Maison Marou
167-169 Calmette Street
District 1
+84-873005010
09:00 am – 22:00 pm
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Fifteen years ago, when I first began traveling back and forth between Vietnam and California, there were two predictable requests by my Vietnamese friends about what items I must buy in the USA and bring back for them upon my return – jeans and chocolate!
Now, finding 26″ or 27″ waist men’s jeans (the average size of my petite Vietnamese friends) in The Gap or Macy’s was always a challenge. “Oh, I think you might be able to find those in the boys section … or through our catalog sales???” Nevermind!
But, chocolate was no problem … and always a big winner when dispersed to friends back in Hanoi or Saigon. M&M’s were a certain hit! Peanut, more than plain, but either satisfied. And later, when I discovered Trader Joe’s giant one-pound-plus chocolate bars imported from Belgium … well, you could easily stack 10 of those flat chocolate treats in a suitcase!
But, times have changed. Now, Saigon’s city center is filled with new shopping malls offering designer jeans. Western clothing stores are popping up in Hanoi’s tourist center and even in Saigon’s more remote neighborhoods. Metro (Vietnam’s Costco) offers tons of western treats. And Saigon’s Ham Nghi Street has Thái Hòa and Phương Hà, to supply everything Western, including classic chocolate treats (mysteriously many carrying Costco labels, Mmmn … how does that come to be??)
And recently, the last shoe has dropped with the opening of a place in Saigon’s District 1 offering perhaps the best chocolate I’ve ever consumed!!
Hai and I were in the final week of our most recent stay in Saigon when we had the chance to enjoy a cup of coffee with our friend, James of Nomadic Notes, at Bosgaurus Coffee (more on that really really good coffee in an upcoming post.) We had a great time catching-up on each others travels and on the best Vietnamese food in town. But, perhaps most importantly, James mentioned a great chocolate shop that he described as a “must visit”.
Eighteen hours later we were there – at Maison Marou!
Wow! – trendy and hip, in a retail-boutique kind-of-way. Classic artsy wall stencils. Elegant displays of tastefully gift-wrapped boxes of what we’d soon find to be amazing chocolate treats. Industrial-chique chocolate blending machinery seemingly operational (perhaps, simply decor??)
But, with all that visual chocolate splash – how was the chocolate?? Well, I’m pleased to report – it’s the absolute best!
Hai and I perused the glass display case filled with works of chocolate art – How many can we eat!?!
I’ll take the chocolate tart. Hai opted for the passion fruit/white chocolate mouse. We negotiated a sharing arrangement.
OMG! Rich, delicious, creamy, delicate, yet densely-rich-flavored. And the perfectly textured tart crust – a dream dessert!
We savored the moment – more like the hour – sipped on our excellent cappuccino and agreed the good life had fully arrived in Saigon.
Luckily, we had a chance to chat with one of the founders, Vincent, originally from France.
He explained his “typical” life story – moving from France to upstate New York; living there 27 years; becoming a USA citizen; and shortly thereafter, opening an amazingly excellent chocolate boutique in Saigon, Vietnam, producing over 400 pounds of chocolate each month! What?
Actually, reading the full and amazing stories surrounding this wonderful chocolate enterprise and its founders and workers is almost as wonderful as consuming their scrumptious treats.
So, if you have a sweet tooth, need to more than satisfy your chocolate addiction, or perhaps pick-up a gift box or two of amazing chocolate treats for new Vietnamese friends or old family members back home, add Maison Marou to your Top-Five Saigon tourist destinations — right after Notre Dame, Ben Thanh Market, The Reunification palace, Hai’s Restaurant, and the War Remnants Museum. Actually, put it BEFORE the War Remnants Museum.
Oh, and by the way, apparently another Maison Marou will be appearing in Hanoi this year!
UPDATE – February, 2018: If you’re a chocoholic, drop everything and get here! We’ve been here twice in recent weeks and itching to get back soon. The coffee is good, the chocolate excellent, and the chocolate desserts, supreme!
UPDATE – January, 2020: We simply can’t get enough of the chocolate desserts here. It just gets better each time we visit.
UPDATE – FEBRUARY, 2023: BETTER THAN EVER!
Maison Marou
167-169 Calmette Street
District 1
+84-873005010
09:00 am – 22:00 pm