Snapshots: Sift Dessert Bar, a hidden gem in Central

Note: I would love to write another travel blog but am recovering from a terrible migraine. Travel blog next week? 

Where: 46 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Numbers: 30, but Sift also has 5 kiosks in HK
Perks: Outdoor seating with cushions! 

A hidden gem amidst of the hustle and bustle in Central, Sift is a tranquil haven for those long-awaited catch ups, or much-needed dessert fixes in this part of Hong Kong that never sleeps (Bankers and partiers, you know what I mean). While Sift is well-known for its gourmet cupcakes, Sift’s Dessert Bar provides that little extra goodness with its carefully selected choice of artisan desserts and beverages along with the famous cupcakes.

The raspberry cheesecake is a seamless marriage of a cheesecake core and a dacquoise cake. With a smooth, creamy core of a cheesecake, it was covered with velvety layers of butter cream and meringue with a tint of raspberry that could have been easily mistaken as a raspberry dacquoise in dome shape. However, a bite into this rich delicacy and one would realize that it was a well-balanced mix of cheesecake and raspberry dacquoise, with both flavors complimenting each other.

Meanwhile, the even textures and first-class frosting of its cupcakes are no surprises. The pure vanilla cupcake is a creamy delight of whipped cream and vanilla scent, while the strawberry cupcake is a sweet treat for summer with a hint of strawberry mixed into fruity sweetness.

Our pleasant surprise is the valrhona chocolate. For chocolate enthusiasts, Valrhona is a French luxury chocolate manufacturer based in Hermitage near Lyon in France, so to be able to taste this dark cocoa delight with homemade marshmallows is bliss. And what’s even better? The outdoor seating option with cushions and a balcony that makes an after dinner treat a luscious adventure.

http://www.siftdesserts.com
46 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong

Recipe: No Churn Green Tea Ice Cream (No ice cream maker needed)

Just as I enjoy savouring sweet treats and cuisines around the world,  I also love to make desserts and main courses just as much. With the blazing sunshine and hot temperatures on my end of the world (East Asia), this only make me crave more for that bite, or that slurp of frozen drinks or desserts. So when I have the kitchen all to myself this weekend, I thought, why not make ice cream? 

If you follow Nigella Lawson’s recipes on no churn ice cream, you may realize that ice cream is actually very easy to make. You don’t need to make custard, nor do you need an ice-cream maker. My no-churn green tea ice cream is a twist and adaptation of Nigella’s no-churn pomengranate ice cream (http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/no-churn-pomegranate-ice-cream-30). 
NO CHURN GREEN TEA ICE CREAM (Serves 8)

Ingredients:
50 ml green tea powder 
500 ml double cream
175 grams icing sugar 

* Alternatives: You can use granulated sugar instead of icing sugar. 

Method: 

1. Pour double cream into bowl and mix in green tea powder.
2. Add the icing sugar and whisk to dissolve.
3. Keep whisking until soft peaks form.
4. Spoon and smooth the ice cream into the airtight container of your choice and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
5. Add chocolate sauce or red bean paste if desired. 

   * Alternative: If you don’t have hand-mixer, what I did was use the blender to blend double cream, sugar and green tea powder after mixing them together. Also, my version has a stronger green tea taste so you may want to add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter. 

   If you are using blender, it should look like this: 
   

   Finally, enjoy! 😀 

      

 

Snapshots: Laduree, a classy French delight in Times Square

Where: 3/F, Times Square, Causeway Bay, 1 Matheson Street, Hong Kong 
Numbers: Around 50 seats 

Perks: Milk chocolate for every tea purchase

Tucked in the edges of Times Square’s collage of luxury and elegant shops, Laduree provides that classy but cute flair of French sweetness and sophistication and the perfect break amidst of all that stress and shopping. Famous for its macarons, the Hong Kong branch does not disappoint with its array of macaron flavors, ranging from Colombian chocolate to orange blossom. Soft yet crispy with a strong flavor, the aroma of our Chocolate Kalamansi seeps in like sweet after cleanse. 

