[Shanghai] Chikalicious

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Chikalicious

Add: Shop 205a, Xintiandi, No.5, 123 Xingye Lu, near Madang Lu
Tel: 6333 9233
Hours: 11am-11pm (closed on Monday)
Price: [cake] 68 RMB [dessert set] 188 RMB (+10% service fee)
Visited: Jan 2016

Please note that this was an invited tasting.

My first time trying Chika’s desserts was 8 years ago in New York. I wasn’t a pastry chef back then but already had a serious sweet tooth, and I took the time to visit Chikalicious’ first (and only, at the time) shop at East Village just so I can try the famed 3-course dessert menu. When I heard that Chikalicious opened in Shanghai, I got curious – what would Chikalicious be like without Chika?

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Running the kitchen of Chikalicious Shanghai are two young pastry chefs of only 28 years old – Mauro from Argentina and Maya from Thailand (grew up in the U.S.) They both worked at Chikalicious New York before coming to Shanghai, but got there via very different paths. Mauro started in the kitchen during his teens, and made his way through quite a few Michelin-starred restaurants such as L’Arpège in Paris, Gordon Ramsay in London, and Nobu 57 in New York, as well as famed pastry shops like Gerard Mulot. Maya was originally an industrial designer, and it has been only a year since she officially started working in the kitchen, but her confidence and practiced gestures are not at all like a newbie. Before joining Chikalicious, she was previously at three Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park, where she spent some time both front of the house and in the kitchen.

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On another note, Maya personally wrote these “reserve” cards. Very pretty!

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[Paris] Dessance (2)

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Dessance

Add: 74 rue des Archives, 75003
Tel: 01 42 77 23 62
Hours: [Wed-Thu] 2~11pm [Fri-Sat] 12pm~12am [Sun] 12~11pm
Website: www.dessance.fr
Price: [dessert menu] €19~42
Visited on: Sep 2013

Dessance, Paris’ first gastronomic dessert bar, has been open for around 9 months now. My first visit back in January was a rather pleasant experience, and I finally got a chance to go back to see what’s new. In addition to the a la carte options (€19) and the carte blanche sweet menu (€36), there is now also a carte blanche salé/sucré menu (€42), which includes one savory dish followed by four sweet dishes. On the particular day we visited, this menu started with beef carpaccio, roquefort cheese sorbet, and celery root baked in hay and seaweed, a light dish perfect for those who like to pad the stomach with something non-sweet first. 

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Drinks are not included in the menu, fyi. Jasmine tea (€6).

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First sweet course: green peas, green pea puree, and orange carrot granité. Bright and light, a pleasant combination with a good balance of sweet and savory.

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Second sweet course: burrata with mustard leaf sorbet, orange confit, and saffran/mustard leaf powder. The orange confit, though just a small part of this dish, was nicely done – soft and tender but still preserving a tiny bit of crunchy texture. I’m not familiar with mustard leaf as an ingredient and wasn’t quite sure what I was tasting, but the whole ensemble with burrata, orange confit, and saffran was original and lovely. Like the previous dish, this one wasn’t really sweet, but rather a combination of sweet and savory.

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Third sweet course: raw and cooked mirabelle with eucalyptus crème brûlée, marjoram granité, and an acidic crumble. This dish, while interesting in terms of unique flavors to explore, wasn’t an enjoyable one for me as I found there to be too many thimgs competing for attention at the same time.

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[Tokyo] Toshi Yoroizuka

Toshi Yoroizuka

Add: 東京都港区赤坂9-7-2 東京ミッドタウン・イースト1FB-0104
.            Tokyo Midtown East 1F B-0104. 9-7-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-5413-3650
Hours: [shop] 11am-9pm [salon] 11am-10pm
Price: ¥1,200~1,300
Website: grand-patissier.info/ToshiYoroizuka
Visited: Jan 2011

I love the idea of sitting at a bar facing an open kitchen, where pastry chefs conjure up beautiful desserts from scratch, right in front of my eyes. Naturally, Toshi Yoroizuka was on my must-visit list for Tokyo. The pastry chef has spent several years in Europe training in Switzerland, Germany, France and Belgium before returning to Japan, where his two boutique cafes now have pastry chefs assembling seasonal desserts to order. To avoid the wait, I skipped lunch and headed to Toshi Yoroizuka at noon. I was ready to be blown away.

There was no line during lunch time – I guess not many people eat desserts for an actual meal like I do – but it was a full house when I passed by again later in the afternoon. We were seated immediately and handed the menu, which only consisted of 8 items to choose from. If you obviously don’t speak Japanese, the waiter will bring you an English menu with detailed construction drawings of each dessert.

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