Typically, you’ll see Filipino street food skewered on a stick, wrapped in banana leaf, or handed to you in a plastic. Wrapped and tucked inside a box of fine chocolate? Not so much.
Unless it’s by Auro Chocolate, as their latest collection takes inspiration from the flavors, textures, and even familiar packaging of beloved street-side snacks and gives them an unexpected yet exciting chocolate spin.
Spreading the gospel through Chocolate
Turning to Filipino culture for inspiration is nothing new for the proudly Filipino brand. Before even hitting the streets, they already had released a Fiesta Collection, which put iconic festivals and regional ingredients at the center of its chocolates, with ingredients sourced directly from the provinces they represented.
More recently, culinary director chef Leti Moreau, who works as a consultant for Auro, pushed the idea even further with their Savory Chocolate Bonbon Collection, where beloved home-cooked favorites such as kare-kare, sinigang, lumpiang Shanghai, and pork barbecue have been transformed into decadent bonbons.
Stretching the limits this far may sound too experimental and crazy, but there is a method behind the madness, says Mark Ocampo, co-founder and managing director.
“In our creative process, we always look inward. We ask ourselves how we can take well-loved Filipino classics—whether cultural celebrations, culinary traditions, or daily food rituals—and bring a modern, playful, and incredibly delicious approach to them.”
The goal, they add, is to use craft chocolate as another way to celebrate Filipino culture, heritage, and the people behind it.
Why Filipino Street Food Was Next
Heading the street food route next gave them plenty of delicious possibilities.
“Street food is one of the most raw, authentic, and beloved aspects of everyday Filipino life,” Auro shares. “We wanted to capture that nostalgic, comforting energy and translate it into a fun, proudly Filipino chocolate experience.”
The big question during their research and development was simple: How do you chocolify street food?
Rather than merely borrowing flavors, the team broke down what makes eating street food so satisfying in the first place. They looked at textures, crunch, molten fillings, and even the playful way these snacks are enjoyed, then considered how those qualities could be recreated through chocolate.
The creative process extended all the way to presentation. “We designed the packaging to mimic how these street foods are traditionally served and wrapped on the street, making the unboxing as nostalgic and immersive as the first bite,” Ocampo says.
In other words, Auro didn’t just want its chocolates to taste nostalgic. It wanted them to feel familiar, too.
From the Street to the Chocolate Box
There’s the Balut Chocolate, their take on the widely popular “Kinder Egg.” Made to look just like a duck egg using two types of chocolate—fine white and milk, the decadent snack hides a surprise within: an edible mini chocolate duck.
The Pugo To-Go comes in a transparent cup, which allows you to peek into the mound of quail eggs cradled inside. Pop one in the mouth and release the molten caramel center upon biting. The cashew praline crunch lends a textural contrast.
Finally, the Wow Isaw, shaped much like the iconic grilled offal skewer, is an orange-tinged chocolate lollipop. It is filled with a barbecue caramel with a lovely butter biscuit center.
With this collections as with the others that came before it, Auro moves closer to achieving its goal of sharing Filipino food and culture stories worldwide. Currently, their products are exported to more than 50 countries, with 103 international awards to its name. Its cacao origins have also been recognized three times among the world’s best at the Cacao of Excellence Awards.
Street food may have been designed to be eaten on the go, but in Auro’s hands, some of its most familiar flavors have found their way into a chocolate box.
The Filipino Street Food Collection is currently available at Auro Chocolate Cafés, through the brand’s official online channels, and exclusively at Mitsukoshi Fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Auro Chocolate is an internationally awarded tree-to-bar chocolate brand. They promoted themselves as “proudly Filipino” by offering fine Filipino cacao beans, ingredients and other retail products that highlight unique local flavors.
Their name comes from two things: chemical symbol for gold from the periodic table and the Filipino and Spanish word for gold “oro.” Their name is mean present Philippine cacao to be as precious and valuable as gold.
Auro Chocolate Cafe has Philippine branches in BGC, Taft, Makati, MOA Square, and Poblacion (Auro Lab by Chef Leti Moreau).
The Filipino Street Food Collection is their line of chocolate products that take inspiration from famous Filipino street foods. The products features in this collection include Wow! Isaw, Pugo To-Go, and Balut Chocolate.
They are currently available in at their Auro Chocolate Café branches, through the brand’s official online channels, and exclusively at Mitsukoshi Fresh.