Yet, it was the Financier that is the pleasant surprise. For those who are new to the dessert world, Financiers were invented by a pastry chef whose shop was close to the Paris Stock Exchange, and he baked them in rectangular molds that resemble bars of gold (from Doris Greenspan’s “Paris Sweets”). The Laduree edition is sponge cake baked with such softness, but a crunch, and it bursts with a lovely almond taste. This only makes me wanting to try their Madeleines next time. 

With our tea cravings and the scarcity of rose tea in Asia, Tea Josephine was bliss. With a blend of Chinese teas enchanted with jasmine, citrus, grapefruit and orange flavors, it leaves me dreaming of Jardin de Luxembourg in a summer entourage. 

http://www.laduree.fr 
And for those who are interested in Financiers:  http://www.joyofbaking.com/Financiers.html#ixzz31QHmijeQ

Ooh La La, Paris (Part 2)

The continuation from my previous post about Paris. Despite my earlier statement that we were skimping on food because we were sight-seeing Paris in 1.5 days, when it comes to desserts, the story is different obviously! 

Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located in Champ de Mars in Paris and named after its designer and architect, Gustav Eiffel. It has three levels with an observatory deck that is 276 ft above ground level and you can walk through the tower by lift or stairs. With the tourists that I have encountered, they either love or dislike the Eiffel Tower. I belong to the latter due to unforeseen circumstances.

First of all, Eiffel Tower is a place where you have 110% chance of being robbed – from choir boys to vendors selling Eiffel Tower key chains. We were fortunate to be safe at that point, but what made us had such a bad experience is that we had to queue for 1.5 hours just to get to the basic level. Imagine how frozen we were when we finally got on the lift at 9C weather with wind. I wouldn’t mind visiting again, but hopefully – a shorter queue and less freezing weather? 

Eiffel Tower 
Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr

Sacre-Coeur, Paris
Sacre-Coeur is on the summit point of Montmartre, which is the highest point of the city. Since we were not hikers and I wanted to avoid dislocating my knee from too much knee contact, Alexia had tactfully got us to walk the path with less stairways. It is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and was constructed in Roman-Byzantine style, which sharply contrasted the popular Neoclassical style when construction began in 1875. Ironically, while it is dedicated to honour the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Asemblee Nationaale voted its construction specifying the purpose of constructing the church is to expiate crimes of the commune. (See, when politics and religion and greed mixes all together, it is disaster)

Sacre Coeur is home to a large organ and the stone used to build the church excluded calcite to ensure that the basilica remains white despite the weathering. It used traverite instead. We would love to have photographed the inside but no photos allowed. 

The Basilica of Sacre Coeur
35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris, France
http://www.sacre-coeur.montmartre.com 

Montmartre 
Montmartre is a hill in North of France. Since 19th century, it is an area where artists gathered and for a while, it was occupied by Russians. Think of it as a mix of Toronto’s Junction & Leslieville or Beijing’s 798 district meets Pangjiayuan night market. As it was an area that was outside city limits in 19th century and as local nuns made wine, it was a popular drinking area. 

Currently it is a residential area with little shops and still artsy. Downhill is Moulin Rouge and the Red Light District where according to my high school buddy Adrian, it is another area where you you will be 110% robbed if you go there at night. There’s Place du Tertre where artists paint for pleasure and money, the working class district in Barbes and Chateau Rouge and of course, the ever famous Le Chat Noir. 

Champs Elysees: Laduree, Angelina & Jardin de Luxembourg on 6th arrondissement
Champs Elysees is possibly one of the world’s most famous streets, with all the famous brand names and arguably, some of the best desserts. If you love Laduree’s macaroons, then here’s a little secret. Except for the main store in Paris, all of Laduree’s dairy supply for its macaroons and deseserts come from the factory in Switzerland to lessen import/consumption costs and for a sweeter taste. (Kudos to Alexia for providing such important info!) So if you are in Paris, forget about the Euro 1.75 per macaroon or Euro 23 for 5 with a nice package, just get those macaroons since they are the ones that has dairy source from Paris!

Angelina is an elegant and comfortable cafe. Unfortunately, I was on limited budget after spending Euro 50 on Laduree’s macaroons (and they were gone in less than 5 minutes). But our favourite from the menu would be the Mont-Blanc and the chocolates. I know I am biased, but personally my favourites has to be Venezuelan chocolate for dark chocolates due to the texture, and Valrhona cocoa powder from France due to the dark but sweet tastes. Unless we are talking about ice cream…and Angelina has all of that chocolate goodness!

