Flashback Friday: WILDFLOUR CAFE + BAKERY

On the rare occasions that I fly back home for a visit, I make sure to go to restaurants I haven't been.  It's so easy to go back to my favorites again and again but it's also fun to eat  at the new restaurants that have opened up in Manila recently.

Wildflour actually isn't new, they opened their first cafe and bakery in Bonifacio Global City in 2012.  It's new to me though since I had heard so much about it but had never been.    I finally got my chance when my cool designer friend TC took me there for lunch.  I was so pleasantly surprised and impressed that I went there twice more in the short week that I was home.

What's great about Wildflour is that aside from their massive selection of fresh-baked breads, pastries and cakes, they also have a full all-day dining menu serving breakfasts, soups, sandwiches, salads, pastas and a few main courses. (The menu might be different in each outlet, I have only bent the one in Legaspi Village) For lunch, I've had the moules frites and a chocolate tart.  The next time I went for breakfast and had the bagel and lox with a pot of filter coffee and another time, I stopped by for merienda (snack) of a sticky bun and a  latte.  I always think a place has made it when it becomes my go-to restaurant and Wildflour is just that - a cafe and bakery that is perfect for any time of the day.  You'll know what I mean when you go.

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Wildflour Cafe + Bakery

L.P. Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati
Phone:+63 2 808 7072
Hours: Monday to Saturday 7AM–10PM

Frabelle Business Center 111 Rada St, Legaspi Village, Makati
Phone:+63 2 833 9799
Hours: Monday to Saturday 7AM–10PM, Sunday 8AM–4PM

Ortigas The Podium, 12 ADB Avenue Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
Phone:+63 2 571 8588
Hours: Daily 7AM–10PM

Ground floor, Net Lima building, 26th St, Taguig (Bonifacio Global City)
Phone:+63 2 856 7600
Hours: Monday to Saturday 7AM–10PM, Sunday 8AM-4PM

Flashback Friday: LES DELICES

Can it already be August?  Here's a flashback Friday post from our Christmas holiday in Punta del Este.

Breakfasts usually involve coffee and the medialunas con dulce de leche (the local version of croissants, slightly sweet and served with a caramel spread) and Les Delices in the town center of Punta del Este (or Punta, as everyone calls it), has been the go to spot for years especially for Argentines on holiday looking for their medialuna fix.

We did the same and had breakfast there bright and early before heading to the beach.  We did the works - fresh orange juice, coffee, toast, scrambled eggs and a bunch of medialunas.  While we ever there, there was a steady stream of patrons buying their breakfast pastries and a few locals quietly enjoying their coffee.

Aside from their large selection of pastries and cakes, they also serve a full lunch and dinner menu and do a good business in takeaway boxes of assorted mini pastries and cookies for afternoon tea.

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Les Delices

29 Las Gaviotas, 20100 Punta del Este, Uruguay
Phone: +598 4244 3640

Flashback Friday: Thoumieux

The Thoumieux is a 15-room boutique hotel, owned by the BeauMarly group of Thierry Costes (son of one of those Costes brothers) and operators of over a dozen hip and happening restaurants and hotels in Paris.  It was a novelty for us since we always stay at Le Saint-Gregoire in the neighboring 6th, our favorite left bank arrondissement and we were pleasantly surprised with the vie du quartier of the 7th arrondissement fun as well.  We arrived at dawn on a cold November morning and were lucky enough to have the room ready for a our very early check-in.  Our room was on the top floor overlooking the street which we preferred, despite the noise, as it gave us a nice place to sit and watch the bustling rue Saint-Dominique.  Interiors are a riot of pattern on pattern created by India Mahdavi (which can be overwhelming for some), although we thought it was a fun take on the usual flower prints or toile de jouy traditionally used in these type of hotels.  It also helped convince us to choose Thoumieux for their Aesop products (love them!), the in-room illy FrancisFrancis  (same one we have at home), complimentary mini bar, iPad loaded with information and music and the full-service brasserie on the ground floor - a definite plus, especially in the winter, where we could nip down to have a quick drink or dinner without having to brave the cold.

