Dessert First

The Sweet Side of New York

I've been trying to pull together a report on New York City all week, and finally came to the conclusion that I'd have to split in two -there's just too much to talk about!

Here, then, the first part: a report of all the sweet spots I visited during my time in the city. I mentioned in an earlier post that this trip pushed my sugar-ingesting capabilities to the limit - it's hard to rein in indulgence in a place where temptations are not only omnipresent but of the quality and caliber that earns them the label, "Only in New York." When there are so many wonderful places to try and desserts to taste, made by some of the most talented people in the industry, restraint and prudence and skinny jeans all get pushed to the side.

I made it through four consecutive nights of multi-course dessert tastings, experiencing the dazzling spectrum of pastry in New York, from classic French to globally inspired to avant-garde. I also visited enough bakeries, chocolate shops, and candy stores during the day to fill one of my suitcases for the trip home. Although I came perilously close to sugar shock, my only real regret is that I couldn't stay longer to try all the other places I missed out on!

As a note, for all the restaurants below, I did not have a full dinner at any other them, choosing to focus my attention (and appetite) on the desserts. I also, unfortunately, don't have many pictures of the desserts I tasted either, out of consideration of the low light conditions of most of the places. I do hope my descriptions will help you envision the creations I tasted - or entice you to try them yourself!
 

Chanterelle

Dining at Chanterelle is like having dinner with an old friend - one with impeccable taste and style. Chanterelle is a New York fixture, and its history shows; from the moment you step in the door you are treated with an effortless grace and surety that comes from long experience. The dining room is classy and refined - warm-lit walls, high ceilings, sweeping flower arrangements - but the atmosphere is  intimate and cozy, never snooty. Chanterelle is, of course, home of Kate Zuckerman's desserts and I was thrilled to finally get a chance to taste what her desserts were like made out of her pastry kitchen.

Favorites: I was thrilled to find so many of Kate's creations from The Sweet Life on the menu. Her Madagascar Vanilla and Brown Butter Cake, which has been embraced by many a blogger, is a slice of warm buttery bliss, with a tantalizing crisp exterior giving way to a soft, velvety vanilla center - divine, especially with the crème fraîche ice cream. The Goat Cheesecake in Hazelnut Brittle also made an appearance  - about as far from the traditional New York cheesecake as you can get, her refined rendition is almost soufflé-light, the slight tang of goat cheese set off by the sweetly crunchy hazelnuts and a piquant marmaladed kumquat sorbet. My other favorite was a coconut-cardamom rice pudding packaged in a crispy wrapper like a bonbon, drizzled with rose syrup, with a scoop of pistachio ice cream nestled nearby. This gorgeous interplay of colors, tastes, and textures made me wish Kate had included the entire dessert in her cookbook - she does give the recipe for the rice pudding, and it's certainly moved up several notches on my to-make list.

2 Harrison Street
(between Hudson Street and Staple Street)
(212) 966-6960

www.chanterellenyc.com


photo from www.p-ong.com

p*ong

Chanterelle may be classic New York dining at its most elegant and gracious, but p*ong is as modern and eclectic as its name, a funky, downtempo lounge of a place, with sleek white banquettes and a sweeping, angled bar - the preferred place to sit so you can watch the servers make your cocktails or plate your dessert.

Service was efficient, but the highlight, needless to say, was Chef Ong himself, who would materialize in the dining room like a mercurial firefly to exchange a friendly word or two with guests before vanishing again. We discovered that he had just opened his new bakery next door that morning - poor guy! But despite the stresses of opening day, he kindly took the time to show the bakery space to us and told us to come back the next day when they would be restocked. I must disclose here that I adore Pichet. He recounted how they opened the bakery at 11 in the morning, worried that no one would come. No one come to Pichet Ong's bakery? Hmm, right. In reality, they sold out by 1 in the afternoon. More on batch later. But Pichet is charmingly modest and slyly funny. Be warned, he has a habit of stopping by and checking on the progress of your dessert decimation. "Why didn't you finish the cake? Is it bad?" "No, of course not, it's delicious!" we'd demur. "Oh, well, you should really finish it. It's a special cake!" I don't think he's praising his own desserts so much as he's espousing the old Chinese virtue of cleaning your plate, which all my relatives always had me do. Of course, none of my relatives ever told me that I had to finish my dessert - so advantage to Pichet, I'd say!

Favorites: One of my favorite desserts from my trip came from p*ong: a warm date and ginger cake in a pool of rum toffee sauce, sprinkled with walnuts. It's like a cross between sticky toffee pudding and the best gingerbread I've ever had, the very definition of soul-satisfying. I liked it so much that I had to make it when I returned home. Other desserts that tickled the tastebuds included a chevre cheesecake and walnut croquette, a bit richer and earthier than Chanterelle's, and a grilled pear "steak" with hazelnut and caramel - again, desserts hitting that elusive combination of unexpected and intriguing and utterly satiating.

150 W 10th Street
(between Greenwich Avenue and Waverly Place)
(212) 929-0898

www.p-ong.com

 
photo from www.wd-50.com

wd-50

It seemed fitting that I'd visited the MOMA earlier in the day before I went to wd-50. An afternoon of high-concept art followed by an evening of high concept food. Be prepared to go with an open mind and you'll be rewarded with some amazing, thought-provoking plates. wd-50 is surprisingly low-key and mellow for being a high temple of molecular gastronomy; my friend and I were seated at a row of two-tops placed so closely together that by the end of the evening we felt more like we were sitting at a communal table. It was amusing to see the diners seated next to us darting sideways glances as a new feat of whimsy was placed before us, just as we could not resist doing the same to them. Eager to experience as many of Alex Stupak's creations as we could, we chose the five-course dessert tasting, but be warned: each person at the table has to order the tasting, so it's a whole lot of sweets. Make sure you leave enough room!

