Le Petit Four, dessert, Seoul

Le Petit Four serves macaroons and cakes/dessert. (The name of the shop sounds not so original but I am not complaining) The chef is said to have trained at Paul Bocuse in France and worked under Alain Ducasse. I had tea and coffee at the store and brought macaroons back.


Chocolate popping pie (?)
A layer of hazelnut brownie, marshmallow, mousse, crispy chocolate biscuit coated in thick chocolate. If I weren't so full, I would have finished the whole thing. It can be eaten like a lolipop.



Petit gateau au kaka, a.k.a. s**t cake.
The base is hazelnut cake layered with pineapple compote and then covered with whipped cream. The chef uses special cream, which is thicker but less fattening. I don't know how that works, but anyways, it tastes like whipped fromage blanc. It was very nice.




I don't remember what is called, but basically, it is fondant au chocolat, but not too sweet. It has runny centre.


Macaroons...
I don't think I like macarrons any more. They are pretty to look at, but too sweet for me.
But still, the macarrons at Le Petit Four was nice.

Banana and chocolate macaroon, vanilla macaroon.
I liked the chcolate ganache in B/C macaroon, but I did not like banana macarron part. But that is because I am not a fan of banana.
Vanilla macaroon was nice and chewy.








I am not sure what flavour is the macarron on top, but I smelled rum in the frosting.
Pink one is vitamin mixer, green is pistachio and the bottom one is coconut. They were all nice. Probably the best one I tried in Korea.





Cakes are priced somewhere between 2500KRW to 4500KRW.
Macaroon is 1800KRW each.
Americano: 2500KRW. A bargain!
The portion is small but the quality was very good, which is perfect for me.

Le Petit Four
Tel: 02 322 2669
Mon~Thu:10am-11pm
Fri~Sat: 10am-12am
Tube: Line 2 Hongdae station, exit 5. Walk towards the main gate of Hongdae university. On your left, there is a shopping arcade called Purugio. The shop is on the second floor.

Waiters were very friendly.

Yu-raku (Hong Kong)

Restaurant Name: Yu-raku Japanese Restaurant
Address: Shop E, 468 Jaffe Road (Causeway Bay) 銅鑼灣謝斐道468號百達中心地下E舖
Phone: (+852) 2838 0061

Okonomiyaki is said to be Japanese-style pizza, I remembered there's a restaurant between near Convent Garden / China Town that I used to go back in UK. I can't even remember the name of the restaurants but I just loved the place, I guessed some of the toppings offered were rather non-traditional to suit foriegners taste. (they had things like cheese, sausages, etc).

Whereas the restaurant I went to only offered more traditional toppings! Before I going to Yu-raku I already knew the restaurant is pretty tiny nevertheless when I got there with my friend we were pretty shocked to find they’ve only got 15 seats. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to make your bookings prior visiting.

On the night we ordered (1) Soba Omelette; (2) Yu-kura Salad; (3) Prawn okonomiyaki [(4) complimentary sea kelp salad for being pretty - juz kidding =P].

(1) The soba was “al dente” (I just cannot stand soggy noodles, spaghetti, etc) so it was better than I expected, it was cooked with some thin slices of pork and Japanese cabbage, topped with mayonnaise and something seemingly to be thousand island dressing and seaweed flakes. I love the taste of okonomiyaki sauce (taste a tiny bit like HP sauce – but sweetened, thicker, less acidic and more flavour) although I did find the soba a little salty. However, it was perfect if you wash it down with some japanese plum wine (umeshu on the rocks) or beer!

(2) The salad was fresh, with thin crispy sliced pork toppings which was similar to bacon except it’s not smoked. The salad dressing is the usual Japanese sesame dressing. The whole thing salad was refreshing and great for washing off any greasiness from the soba.