We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel a few times, it was pricey at €30 in the dining room or €40 for breakfast in bed, but worth it - coffee, tea or hot chocolate, fresh fruit salad, vanilla yoghurt, a basket of vienoisseries and toast with honey and homemade jams, a soft-boiled egg, ham and in-house smoked salmon served on pretty plates with starched linen napkins in a cozy dining room just off the tiny reception area.

We also had lunch (weekday prix-fixe €22/two-course or €29/three course), dinner and even dessert and coffee at the busy Brasserie Thoumieux which was always packed with locals especially on Sunday when so many Paris restaurants are closed.  The food was well-executed, from the tartare de boeuf (steak tartar) to the entrecôte sauce poivre (rib-eye with pepper sauce) - cuisses de grenouilles (frog's legs) to the supreme de volatile (roast chicken breast) - all quite good but not a gourmet meal, which is what brasserie fare is all about.

Luckily, we also had the chance to sample one of the Gateaux Thoumieux creations, a sugar-frosted lemon raspberry butter cake - our in-room welcome amenity - and one that we picked at constantly when we had our afternoon espresso.  The jewel-box sized all-white marble cake shop is just across the street from the hotel with a beautiful window display of cakes and pastries.

All in all a wonderful stay and one we're keen to repeat on our next Paris trip - hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Nota Bene: Like other small hotels in Paris, keep in mind that there are certain quirks: No lift and sometimes no one to help you carry your luggage upstairs,  No breakfast a la carte menu but you can always request changes and they try to accommodate you, a very simple room service menu.  Keep in mind that this is a boutique hotel and not at all like a full-service big hotel chain with round-the-clock everything.  Remember, ask (nicely) and you shall receive.  

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Hotel Thoumieux

79 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris

Brasserie Thoumieux

79 rue Saint Dominique, 75007 Paris

*Open daily non-stop from midday to midnight.  Valet parking in the evening

Gateaux Thoumieux 

58 rue Saint Dominique,75007 Paris

*Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

MOSCOW RESTAURANTS

To finish off my long-delayed posts on Moscow is a list of a few restaurants I went to that I really enjoyed. Most are located either in the center or just off the garden ring road.  Here they are in no particular order:

Moloko Cafe

Ulitsa Bolshaya Dimitrovka 7/5

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 692 0309

*Open 24 hours daily

Moloko Cafe used to be a state milk store hence the name (moloko means milk in Russian).  Interiors are modern - great velvet chairs line each side of the room with a large bar in the middle.  There's a good crowd of expats and locals and not everyone is dressed to the nines.  We came for lunch on a Sunday and the place was half-full with mostly young Russian couples and their kids.  We shared a starter of smoked mackerel on baby potatoes followed by the sea bass in red curry for me and the beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes for A.  Food was fine and service was friendly, the only downside was the dessert which seemed store-bought.  As it's open 24 hours, I'm sure that there is a pre-club crowd that hangs out for cocktails and a post-clubbing crowd who come for breakfast before heading back home at dawn.

Vogue Cafe

Kuznetsky Most 79

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 623 1701

*Open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. till late, Weekends from noon to midnight

Another concept from the Novikov group, Vogue Cafe is a modern, bright space with a black and white interior with some color brought in with the large framed model shots on the walls and shelves of Vogue magazines.  Food is modern European Russian-style which means Italian or Mediterranean with some sushi and sashimi thrown in.  The combination works though as the place is crowded on most days with fashion-conscious Muscovites enjoying the Euro-inspired menu.  Its' location alongside trendy department store Tsum also helps.  We had a decent mixed salad, a penne arrabbiata and a pappardelle with cepes.

Il Forno

Ulitsa Neglinnaya 8/10

Moscow

Telephone: +8495 621 90 80

*Open weekdays from 8:00 till midnight and weekends from 11:00 a.m. till midnight

Other branches on Ulitsa Ostrozhenka 3/14 and Kutuzovsky Avenue 2/1

We stumbled into Il Forno on a cold windy evening on our first night in Moscow since it was on the same street as our hotel not expecting anything special and we were pleasantly surprised with the pizza and the service.  We had a salad to share and some pizzas on one evening and pasta on another night.  The menu has classic Italian pastas, risottos and pizzas and a few meat and fish main courses.  It's a casual restaurant with a proper brick-oven which makes the pizzas perfect.

