The Hunger Dames | Food Blog

2012-02-29 2 notes

Macarons & Tea at Soirette!

Soirette has only been open for about 8 weeks, and it’s already created quite a buzz in town. On sunday, B and I went there for macarons and tea and was very very pleased. The friendly server was a little surprised that we had such a big appetite, ordering a plate full each, as I noticed that most of the people who were sitting down at their tables only ordered one plate to share, haha. :)

Macarons Macarons Macarons!
As some of you probably already noticed from my blog posts, that I’m a macaron fanatic. I just can’t get enough of these heavenly treats. And yes, I have made them before, and they are a pain to make. Getting them right takes quite a bit of practice, a decent amount of skill (and lots of luck, in my case).

(backrow) Malibu, Cappuccino, Passionfruit, Rose
(frontrow) Rocher, Lavendar, Caramel Fleur de Sel, Matcha
Although I’m a macaron fanatic, I have high expectations. Just by judging the macarons on appearance alone, Soirette has already scored top marks for aesthetics. I really like their subtle decorative elements. Their meringue shells are near perfect. They are smooth, eggshell-like and has with the ever important “foot”. Upon first bite, they are super crispy. The texture of the inside has the right amount of moisture and chewiness and not dry. The fillings they use are mainly ganaches, which I much prefer over buttercream.

Lavender Grey Tea Latte
Those that know me, I am also very picky with teas. I need my teas to be strong in flavour, but not bitter, brings sweetness to the tongue but can’t be too sweet, and most of all, it must be aromatic. This cup of lavender grey satisfies all those requirements. As I mentioned aesthetics, I really like details on the macarons here, notably the brush stroke on the cappuccino macaron, it’s so pretty.

As you can see, they have a nice range of flavours. Picking a favourite from the bunch was so hard, but if I must, I’d say the caramel fleur de sel. I know it’s not the most unique of flavours, but I really like their version. I love plays on sweet and savoury, but it must be done right, or they will cancel each other out. Oh and B really liked their Rose flavour.

The Final Verdict: Probably the best macarons you can get in (downtown) vancouver. They don’t use any dyes and make all their macarons in house. The teas are also of high quality. A must try!

Wow, didn’t mean to write such a long post. Anyway, happy eating! -J

#macarons #french #tea

2012-02-28 0 notes

Pink Afternoon Tea at Faubourg

If you’ve been following my blog, it’s pretty apparent that I love french food, and I love french hightea. Last thursday, I finally got to try Faubourg in Kerrisdale! :) I walked by a couple times and they seem to be always packed. I was pretty lucky to get a table for two within 10 minutes, but I would advise all of you to call ahead and make reservations.

As some of you may know, the basic high tea etiquette is to start with the bottom tier first with the savouries and then work your way up to the sweets. But we actually had the soufflé first because our server said that we should start with it as it would start falling. :) Oh, and it’s also bad etiquette to use your phone or take photos at the table, but we did that nonetheless, oops!

Cucumber, roast beef sandwich with coriander cream & chicken, apple with country ranch dressing sandwich.
Faubourg is famous for their desserts, so I didn’t have high expectations for their sandwiches. The sandwiches were actually pretty good, but I found the roast beef a bit too dry.

Smoked salmon and wasabi cream wrap & scones served with cream and jam
The smoke salmon wrap was so yummy, I wanted seconds! The scones were (oh-my-god) so good. It was light and melt in your mouth crumbly and the cranberry gave it the perfect tartness. I’ve been to many different places for hightea, but so far Faubourg has the best scones.

Mini opéra, mini lemon tart, blueberry puff pastry, strawberry cheesecake, raspberry
soufflé & chocolate mousse
Last but not least the parisian pastries! :) My favourites were definitely their (famous) lemon tart and raspberry soufflé. The lemon tart was so deliciously gooey, the tart shell was beautifully made and the addition of rock sugar made the perfect contrast. The soufflé was hot from the oven and so very airy—it was a real soufflé! Aside from the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Vegas, this is one of the best I’ve ever eaten. The blueberry puff pastry was very light and flaky and the strawberry cheesecake quite scrumptious as well. However, the 2 chocolate desserts were a little too sweet for my liking. But don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate and I love sweets, but these were just a bit too sweet.

