Archive for the ‘desserts’ tag
[BARCELONA] Espai Sucre
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Espai Sucre
Add: Carrer de la Princesa, 53, 08003 Barcelona
Tel: +34 932 68 16 30
Hours: [Tue-Thu] 9~11:30pm [Fri-Sat] 8:30pm~late (closed on Sun)
Website: www.espaisucre.com
Price: €35~55/set
Visited on: Jan 2013
When Espai Sucre (“Sugar Space”) opened in 2000, it claimed to be the first and only restaurant in the world to be entirely devoted to desserts. This is perhaps true, and the restaurant has even been credited by the New York Times for inspiring the subsequent dessert bar/restaurant movement in New York City. 12 years have gone by since it first opened…what does Espai Sucre look like today?
The small, minimally decorated dining room was half empty when we visited on a weekday evening. The door was (and is apparently perpetually) locked, so customers must ring the doorbell to enter – not quite sure why the setup is like this as it doesn’t seem very welcoming.
Open kitchen.
Espai Sucre offers various tasting menus ranging from €35 to €55, no a la carte. The Tasting Menu 1 (€50+10% vat) I tried includes 5 courses and petits fours, with mostly sweet but also a few savory dishes. First came a trio of amuse bouches, starting with these crisps topped with pear gelee, paprika sausage, and onions.
[PARIS] Cafe Pouchkine
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Cafe Pouchkine
Add: 64 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris
Tel: 01 42 82 43 31
Hours: [Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat] 9:30am~8pm [Thu] 9:30am~10pm (Closed on Sun)
Website: www.cafe-pouchkine.fr
Price: [dessert] €5~8
Visited on: Nov 2012
The resplendent boutique of Cafe Pouchkine, located on the ground floor of Printemps, is not at all overshadowed by the luxury fashion brands surrounding it. Its line-up of pastries, mostly French classics infused with a Russian flair, attracts passerby with their dramatic colors, sensual forms, and lavish use of gold leaves. Real jaw-dropping, I tell you.
[PARIS] Pierre Hermé
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Pierre Hermé
Add: 72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Hours: 10am~7pm (7:30pm on Thu-Fri, 8pm on Sat)
Website: www.pierreherme.com
Price: €4.50~7.30/individual dessert
Visited on: 2012-08
For anyone with the faintest interest in desserts, Pierre Hermé is undoubtedly a must-visit when in Paris. It’s no surprise that this was my first stop after arriving in the city. Lunch? Forget it, let’s go straight to the sweets. There are various Pierre Hermé boutiques located throughout Paris, and one of them happens to be conveniently located near my school…I have a feeling that I will be coming here a little too often.
[SYDNEY] Messina
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Messina
Add: 241 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Sydney
Tel: (02) 8354 1223
Hours: [Sun-Thu] 12~11pm [Fri-Sat] 12~11:30pm
Website: www.gelatomessina.com
Price: 3.9 AUD/scoop, 4.9 AUD/2 scoops, 6.9 AUD/3 scoops
Visited on: 2012-04
When looking for a sweet treat in Sydney, go to Messina for a scoop or two of their house-made, all natural gelato. This is what they say: “From the meticulous roasting and endless grind of pistachios, to the baking of our own apple pies and brownies, or to the sweet smell of stewed spiced rhubarb, absolutely everything is made lovingly in-house by our little team of mad professors.” Sounds good to me!
It’s a tiny and extremely packed shop. I literally had to squirm through the crowd in order to get in front of the gelato display!
Specials of the week, all look yum.
Oolala…
[TAIPEI] Le Petit Pâtissier 雷斯理
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Le Petit Pâtissier 雷斯理
Add: 2 Alley 4 Lane 74 Wenzhou Street, Taipei / 台北市大安區溫州街74巷4弄2號
Tel: (02) 2367 7862
Hours: 12~9pm (closed on Wednesday)
Price: [tea] 160 NTD [desserts] 120~150 NTD
Visited on: 2012-07
Le Petit Pâtissier 雷斯理, previously part of Caffe Libero in the Yongkang Street neighborhood, recently moved out to open an independent shop on Wenzhou Street. This area is really out of my usual activity zone, but after hearing such wonderful things about its lemon tart, I decided to venture out here to give it a try.
From the exterior to the interior, girly cute is the best phrase to describe Le Petit Pâtissier. Bright color blocks of fuscia yellow and green, red water jug adorned with white polka dots, wooden chairs with checkered mats…yes, it’s a sugar overload.
Even the desserts are in such adorable colors and shapes.
[BEIJING] NOLA
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NOLA
Address: A-11 Xiushui Street South / 建国门外秀水南街11号
Tel: 8563 6215
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 8:00am-11:00pm, [Sat-Sun] 10:00am-11:00pm
Website: nolacafe.com.cn
Price: [drinks] 20~40 RMB, [desserts] 30~40 RMB
This New Orleans-style cafe has received some very negative reviews online, but I was more than happy with its laid-back ambience and ultra comfortable couches during the few hours I lingered there. I can’t tell you much about the food (New Orleans classics like gumbo z’herbes, po’ boys and beignets) since we only had coffee and desserts (decent and decent), but the lush second floor patio is quite an attraction in itself, especially to those who are undeterred by the chilly Beijing air.