Jardin de Luxembourg was our detour point, partly because of the flowers, and mostly because there were suntanning chairs. There is a museum nearby, but our warning is that there are people asking you to donate money for insert cause here, of which it is up to you to determine whether they are NGO workers, or thieves.

Laduree
75 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France
http://www.laduree.com

Angelina
226 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France (the one we saw)

Click to access 50fa5001605a1.pdf

Jardin de Luxembourg
6e Arrondissement, 75006 Paris, France
http://www.senat.fr/visite/jardin/index.html

Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe is located on the right side of Seine and the tallest monument until Monumento a la Revolucion in Mexico City was built in 1938. Designed by Jean Chagrin, the arc was famous for the heroically nude French youths (honestly, this is such a Neoclassical thing when it was all about emulating Roman/Greek art and culture) against the German soldiers in chain mall. It is to commemorate those who fought and died in Napoleonic wars and there are still flowers. Tours are also available.

Of course, for those who like modern architecture, there is La Defense – http://www.tripadvisor.nl/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g187147-d246654-i23573918-La_Defense-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

Arc de Triomphe
Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France
http://arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr

Galeries Lafayette
La Galerie Lafayette is at 40 Boulevard Haussman in 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located in a 10-story structure, it is a luxury department store with weekly free fashion shows. However, just because it is luxury doesn’t mean it can’t be affordable – the stationary section has some amazing finds, 10th floor features an outdoor rooftop with free seating and there is free water available!

Galeries Lafayette
40 Boulevard Haussman, 9th arrondissement
http://www.galerieslafayette.com

Miscellaneous things that we like:

The food scene: There are lots of cafes available and if you go to downtown (NOT around Louvre), you can get pretty good deals with 3-course meal with dessert at 20 Euros (as seen in custard dessert above). It is also the same for lunch. My special thanks goes to the waiter at restaurant who skated on roller blades to return my forgotten cell/mobile phone when I walked out of the restaurant. (I know theft is bad but not all Parisians are that terrible right?)

Hotels/hostels: We both like artsy things and are on a budget so we got a hotel that is artistic and reasonable. 🙂 Look at all the portraits and comics! There is also breakfast included! 🙂

The stations: You may not go to Paris via flight, but by train. In that case, if you are coming from London, you will be arriving at Gare du Nord, and if you are coming from Geneva, it’s Gare du Lyon. Either way, the consensus is that if you walk outside of the station, there’s a 110% chance of you being robbed. As such, the best way is just buy the metro tickets and go to the underground metro directly.

How to enjoy Paris in 1.5 day (Part 1)

It has been a busy week but I finally got some time on my hands to blog on Paris! 

When Paris is an hour away from London, it is impossible not to visit! However, since I have forgotten half my French (except for the standard greetings and not surprisingly, food vocabulary) and since some rich Chinese has given locals the impressions that Asians = rich tourists who can afford designer fashion, I am a pretty vulnerable target for theft.

But one email with my friend Alexia and we found the perfect solution – why don’t we have a reunion in Paris where we can catch up and she can show me around? Due to our tight schedules, we could only squish Paris in for 1.5 days, but in the words of Parisian immigration staff, “You are only staying for 1.5 days? This is not enough!” – I definitely hope to visit again. 

As such, this is our guide on what to do in Paris with a tight schedule!

NB: as an art history graduate and with my stints in museums, art institutions and architectural history courses, please bear with my references to art history on this one. Food is unfortunately a bit lack lustre as we were too busy hopping from place to place. 🙂 

Canal St. Martin & Bastille Opera House 
Canal St. Martin is a 4.5 m canal that runs across River Seine. In summer, there are cruises and ferries available and each trip is approximately 2-3 hours. But being in Paris in one of the coldest springs and on a tight schedule, the ferry option is out! However, the lovely garden and Bastille Opera House make a pleasant walk to begin the trip! 