Brownie Cafe

Maly Kozinsky Pereulok, 10

Moscow

Telephone: +7916 336 26 33

*Open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

In hip and happening Patriarch's Pond, Brownie Cafe is a tiny. welcoming place owned by the Friends Forever group, which has a dozen hip cafes specializing in cakes and coffee.  This newest addition which opened in February of this year,  has a retro vibe with it's multi-colored chairs, communal wood tables and large display case filled with all sorts of cakes and sweets.  We shared two - a chocolate raspberry cake and a strawberry shortcake with excellent coffee.  I dare you to enter and not have a slice of cake.

LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN

Our last trip in 2013 before our move to Singapore was to Buenos Aires to visit family.  It was the tail end of winter in the Southern hemisphere and although the sun was shining on most days, it was still chilly so we lucked out on a nearby cafe which was two blocks away from where we were staying.  Le Pain Quotidien has been a favorite for years.  I remember spending so much time there in the late 90's when my stepsister was living in New York.  The Madison avenue branch was our local cafe and we whiled away hours with our bowls of cafe au lait reliving our Paris days.  Since then, Le Pain Quotidien has become a global brand recreating their bleached wood interiors with the standard communal table and their selection of amazing bread all over the world. 

We were pleasantly surprised with the Buenos Aires outpost - same bleached wood interiors, a large oval communal table, the usual open-faced tartines (sandwiches), the big bowls (not cups) of milky coffee, the daily blackboard menu and the same friendly service.  We had breakfast there almost every day and since it was located in the mostly residential neighborhood of Palermo chico, it was superb for people watching and hanging out.  As they say, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

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Le Pain Quotidien

Jerónimo Salguero 3075
Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
+54 11 2073-1866

*Open all-day daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

*Other branches in Palermo Viejo and Belgrano

LA CEIBA

On our way to dinner a few weeks back we passed by a large well-lit cafe on the bustling avenue Roosevelt which we added to our list of new places to try out.  Last Sunday, after brunch at another new discovery in Condado (more on that later), we headed over to Puerto Nuevo to see what they had to offer.

La Ceiba is a large delicatessen and pastry shop specializing in Spanish treats from jamon and chorizo to churros and turron.  A large chiller counter lines one whole wall and is filled with goodies - cakes, pastries, sweets and bread while a small area off to the side has prepared food - boquerones en vinagre (white anchovies marinated in vinegar), seafood paella, chorizos stewed in red wine and lots of other goodies.  There are also sandwiches made with jamon serrano and other Spanish cold cuts.

The cafe itself is more a self-serve cafeteria with simple formica topped tables and wooden chairs where  one can have breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack as the place is open all day from early in the morning to late in the evening.  It was bustling for a Sunday afternoon with locals lingering over lunch or just having a beer, some ham and watching Spanish football on the large-screen tv's.

We succumbed to a few sweets to go - mallorca, churros, quesitos (a caramelized puff-pasty case stuffed with white cheese) as well as a few salty treats - a togo box of crispy roasted pig crackling and a small portion of seafood paella.  La Ceiba is perfect for a simple Spanish meal or a coffee and a pastry with a bit of local flavor thrown in.

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La Ceiba

1239 Ave. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Puerto Nuevo 00920

Puerto Rico

Telephone: +1 787 782 0419

*Open all-day everyday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

CHELSEA MARKET

On my last day in New York, I met up with good friend, Brooklyn native and fellow foodie C, who said I couldn't leave the cit without stopping by Chelsea Market - which houses an enclosed food court with specialized food purveyors including a large Anthroplogie boutique, a Posman Books 

and a Bowery Kitchens, restaurant supply store where I finally found a large metal cake stand which I had long-admired in the Dean & DeLuca stores.  Also in the same building are the offices and production facilities of the Food Network which makes for a captive clientele of foodies who often lunch at the market.