(3) Initially I was gonna try their burger (my love for Japanese burger – if there’s burger and I’m hungry I’d most likely order it.) I was disappointed to be told they weren’t selling any that night so I was kinda forced to order an okonomiyaki…haha well might as well since that’s their speciality. If you’ve never tired it before, the batter mix is just flour, egg and some Japanese fish stock! Easy peacy, then there’s some chopped cabbage. I had prawns this time, but usually you can have pork, squid or anything that tickles your pickles if you are making your own. The brown thing on the top is bonito flakes which is some dried shavings of fish, it doesn't really have a strong fishy taste, so don't be put off by it if you've never tried it before.

(4) Because I did not get the burger I yearned for, so they gave us this little sea kelp salad for free.

This cozy little place is a little gem, it is on the outskirt of Causeway Bay and they only had 3 staff including the chef serving at the restaurant. Only one of them speaks Cantonese and one speaks a little English! While I was there they had to turn down at least 4 tables of customer due to no tables were available. I doubt that they these guys are here to make bucks, they are doing it because they like it and that’s something I admire! Hopefully, one day they’d make enough money so they could move to somewhere slightly bigger and hire an extra chef!!

One reminder though, there's a compulsary extra $20/per head charge on the small side dish they offer per person. I think that's alright since the food are quite cheap there, I think on the night the bill came to $170 (GBP 12) / per head (include 2 non-alcoholic, 1 alcoholic drinks!)

Goongyeon, hanjeongsik / (Korean Table d'hote)

Hanjeongsik (한정식, 韓定食) refers to a full-course Korean meal where various dishes are served in series rather than all at once which is more traditional style. Serving style may seem westernized, but the food is usually still very authentic.
Yesterday, my family and relatives (over 60 people!) gathered at Goongyeon to celebrate the wedding of my cousin who got married in New York in August. Since my cousin and her doting husband are both ABK, a restaurant that serves elegant Korean was chosen. Goongyeon is run by mother and daughters who work very hard to pass on the heritage of authentic Korean food. The mother (Ms Hwang) learned how to cook royal meal from a court cook. They have opened a few restaurants and Goongyeon serves food that was served to the kings of Korea. You may have watched/seen a very popular Korean TV series called Dae-Jang-Geum (대장금, 大長今). Ms Hwang and her daugthers were consulted for all the scenes that involve food and the heroine herself learned how to cook here.
You may think of Korean food as spicy, garlicky, red food, but those dishes are generally considered to be not so elegant. The style of cooking used in royal court or aristocrats houses favour less of chili powder and heavy seasoning, but try to bring out the best of each ingredients.
I don't use much seasoning at home, but Goongyeon uses much less. So some people may find it bland. But once you are used to it, you feel a lot better after a meal.

Individual table setting.
Next to the tea is sweet mustard sauce and sour soy sauce for dipping.



Cute brass spoon (for porridge) and chopsticks.



Tang-pyeong-chae

Jelly made of mungbean starch is sliced thinly to be mized with various toppings, and in this case, beef, yellow bean sprouts (not mungbean sprouts), shitake mushroom, dropwort, bit of egg, seaweed in light soy sauce.

Usually, people put too much sesame oil in it, but this case, it was very light. I am not even sure there is any in it.

This is how it was presented....


and this is what it looks like after mixing.


Milsam (my favourite Korean appetizer) and Eo-seon (hmm...kind of fish pâté)
Milsam is a pancake roll filled with thinly sliced vegetables and meat (or without meat). Filling is cooked but still retains crunchiness which is a nice contrast to soft pancake. You dip it in mustard sauce.
Eo-seon...I had a better one. It smelled of soil. Texture was horrible. I don't want to think about it.


Seafood salad in sweet mustard dressing...sweet I said, but still a sinuses-cleansing mustard. Seashell, squid, prawn were used along with flat matchsticks of perssimon, cucumber, sliced raw chestnut, pomegrante.






Sweet pumpkin porridge to calm your toungue afterwards.



Trio of chili paste pancake, seaweed fulvescens pancake and fish and squid pancake. Fish and squid pancake again smelled of soil. Yuk.


Grilled fish. I forgot what fish it is.



The last course before dessert. Rice, sea mustard soup with green perila seeds (rich but delicious!), kimchi, pickled perssimon, water kimchi, 3 types of namul (nicely done) and some seaseond root.




