Chocolate review: Auro Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs

We were running low on our supply of high quality chocolates so I decided to purchase some online. Fortunately, Auro chocolates has an online store and though they didn't deliver to our place in Rizal, I could have the items delivered to my office in Quezon City.

Auro's Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs comes in a pink packaging

The back contains all the information about the chocolate and the company.

There's a nice story here about the cacao, which is grown in Davao in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Nutrition information and info on the ingredients are here. The chocolate claims to have a minimum of 64% cacao. It is also certified as Halal.

Opening the package reveals the chocolate to be sealed inside a foil.

This is another delightful-to-eat chocolate from Auro. You get to enjoy chewing on the cacao bits as you savor the 64% dark chocolate. The wife and I were saying that we thought they already overtook Malagos in chocolate making and perhaps even quality-wise. We based this on the taste, the variety of chocolate products Auro has over Malagos, and Auro's winning awards, too, for their chocolates.

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First 'dine in' in a while - CBTL Robinsons Antipolo

I arrived early for the supermarket and ended up waiting for it to open at the nearby coffee shop. CBTL opens early (7:00 AM compared to Starbucks, which opens at 8:00 AM) so it was a no-brainer. I actually prefer going to the CBTL near our place than Starbucks though I used to hang out more at Starbucks for its more work-appropriate set-up. I thought CBTL's set-up here is more for meet-ups and lounging.

I had the cafe all to myself.

I already had my early breakfast so I settled for something that is to me a light meal. I got a couple of brownies to take home.

 

Well technically it wasn't a "dine-in" because it wasn't dinner. I had the option to have my meal outdoors but since there were no other customers, I decided to enjoy my food and drink inside the cafe. The staff just asked me to present my vaccination card as a requirement for those staying in the cafe.

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The Seiko Tubbataha diver watch

Seiko released a Philippine market exclusive divers watch under its Prospex line. This one is a limited release of 1,000 units. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of purchases for investment and resell purposes (Watches now are being sold at upwards of 32,000 pesos for the 'brand new in box' or BNIB. That's a profit of at least 8,000 pesos per watch for those who are basically scalping them.). Fortunately, I was able to reserve one upon the prodding of the wife who got me the watch for my 48th birthday. She picked it up and selected the number.

The watch got its name from the Tubbataha reefs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Philippines. It is a popular dive spot and has a very rich marine life inspiring the colors for this watch.

Side view showing the gold screw down crown

The other side view showing how big the watch is.

The bracelet is stainless steel with the gold details. Personally, I thought they could have spared the watch the gold links, hands and crown.

Close-up of the dial showing also the gold hands.

The back shows the model number and the number of this watch among the 1,000 units produced. This is # 0183/1000.

Recent wrist shot

Wrist shot the first time I brought the watch to the beach. I got the watch as a birthday gift from the wife last year and was supposed to take it on our annual trip to the beach. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way and changed a lot of our plans.

An underwater shot of sorts taken as we enjoyed the pool at a nice resort in Laiya, Batangas last June.

Another wrist shot as we took an evening walk along the beach.

This watch is big at 42mm. It is also heavy compared to my other divers including several Seikos that were also released for the Philippine market more a couple of decades ago - the SKX399 and the SKX401. The watch is powered by a Cal. 4R36 movement that runs at 21,600 A/h with a power reserve of about 40 hours. The watch has a hacking feature meaning the second hand also stops when you adjust the time.

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