Teas: Earl Grey, French Breakfast, Marco Polo, Fuji Yama, Vert Provence, and Bourbon (decaf)
I went with their special Marco Polo tea as my friend highly recommended it. I almost always would choose Earl Grey, but they ran out of it anyway. I thought the Marco Polo tea was a great compliment with the food and I’m glad I chose it. It was a sweet and had a subtle fruityness to it.

The Final Verdict: If you love high tea, you must try Faubourg. I don’t get why people complain about the price, for $25, it’s well worth the price for the quality of food you get. Only complaint? How come there are no macarons? :P

Happy Eating! -J

#hightea #french

2012-02-26 0 notes

Not enough time to blog, but there’s always time to eat!

Just realized I haven’t posted for a whole week! I’m really sorry guys, been super busy packing to move. But here’s a little sneak peek of the next blog post. :) Finally got a chance to try Faubourg last thursday. I promise to post about it real soon, so stay tuned. :)

-J

#high tea #french

2012-02-11 0 notes

Dineout Series: L’abattoir

I always walk by L’Abattoir in gastown and I keep saying to B that we need to try this place out for months. B, AC (guest foodie) and I finally got a chance to dine here last week during Dine Out Vancouver and I totally regret not doing it sooner. The meal was near perfect and a wonderful dining experience.

Complimentary bread: brioche with bacon bits, anchovy cheese twists, and poppyseed sesame crisps.
Very rare do I go to a french restaurant and get something other than baguette and butter. Those that know me, know that I have an on-going love affair with baguette and butter. But L’Abattoir sure knows how to be creative. The brioche with bacon is to die for. Ok, maybe I’m overselling it because of the bacon, but it really was good. And B couldn’t stop raving about the cheese twists.

Country style pork pate with toast, pickled vegetables and apricot sauce
I’m normally not a big fan of pork, especially pork pate, but this was really good. It kind of looks like canned ham from the afar. The pickled vegetables were interesting, with the perfect amount of acidity to go with the pork. I liked how the ratio between meat and bread was 1:1.

Poached egg with potato gnocchi, leeks, mushrooms, pecorino sabayon
This was B’s appetizer, she’s very particular of leeks and only likes them if the taste doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. She really enjoyed it and I really liked the deep fried leeks, so yummy.

Warm steelhead and fried potato salad with smoked pork fat, dill, horseradish
This was AC’s appy, I forgot to try it (I’m not really a salad kind of girl), but he said it was really good. He was pretty impressed with the fish.

Duck breast and leg meat sausage, buttered green cabbage, pan fried German noodles
Alright, I really love duck, and especially duck breast. I didn’t expect the duck to be wrapped with sausage but this was really really tasty. I hope L’abbatoir adds this onto their regular menu because I need more of this duck sausage. The only complaint I have is the german noodles, they reminded me of chinese hand-cut noodles. It tasted too bland and starchy. I would have prefered just duck and cabbage. Or maybe just duck, no wait, lots more duck—four pieces of duck was not enough.

Earl Grey pot de creme with Lemon shortbread, whipped milk
To sum this dessert up, ultimate foodgasm in my mouth. Everyone knows I love tea, especially earl grey tea, and this one really hit the spot. They also serve jjbean coffee, so I had to get myself a nice espresso macchiato to go with it. Perfection. I literally licked the bowl clean.

Wine Pairing: Tantalus Riesling 2010
If you ask me what my favourite type of wine is, it’s definitely Riesling. I usually prefer German Riesling over any kind, but this was one of the suggested wines, and I was very impressed. It had a near perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, and went very well with all the dishes I had. B had to drive so my other friend and I finished the bottle, it was for the best anyway. ;)

The Final Verdict: L’Abbatoir is a total gem in gastown (or at least I think so). Delicious and creatively crafted food. Perfect ambience. Beautiful interior. And unlike the majority of restaurants in Vancouver, they actually have a sommelier. A must try in Vancouver. Definitely make reservations because they seem to be very busy all the time, and who can blame them?

Oh and in case you’re wondering what “l’abattoir” means in french, it’s “slaughter-house”. The name is clever and fits perfectly for their location, previously gastown’s meat-packing district, right by the infamous Blood Alley.