Bulgogi


Dessert

Rainbow ddeok, ssalganjeong (in pink) and clementine

O-mija tea to finish.

Tel)02 3674 1104~5

Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies

Cookies are definitely more fattening than airy sponge cakes (without rich frosting). But there is something about buttery, chewy, chocolatey cookies that I can't help dreaming about. I cook to de-stress, and mindless mixing that does not require me to think is just perfect. Besides, sharing food is good. You share love and at the same time, calories. :P

The chocolate chip cookie below is made following the recipe I tried last time, except that I used caster sugar in place of granulated sugar. Click here for the recipe.

I should really consider replacing dark chocolate with semi-sweet ones. Sometimes I can't tell if the chocolates are dark or burnt. Also, I will reduce the amount of chocolate.

Another cookie I like is peanut butter cookies, those crumbly, peanutty and slightly salty cluster of peanut butter, chocolate and sugar. Sounds scary, right? But that does put me off from eating those crumbly morsels.

Adapted from Le Pétrin. Click here for the original recipe.

250g smooth peanut butter (I used skippy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
150g light brown caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
100g dark chocolate, chopped
50g shelled peanuts
fleur de sel for decoration (optional)
Preheat the oven to 175°C

1. Mix peanut butter, sugar and baking soda.
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Fold in chocolate chips and peanuts. Be careful not to break.
4. Line the baking tray. Place scoops of mixture.
5. Bake for 14 mins or less.
6. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the tray. If not, they will break.
7. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk.

Roast pork, prawn ristto, prawn dip, mashed potatoes

I invited my aunties over for dinner. I wanted to do a nice spread of things, but I ended up serving dishes that are too rich. But they tasted good anyway...so here are the recipes. Just don't serve them at one dinner.

The first...prawn ristto...

I had to boil prawns for prawn dip and thought that it will be a terrible waste to throw away the water in which the prawns were boiled. So I boiled it again with bouquet garni in it to give it a bit of favour. The colour is not that nice because the prawn stock was murky-green/brown. But it tasted so rich and intense. Yum.

(The ingredients are approximate at best. )

1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice, washed and drained.

3-4 cups of stock, warm

1/2 onion

a pinch of chopped garlic

a dash of white wine

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, add olive oil and fry garlic and onion until the onion peices turn translucent.

2. Add rice and keep stirring them till it turns semi-transparent.

3. Splash white wine and let it dry a bit.

4. Add a laddle of stock, keep stirring them until almost all the stock is absorbed. Add more stock and repeat the process until the rice is cooked to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Put a spoonful of risotto in a bowl and add some pan grattato and a tiny spoonful of sour cream.

Prawn dip

It is very rich. Eat moderately.

1 kg of prawns in shell

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup of mayonaise

1/2 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons of tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper

1. Boil and peel the prawns. Roughly chop them up.

2. In a bowl, place all the ingredients together. Mix well. Season well.

3. Serve it with toasted white bread or pumpernickels.

Roasted shoulder of pork

I adapted from Jamie Oliver's slow roasted pork. For the original recipe, click here .

2 kg of pork shoulder with skin

1 1/2 tablespoon of fennel seed

2 onions, quatered

2 medium carrots, cut into four pieces

1tablespoonDried thyme (a bunch of fresh thyme if avaiable)

1/2 bottle of white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

Coarse sea salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to max.

1. Pat dry and score the skin. Be careful not to cut through the meat.

2. Massage the meat liberally with olive oil. And then coat it with fennel seeds and salt.

3. In a roasting tray, place onions, carrots and thyme. Place pork shoulder on top, skin side up.

4. Put in in the oven and let the skin go beown and a little crackly for 20-30 mins. After that, reduce the temp to 120°C. Cook for 5 hours.