Favorites: Needless to say, these were some of the most exactingly plated dishes I saw on my whole trip. Every dessert was a Japanese rock garden, little hills and dunes of cake and cream in a sea of sinuous curves and undulating swirls, amidst carefully calibrated scatterings of crunchy flourishes. The desserts that not only struck me with their art-museum aesthetic but also their successful exploration of the unusual and offbeat included a delectably soft cornbread pudding in a lemongrass sauce with prunes; it was homey and exotic at once and most importantly, delicious. Another winner was a gianduja dome with ice milk ice cream, fennel, and little chocolate truffles that oozed warm hazelnut filing when you cut into them. It's pretty hard to go wrong with chocolate and hazelnut, but the flavors were used in such untraditional ways that it made the dessert interesting and new, a pleasure to explore. The little chocolate covered chicory ice cream petit fours were scrumptious as well.

50 Clinton Street
(between Rivington Street and Stanton Street)
(212) 477-2900

www.wd-50.com

Other sweet spots

Having only five days in New York City and one stomach, I could only visit a fraction of all the bakeries, pâtisseries, dessert bars, chocolate shops, and other sweet spots the city had to offer. New York demands your return, anyway, with its kaleidoscopic, ever-changing aspect - even if I'd visited 50 dessert places I'm sure another 50 will have opened by the end of this year. Here, some of the places I did get to try:

Amai Tea House
Tiny, but warm and serene.  I love that all the display cases look like they came from an old Chinese apothecary, a perfect setting for all the Asian-inspired desserts. Although their green tea cookies are their signature item, I really like their white tea and strawberry cookies, which have a touch of ginger and peppercorn, and the red vanilla cookies, which are laced with rooibos tea.

171 3rd Avenue
(between 16th Street ad 17th Street)
(212) 863-9630

www.amainyc.com

batch

This place was literally a day old when I walked in, but it already looks like it has its own quirky personality. I recognized many of Pichet Ong's creations from his The Sweet Spot cookbook - the Dragon Devil's Food Cupcakes were there, as well as the coconut-lemon cupcakes and chocolate tarts. There are also puddings, cookies, brownies, and other delights by the batch. There's Pichet serving the customers; I also got to meet one of the bakers there - hi, Betty!

150b W 10th St
(212) 929-0250

Ceci-Cela

In the excitement of visiting new dessert places, I didn't have much time to spend revisiting ones I'd been to before, but I knew I really wanted to go back here. So narrow that customers are basically sandwiched between the wall and the display case, nevertheless I love this place because of the tiny dining room in the back, a brick-walled oasis plastered with vintage posters, resembling a cross between speakeasy and secret clubhouse, where you can tuck into your tart and coffee far away from the city bustle.

55 Spring Street
(between Cleveland Place and Lafayette Street)
(212) 274-9179

www.ceci-celapatisserie.com

Financier

A perfectly apropos name, as all three branches of this pâtisserie are located in the Financial District. With its celery-green and cream-yellow decor and rattan chairs, you can almost think you are eating your pain au chocolate in Paris - until you see the skyscrapers outside the window.

35 Cedar Street
(between Pearl Street and William Street)
(212) 952-3838

www.financierpastries.com

 

Kee's Chocolates

Barely more than a storefront on a SoHo street, Kee's Chocolates is nevertheless a window into chocolate heaven. Kee Ling Tong's creations are masterpieces of flavor and texture, chocolate brought to a spellbinding zenith. I've never had any chocolates where the shell almost dissolves in your mouth to the filling inside - dreamy. Flavors I loved include passionfruit, lavender, and hazelnut praline.

80 Thompson Street
(between Broome Street and Spring Street)
(212) 334-3284

www.keeschocolates.com


Kyotofu

There are plenty of Asian-inspired desserts on menus nowadays, but Kyotofu the balance tips the other way, with Asian desserts just tempered with a French/Western edge. Their signature item is their homemade sweet tofu, which is light, silken, and refreshing, especially with a black sugar syrup poured over the top. Other sweets I liked included the chocolate matcha cupcake, sake cheesecake, and coconut-yuzu macaron. Different, and definitely worth a visit.

705 9th Ave
(between 48th Street and 49th Street)
(212) 974-6012

www.kyotofu-nyc.com/

Payard

You can't get closer to a Parisian grand café in New York than François Payard's pâtisserie and bistro. Go to admire the gorgeous Belle Époque decor, all high ceilings, coffee-colored wood, and blown-glass fixtures. Stay as you try to choose from dual counters filled with cakes, tarts, macarons, chocolates, and cookies of every sort. Or perhaps the ice-cream cart is calling your name?

1032 Lexington Avenure
(between 73rd Street and 74th Street)
(212) 717-5252

www.Payard.com

 Well, that's about it! I wanted to include a recipe for the Pichet Ong's date cake that I loved, but this post is already running long so it's going to show up in part 2! Stay tuned and have a good weekend!

Tagged with: Chanterelle + p*ong+ wd-50 + amai+tea+house + batch new york + ceci cela+ kyotofu+ kee's chocolates+ payard+ desserts new york+ bakeries new york

Bite This!

Happy New Year - A Very Sweet Trip to Hong Kong

Happy (belated) New Year - I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are looking forward to 2008 (well, as much as I can - it's raining cats and dogs in San Francisco today). Returning from sunny, tropical Hong Kong was quite a shock to the system!

This shock was due in no small part to the indulgences I partook in while on holiday: sleeping in, a parade of family activities (I saw some cousins I haven't seen in almost 10 years - my gosh we're all grown up!), shopping that easily tripled the contents of my suitcases (not that I'm a shopaholic - well, maybe a little - but it's hard not to be when it seems like 50% of Hong Kong is retail space), and of course the eating (that would be the other 50%).

I get asked often, "How do not gain weight when you go to Hong Kong and eat so much?" Well, I actually think the answer lies in the preponderance of stores and restaurants in the city. You basically follow this routine:

1. Go to mall/downtown/outside your hotel/anywhere and start shopping. Keep shopping until you realized you've probably walked several miles and are exhausted.

2. Go to nearby restaurant/cafe/street stall and eat.

3. Go back to shopping.

4. Repeat cycle.

Essentially you will spend so much time walking around and shopping that you will burn up all those delicious calories you've ingested. A beautifully efficient system, really.

