Valentine's Day saw me driving through Beta5 at dusk hoping to claim a box of their award winning chocolates for my sweetheart. Google GPS lead me through a windy maze of roads in the middle of Vancouver.

After being eyeballed by several men staggering with junk-filled shopping carts I found the Beta5 Retail shop. Just a bit of warning, there's no parking outside the shop, but there's plenty of street parking.

The store is at odds with what you'd expect from any shop in this area. It's sleek, modern, and cool. White walls with a couple of simple, industrial racks and tables displaying beautifully designed boxes of bars, and pebbles. Stepping forward you can browse through the glass case at the chocolates on offer. The staff retrieve and box your selection to order.

As expected, the selection was limited at 5:00 on Valentines Day so order in advance on holidays. I bought a variety box of 12 and a box of cherry pebbles - sun-dried cherries enrobed in 63% dark chocolate. Our box included flavours such as whiskey, fisherman's friends, crispy praline and banana. I'm not of the dark chocolate enlightened but I really enjoyed every chocolate I tried.

There is no doubt in my mind why Beta5 has reached it's acclaim as one of North America's top 5 Chocolatiers. It's not cheap, but it's worth it.