5. After five hours, add a half bottle of white wine. Let it cook for another hour.

6. Take the meat out of the tray and let it rest on a board.

7. Strain the liquid from the tray. Pour out the oil layer on top.

8. Add chicken stock. Let it boil for a while. Check the seasong.

9. Tear the pork - it did not tear as easily as I expected it to. I may have to put it in the oven for longer- with hands or fork. Serve it with pieces of crispy scratchings on top with gravy.

I made a nice creamy mashed potatoes. Again, very rich, but delicious.

6 medium potatoes

1/2 cup of cream

a knob of butter

Chopped garlic cooked in olive oil (I had some left over so I used them but it can be replaced with sliced clove of garlic)

salt, pepper

1. Boil the potatoes. When cooked, tip all the water out and let them sit for a while with the lid on.

2. Boil cream, bottom and garlic in a small sauce pan.

3. Mash the potatoes and add cream/butter mixture. (If using sliced garlic, remember to remove them before adding)

4. Season with salt and pepper.

Pesto Sauce (Recipe)

Because I'm annoyingly picky but obsessed with pesto, so when I realised, the sort of pesto they serve in HK is mainly the olive oil mixed with bit of chopped basil, I've decided to take this matter into my hands and make my own pesto!!

When I went herb shopping in HK, I began missing UK~ This is because it is not that easy to get your hands on fresh herbs in HK. I'd encounter small (honestly small) package of basil costing like 4-5 quid. This is absurd, insane, rip off...totally unnecessary...well, not if you are craving for creamy pesto sauce for over a year but cannot find anyone that suit your taste. So yeah, I went into the supermarket and got slaughtered and broke my bank on HERBSSSS~

What you need:

• 2 cups of Basil & of parsley in the ratio of 3:1 (Usually, I do not recommend putting parsley in, however, basil are VERY expensive in HK, I mean, unless you feel like putting 15 quid just on herbs into a blender that serves 2, then please go ahead and do so...I'm a poor student living on a budget!)
• 6 cloves of garlic (or more, if you like it more garlicky...I love garlic~ so I think I ended up putting more than that in it.)
• 3 tbsp of pine nuts & 1 tbsp of cashew nut (well, I've ran out of pine nuts...some ppl actually like less nuts in their pesto sauce, really depends on how nutty you like it to be.)
• 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-reggiano (again, add / minus the ingredients to suit your own taste, you can also use parmesan or other similar cheese, but I like Parmigiano more.)
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/3 cup of butter
• 1 cup of cream
• salt and pepper to flavour (I used just a pinch of white pepper instead, but some like black pepper instead)

What to do:

1. Diced the butter / cheese into strips or small cubes (depending how strong your blender is...as you can see my sorry - axx one that I uses in HK)
2. Throw in the herbs, garlic, butter, cheese and oil.
3. Once mixed into a smooth paste, add in the nuts
4. Pour in the cream
5. Add in Salt and pepper to flavour, voila~~

Now, now, you can keep the sauce in the fridge and apparently it does freezes rather well, though I've never tried.


This is what I've done with it, sometimes I'd use prawn and scallop instead of mushroom...again I had mushroom in the fridge so...haha just thought I'd make use of it~

I've cooked the mushroom in garlic, butter, white wine and a dash of stock, put it aside.
Then I diluted the pesto sauce with milk, added more salt in, put in the cooked spaghetti.
Once the sauce started bubbling, then it's ready to serve.

With prawn and scallop, you can cook it with garlic, sliced shallot, bit of chilli flakes, salt and pepper, dash of lemon juice. Off you go children, time to cook~~

Mac and cheese

Not really a mac and cheese but more like cheesy pasta bake. I did not have macaroni on hand so I used spiral pasta I have in my pantry.

Serves 3 as appetizer
200g macaroni (or short pasta)
1 garlic clove, peeled
10g butter, plus extra to grease
300ml thin cream
1 bay leaf
Pinch of nutmeg
200g of grated cheese ( gruyère, cheddar or any hard cheese)
30cm x 18cm x 5cm gratin dish, buttered.