In all honesty, there are many other wonderful things to do in Hong Kong besides shopping and eating - the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens are but a handful of steps from my parents' flat in the Mid-Levels, giving us the unusual opportunity to be both close to the hyper-urban downtown Central district as well as a zoo. A little more strolling takes you to beautiful Hong Kong Park, which contains an amazing aviary and conservatory, as well as gorgeously landscaped grounds. As a bonus, it's a popular spot for newlyweds to get pictures taken, as the marriage registry is just outside the park: go on the weekend and you're likely to see a dozen beaming couples posing by the flowers or waterfalls.

You can also visit Macau, which is but a 45 minute hydrofoil ride away from Hong Kong. A former Portuguese colony, it maintains an old European charm in many parts of the islands that makes it an ideal getaway from the bustle of Hong Kong. However, it's no secret that the gaming industry in Macau is rising faster than a soufflé in an oven - and it's not likely to deflate anytime either. A walk down the Cotai Strip shows construction as far as the eye can see - construction of a Strip that will rival the one in Las Vegas (Macau's gaming revenue has already surpassed that of Sin City). My suggestion? Explore old Macau during the day  - the colonial architecture and narrow cobblestone streets will transport you to Europe - then visit the gaming tables at night for glittery hedonism at its most exciting.

All right, on to the part I'm sure you're most excited to read about - sweets in Hong Kong. What I love most about pastry in Hong Kong is the variety and innovation. You can buy a bag of eggettes (a kind of waffle) from a streetside vendor for a dollar or have high tea at the Peninsula Hong Kong. You can sample perfect French pastries or have classic Chinese dessert soups, perhaps on the same street. I also think that Hong Kong, like all major cosmopolitan cities, has a sort of ADD - the citizens are always on the lookout for the new and exciting, so stores constantly have to come up with new items to retain customers' interest. See some of the items I saw in the bakeries there:

Holiday cakes from Maxim's, a popular bakery chain. The snowman was lovely - vanilla sponge cake on crispy feuilletine over a chocolate cake base. Surprisingly sophisticated and well done for a chain shop.

The variety of breads in even the humblest of bakeries is staggering. See the "Coco Teddy" bear shaped bun filled with chocolate. Coco Teddy, you were delicious - I love you!

I will also note that Beard Papa's and Krispy Kreme are part of the culinary landscape now as well - and even these chain shops were offering special holiday items like black sesame cream puffs and tree-shaped donuts - I really wish they would do things like that here in the U.S.!

My list of great places to get a sweet bite in Hong Kong:

Hui Lau San

I've rhapsodized about this place before; the red-and-gold festooned shops are ubiquitous, which makes them the stop of choice when your feet are tired and you're thirsty. They are sort of like Starbucks, only everything is made from fruit so it's much healthier (and tastier, in my opinion). You can get anything from a bowl of fruit mixed with sago to aloe jelly with coconut juice. I always get something from the Mango Mania section, because Hong Kong residents can't seem to get enough of mango and neither can I. The mango jelly in mango and coconut juice is a favorite. The Hui Lau San I seem to frequent the most is the one in Causeway Bay, just across from Sogo and a block away from the Times Square mall - the height of convenience.

Honeymoon Dessert

Another popular series of dessert shops, this one centered around traditional Chinese desserts like walnut and black sesame soups, almond tea with tapioca, or thin crepes filled with red bean or mango. They also have items with durian, that olfactory menace of a fruit - try it but be prepared for your table companions to make a hasty departure! Honeymoon Dessert shops are scattered around Hong Kong; there's one in the ifc mall in Central and at the apm mall in Kwun Tong.

Dessert at Elements

I made a visit to Elements, the highly touted new mall in Tsim Sha Tsui (I am always amazed that they are always building new malls - the Hong Kong appetite for shopping is truly insatiable). It is elegant, modern, and occupied by every high end luxury brand you can imagine, from Armani to Versace. If your pocketbook is feeling a little light after your stops at Cartier, Fendi, and Valentino, you can get a little pick me up at PETiTs by Deschamps, offering the most couture of cupcakes, or at La Création De Gute, a swank little patisserie.

Dessert Buffet at the Tiffin, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

Remember my dreamy experience there? Desserts with a French pedigree and an Asian flair - chestnut seemed to be the theme ingredient (I loved a chestnut and chocolate mousse) but there were many other delights to sample, from fruit tarts to cream cakes, homemade ice creams and sorbets, Belgian waffles made to order, chocolate fondue with skewers of marshmallows and fruit lined up like ornaments, sweet soups and fresh fruit. You can nibble on your plate of sweets while gazing out the floor to ceiling windows at the panorama that is the Hong Kong skyline - a true feast for all the senses.

Bambu

I'll also mention a few favorite experiences in Macao: The Bambu at the Venetian offers an excellent Asian-themed buffet with an impressive selection of desserts, including homemade ice cream.

Pasteleria Koi Kei

Go to the old districts in Macau and you'll likely find shop selling Macau sweet specialties like peanut candy, seaweed wrapped wafers, and almond cookies. You can see the baker above making them; many pastry shops have demonstrations like this outside the shop and give samples away liberally, encouraging lookers to stay and buy. Koi Kei has some of the tastiest almond cookies, especially hot and freshly made.

That just about scratches the surface of what's available in Hong Kong. I look forward to my next visit...and discovering what has changed in my absence. Meanwhile, I'm excited to back home in my kitchen baking again!

Tagged with: Hong Kong desserts + Hui Lau San + Honeymoon+dessert + Tiffin dessert buffet

Bite This!

Back from Vacation: Not-So-Good News and Good News

Interior of Dushanbe Teahouse, Boulder, Colorado

picture source   

Hello!

I'm back from Colorado, which was beautiful in a dry, stark, majestic mountains in the clouds sort of way, and Kansas, which was beautiful in a humid, lushly green, sipping lemonade by the lake as the sun sets sort of way. It's good to get away from home once in a while and see what else is out there.

The above picture is of the Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder, Colorado, a gorgeous traditional Tajik teahouse, or choihona, given to Boulder by its sister of Dushanbe in Tajikstan. All of the parts of the teahouse, from the elaborately carved ceiling panels to the statues in the interior fountain, were made in Tajikstan and shipped over. It's a stunning, one-of-a-kind place to have a cup of afternoon tea and imagine yourself in ancient Persia - the tea list is excellent, as well as the rest of the menu.

