Chocolate

Chocolate, eh? And on Valentine’s Day, no less. And yet all I can think of is a nightclub in Beijing.

Chocolate. An unforgettable underground cavern of rococo gaudiness. Gold toilets. Painted ceilings. Gilt everything. A Russian club filled with scantily clad prostitutes from the former Soviet states. Mirrors everywhere. Strobe lights. Dudes doing coke and ketamine in the corners. And also, a midget for a doorman. Truly unforgettable.

“Remember Chocolate in Beijing?” I asked a friend yesterday.

“Of course I do. What a dumb question,” he replies. “The midget at the door. Gold toilets. Mongolian whores. Stuffed cabbage. It had everything. And that feeling of dread when you left and the sun was out.”

“YES. TO ALL OF THE ABOVE,” I replied. “Always. The sun was always out when you came up that escalator. Always.”

Also chocolate: this cake. A Bill Knapps chocolate cake. If you know, you know.

#chocolate for this Valentine’s Day prompt from @thegfw #gfw28deliciousdays2023