Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate in Orpington

Hot Chocolate at Crispy Dosa Orpington is made to order with steamed milk, whisked until it is smooth and thick. It is the drink for whoever at the table does not want coffee or chai, and it is the one children ask for first.

We will be straight about it. Hot chocolate is not a South Indian tradition and we are not going to invent one for it. It sits on the menu because families ask for it and because a restaurant should have something for everybody.

There is one real connection, though, and it is a good one. Cocoa is grown in India, and almost entirely in the south. Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the four producing states.

It is usually planted as an intercrop, growing in the shade beneath coconut and arecanut palms, often in the same hill districts that produce coffee. The two hot drinks on this menu have more in common than they look.

Steaming rather than boiling is what keeps the milk sweet and stops it catching on the pan. The whisking is what stops a skin forming on top. Both matter more than people expect.

The result is deep and cocoa-forward rather than simply sugary, with the weight that only properly steamed milk gives. It arrives thick, and it drinks closer to a dessert than to a hot drink.

Younger guests order it almost automatically. So does anyone finishing a meal who wants something sweet rather than something bitter, and it works in place of dessert as much as alongside it.

At £6.49 it is the most expensive drink on our hot list, and that is worth saying plainly. If you want something lighter, our Filter Coffee and Masala Tea are both £3.99 and both are made fresh in the same way.

It is worth telling our team about any dietary requirement when you order. Chocolate and cocoa products almost always contain soya lecithin, and we would rather check the pack with you than guess.

It is also one of the few drinks on our list that works as well in the middle of the afternoon as it does after a meal. Orpington High Street in January is reason enough on its own.

Order it to dine in at 273 High Street, take it away, or add it to a delivery order alongside your dosas.

A Rich Finish to a South Indian Meal

Order Hot Chocolate in Orpington at Crispy Dosa Orpington for the richest drink on our menu, made to order rather than stirred from a sachet. Everything we serve is 100% pure vegetarian. Tell our team about any allergy or dairy-free requirement when you order. Call 01689 492201 to book a table, or add it to your online order.

What Goes Into Our Hot Chocolate

• real chocolate
• fresh milk, steamed
• sugar (to taste)