My return from the midwest was supposed to be good news for my sadly non-updated blog, but unfortunately, bad news awaited me: I came home to discover that my computer had decided to break down in my absence (perhaps reprimanding me for my lack of care? I dote lovingly over my kitchen equipment but rather much less so on my poor computer - I guess it got tired of the lack of attention) It is in the process of getting fixed, so some of the posts I had been planning to do on my return may not make it up until next week.

In the meantime, I'll share some good news that brightened my return: I found out that Schmap Travel Guides has included some of my food photos in the new edition of their Paris guide. For those of you who haven't discovered their website, Schmap's digital guides make trip planning an interactive, surprisingly fun experience. Each city guide is linked with a Google map that shows all of the city's attractions, restaurants, hotels, and other items of interest so you can easily see where everything is located.

If you look to the right sidebar of this page, you'll see a Schmap of Paris - you can move around, zoom in, and investigate the listings on the map. If something interests you, say the ice cream shop Berthillon, you can either click on "Photos" to see some images of the store or click "more..." to go the Schmap description of the place. Pretty ingenious, no?

It was a pleasant surprise when Schmap contacted me and asked if some of my photos of Paris could be used for their entries. I am sure it will come as no shock to any of you that all my photos are of food! If you are curious, here are the photos they selected:

Dalloyau - their service is impeccable, their opera cake to die for. Even though I only bought one slice of cake, they wrapped it up carefully and thanked me as politely as the customers buying boxes of macarons and petit fours.

Fauchon - the displays at their store on Place de la Madeleine are always nose-to-the-window fabulous.

Pierre Herme - of course a must visit for every lover of pastry in Paris!

Pierre Herme again - Schmap has currently misattributed this photo to another Paris icon, fashion house Hermès. Honestly, I think I'd rather be spending my money on some of Pierre's macarons than one of those scarves...

Chez Michel - one of my favorite little bistros in Paris, just blocks away from the Gare du Nord. I had some divine foie gras there, as well as a lovely Paris-Brest.

The photos are all from my trip to Paris a couple of years ago...I was so thrilled to be there and wanted to document every pastry that I saw. The photos were also  how I met the wonderful Carol, who confessed to finding my pictures on Flickr and loving them - now I'm the one who goes to her site and envies her trips to France and the beautiful watercolors she produces! What a lot of magic Paris can produce!

And finally, I learned that the photo I submitted to the June 2007 edition of DMBLGIT won in a couple of categories: tying for second in Edibility and placing third overall!  Many thanks to Bea for hosting - if you go to her post you will see she made cute little bar graphs showing the performance of the top ten in each category - I'm pleased to note I actually did show up in all of the categories. I need to thank Helene for providing the inspiration for the St. Honoré cakes, otherwise I wouldn't have had the photo to submit!

Back to the kitchen for me...hopefully by next week I'll be able to share my creations again with you all!

Tagged with: DMBLGIT + Schmap + Dushanbe Teahouse

Bite This!

Back from Vacation

Hello all,

Just got back from a wonderful trip to Maui and the stuff paradise is made of - golden sugar-soft sands, sun-warmed waters of that perfect crystalline blue you only find in the tropics, sublimely silly palm trees waving in the wind, the fiery sun diving into the ocean every evening to the sound of conch shells being blown.

On a whale-watching trip we found ourselves almost surrounded by humpback whales, many of them mothers with newborn calves, and were delighted by the antics of a pod of spinner dolphins that followed our boat, frolicking in its wake.

We went hiking into the valleys and forests on the island, and found ourselves befriended on one trek to a waterfall by a local dog who decided to act as our guide, following us and making sure we didn't lose the trail. Thank you, Hoku! Your owner is lucky to have such a great dog!

Food was a big standout. I don't think we had a bad meal the entire time. Here are some of our favorite places:

Pita Paradise

1913 South Kihei Road

Kihei, HI

The owner catches his own fish daily and creates delicious specials, but their gyro with Australian lamb and feta cheese has earned a special place in my heart. Perfect fare after a morning at the beach.

Sansei Seafood and Sushi Bar

1881 South Kihei Road

Kihei, HI

Wonderfully fresh sushi and delicious Pacific Rim cuisine as well. They also offer an amazing 50% discount on virtually their entire menu on Sundays and Mondays before 6 PM; we got there at 4:45 since the restaurant opened at 5 and the line was already into the parking lot. But the hamachi nigiri and the miso butterfish were worth the wait.

Paia Fish Market

110 Hana Highway

Hana, HI

This really is a market: You can take home fresh fish, or they'll prepare in a variety of dishes for you to enjoy there. It seems like such luxury to be able to choose from the catch of the day and have it grilled, sauteed, or turned into tacos, pasta, or sashimi, but it's all very relaxed, unpretentious, and inexpensive here.

Mala, An Ocean Tavern

1307 Front St.

Lahaina, HI

A very chic little place just past Lahaina, with a beautiful terrace overlooking the ocean so you can peruse their organic-focused, tapas-style menu with the salt wind in your hair. Their ahi tartare was wonderful, as was a "Mexican flatbread" which was a crisp tortilla piled pizza-style with three kinds of fish, lightly spiced with curry.

You'll notice I didn't mention much about desserts anywhere...honestly, in the warm balmy weather and after many fresh seafood dishes, I didn't feel much like the gooey, chocolately desserts offered at most places. I did have some delicious shave ice, as well as some green tea ice cream at Sansei. So I definitely was ready to back into dessert mode when I returned home.

I was crushed to find that I'd missed the deadline for this month's SHF, but I'm still hankering to honor David's theme of chocolate. There will a chocolate-oriented post later this week - I'll have to get my tropical groove on afterwards!

Mooncakes in Mid-Autumn

Whenever my parents come to visit from Hong Kong, I can guarantee that at least half of their suitcases will be filled with little treats and gifts for us. They're great parents that way. When they arrived last weekend I knew that among the clothes, candies, and baked goods (yes, my mother has been known to bring boxes of custard tarts and coconut buns from my favorite HK bakeries; now if only there were a way to get dim sum across the Pacific while it's hot) there would be several beautifully decorated boxes of mooncakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

At its most elegant and poetic, the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the time of year when the moon is at its fullest and brightest - the harvest moon, or the autumnal equinox. Traditionally, families will gather together to admire the beauty of the full moon, eating mooncakes under the night sky, with children running about carrying colorful paper lanterns like errant fireflies.