1. Preheat the oven to 180
2. Place the bayleaf, cream and garlic in a saucepan and let it boil. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Boil pasta according the instruction on the packet. When cooked, drain well and add olive oil to coat.
4. Remove garlic and bayleaf from the cream, and mix in 150g of cheese and nutmeg. Add pasta and coat them with sauce. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Tip the mixture into the gratin dish. Lay the mixture out evenly. Sprinkle 50g of cheese.
6. Bake for 30 minutes till golden and bubbling.

I feel that the dish was a bit too big for my mixture. If I used a smaller dish, it would have been better.

Dutch Baby Pancake

The promise of piping hot pancakes topped with syrup and fruits is enough to get me jump out of bed even on a Saturday morning.
Since I don't have a loving boyfriend or husband in the form of Daniel Craig (yes, I am obssessed), I decided to whip it up by myself. Instead of going for ordinary pancakes, I experiemented with Dutch Baby Pancake which looks like Yorkshire pudding. I have been fascinated by this puffy pancake since the day I saw it on Martha Stewart's website, but never tried to make it. It seemed too difficult then. I tried and the result was not so bad, but I wish I used different flour.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.
3 eggs,room temperature
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup sifted bread flour or all-purpose flour*
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 teaspoons butter
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Powdered or confectioners sugar

* I used all-purpose flour but it is said (on the internet) that bread flour will work a lot better.

1. Place a cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat it to 225°C. I used two 7-inch skillets.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs till light and frothy. Add milk, flour , vanilla extract and beat for five minutes more.
3. In a piping hot skillet, place a blob of butter, enough to coat the surface.
4. When the butter has melted, pour the batter and put the pan back in the oven.
5. Cook for 20 minutes until the pancake has risen and golden.

Serve with freshly squeezed lemon juice and generously sprinkle powder sugar.

- If I had more time, I would serve them with stewed strawberries and whipped cream. Imagine what a bliss that would be.

À Table, French, Seoul

I was invited by my colleagues to join them for celebratory lunch at

À Table in Samcheong-dong. À Table serves decent French food at reasonable price, a real plus.

There is no à la carte menu but prix fixe only. I think that the chef changes the menu monthly. Customers get to choose main course. Today's was beef tederloin or lamb, and I went for lamb.

Amuse bouche...I think it was velouté of cauliflower and apple compôte.

Creamy but refreshing at the same time.

Scallops with sweet pumkin sauce and seafoam.

Tender but I wished the scallop was sweeter.

Seafood terrine with mango sauce.

Lamb

It was meant to be a chocolate mousse but it was not really a mousse.

More like chocolate custard. It was nice with pistachio sauce and all, but I will not call that a mousse.

Prix-fixe lunch: 30,000KRW+ 10% tax

Tel: 736-1048

Things I love...food or not

Not in particular order...