Historically, Canal St. Martin was ordered to be constructed by Napoleon in 1802 so fresh water supplies can be supplied to meet demands of a growing population and avoid diseases such as chloera. 

http://www.ilovecanalsaintmartin.com – Official Blog of Canal St. Martin Quarter 

Notre Dame Cathedral
One of the most well known French Gothic architecture in the world, Notre Dame is a Catholic Cathedral that not only looks spectacular, but has an amazing architectural history. Originally the Saint-Etienne Cathedral, the cathedral was ordered to be demolished in 1160 by Bishop Maurice de Sully and construction began in 1163, but it took 185 years for the cathedral to be completed with apse, choir, Western facade and tower, nave vaults, transcepts and north rose window! (Architecture/Art history geeks, Notre Dame’s remaining elements were completed in 1250 – 1345, I like to think it’s really completed by 1345 but please correct me if I am wrong). Why did it take so long? Besides the wondrous workmanship, I believe it’s because by 1245-1260, Jean de Chelles, a master mason and then Pierre de Montreuil, an architect remodeled the transcepts into Rayonnant style.

For your information, Gothic architecture emphasizes on flying buttresses, space and pointed arches, but Rayonnant style drifted away from Gothic architecture’s emphasis on illusion and structural lightness to the extreme (making the architecture seem “light”). I love Notre Dame not only as I have my “seen another architecture/art from art history class in university” moment, but because to travel in history in such spectacular architecture, to experience light showering upon you (ok, I am a big fan of Gothic architecture), and see how small we are in this huge universe – that is euphoric. 

Notre Dame also has tours that takes you to the crypt as well however line ups are huge and be prepared to wait. 

Notre Dame 
6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
http://www.notredameparis.fr 

Pathenon 
Pathenon is another piece of architecture that has went through many changes. Originally a church containing the relics of St. Genevieve of Paris, the National Constitutent of Assembly after French Revolution determined it to be changed into a mausoleum to honour great Frenchmen. Architecturally, the main design was a Greek cross with portico of Roman Corinthian columns and is in Neoclassicism style. Note that I refer it as Neoclassism, as it draws on the ideas of classical Greek and Roman architecture/style but these art/architecture are constructed at a much later time. 

Pantheon has been twice changed back to a church, and then back to a meeting place for intellectuals. I was most amazed at the crypt where Victor Hugo, Marie and Pierre Curie and Louis Braille were buried. It leaves much for thought despite the smaller scale of the place, doesn’t it? 

Pantheon National
Place du Panthéon, 75005 Paris, France
http://pantheon.monuments-nationaux.fr/‎

The Louvre 
This is a no brainer – if you don’t go to Louvre when in Paris, you are just missing out. The Louvre is originally a fortress under King Philip II and remnants of the fortress can still be seen inside the museum, then as Louis XIV chose Palace of Versailles to be his household, the Louvre was largely a place to display royal collections. It was occupied by Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture from 1692 for 100 years and salons were hosted there. It was then declared a museum to showcase the nation’s masterpieces by National Constitutent Assembly during the French Revolution, renamed Musee Napoleon after Napoleon’s rise. 

There are 8 sections: Egyptian, Greek, Etrusan, Near East antiquities, Roman antiquities, Islamic art, Sculpture, Paintings, Prints and Drawings and Decorative Arts, as well as Napoleon II (son of Napoleon I). Since it’s enormous, we decided to target at specific sections. But we strongly advise you NOT to blaze through the Louvre in 3 hours unless you know your art well and are on a tight schedule, because I think art should really be appreciated and savoured with its breadth of meaning and history. 

So I just gave you a photo tour: Italian section, Greek Antiquity-ish Garden, Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese, Gabriella d’Estree and One of Her Sisters by Pomerade Vincent, Anne of Cleves potrait for Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger, Oath of Horati by Jacques Louis David, possibly Venus de Milo, one of the sphinx from Egyptian sections, bedroom in Napoleon II’s mansion, staircases in Napoleon II’s mansion and outside. (But Louvre closed for a day in protest of too much theft a week after we left, so watch out guys!) 

The Louvre 
Musée du Louvre,
75001 Paris, France
http://www.louvre.fr

And I shall leave Part I with 2 of my favourites, Lover’s Bridge (it was in Avengers!) and your exhausted writer (me) at one of my odd favourite places – University of Sorbonne (art history nerd in me must be aching for something)

PS Please feel free to message if you have any questions on art/architecture/food. We will do our best to answer. 🙂