There is another, bloodier aspect to the Mid-Autumn Festival and mooncakes which traces back to the 14th century when China was under the rule of the Mongols. Planning a rebellion against the Mongol emperor, Chinese rebels came up with the idea of hiding a secret message inside mooncakes, which the Mongols did not eat. These mooncakes told rebels to rise up on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The uprising was successful, and henceforth the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with mooncakes everywhere in China.

Given the mooncake's firm entrenchment in Chinese culture, it would be impossible to get through a Mid-Autumn Festival without giving or receiving dozens of these little puck-shaped pastries. Just like red envelopes are passed out to children and subordinates at Chinese New Year, so friends and family engage in a little hot-potato pass-around of mooncakes. If you are also detecting a resemblance to that dreaded Christmas fruitcake, you are not wrong. The traditional Chinese mooncake is an acquired taste for many; for me, suffice to say that it does not fall to the level of fruitcake but neither is it among my most favorite desserts. I blame my mother for this failure of my tastebuds; I was told that as a child her father offered her five dollars (quite a significant amount at the time) to eat a mooncake, and she refused.

Picture Source

The traditional mooncake is quite dense for its size, with a soft, chewy, golden crust made of flour, sugar syrup, and lard enveloping a rich filling of lotus bean paste and a whole salted duck egg yolk to symbolize the full moon. The mooncake is formed in a wooden mold imprinted with the bakery's insignia on top; since each bakery will have a different design for its mooncakes, those from the most reputable bakeries are highly coveted - orders for mooncakes are placed months in advance!

Because of its richness, the mooncake is typically meant to be cut into quarters and shared; if you can't get enough of that egg yolk, many bakeries have a "super" mooncake with four egg yolks, one in each quarter. These are considered to be some of most luxurious and expensive of all mooncakes.

So the traditional mooncake is not quite to your liking? Bakeries must have realized there was a market for an improved, less calorie- and cholesterol-filled moon cake, and today the variety of mooncakes boggles the eye and wallet - some of them can hardly be called mooncakes save some tenuous similarity in form.

Substituting the expensive lotus bean paste with cheaper and sweeter fillings was a natural; you can find mooncakes with sweeter red bean pastes, fruit fillings, even ice cream. One of the most charming versions I've seen this year is Pappagallo's Gelato Mooncakes, embossed with a design based on Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince. Not that I recall the little prince eating mooncakes on his asteroid...

Picture Source

A most popular variant of the mooncake is the unbaked, or snow-skin version, using a rice-flour, mochi-style wrapper around the filling. While these mooncake require refrigeration and are much less long-lasting than their baked cousins, their much more delicate texture and adaptability to a wide range of fillings have made them a great favorite among modernists. I will admit I love the rainbow of pastel colors they come in, as well the staggering heights of creativity to which the fillings have reached in recent years - everything from truffles to green tea custard to durian to birds' nest.

Picture Source

And final proof that mooncakes are adapting to the modern age: Häagen-Dazs and Starbucks have their own versions of mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival. The Häagen-Dazs sounds clever if not particularly moon-cakeish: The egg yolk has been replaced with a ball of mango sorbet, the filling with ice cream, and the crust with a chocolate shell, but the Starbucks coffee mooncake is one I think I'll pass on.

I'm pleased to see that this ancient delicacy that could have been easily mothballed has instead benefited from the innovation of pastry chefs, evolving to suit ever-changing times and tastes.But however much I think I would enjoy a mooncake-shaped ice cream, I still smile when my mom uncovers those traditional glossy brown mooncakes that she brought all the way from Hong Kong. To me, they represent the real meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival and the exchanging of those little pastries: to celebrate family and being together, under the warm light of a glowing moon.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is always on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. This year it falls on October 6th.

Tagged with: mooncake + Mid Autumn Festival

A Taste of Sadaharu Aoki

edited on 1/24/07: I regret to say that as of today I will no longer be giving out the recipe to the matcha opera cake. Thank you to everyone who has expressed such interest in this creation and written me. I have to say that this is a deeply personal recipe for me, as I learned the original recipe in pastry school and later adapted it myself to include matcha. When I got the first couple of requests for the recipe, I decided to make a couple of exceptions because the e-mails were so sincere, but since then the e-mails have become a flood. Unfortunately, I just do not feel comfortable making this recipe so public - I hope you all understand about treasured family or "secret" recipes. If you would still like to try making this, I suggest you find a recipe for opera cake (they are easily found on the internet) and experiment with adding matcha powder to the components. Thanks so much for understanding, and I hope you take advantage of the other recipes on this site!

My visit to Paris last September was my introduction to Sadaharu Aoki and his gorgeous interpretation of French pastry. While the Japanese have been almost frighteningly adept in their ability to replicate classic French pâtisserie, I am more intrigued when they find ways to impart their cultural sensibilities into their pastry making - after all, creativity and innovation is what keeps the culinary world from staying fresh and interesting! At Sadaharu Aoki's sleek little boutique on rue de Vaugirard, I found, alongside such classics as opera cake and lemon tarts, black sesame fondant - covered eclairs and green tea chocolate bars. Every single pastry was delicately made and, of course, picture perfect. Naturally, I wanted to buy everything, but, as I recall, we had already been to three other pastry shops that day, my boyfriend manfully eating his share of pastries so that I could try as many creations as I could, and with dinner reservations but an hour away, we settled on *just two* to carry away with us and eat with lip-smacking pleasure in one of Paris' ubiquitous little squares, pigeons at our feet, pedestrians strolling by, streetlights coming on in falling twilight, conversations in French all around us, Paris above us, around us, in us.

Sadly, this trip occurred before this blog was up to document it, but my Paris photoset is on Flickr, and there is Bea's rhapsodic entry about her encounter with Sadaharu-san.

I was inspired last week to replicate the two pastries we took away with us from the boutique: one, the famous Matcha Opera Cake, with layers of green tea genoise, chocolate ganache, and green tea buttercream. I believe Sadaharu Aoki's version also has coffee buttercream, but I preferred an emphasis on the clean, sharp taste of green tea with the rich, bittersweet chocolate to round it out. Making opera cake is both therapeutic and nervewracking for me: the components are not particularly difficult to make, but it's the skill in assembling the layers that determine whether you'll have nice parallel stripes of color or wavy layers. When it comes out well, it's always a heady rush of pleasure.

