Let's admit chocolate isn't India's forte. Although delicious-looking chocolate desserts are available all over, they hardly taste as their look would suggest. Strange aftertaste, funny consistency and excessive sweetness are common, and although there are exceptions, chocolate often ends up being a disappointment.

So you can imagine our joy when we stumbled upon a whole boutique full of truly delicious chocolate, perfect both in taste and presentation: Choco-là in Pondicherry.

Started in 2003, the chocolate boutique had to go through a lot of hard work and difficulties (from getting the right ingredients to succeeding in temperature control) to finally become what it is now - a quintessential shop for all chocolate lovers.

Choco-là offers a variety of desserts, pralines and chocolate bars. We recommend the orangettes and the pralines - the desserts are good too, but they can't compete with the plain, delicious chocolate they serve. But this is if you really want to be diffucult: everything inside Choco-là is a treat, from the hot chocolate to our favourite, the cricket set made of chocolate.

If you are in Pondicherry and feel indulgent, don't waste another minute and go have a little bit (or a lot) of truly good chocolate. Choco-là is also probably your best option for dessert in town: its delights are better than any dessert we had in the city's restaurants, so leave a bit of room at the end of your meal, have a walk to Mission Street, and enjoy.