India, Aug. 29 -- To describe Manam Chocolate's second outpost in the capital as a modern chocolaterie is like calling Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just a candy story. The newly opened store at the junction of Saket and Malviya Nagar is bold and imaginative, an apt love letter to South Delhi at its most restless and pulsing with ambition, written in tempered chocolate and artisanal ganache. Even walking in to grab a pick-me-up after a bad day leaves you wanting to stay and explore, a lingering feeling like the final note of a dark single-origin bar.

Before stepping inside, let's zoom out. Chocolatier Chaitanya Muppala grew up in Hyderabad, heir to a vision for Indian craft chocolate largely unknown to outsiders beyond mass-produced ...