Patisserie Paris Mikki Asok @ Bangkok
Whenever we are on holidays, we make it a point to visit some of the local pastry joints to have a feel of what the local pastry scene is like and our recent trip to Bangkok is no different. Our last trip to the capital of the Land of Smiles was exactly two years back and boy have things changed. Much of the local dessert scene had been completed taken over by the makes of Japan and Korea with bingsus and kakigoris rapidly gaining popularity and finding themselves in perpetually every mall along the main shopping belt in Bangkok. Yet there are some who continued to stay true to their grounds and stuck to the traditions and basics, to which we are very glad for, and Patisserie Paris Mikki is one of those increasingly rare few.
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Mary’s Kafe @ Queen’s Street Singapore
Just when the gastronomic landscape in Singapore constantly evolves and changes to keep up with the trendiest and most current around the world, some places choose to remain exactly as they were when they first started. A blast from the past quite literally, these establishments served as old guards of Singapore’s rich culinary heritage, firm reminders to what would probably have been quickly forgotten, if not for them. On a slightly less serious note, they breathe an air of nostalgia and reminiscence, food that bring us right back to our childhoods, prepared by our mothers and grandmothers in an utmost unceremonious manner yet so unpretentious and unassuming. Just as the world goes gaga over cronuts and whatnots, I crave for a good Pang Susie and know exactly the place to find a good one. Mary’s Kafe must surely be the place to go!
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Tokyo 2013 : A Pilgrimage of Ramen, Patisseries & Depachikas! — A Sneak Preview
Hello everyone! Kindly excuse us for the long absence! Just realised that it had been 3 weeks since we last posted, only because we had been terribly busy trying to clear our work and run errands before we take a much deserved awaited break to Tokyo! The trip was planned to take place ahead of the hanami season as it was the only time when both of us could make it! Alas thanks literally to the freak weather, the cherry blossoms bloomed much earlier in Japan this year, allowing us to enjoy their beauty, amidst other spectacular floral displays along the way. The downside is, we had to cut back on several pastry joints which we had slated to visit. Nonetheless we had a really good time in Tokyo!
This trip to Tokyo is all about pastries, ramen and depachikas! We absolutely love depachikas in Japan, so they are surely a “must go” whenever we are in Japan! J lamented that we didn’t get to try any ramen joints during our last trip so I made sure that we had enough ramen this time round for J to remember by! And 5 years ago during our first trip to Tokyo, which incidentally marks the commencement of this blog, I wasn’t much into fine pastry making then. But I do remember being much in awe with what I saw at the display windows of dessert boutiques and patisserie sales counters at depachikas. The level of artistry and presentation in trhe Japanese patisseries then was already quite impeccable and very impressive. Over the years as I grew to appreciate and get involved myself in the French art of pastry making, the desire to return to Tokyo fueled on. So after a long wait of more than 4 years, we are finally back! I will be writing and sharing about the various patisseries and ramen joints we’d visited this time round over the next couple of months or so but here’s a sneak preview of what we’d tried and sampled in Tokyo 2013!
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Paul Lafayet @ K11 Tsimshatsui Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of our favorite holidaying destinations, having visited the place close to a dozen times over the last decade or so. Good food, fantastic shopping are just some of the reasons that draw us continually to go back over and over again, sometimes to try out new dimsum joints, or otherwise to revisit eateries and restaurants we’d been before to get our fix of good tong shuei or wanton mee. 买东西，吃东西，买东西， 吃东西… just like the advertisement by the HK Tourism Board a couple of years back. Strangely enough, our itineraries over the last few trips have never really about hunting for pastries, partially because the days are often spent going about our usual routine “shopping circuit” from one factory outlet to other, and of course, there’s so much good authentic local food around its a shame not to do our rounds while we were there. Be it bargains hunting or cha can teng (local teahouses) hopping, there’s usually hardly enough time for anything else.
The most recent trip, just 2 weeks back, was different, we’d decided to make amendments to our usual food itinerary and shopping guide to make time to visit some patisseries and bakeries, as well as shops that specialise in baking supplies. Thankfully, many of these were “along the way” to our usual eating places and shopping spots, so not much of a detour required! Before our trip, we did some “homework” by checking up on some of the dessert places to visit. Fieldtrip reviews by fellow blogging foodies as well as online eating guides and forums like openrice provided a vast amount of information. But we have only 4 days in Hong Kong, so being concise is really the key. After some painful but necessary trimming down, we are down to a handful of pastry joints which are more easily accessible by means of time management and public transport. So here we go!
Paul Lafayet (PL), one of the patisseries in Hong Kong which I’d been wanting to visit for sometime now. After adopting a more serious stance towards the art of pastry making, PL is a name that frequently pops up whenever I google for pastry related stuff in Hong Kong. So it would make perfect sense to visit them this time round.
Japan Mar 2011 Day 3 – Pâtisserie Gion Sakai
As we were on our way, leaving Gion to cross Kamogawa for Takashimaya Kyoto, we chanced upon our first french pastry shop in Kyoto, Pâtisserie Gion Sakai. Amidst the traditional Japanese architectural infrastructure of this part of the ancient city which beared two-storey shophouses with wooden framed doors, this establishment seemed like the most unexpecting and perhaps awkward juxtaposition. Nonetheless, we are glad that we have found it.
Japan Mar 2011 Day 2 – Mont Blancs from Pâtisserie Factory Shin
Pâtisserie Factory Shin @ Daimaru Umeda, Osaka. Another “home-grown” name trying very hard to make a name for itself in the patisserie circle in Japan, and had been somewhat successful, having almost 40 dessert boutiques and takeaway counters all over Japan, including Daimaru Umeda which we’d visited. And they had one of my all-time favorites, Mont Blanc in not just one, but two flavours!
travellingfoodies 