We met right after noon and walked around the place scoping out the area and doing a tour of what was available before deciding on lunch from the specialty butcher Dicksons Farmstand  where the daily blackboard menu listed pulled pork, banh-mi, roast chicken and hot dogs.  C had the pulled pork sandwich and treated me to a banh-mi (a Vietnamese sandwich usually made with roasted pork belly) with caramelized ground pork stuffed in a soft baguette and topped with pickled cucumbers and carrots and lots of fresh cilantro along with a fizzy organic lemonade.  We managed to snag one of the few tables where we devoured our sandwiches before heading off in search of dessert.  

We finally ended up at Bar Suzette where we lined up for a takeaway lemon, butter and sugar crepe made with the pedigree ingredients of Ronnybrook Dairy Farm butter, fresh lemon juice and natural granulated sugar.  Wrapped up in a paper cone, we then exited onto to 16th street and climbed up to The High Line where we enjoyed our dessert while taking a stroll in one of the prettiest parks created out of an abandoned railway.  We grabbed a post-lunch coffee at the Blue Bottle stand where I had an espresso while C chose an iced coffee then we walked further on until we found a spot in the shade of The Standard Hotel and listened to a classical quartet while enjoying the summer breeze, the Hudson river views and several years of catching up. 

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Chelsea Market

75 Ninth Avenue (between 15th and 16th streets)

New York NY 10011

Telephone: +1 888 727 7887

*Open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The High Line

Telephone: +1 212 206 9922

*Open daily from 7 a.m to 10 p.m. 

Access from the following locations:

• Gansevoort Street
• 14th Street (elevator access)
• West 16th Street (elevator access)
• West 18th Street
• West 20th Street
• 23rd Street (elevator access)
• West 26th Street
• West 28th Street
• West 30th Street (elevator access)

LADUREE

First spring morning in Paris and we were jet lagged and up at 6:30 a.m. so after walking around the quartier, we managed to find a neighborhood boulangerie on the rue de cherche-midi and grabbed a buttery croissant in a paper bag and ate that on the street while we waited for the nearby café to set up their table and chairs and open for the day. At 7:30, the bar was open for coffees so we found a spot on the ancient zinc-topped bar and had our first, much-needed café crème. After that, we walked up the road towards Saint-Germain-des-Pres so we could work up an appetite and have our second breakfast (when in Paris, two breakfasts on the first day are in order) at our favorite spot on the tiny rue Jacob - Ladurée.

No trip to Paris would be complete without stopping by Ladurée for some sinful patisserie and a coffee or tea or having a light lunch in the very elegant back room. We settled into a corner and ordered another petit dejeuner. This time served on pastel-edged china with silver cutlery and thick linen napkins. I had the basket of breakfast breads which came with croissant, pain au chocolat and country bread rolls with tubes of very cold unsalted butter and a selection of jams and preserves. My mom had scrambled eggs which were soft and fluffy and were served with back bacon and country bread rolls. I skipped the coffee and had a hot chocolate instead which came in a silver jug filled to the brim with hot dark chocolate enough for two servings.  After that lovely morning spent lingering over breakfast, we set off on a long walk in the lively sixth arrondissement for some window-shopping.  A perfect start to our Paris week.

PUTIH PINO

In an easy-to-miss side street just off Sanur's Jalan Danau Tamblingan is a tiny sweet-looking cafe called Putih Pino.  A friend brought me here for a coffee and cake one afternoon in December and I have been back several times since to have a coffee, with beautiful latte art, and a slice of whatever cheesecake they have for the day.  The  place has a colonial-theme all-white interior with antique tiles and a small open kitchen just like someones home.  Their menu is limited with a few breakfast choices, some sandwiches, a few simple Asian-style main courses plus their cakes and desserts in the display case which change often.  There are also fresh mixed juices and good coffee.  Stop by for a quick coffee and cake at one of Sanur's little secrets.

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Putih Pino

Jalan Karang Sari

Just off Jalan Danau Tamblingan near the Bali Hyatt

Sanur, Bali, Indonesia

Telephone: +62 361 287889

*Open daily for breakfast, lunch and tea.

