Archive for the ‘french pastries’ tag
[SHANGHAI] Afternoon Tea at The Living Room, Park Hyatt (2)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
The Living Room at Park Hyatt
Address: 87/F, Park Hyatt Shanghai, 100 Century Avenue, near Dongtai Lu 世纪大道100号, 上海柏悅酒店87楼, 近东泰路
Tel: 6888 1234
Hours: [Afternoon Tea] 2:00pm~6:00pm
Price: [Afternoon Tea Set] 218 RMB + 15%, [Tea/Coffee] 60~65 RMB + 15%
Website: www.parkhyattshanghai.com
Visited on: 2012-02-24
I’m quite a fan of Park Hyatt’s afternoon tea set, but this time I went back to try their alluring array of à la carte desserts. Cream puffs, fresh fruit tarts, cheese cakes, mango puddings, chocolate mousse…ready for a sugar high afternoon?
The Living Room at Park Hyatt
The view
Caught this reflection by chance…please excuse the digression :)
Reflection
Reflected
Voilà, here they are. Classic French pastries baked fresh daily, just sitting there quietly in their glistening crystal shields, tempting folks like you and I with their alluring colors.
[SHANGHAI] Cafe des Stagiaires (2)
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Cafe des Stagiaires
Address: 54 Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu / 永康路54号, 近襄阳南路
Tel: 3425 0210
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 10:00am~midnight
Price: 20~30 RMB/coffee
Visited on: 2012-02-19
If you’ve read my last post on Cafe des Stagiaires, you already knew that I was quite charmed by its cozy atmosphere and quirky decor on my first visit. I went back again this weekend to try the food, and fell even more in love with this enchanting little space.
Cafe des Stagiaires
The food menu is short and simple – charcuterie from their boucherie Les Garcons, pizza from their neighboring pizzeria Pizza Peppone, and pastry from their bakery La Boulangerie.
Food menu
We started with a 1/2 order of pate (80 RMB), which came with a bag of fresh baguettes – the only thing I wished for was to have these toasted and served warm, especially on a cold day like this.
Pate (80 RMB)
Pate (80 RMB)
We wanted to try both the Pepperoni (85 RMB) and Nicoise (75 RMB) pizzas, so the kitchen agreed to let us do half and half. They ended up giving us a Pepperoni / Lawaiianne mix instead of the Pepperoni / Nicoise mix we requested, but we quite enjoyed it anyway. Thin curst, with just the right amount of toppings.
[SHANGHAI] Chez Shibata
JOIN MY FACEBOOK PAGE OR FOLLOW ME ON 微博!
Chez Shibata Pâtisserie Salon de Thé Chocolatier
Address: 24 Ziyun Lu, near Zunyi Lu / 紫云路24号, 近遵义路
Tel: 5206-5671
Website: www.chez-shibata.cn
Price: Desserts 20~45 RMB, Drinks 23~38 RMB
I love Japanese-French pastries. The alluring colors, fancy garnishes, and flavors that are out of the ordinary – it seems like the Japanese, with their obsession over anything French, has brought many of the most famed French pastries to their culinary pinnacle. It just so happens that Chez Shibata, the only patisserie in Shanghai serving such irresistibly beautiful pastries, is a mere 5 minutes away from one of my offices. I must have done a lot of good deeds in my previous life.
Update: during my more recent visits, it seems like the quality at Chez Shibata has gone downhill. Messy presentation, mediocre flavors. Let’s hope it’ll pick up again.
The exterior
The pastry chef, Takeshi Shibata
Small seating area
Standing in front of the Chez Shibata cake display is an utterly disorienting experience. I never know which one to pick. To make matters worse, the desserts have been given names like “Cœur des Bois” and “Dôme Jaune”, which don’t tell you much about the ingredients. Fortunately, the waitstaff is quite patient in explaining each dessert, as long as you ask.
The cute heart shape and the flamboyant red are bound to attract the girly girls. Long story short, the Cœur des Bois consists of raspberry jelly nestled inside creamy vanilla bavarois, which is made with a Creme Anglaise base, aerated with whipped cream, then set in the refrigerator with gelatin. Rich, creamy texture, heavier than mousse but lighter than panna cotta, the vanilla bavarois offers a good contrast with the freshly sour raspberry jelly.
