Aussie cafe serves chocolate on steroids #wanderfood

If you've ever thought, "Gee, chocolate bars would be great if they weren't cluttered up with nuts and caramel," then Max Brenner's is the place for you. The Australian chain of chocolate cafes (which also has shops in New York, Philadelphia and several other non-Aussie places) has the genius to serve chocolate in its most unadorned form: the suckao.

The suckao costs $6.50 Australian and it's worth every penny. Basically, it's a mug of milk kept warm over a small candle, served with a small dish of high-grade chocolate chips. Stir the chocolate into the milk. Wait for it to melt into a gooey mess reminiscent of the icing you used to lick out of grandma's cake bowl. Inhale through the small metal straw, which doubles as a spoon. Repeat until your head explodes.


Feeling guilty about all that sugar and fat? You could always finish your meal with strawberries dipped in, well, chocolate.


FacingTheStreet takes no responsibility for your ensuing dental bills or sugar crash. Just enjoy the fun while it lasts.

P.S.: If you like reading about food around the world, check out the links posted each week at WanderFood Wednesday!

World's top 10 ferry rides

I've long been a fan of B.C. Ferries' scenic routes, ever since I took my first trip from Vancouver to Victoria (well, from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, if you want to get technical) over two decades ago. And my enthusiasm was rekindled earlier this month when I had the chance to hop aboard several ferries on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. The scenery rivalled almost anything you'd see from the deck of a pricey cruise ship. Just check out this view along the route from Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay.

It turns out my fellow members of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) agree with me. The B.C. Ferries made SATW's new list of the world's top 10 ferry rides. Here's the whole list, in order of popularity.

1. Star Ferry in Hong Kong
2. Ferries from Sausalito to San Francisco, California
3. Staten Island Ferry, New York Harbour
4. Washington State Ferries, Puget Sound to the San Juan Islands
5. British Columbia Ferry System, including Vancouver to Victoria
6. Ferry from Sydney Harbour to Manly, Australia
This is the only other ferry on the list I've had the chance to try, and SATW was spot on with this choice. Here's a shot I snapped en route to Manly in late 2007.


And here's the gorgeous beach I found in Manly.



7. The Ferry System of the Greek Isles
8. The “Blue Canoes” of the Alaska State Ferry System
9. “Norway in a Nutshell” tour and ferry ride
10. Ferry from Mallaig to Isle of Skye, Scotland

I love ferries because they let you see much of the same scenery you'd pass on a tourist boat cruise, at a fraction of the cost and without the stupefyingly dull taped commentary. ("And on your right you'll see the [words lost due to static on ancient P.A. system], where local magnate Horace P. Bogardus once raised prize guinea fowl.") You also get the chance to rub shoulders with locals, backpackers and all sorts of other fun people. On some ferries, you might even find yourself camping on deck overnight. You can't travel much more like a local than that.

Disclosure: I travelled to Sydney courtesy of Tourism Australia and to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast courtesy of the Vancouver Coast & Mountains Tourism Region.