PASSERSBY walk past the post-modern skyscraper in downtown Shanghai, its sheer lines and random geometrical windows giving way to several traditional shikumen (stone-gated) buildings spread around its base.

While this is not an uncommon sight in the city, in this case it is truly mouth-watering architecture - as the "skyscraper" is 1.5 meters high and constructed out of 150 kilograms of chocolate.

The work of Enric Rovira, a Barcelona chocolate master, the yummy high-rise was created for Langham Xintiandi this month. The skyscraper is made out of white chocolate, while the shikumen buildings are fashioned out of dark, expressing a cultural juxtaposition of modernity and tradition.

"It's my chocolate interpretation of the city," Rovira, 42, founder of Enric Rovira SL, a small innovative Barcelona chocolate producer, tells Shanghai Daily.

Thinking out of box

Rovira defines his chocolate style as "contemporary and thinking outside the box," which is not just embodied in design but also flavor.

Some of Rovira's flavors are unique, subverting common perceptions of chocolate to create, for example, chocolate-flavored salty corn, Brazil bean pepper, vinegar and ginger varieties.

"Those chocolates share common features, surprising your palate, broadening your scope of chocolate yet don't have the sense of creating something new for the sake of creation," says Albert Servalls, the executive chef, Western cuisine at Langham Xintiandi.

Fans of Rovira's chocolate say that while he adds dimensions to his work, he retains the original cocoa flavor.

"The formation of my personal style is, to a large extent, inspired by Spanish chef Ferran Adria, who was head chef of elBulli (a famous, now closed, Michelin 3-star restaurant in Catalonia), and is known for his avant-garde cuisine based on molecular culinary techniques. He explores the unlimited possibilities behind the food," says Rovira.

While many pastry chefs can turn their hands to making chocolate, Rovira is one of a small band of professionals who focus solely on it.

Life for chocolate

"Everything in my life can be marked by attachments to chocolate - from my travel experiences, favorite bands and movies, back to childhood memories," says Rovira. "I enjoy using chocolate to commemorate my life."

He has brought together yogurt, white chocolate and strawberry bombla - foods Barcelona residents grew up with - to recall his childhood days.

"From my early childhood I dreamt of combining those three into one bite and finally found that chocolate is a good link," says Rovira.

Another creation, "Imagine," took its inspiration from the song of the same name by former Beatle John Lennon.

"I appreciate the spirit embedded in its lyrics 'imagine there's no countries … and no religion too, imagine all the people living life in peace.' Therefore, I put different chocolate with different flavors, colors and shapes together and presented them as a whole piece," Rovira explained.

He also created a chocolate work celebrating one of his favorite films, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction classic "2001: A Space Odyssey."

He used white, milk and dark chocolate to represent the film's themes of past, present and future.

Among Rovira's more unusual commissions was creating a chocolate named "Floquet de Neu" ("Catalan for snowflake") for the 35th birthday of the albino gorilla of that name in Barcelona Zoo. It's still the creation he feels most proud of.

Rovira said that choosing to be a chocolate maker to a large extent was influenced by his parents, who run a small pastry shop in Barcelona selling cakes, chocolates and biscuits.

"When I was a young child, I learned from my parents how to judge and appreciate the quality of chocolate, as well as make classical Spanish pastry," says Rovira.

Q: What do you think is this year's chocolate trend?

A: A return to its original flavor - the flavor of the cocoa bean.

Q: What's your definition of perfect chocolate?

A: The chocolate made from high-quality cocoa beans, especially those from Madagascar, Mexico and South Africa by chocolate makers working with passion.

Q: Who's your idol in the kitchen?

A: Pierre Herme, a French pastry chef known for his chocolate and macaroons.

Q: What's your favorite pastry shop selling chocolate?

A: Fauchon, Madeline, Paris, once managed by Pierre Herme.

Enric Rovira's guide to tasting chocolate

For professional chocolate tasters, drinking some water to cleanse the palate is important, while for normal customers keeping a good mood is enough since endorphin-releasing chocolate is renowned for bringing happiness.

The serving temperature is decisive or the silky texture and flavor can be lost. The ideal temperature for chocolate to fully release its aroma and flavor is 20 degrees Celsius.

When learning about pastry making in his family's shop, Rovira showed a strong interest in painting and carving. One day, he realized that through working with chocolate he could combine his culinary and artistic interests.

"Unlike other carving materials, chocolate is edible, so people can completely experience my art," Rovira explains.

Rovira reinforced his chocolate skills with visits to pastry shops at Paris and Milan. Paris inspires his flavor style while Milan influences his chocolate design.

"However, my chocolate remains in the Barcelona tradition," says Rovira.

He defines the Barcelona chocolate tradition as using the whole cocoa bean as the main ingredient.

The bean consists of cocoa fat and cocoa solid, which is extracted into cocoa powder.

Many European countries, such as France, only use the cocoa solid. By using both, Barcelona chocolate presents more natural flavors, says Rovira.

Travel also inspires his chocolate creations, says Rovira. His ginger flavored chocolate was created after a visit to Thailand, influenced by the use of ginger in cuisine there.

This is Rovira's first visit to Shanghai. He says the chocolate piece created for Langham Xintiandi expresses his first impression of the city - a good combination of old and new.

"I fell in love with the city and for the rest of my visit I will spend time tasting local food and see what ingredients are popularly used."

"Shanghai flavors will be part of my next chocolate collection," promises Rovira.