BIKU

June is always hectic - activities to do, sports events to attend and lots of lunches to say goodbye to those going away for the summer or for good.  Right before the end of term last week, Catherine invited me along with another friend of hers to lunch.  She had given me a choice where I wanted to go: Metis (I had been for dinner once), Sardine (haven't been yet but heard it's better for dinner), KuDeTa (I had been several times) and Biku.  In the end, she suggested we go to Biku as it would be a perfect place for a casual lunch.  After a busy morning at the school for the yearly mini-Olympics, I rushed to Seminyak and got there at noon, just in time for our lunch.

Biku is a traditionally a tea room in an antique Joglo (teak wood house from Java).  Although tea is their specialty, they are slowly becoming popular with the local crowd of "ladies who lunch" as they have an all-day breakfast menu, an a la carte menu and a traditional afternoon tea menu.  The place is located in Petitenget which is slightly further than Seminyak and in the up and coming Kerobokan area..  Aside from the restaurant, there is also the local branch of Ubud's Ganesha bookstore right by the entrance.

After looking through the menu, we decided to share the spanakopita (Feta cheese and spinach in filo pastry triangles) then Catherine had a club sandwich and Genevieve and I had the traditional dish of Pepes Ikan Laut (grilled snapper wrapped in banana leaf and served with rice and vegetables).  The portions at Biku are large and the food quite good.  After we polished off the main courses, we shared the fruit pavlova - loads of strawberries and passion fruit, whipped cream and meringue.  Lunch went by quickly and right after, I had to rush off back to the school for pick-up so we said our goodbyes for the summer and promised to meet up again at the end of the school holidays in August.

I enjoyed Biku so much that on my husband's day-off, we went there for breakfast and had another delicious experience.  Their all-day breakfast menu is a treat.  I had the soft poached eggs with cheddar and chive buttermilk scones and Hollandaise.  It was a modern take on the traditional eggs Benedict and perfect for brunch.  Now the only thing I haven't tried is their afternoon tea which I heard includes the traditional cucumber sandwiches, scones and their own selection of teas.  And next time I'm going to make time and drop by Namu, the chic little boutique right across the street which has a very interesting mix of clothes, shoes, accessories, ceramics and art.

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Biku

Jalan Raya Petitenget, 888

Kerobokan, Bali, Indonesia

Telephone: +62 361 857 0888

*Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner

CAFE BATUJIMBAR

Sanur, on the eastern side of southern tip of Bali, is mostly residential.  It is also where the first hotels on the island opened up many years ago.  Today, Sanur still retains a more relaxed appeal with much less tourists (although lots of expats live around here) than overpopulated Kuta or hip and happening Seminyak.

There is one two-lane road that runs parallel to the bypass in Sanur called Jalan Danau Tamblingan and it's where most of Sanur's hotels and restaurants are.  Right smack in the middle of this road is the Sanur institution, Cafe Batujimbar.  Popular with expats and locals, Cafe Batujimbar is a well-located, bright, open-air cafe which serves sandwiches, salads and some Indonesian specialties along with cakes and coffees.  They open early which is why its' a popular hangout for the Sanur mums who stop by for a coffee after doing the school run at the nearby Bali International School.

We did just that after the early morning drop-off and had a quick breakfast before heading back to Uluwatu which is a 45-minute drive from Sanur. We sat at one of the shaded outdoor tables and had double espressos and toasted country bread with butter and homemade jam. The espresso was thick and with lots of crema and the milk served alongside was hot and foamy - perfect cup to jumpstart the morning. (It seems that they get their coffee beans from Kopi Bali which is probably why it's good.) We also shared a carrot-apple-ginger juice (25,000 Rupiah, around US$3) which was good although a tad pricey for Bali.  There were lots of other tempting things on the menu so we will definitely be stopping by again for some breakfast or lunch one of these days.