1. My spoilt but still adorable dog whose butt I am constantly tempted to bite.
And her paws..I love its smell.
2. Fresh high thread count cotton sheet
3. Snuggling up in my bed in the weekend mornings, knowing that I don't need to get up for another hour.
4. Reading books or magazines while soaking in lavender-scented bath
5. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
6. Hot chocolate made of shaved Valhorna chocolate
7. Vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge sauce and cream
8. Morning in Picadilly Circus watching people going to work.
9. Fortnum and Mason around Christmas
10. Stollen
11. Christmas in Paris
12. Tiramisu from Zafferano
13. Carrot cake from Ceci-Cela
14. Mistuko, a perfume by Guerlain
15. All the perfumes by L'Artisan Parfumeur
16. Fresh jasmine flowers
17. Smell of my mom - Sisley Eau de Campagne, I think.
18. Summer in England
19. Hot scones smeared with butter, and then topped with rasberry jam and a thick layer of clotted cream.
20. Washing my feet before going to bed. I am convinced that this helps me to sleep.
21. Marmalade
22. Apricot jam
23. Learning a new language
24. Faye Wong (王菲)...ooh...I worship thee.
25. Sipping a mug of hot chocolate on a icy morning in Paris
26. Louboutin heels
27. Clarins body oil
28. Full-body exfolation Korean style and body massage afterwards
29. Smell of freshly cut grass
30. Whipped cream on anything
31. Cheese
32. My friends. Whereever they may be.
33. Smell of wet trees
34. Thigh-crunching squat. More painful the better.
35. Karen Mok (莫文蔚)
36. Lemon tart
37. Dooly, an old Korean cartoon character.
36. Gargamel and Azrael from The Smurfs
37. Farewell My Concubine (Movie)
38. Ice tea on a hot summer's day - it must have mint leaves
39. Tamarind
40. Flaky paratha
41. Smell of old books
42. Old pictures of my parents
43. Old love songs
44. Christmas carols
45. Afternoon nap on a rainy day while listening to old love songs
46. Buttered savoy cabbage
47. Tom from Tom and Jerry
48. Pork cracklings
49. Mille feuilles from Goumard (I don't think they do it anymore)
50. Kashimiri embroidery
51. Chips (fries) with salt and vinegar
52. Gooey, sticky and sweet pecan tart
53. Thick bath robes at the hotels
54. Reading history books
55. Being home alone
56. Quiet mornings - no phone calls, no door bells
57. Macaroons from Ladurée
58. The moment when I am about to fall asleep
59. Medjool dates
60. Sandwiches from Prêt à Manger
61. Peanut butter cups, preferably frozen
62. Chocolate-covered almonds
63. Toasted marshmallow
64. Palsun, a Chinese restaurant at Shilla Hotel. I have been going there since I was little. Although the restaurant underwent a renovation, it still reminds me of my granddad. Very expensive for me to go there with my friends, so I rely on the grace of someone else's charity (like my parents and aunties and uncles) :P
65. Walking around London
66. Walking around Paris
67. The National Gallery, London
68. Klimt
69. Staying true to one's principle
70. Korean style beef jerky made by my mom
71. Ho-dduk - a Korean style panfried cake stuffed with sugar, cinamon and nuts. They are often sold on the street.
72. Topanyum, a type of Korean salt made on soil bed. It is very high in minerals. When used in food, it makes all the difference. Far superior than famed Sel de Guérande.
73. Roast turkey with stuffing
74. Kelly bags
75. Pesto
76. Bruxelles
77. Avocado
78. Passionate performers
79. Wong Kar Wai's films
80. Zhang Yi Mou's films
81. Enjoying a latte at home.
82. Korean apples
83. Having a goal in life
84. French cruller at Mister Donut
85. Brussel sprouts
86. Having butterflies in my stomach when I am about to travel
87. Korean beef bbq
88. Green orange juice I had in Lahore
89. Butter croissant
90. Good stationery
91. Being born into my family
92. CSI the TV series
93. Location of my workplace - surrounded by mountains. Very rare in Seoul
94. Having a boss who inspires me
95. Old Korean songs, like Yongpil Cho and Patti Kim
96. Creamy dip scooped up with tortilla chips
97. Pig's trotter Korean style
98. Cantonese roast meat
99. Chaat
100. Dosa
101. Having a job
102. Saffron
103. Pistachio lokums
104. Rose petal jam
105. Candied fruits from South of France
106. Grasse
107. Medieval cities in France
108. Violet petal jam
109. Botanical paintings
110. When my spoilt dog sleeps on my chest lightly snoring down my face.
111. Waterstone's
112. Thick youghurt drizzled with honey
113. Lavender
114. Patchouli
115. Thinking of what to cook for my lunch gatherings
116. Going to ballet performance
117. Pavlova
118. Fluffy pancakes
119. Hot tea
120. A good salad on a sunny day (Lots of nuts, bitter radichio, goat cheese)
121. Regular work-out session with my trainer
122. Tanya Chua (蔡健雅)
123. Smell of frangipani and monoi
124. Vanilla flower
125. Lever arch files
126. Yoon Dong-Ju (윤동주), a Korean poet who was tortured to death by Japanese in 1944,
and his beautiful, beautiful poems.
127. A Guinot facial at 122 Knightsbridge
128. Ear candling
129. Making body scrub at home
130. Chinese massage
131. Taipei
132. Hong Kong