NOLA
2nd floor
Decor
We settled down on the 2nd floor and ordered ourselves some coffee and a S’mores Chocolate Cake (33 RMB). Chocolate cake, graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, and a scoop of pistachio ice-cream – happily consumed.
[SHANGHAI] Vienna Cafe
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Vienna Cafe
Address: 25 Shaoxing Lu, near Ruijin Er Lu / 绍兴路25号，近瑞金二路
Tel: 6445 2131
Hours: 8:00am~8:00pm
Website: www.viennashanghai.com
Price: [coffee] 25~40 RMB, [cakes] 20~45 RMB
Vienna Cafe is old news. This cozy little place has been around since 2004, attracting coffee drinkers with its dark wooden decor, marbled tabletops, warm lighting, and a lovely sunroom that’s perfect for lazy afternoons. It’s been months since I last visited so let’s forget about the details (dish names and prices etc.) and just look at the pictures :)
Vienna Cafe
Interior
Warm lighting
Sunroom
Coffee, desserts, and a small selection of simple Austrian dishes like Gulasch and Spaetzle.
[TAIPEI] Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism
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Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism
Address: 22 Alley 2, Lane 397, Mingshui Lu, Taipei / 台北市明水路397巷2弄22號
Tel: (02) 2533-2377
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00am~8:00pm, Sat-Sun 10:00am~8:00pm (closed on Tuesday)
Price: [lunch] 780~980 NTD/set, [afternoon tea] 520 NTD/set, 280~450 NTD/dessert
For a picture perfect afternoon tea, visit Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism, a cafe/restaurant that pours forth ingeniously and whimsically orchestrated desserts. There’s room for improvement in terms of flavor, but the presentation itself alone is worth the trip – at least for superficial folks like me ;).
Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism
Interior
Take this for an example. What is this…a potted plant?
Mint Ice-Cream Pot 薄荷冰淇淋盆栽, 280 NTD
Actually, this is a Mint Ice-Cream Pot 薄荷冰淇淋盆栽 (280 NTD), one of the most popular items at Season. It’s comprised of a layer of chocolate crumble (the soil) covering mint ice-cream and chocolate cake. The best part? There’s crackling candy in the ice-cream, which creates a series of popping sensations on the tongue. Very entertaining.
[HONG KONG] Sift Dessert Bar
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Sift Dessert Bar
Address: G/F, 46 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2530 4288
Hours: Tue-Thu 3:00pm~11:30pm, Fri-Sat 3:00pm~12:30pm
Website: www.siftdesserts.com
Price: 75~95 HKD/dessert
I’ve been craving Sift’s red velvet cupcakes ever since I first tasted them at Sidewalk on my previous Hong Kong trip. Upon returning to the city, I was determined to get a dozen of these fluffy delights, so I arrived at Sift’s Graham Street outlet right when it opened – just because I wanted none of the “sorry we are all sold out” business. So imagine how devastated I was when told that – “Umm, we don’t have cupcakes at this outlet. You have to go to our Wanchai location for them.”
Seriously?!
Sift Dessert Bar
To mend my broken heart, we decided to go ahead and try Sift’s plated desserts, which are the specialties at its Graham Street outlet. After much contemplation and consultation, we placed our orders and waited to be impressed.
Interior
First came Sticky Toffee Pudding (80 HKD), a steamed date puree sponge cake lavishly drizzled with toffee sauce. A forkful of this amazingly warm, moist, fragrant cake with some accompanying banana ice-cream and caramel crunch made me very, very happy at heart. Red velvet cupcakes? Already out of mind.
[SHANGHAI] Summer Desserts at Maison Pourcel
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Maison Pourcel
Address: 8/F, 35 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu / 陕西南路35号8楼, 近长乐路
Tel: 6215 8777
Hours: [La Table] 5:30-10:30pm, [Studio Bar] 11:30am-11:00pm
Website: www.maisonpourcel.com
Price: [La Table] 700 RMB+/person, [Studio Bar] 300 RMB/person
Note: Please be forewarned that this is an invited tasting, so my experience is possibly more positive than a regular visit.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of tasting two desserts from Maison Pourcel’s lunch menu, which, by the way, seems like a great deal (one course 128 RMB, two courses 188 RMB, three courses 238 RMB) compared to their pricey dinner (click here and here for detailed reviews). I can’t tell you about the appetizers and main courses since I haven’t had a chance to try those, but both desserts I sampled are nothing short of delightful.
Poached peach with verbana, red wine granite
First there was a light and refreshing poached peach with verbana and red wine granite, THE perfect summer dessert. Simply adorned with a sprig of vanilla bean and a pair of mint leaves, this plate is a pleasure to both the eyes and the taste buds.