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Cafe Batujimbar

No. 75A Jalan Danau Tamblingan , Sanur  

BALI ,Indonesia  80228

Telephone: +62 361 28 7374

THE GOURMET GARAGE

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to drive around just to get familiar with the area.  As we are still living in the hotel while looking for a house, we wanted to see what the local delicatessen had to offer. In nearby Jimbaran, the Gourmet Garage hides behind the busy bypass off a small road, and caters to most of the expats who live in or around the Jimbaran-Nusa Dua-Uluwatu area.

The Gourmet Garage is actually a small supermarket that stocks fresh vaccum-packed meats, organic salads, dairy products, cheeses, select cereals and other imported ingredients.  There is also a small section in the back that has cooking utensils, pots, pans and even small appliances.  Near the entrance, is a makeshift cafe with a few tables, a cake counter, an ice cream counter and further in the back, a room filled with wines from all over the world.

On our first visit, we had a quick look around and then sat down for a snack - iced teas, steak sandwich and the garlic roast chicken.  The limited cafe menu has mostly sandwiches and salads as well as nachos and the very popular ice cream.  Steaks from the deli are also available to be eaten at the cafe for a small cooking charge (about 30,000 Rupiah).  When we were there, most clients coming in would get an ice cream cone (15,000 Rupiah) then sit outside on the benches to have it.  Service is friendly but a bit on the slow side so don't come in and expect to dine and dash.  This is more of a sit-around-and-have-a-coffee-and-cake kind of place.

The following day, after a morning spent at the beach, we went back again and had a quick lunch which was better than the day before.  The classic cheeseburger was very good while the chicken wrap was fine - stuffed with Tandoori chicken although served very cold.  A variety of coffee drinks are available as well as takeaway coffee beans and specialty teas from Caswells.  The food is fine but it's really more of a supermarket than a restaurant so it's perfect for a quick cup of coffee right before you do your weekly shopping.

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The Gourmet Garage

Bypass Ngurah Rai Street,

Gg. Tukad Melangi

(right behind Lotus Enterprises building on the bypass)

Jimbaran – Bali – Indonesia
Telephone: +62 361 701 650
Open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

PAN Y MERMELADA

Sometimes I dread trying out a new place because I haven't heard anything about it or no one has recommended it.  Open since 2008, I've driven by Pan y Mermelada countless times when it was still a tiny cafe that had a nondescript storefront.  I would tell myself to stop by but always ended up putting it off for another time.  Late last year they moved to bigger premises right next door and now have a proper eating area where breakfast, lunch and dinner is served and a larger sign thats' hard to miss.  We finally made the effort to drive there last weekend for a late breakfast and I'm so pleased we did.

Pan y Mermelada's bright orange interiors is welcoming and the assorted dark wood tables and chairs makes the place feel like a proper cafe.  There is a cake display counter right by the entrance and a shelf for freshly-baked bread right behind it.  First thing I noticed was that they serve illy coffee - a very good sign.

We asked for the breakfast menu and were told of the selection of fresh bread (brown, white and even squash) served either with butter and jam (hence the name pan y mermelada) or with olive oil and crushed tomatoes - Andalusian style.  They also mentioned that they had eggs to order that weren't listed on the menu.  Since we were starving and ready for a big breakfast, we ordered two sweet croissants (not French-style but Argentine-style with a sugar glaze on top), two double espressos, fried eggs with bacon and squash bread  (this was delicious!!!!) and pan con tomate (toasted brown bread with crushed tomatoes and olive oil).  The server was a bit surprise at how much we ordered but we told her that we were ready for a big breakfast and we didn't disappoint her as we finished everything on our plates and still had space for another espresso.  This little cafe/restaurant is definitely going on my list of breakfast favorites.  Now, I just need to get back there to have lunch or dinner and see if it's as good as the breakfast.