The other item, a Yuzu Tart in a pâte sucrée crust with a sprinkling of praline on top. I first fell in love with this Japanese citrus at, appropriately, a Japanese spa where they used a yuzu-scented lotion. Assertively tangy, it is reminiscent of grapefruit with hints of mandarin orange, and can be used similarly to lemons in cooking. Yuzu fruit is fairly difficult to find in the U.S., but yuzu juice, fortunately, can be found in Japanese markets, and was used to make this smooth, delectable yuzu cream in the style of Pierre Herme's famous lemon cream.

Alas, making these has only increased my appetite for Paris. I'm feeling the need for a return trip...

Tagged with: Sadaharu Aoki + matcha opera cake + yuzu tart + paris pastry

Pastries on Vacation

 

Last week I went on a brief baking hiatus and took a little trip down to southern California, where palm trees, beaches, and Hollywood awaited. Even though I can't complain about the weather in San Francisco, the blue skies and endless sands down there fulfilled my vacation requirements perfectly. Maybe it's also the ubiquitous presence of those sublimely silly palm trees - how could you stay serious looking at them?

Of course, no baking = dessert research. I took it upon myself to find what sweet things southern California had to offer. Since I wasn't planning on eating at any fancy restaurants this time around, my research was limited to the bakeries and cafes  - and there were quite a few delicious ones to be found!

First stop in San Diego: Michele Coulon Dessertier, tucked away on a little street in gorgeous La Jolla. I have to applaud anyone who has the job title of "dessertier"! The place serves both lunch and dinner along with a full selection of cakes, tarts, and cookies.

My sister and I shared two of their miniatures: a "lemadamia" tartlet, which had lemon filling with a macadamia and white chocolate topping, and an Amareno cherry cakelet with cherries and chocolate.  It's difficult to tell from the picture but the top of the cherry cakelet was actually dusted with iridescent powder that shimmered gorgeously in the sunlight. Both of them were quite moist and tasty; I especially like the tang of the lemon tartlet. A great place to stop by after strolling downtown or going to the beach.

Michele Coulon Dessertier

7556 Fay Street, Suite D

La Jolla, CA 92037

858.456.5098

Back in downtown San Diego, we stopped by another popular dessert spot, Extraordinary Desserts. There are two outposts of this bakery, and we visited the one near Balboa Park, which is a collection of parks, gardens, and many of San Diego's museums, and a great place to go on a weekend.  The Fifth Avenue location is the smaller of the two, and is a cozy, intimate space with one side of the room completely lined with Karen Krasne's creations.

The first thing you notice is the generous use of flowers in decorating the desserts; everything is almost bursting with vibrant color.

They have a very wide assortment of pastries, and also an intriguing selection of teas and coffees. Definitely a nice place to have afternoon tea!

Even the brownie we got had an elaborate crown of chocolate curls; I almost couldn't bear to eat it!

Extraordinary Desserts

2929 Fifth Avenue                     1430 Union Street

San Diego, CA                           San Diego, CA 92101

619.294.2132                            619.294.7001

Onto Los Angeles and beachfront views that make you wish you lived here year round. I was told that actually in June and July it can get cloudy-hazy near the beach, so I was lucky to get a postcard-perfect day when I arrived.

So did I run out to the beach to enjoy the glorious sunshine? Of course not! I went looking for more pastries instead! And in Beverly Hills, I found cupcakes elevated to haute couture. Sprinkles Cupcakes is one of the most successful manifestations of the cupcake trend - it was amusing to see a long line of skinny-trendy Los Angeles natives in their sunglasses and chic clothes waiting to snag one these little dietbusters.

The store is sleekly cute and there is a quite a variety of flavors to choose from. We chose a strawberry cupcake with strawberry frosting and a dark chocolate cupcake with bittersweet chocolate frosting. The chocolate one was better: very moist and rich dark cake, and the frosting a nice complement. I found the cake for the strawberry cupcake a little soggy and bland, but the frosting had a nice strawberry flavor and was not overly sweet. I also thought the ratio of frosting to cake was good; many times I find the amount of too-sweet frosting on cupcakes overwhelming. But for $3.25 a cupcake, you would have thought they could at least pipe the frosting out instead of just spatula-ing it on...

Sprinkles Cupcakes

9635 Little Santa Monica Boulevard

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

310.274.8765

The next stop was not a bakery but a must-visit for any foodie: La Sanctuaire, a gourmet's boutique filled with rare cookbooks, cooking tools, and ingredients. The space is spare and clean, and filled with all sorts of things to catch the foodie's eye, like a gorgeous green clay teapot from China, or a chalkboard listing dozens of exotic spices for sale, or El Bulli's latest cookbook, ceremoniously displayed in a glass case.

The picture is unfortunately fuzzy but hopefully gives an impression of the dazzling selection of cookbooks from around the world - my kind of bookstore, indeed! The whole store, for that matter.

La Sanctuaire

2710 Main Street

Santa Monica, CA 90405

310.581.8999

Another must-visit is Jin Patisserie, which is almost exactly the kind of place I would like to have myself if I ever opened a pâtisserie. Kristy Choo's gorgeous creations are served in an elegant, Zen-garden-like patio for the most relaxing of afternoon teas. The kitchen and retail shop are in what looks like a converted cottage, adding to the charm.

I was impressed by the craftsmanship of the pastries and by the unusual flavor combinations - there is a definite Asian influence to Choo's flavors, from green tea to jasmine. Choo is also known for her chocolates, which were displayed beautifully in silk boxes - unfortunately, because of the hot day I was afraid to take any home for fear they'd melt!

We had the "Afternoon Tea" set, which is perhaps not showed off to best advantage in this photo but which let us sample a variety of her creations. Scones with cream and orange marmalade, quiche, orange pound cake, mousse cakes in flavors of passionfruit, raspberry, and green tea, and a bit of chocolate made for a quite a bit of decadence. I liked the passionfruit and green tea cakes the best - very light texture and surprisingly intense flavors. I wanted to try more but alas I was sugared out for the day!

