Jenny demonstrated her deep understanding of who I am by bringing me back a Vosges chocolate bar from England. To truly understand the generosity of this action, you need to know that Jenny had rushed to England on a last-minute trip to visit her sick grandmother, and had spent most of her time there in hospital.
The fact that she saw and bought this chocolate for me, simply because it was the craziest flavour she’d ever seen and she knew I’d love it, meant rather a lot.
And now you get to benefit from her kind-heartedness too.
Vosges Naga Bar
As you can see from the package above, this chocolate bar is comprised of 45% milk chocolate, coconut, and sweet Indian curry powder. I’ve previously tried these flavours in Theo’s Coconut Curry bar, so I was eager to see how Vosges’ version compared.
When I unwrapped the bar, I was greeted with a lovely red-brown sheen to the chocolate and an aroma marked by notes of caramel, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Already it seemed that the curry powder here was more on the sweet than savoury side of the spice spectrum, as opposed to Theo’s Phinney 3400 bar which made use of intensely savoury spices like turmeric and fenugreek.
The first flavours I noted upon nibbling this bar were cream and toffee in the milk chocolate itself, and cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves in the curry powder. Vanilla also came through nicely, lending another level of sweetness to the overall taste.
The curry powder in Vosges Naga bar is certainly noticeable and distinct, but in comparison to Theo’s Coconut Curry bar it is warmer and more subtle in spirit.
The texture has a pleasantly fudge-like quality, punctuated occasionally by small shreds of coconut. As my friendship with coconut is akin to two seven-year-old girls tentatively sharing their Barbies one afternoon then steadfastly ignoring one another the next, I was glad that the coconut was present but not aggressive in flavour.
All in all, I really enjoyed this Vosges Naga Bar. Slightly less hot and spicy in its curry flavours than Theo’s version, Vosges’ chocolate nevertheless provided pleasantly intriguing notes of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla, caramel, and cream.
But you know what? Even if this chocolate bar had tasted like burnt sardines, I still would’ve loved it for what it represented to me: kindness, friendship, and the best J-girl in the world.
OOOOH, this is going straight to the pool room. Straight to the High Fidelity Top 5 list of Wayfaring Chocolate bars that I want to try.
Gotta love The Castle references!
Louise, while this might not be readily available in Australia, it might be a relief to know it’s easily, easily available in the US, if you’re planning a visit there anytime soon..that is to say, it’s definitely more available than Vestri!
Yes, we should all have a Jenny
.
PS that fudge-like chocolate bar sounds divine.
I’d take a Jenny over all the chocolate in the world
oh this sounds like a great flavor to me!
It is!
Interesting flavour! I’m not a fan of milk chocolate, but I could try a dark version if there is one
Maria, milk chocolate is my least favourite kind of chocolate too, so luckily for the both of us I have a lot of dark chocolate Vosges coming up!
Such a unique chocolate bar! I could totaly get down with those flavors.
Vosges is fantastic at coming up with crazy-but-tasty flavours for chocolate
I also loved the balance in the Naga bar, and it has made me think about things I can make with chocolate and curry powder. I’ve contemplated brownies with a curry cream cheese swirl.
Also, I want to make a bar called “The Best J-Girl In The World” with burnt sardines.
Hahaha! Please do both of these! Please please please!
(Though, for the record, the real “taste” of Jenny would be choc-chip shortbread or yummy stir-fries, definitely not sardines!)
This flavor sounds fabulous. I’ve had a few of the Theo bars too – they’re yummy too.
Sweet of your friend to bring you back some chocolate
She’s tremendously sweet
I love Theo and Vosges – if only they were available in Australia!
I would love to try a chocolate bar with curry in it
Well, you’re the one living in the country that stocks both Vosges and Theo curry chocolates!
haha…i think i need to find me some BBC Robin Hood!
that has to be the most unique flavor of chocolate i’ve ever heard of. not sure if i’d have the guts to try it, but then again, i usually don’t discriminate when it comes to chocolate so who knows.
Oh, Angela, you do. You do. The guy who plays the sheriff is Lily Allen’s dad, too
Hmmm, you know, this might not be the weirdest chocolate I’ve ever had
It really is tasty, though, so if you ever see it you should snap it up!
Hahahaha! I love the story at the beginning about you commenting on Robin’s tooshy! That’s so something my little sis would say in such a round about way. Makes me smile
What can I say? I’m a lady.
I want a friend like Jenny too
She sounds very cool to bring you back this cool chokky bar 
She is tremendously cool. But you can’t have her; she’s mine!
Jenny sounds amazing!! You’re extremely lucky to have someone like that in your life.
Everytime I visit your blog I discover so much about chocolate!! Curry powder and chocolate…who would have thought!
I know, I’m very lucky
Lucky to have met you too, though!
Teehee, perhaps I should rename my blog The Chocolate Encyclopaedia?
of course you would have loved it however it tasted because of it what it represented about your friendship but I am sure you were glad to be able to honestly say how much you loved the taste – sounds lovely – I screwed up my nose at the cover but those spices sound delish
And re coconut – I feel about it the way that sylvia feels about her dolly – having it at my side is great comfort and cheer
I love your metaphor for coconut! A more harmonious and constant relationship than mine, for sure
And yep, absolutely, it was nice to be able to genuinely praise this chocolate! It’s definitely an intriguing one…
Awww, this is lovely in both senses of the word – friendship and flavour
Absolutely!
I want to try this curry chocolate. What a nice friend
Very thoughtful.
It’s definitely worth trying
I feel the same way about meals-they’re always fun because you have them with the people that you love!
Absolutely!
What a great friend! But that bar looks and sounds amazing! I bet we don’t have it here but if we do… I’m on it.
Vosges is American, and I used to see its chocolate all over the place (e.g. Whole Foods, gourmet stores, etc) when I was in the States, so I’m sure you could find this one!
wow – what a unique choccie bar!!
I know! If only if was available in Australia!
Ha ha! curry chocolate, that’s very unusual…!
It is! But it’s also very tasty tasty tasty
I’m happy you have a friend like this! It’s the greatest gift!
It is indeed!
Curried chocolate?!?! Where can I find a friend like that?!
In Australia… once again, you should’ve come to Melbourne!
What a sweet post
You have a lovely friend there! & friends who bring you chocolate are extra special.
Heidi xo
p.s. I love the name of this bar…”Vosges Naga”
Absolutely! Extra special indeed
The chocolate is pretty special too!
Ooh, that chocolate sounds intriguing!
Intriguing… and super tasty.
you always have the best review on chocolate! Seriously! I am so curious now!
Thanks Anh! I try
Oooh, do you reckon there’s a chocolate bar that’s flavoured with burnt sardines? It’s so wacky it might just work! Or at least, provide you with an interesting blog entry.
OMG! Agnes, I just discovered that Zotter (the company whose chocolate we tried) actually does to a chocolate with trout or a similar fish in it. WE MUST FIND!
How nice is your friend Jenny! What an interesting chocolate bar as well. Never heard of curry flavouring and chocolate going well together..
In some ways it’s not too bizarre, if you think about mole?