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Pan y Mermelada

Carretera de Cadiz Km 179

Urb. Marbella Real, Local 14

29600 Marbella

Tel: +34 952 829 308

email: rafaelpanymermelada@yahoo.es

LA MORAGA SWEET

After a recent walk around Puerto Banus, I noticed that the storefront near Pizza San Marzano (aka Pizza Express), which was still under construction a few weeks back, is now open.  La Moraga Sweet, operated by chef Dani Garcia and his team at nearby always-packed tapas bar La Moraga Iberica, is a little cafe with a large display of cakes that look almost like art in their perfection.  This little place will definitely give Le Notre (on the other end of the same road) a run for its' money.  When we dropped by, they were still stringing up the plastic bubble lamp over the cake display case but otherwise, the place was ready.   I had an illy espresso in a special cup created by Pedro Almodovar along with a designer looking eclair filled with coffee cream.  The stools are fun but not that comfortable so it be a place where you can linger with your cappuccino but you can always drop by for a quick coffee and a pastry and then choose one of the cakes to enjoy at home.  It's a great place to buy a hostess gift or as a present when one is invited over.  I'm definitely going back for another espresso and to try another of their pretty pastries.

P.D. (January 30 2010) - Went back today to buy some of their wonderful pastries.  Pricey at 3 euros a piece but worth it especially with the fantastic packaging.  Just wish that the staff would learn to smile and make the experience more pleasant.

MERCADO SAN MIGUEL, Part 1

After hearing so much about the newly refurbished Mercado San Miguel off Plaza Mayor, I knew that I couldn't avoid going there and seeing what the fuss was all about.  Since its' construction in 1916, this Beaux Arts iron and glass was always a working market until then over the years, the structure was left in disrepair until it closed for renovation in 2003 and reopened to much fanfare this year.

The market turns out much smaller than I expected but interesting nevertheless with its' concept of a modern market.  The combination of traditional market stalls - fruits and vegetables, fresh fish and seafood, bacalao (salted cod), jamon Iberico, cheeses, fresh meat, Italian delicacies and pastas and gourmet products - Vincon for its' well-known array of designer kitchen gadgets, Libreria LAIE for a wide selection of cookbooks).  

There are also several places to enjoy what the market has to offer and eat sur place either directly at the bar or brought to one of the few high tables left in the center area.  You can have a major smorgasbord of goodies - freshly-shucked oysters accompanied by champagne from Ostras Sorlut , some freshly sliced jamon Iberico with a glass of wine from Pinkelton & Wine, some Fino and mixed cashews and almonds from Vinos Olorosos.  There is also a stall specializing in Portugese delicacies like tiny shrimp fritters and croquettes or smoked salmon and cod from La Casa del Bacalao.

If you'd like to have a proper lunch then sidle up to one of the three bars serving food and squeeze your way into a space on the counter - there is the Cafeteria on one end which serves round pieces of bread topped with all sorts of delicious things: pulpo (octopus), tuna, ham, egg or even better, do as we did and sharpen your elbows for a spot on the counter right beside the fishmonger where there is a list of fish and seafood specials along with two dishes in the cauldrons right on the counter (more on that in another post).

Of course, if you're just wandering around  then have a look at one of the pastry counters at the far end where there will surely be something to tempt you.  Pasteleria V is an Austrian pastry shop where the cakes are made following the Viennese tradition of pastry-making.  Beside it is another sweet-tooth magnet, a long counter with Spanish pastries and sweets from magdalenas to yemas, from chocolates to artisanal ice cream.  All you'll need is a cup of coffee and a place to sit down to enjoy your treat.  The best part is that all that grazing of top-quality food is easier on the pocket than a full-on sit-down meal at a traditional Madrid restaurant and much more fun too.

Baby's first birthday

There are many firsts in life and probably the most fun is a first birthday.  Our daughter just turned one and we celebrated yesterday afternoon with a mini-party at home.  A few of her brother's friends came by after school for some snacks and cake - delicious pink frosted (of course) vanilla and chocolate cupcakes from Cake Marbella along with a fantastic cherry, tomato, spinach and Feta cheese quiche for the mums.

While we chatted away on the terrace, the boys tired themselves out playing football in the garden.  Soon after, the birthday girl blew out her candle (with dad's help), opened her lovely presents and despite the commotion, managed not to shed any tears.  Here's to many, many more years and many, many more firsts!