Jin Pâtisserie

1201 Abbot Kinney Boulevard

Venice, CA 90291

310.399.8801

One of the other things I like about Los Angeles is how lush it is. Everywhere you see trees and bushes flowering - like this street filled with purple blooms that smelled like summer.

Just around the corner from one of those flower-filled streets is Boule, a very modern pâtisserie in pale blue. Opened by pastry chef Michelle Myers, it offers an array of chocolates, candies, pastries, and ice creams.

One of their signature items is their fleur de sel caramels, which come wrapped in pretty iridescent paper. Soft and chewy and just the right bit of salty tang. The sweet saleslady offered me one when she heard I hadn't tried it!

What I got was a little cake of passionfruit mousse with coconut dacquoise. I was amazed by the texture of the mousse - it looks like solid cake, but yields to the fork and just melts in your mouth! I'm not a huge fan of coconut but it went very well with the passionfruit. Very nice!

Boule

420 N. La Cienega Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90048

310.289.9977

\

Last stop: Susina Bakery, a beautiful little cafe with a mouthwatering array of pastries to offer. They also have a lunch menu, so it's possible to spend a lazy Sunday morning here, as many people were doing.

I really like their neatly wrapped bags of candies on the counter. The entire decor of the place is very warm and elegant. And those fruit tarts!...mmm.

Susina Bakery

7122 Beverly Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90036

323.934.7900

All in all, a very sweet and satisfying vacation with sun, surf, and sugar. I'm ever more inspired to get back in the kitchen now!

Tagged with: Los Angeles bakeries + San Diego bakeries

Hong Kong Bakeries

Just as there seem to be an infinite number of cuisines you can taste in Hong Kong, so there is a myriad of sweets and desserts to choose from.  Both traditional-style Chinese desserts and western/European style pastries seem to be increasingly in vogue, with dessert places popping up on every street. Whether you want traditional English tea or an egg custard tart, they are easily found.

Some of my favorite places to go are the Chinese bakeries, which offer a dazzling array of Chinese-style breads and buns and western-style cream cakes.  Hong Kong people seem to prefer a very soft and fluffy white-flour bun (think barbecued pork buns), and they come with every imaginable filling, from sweet coconut to meat and cheese.  Some of the combinations like "sausage mayonnaise" or "corn and tuna" seem rather dubious, but there are also wonderful ones like red bean or curry.  And they are ridiculously cheap: usually less than a dollar a bun.  So it's easy to stock up on a variety and see which you like best.  You will see many people in the these bakeries picking up some buns for an afternoon snack or for breakfast the next morning.

I have to shamefully admit that I am not much of a bread baker, and I have not attempted to reproduce any of these buns.  However, if you are so inclined, there are some very detailed recipes on A La Cuisine and Tigers and Strawberries.

Those same people might also pick up a cake in the bakery for dessert in the evening.  The Chinese have adapted the Western ideal of layered cream cakes and interpreted it to satisfy their own tastes.  Chinese generally have a less intense sweet tooth, so you will rarely see buttercream or "death by chocolate cakes" - instead, there is a marked preference for fresh fruit, light fruit-flavored mousse fillings, and whipped cream frosting.  I am also amazed at how these bakeries produce so many of these elegantly constructed cakes and sell them for so little!  Particular flavor favorites in Hong Kong are mango, mixed fruit, and chestnut.  Note: even the tiramisu has a light, fluffy texture, and the Japanese-style cheesecake, which is airier and more delicate, is also very popular.

(Note: the prices on the tags are Hong Kong dollars; HK$12 is about US$1.50!!)

Of course, these bakeries will also carry the famous egg custard tart or dan tat. Just like how Parisians will pride themselves on which pâtisserie they purchase their macarons from, so Hong Kong people also have their favored dan tat places.  In keeping with Hong Kong's never-ending appetite for things new and exciting, there are now multiple versions of the dan tat to suit all tastes.  My favorite is still the classic egg custard filling in a puff pastry-like crust: the crust is traditionally made with lard, making it extraordinarily light and crisp, and wonderful contrast to the creamy rich custard.  Others prefer the more pâte sucrée-like shortcrust. The fillings, too, vary from classic to vanilla to corn-filled, as shown above in center.  The version to the right is the Portuguese version, which comes from Macau, a former Portuguese colony.  The custard top is sprinkled with sugar and it is broiled, giving it a crème brûlée-like flavor. Eating a fresh, still warm, dan tat is certainly near the top of my list of best experiences in Hong Kong.

I'm woefully behind in chronicling my Hong Kong experiences, I know.  Hopefully I'll get them wrapped up soon!

Tagged with: dessert + Hong Kong + bakery + egg custard tart

Dessert Before Dinner: Hui Lau Shan

If you would like a refreshing break from walking around the streets of Hong Kong, there are few places more well known or more appealing than the Hui Lau Shan dessert restaurant chain.  Why don't they have more of these types of places in the US instead of opening more Starbucks? (Actually, I just found out Hui Lau Shan has opened in California under the name Creations Desserts- take a look at the menu to see some of Hui Lau Shan's typical offerings. I will have to check out the local branch soon!)

Imagine after a long day of shopping and sightseeing, you are dusty, tired, and all those shopping bags are getting way too heavy on your arms. Just then, you spot the distinctive red-and-gold exterior of one of these restaurants, the juice machines running merrily on the front counters, the servers calling out the dessert specials of the day. A bowl of fresh fruit over ice cream or a cold fruit sago drink sounds quite delicious right now...

Hui Lau Shan was opened over 50 years ago as an herbal tea shop, specializing in Chinese-style desserts featuring traditional remedies like tortoise jellies - apparently the original Hui Lau Shan store still has a 60-year old old tortoise on the premises.  Along the way they started offering fresh fruit drinks and desserts, and evolved into the hugely popular chain they are today.

The house signature dish consists of fresh fruit, like watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, and mangoes, sliced and arranged over a base of sweet ice cream.  The dish I had, which you can see on the red banner in the picture below, has a scoop of mango ice cream in a soup of thickened chilled  mango juice, with pieces of mango and sago(similar to tapioca pearls). Mango is a very popular dessert flavor in Hong Kong, as you can see from the Mango Mania section of the menu, and Hui Lau San does an excellent job with this tasty fruit.