Happy Eating! -J

#Dine Out Vancouver 2012 #french #duck #dessert #coffee #wine #riesling

2012-02-06 0 notes

Dineout Series: Bistro Pastis

There are very few major “food events” that goes on in Vancouver. Well at least not many that everyone in the city participates in. Dine Out Vancouver is one of the very few. This year, looking through the list of restaurants, trying to skip out major food chains, I managed to pick out a couple that I really really liked. Bistro Pastis was the first one for me this year!

House Smoked Salmon Tartare, Capers, Crème Fraîche and Croutons
This was so fresh and the seasoning was perfect, lemon juice and capers made excellent complements. Maybe a few more pieces of crouton would be nice, but didn’t mind just eating the fish alone. The suggested wine, Pinot Gris from Kelowna Art paired very nicely with this dish.

Escargot Gratiné, Mushrooms, Parsley, Garlic Cream Sauce, Watercress Salad
You really can’t go to a french restaurant and not have escargots. The sauce in this dish was delicious! It was creamy but not too creamy, if you know what I mean. Sometimes sauces with escargot are too thick and rich, but this one was perfect for an appetizer.

Crispy Duck Confit Cassoulet, Braised White Bean, Red Wine Jus
One of the best duck confit I’ve ever had. The skin is so crispy but the duck is exceptionally moist. So yummy. I did think the portion of white beans in this dish was too much though.

Grilled Pacific Cod, Potato Gnocchi, Sweet Peas, Chorizo, Calamari, Citrus Beurre Blanc
The cod was succulent, cooked just right. The texture of this dish was quite interesting with the calamari and gnocchi. I quite liked the soft and chewy.

Dark Chocolate Mouse, Almond Biscotti
You can really taste the chocolate in this mousse. But it’s not as light as I like my mousses. It’s rich but not too sweet. I think I was a bit too full to enjoy it. I do like gooseberry and strawberry with dark chocolate.

Crêpe Suzette au Grand Marnier, Vanilla Ice Cream
The Grand Marnier sauce was very pleasant but the crepe itself wasn’t too exciting. Feels like a bit too much sauce which makes the crêpe quite soggy. Definitely tasty nonetheless, but not spectacular.

The Final Verdict: Very well sized portions, not pretentious at all. You will definitely be full. The main courses and appetizers are wonderful. The desserts are good, but probably not their main strength. Very nice ambience and excellent service. I definitely recommend trying this place out for sure. I’ll be back for their duck. :)

Happy Eating! -J

#Dine Out Vancouver 2012 #french #duck confit #escargot

4 notes

Japanese Macarons!

Took this photo back when I was in Japan for vacation. I miss Japan. :(
-J

#macarons #japan #french

2012-01-31 1 note

Favourite Places for Macarons in Vancouver

I was talking to a friend today and she asked me where is the best place for macarons. So here’s a post of 3 of my favourites. Remember, taste is highly subjective, these are just my favourites, and might not be yours. If you have any recommendations or if you simply disagree, leave me a comment!

Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates & Patisserie
They have a wide range of flavours, and their flavours change from day to day. Their filling are some of the best, absolutely scrumptious. In my opinion, their fruit flavours are better than Thierry’s. I really like their passionfruit one. The meringue shells are near perfect, but still fragile. Thomas Haas also have exquisite cakes and pastries. I go into a sugar coma after each time I go there. :P

The Urban Tea Merchant
One of the first places I tried macarons, I went there for high tea and fell in love with them. French-style high tea must include macarons. And if you’re planning to go to Urban Tea Merchant, you must try their afternoon high tea. It’s one of my favourites because they have delicious finger food with over 200+ teas to choose from—and they also feature tea flavoured macarons, yummy. :)

French Made Baking
If you want macarons made by a real french baker, you’ve got one here. I originally found them at a local craft fair, and then started ~~stalking~~ following them at other fairs to buy their delicious delicacies. Fortunately, they opened up a shop now on Main St. No need to go around town! If you visit them, you have to try their Earl Grey flavour with chocolate ganache filling, my FAV! (pictured below)

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Happy Eating! —J

#high tea #macarons #vancouver #french