Hui Lau San's tortoise jelly, or kwai ling go, is still on the menu! Kwai ling go is made from the bottom shell, or plastron, of a turtle, plus several Chinese herbs to make a black jello-like substance.  It is supposed to have many health benefits, including reducing fevers and improving the skin. I'm personally not that fond of it - it has a rather bitter taste - but combined with some ice cream and fruit, it might not be so bad. Other traditional Chinese health items also included on Hui Lau Shan's menu are bird's nest and harsmar, which has been euphemistically renamed "crystal snow" on the US menu - but which really just refers to snow frog fat!  Both items are reputed to improve the body's functions and give you a glowing complexion - think of these as the Chinese version of those "nutrition boosts" those health cafes put in your smoothies!

The dessert break at Hui Lau San kept me going until we got to dinner in Causeway Bay as the neon lights started to come on in the city.  A necessary disclaimer: my facility in Chinese is far from fluent - while I know enough to ask for my favorite dishes or to get directions to the subway, I can't navigate the quickly-scrawled, constantly-changing handwritten menus in restaurants.  So the burden fell to my wonderful parents, Hong Kong natives who took me to the local places I wouldn't have found on my own and ordered the dishes I wouldn't have known about.

Dinner that night was a perfect example - we went to a little restaurant on a small side street with no visible address or name (I believe the Chinese name translates roughly to "Home Cooking Restaurant") but was already filling up quickly at a quarter to six.

True to its name, Home Cooking Restaurant offers simple Cantonese fare like you might find from a home kitchen, well executed and at reasonable prices. One of our dishes was a version of sweet and sour fish, with a sea bass lightly fried and then covered in a tangy tomato sauce with pine nuts.

We also had the "Grandma's Chicken",  where pieces of chicken are marinated in a "secret sauce"(Grandma's?) - the resulting dish is moist,tender, and savory - a bit like soy sauce chicken but without such heavy soy sauce overtones.
 

We also had a classic Chinese home dish - steamed egg custard.  It is very similar to an omelet except it is cooked in a steamer instead of pan, giving it the tender, velvety texture of custard.  Bits of pork, mushrooms, scallions, and soy sauce are also mixed in, making a wonderfully filling comfort food.

After a traditional dessert of red bean soup, we had plenty of time to stroll the streets thronging with nighttime crowds before we finally took a taxi back to the apartment, the glittering lights following us all the way home.

Next: Bakeries in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong + restaurant + Hui Lau Shan+ dessert

HK Dim Sum, How I've Missed You

Living in San Francisco, most people would think there is easy access to great Chinese food. I won't say there isn't good Chinese food to be found, just that it is not as prevalent as one would assume given the large Chinese population. The thing about Hong Kong is that not only is there great Chinese food, but is it everywhere.  You can get an elaborate meal with abalone, bird's nest, and other delicacies at a beautiful rooftop restaurant, or you can get a fantastic bowl of wonton noodle soup in a streetside shop.  My first meal of choice upon arriving in Hong Kong? Dim sum.

My favorite place for dim sum is Sheung Wan Ho Choi Seafood Restaurant on the Hong Kong Island. Like many establishments in space-deprived and ever-more-vertical Hong Kong, it is located on the upper floors of a nondescript building and has a rather unassuming storefront. Once you exit the elevator into the restaurant proper,though, you are faced with tanks upon tanks of fish, crabs, clams, and all sorts of sea creatures - a good sign of the freshness of the food to come.

A beautiful example of har gow or shrimp dumplings, a classic dim sum item. The wrapper is translucent, hinting at the shrimp goodness inside, firm enough to hold together when picked up but delicate enough to tear easily under a bite. The shrimp were huge, plump, and juicy, cooked perfectly.  They were mixed with bits of crunchy bamboo shoots that combined with the shrimp juices to form a heavenly mouthful.

This is another favorite of mine, lo bak gao, or turnip cakes.  The turnips in question are Chinese white radishes, which are grated and combined with rice flour, scallion, black mushrooms, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and other goodies (many dim sum items seem to be made by combining as many ingredients as possible in a tiny mysterious package that smells and taste outrageously good.  When growing up I would often ask my mother what a particular item was, to which she would respond, "It doesn't matter, just eat it, it's good."  She was right.) The mixture is steamed, chilled to form a firm cake and then fried. Cut into slices, they are greasy, hot, and richly flavored - perfect dim sum.

As another side note, lo bak also refers to carrot - the pointy orange kind. As I was not very fond of carrots as a child, I refused to eat lo bak gao for quite a long time - until I discovered my tragic misunderstanding.

Other dishes we had included siu mai, dumplings made of ground pork and shrimp in a wonton wrapper (more trivia: the characters for siu mai literally mean "cook" and "sell" - perhaps an allusion to the fact that these items are so popular they sell as quickly as they are cooked); fung jau, chicken feet in black bean sauce; lo mei gai, sticky rice with chicken and Chinese sausage wrapped in a lotus leaf; and a twist on the popular cha siu bao (barbecued pork bun) that I adore, cha siu so, where the barbecued pork is put inside a pocket of puff pastry and baked. When you bite into one you get flaky, buttery pastry and then salty, juicy cha siu - it's like dinner and dessert in one bite!  I have never found any cha siu so done well in the Bay Area, so the reason I have no pictures of this wonderful creation is that I ate them as soon as they arrived on the table!

Dim sum is a beloved tradition in Hong Kong - while the most common image of dim sum is of cavernous restaurants overflowing with families and waitresses pushing carts, with everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, it can also be a more sedate afternoon affair, or a leisurely morning event.  In smaller, quieter restaurants like Ho Choi, you will see many elderly people sitting at the tables reading the newspaper, with perhaps one or two dishes in front of them, drinking tea and relaxing. They will sit there for much of the morning and no one will shoo them away.

Dim sum is also available on the streets from vendors.  Usually these take the form of several siu mai or other dumpling types on a stick, to be happily bitten off as you continue wandering the city. Some of the street dim sum can be just as good as the restaurant kind - and it's pretty hard to resist the smells as you walk by!