ROSE BAKERY 2

Thursday was supposed to be our shopping day and initially, all we had scheduled was lunch with Tonger at his favorite foie gras place in Paris. Plans were changed at the last minute on Wednesday though since my son called to let us know that he had his last football game of the season (and the chance to be champions of the little league) on Saturday morning so we changed our return flights to Friday making Thursday our last (hectic) day in Paris.

We ended up meeting another good friend, Daria, for breakfast at the new Rose Bakery in the Marais a block away from her new apartment.  We turned up at half past ten in front of what seemed to be a little grocery shop with no sign outside.  The restaurant/deli was completely empty except for the seemingly foreign-student servers setting up for lunch.  While we were waiting for Daria, my mom ordered a cappuccino and a scone with butter and jam.  I wasn't sure what to have since they were offering only the cakes on display and I didn't really feel like starting my morning with their famous carrot cake, delicious though it may be.

When Daria arrived and we had hugged and said our hellos and finally settled into our table by the front door, she somehow managed to convince the servers to rustle up some eggs for us: oeufs brouille and an omelet nature.  She had a Rooibos (South African red tea) and I ordered an organic coffee bean espresso and we caught up on each other's new since we last saw each other in January.  Service is definitely unobtrusive (they pretty much left us alone) to chat away until our food was served.  The plain omelet was baveuse (runny) and came with a small green salad and the scrambled eggs were creamy and delicious, something that looks so easy but so hard to get right.  No toast was available which was a pity as some bread would have been perfect with the eggs.

Funnily enough, although Rose Bakery is open for all day for breakfast, there really isn't a proper breakfast menu.  You'll just have to choose whatever is on display - cakes, scones, muffins etc.  There is, however, a limited lunch menu of dishes available EVERYDAY (vegetable plate,  salad and tarte/quiche or pizzete and an omelette du jour), daily changing specials labelled TODAY (gazpacho, asparagus risotto, beef carpaccio bruschetta, chicken and sweet potato curry and tofu and Shiitake mushrooms) plus DESSERTS (fromage anglais et chutney, riz au lait, crumble du jour, fruit compote and pastries).  There are also large platters of different salads on the counter available for takeaway.   The drinks menu has fruit smoothies and fresh juices aside from the assorted leaf teas and bio-café. Watch out though for the tiny print as food eaten in the restaurant is charged a 50% premium on the displayed takeaway price.  Total bill for our deliciously simple breakfast was  €25.

Rose Bakery is basically a delicatessen/takeaway counter/restaurant serving food often made with organic ingredients which seems to be popular in Paris at the moment proving that, aside from all the Jamon Iberico on offer I saw in many restaurant menus on this trip, biologique, c'est chic.

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Rose Bakery 2

30, rue Debelleyme (on rue de Bretagne) 75003, Paris

Tel: +33 1 49 96 54 01

* No sign so watch out for the unobtrusive metal and glass-fronted entrance

* No reservations taken so get there early to snag one of the few tables.

Moist Chocolate Cake

After a quick dinner of Szechuan chicken and stir-fried vegetables, we were all craving for some chocolate cake so the challenge was to find a chocolate cake recipe that I could whip up in an hour with the ingredients I had.

I reached for the encyclopedic How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman and found a simple recipe for either chocolate cake or devil's food cake but I had to whip the egg whites and that was just too much to do at 9:00 p.m. plus we had just run out fresh milk. Nigel Slater's  The Kitchen Diaries came next but his version was a dense chocolate cake that was more mousse-like than cakey.  Finally I flipped through Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2 and found what I was looking for in the whole chapter on all things chocolate.  A simple moist cake using just seven ingredients, all of which I had.  The cake came out of the oven at almost 11:00 p.m. and after waiting for it to cool, it was perfect for a pre-midnight snack.  

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Moist Chocolate Cake

from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2

• 300 grams dark chocolate, chopped (*I used Lindt 70% chocolate bars)
• 250 grams unsalted butter (cut up into chunks)
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 1/4 cups plain all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

• Preheat the oven to 150C (300F).  Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth.  Set aside.
• Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes until pale and thick.
• Sift the flour an baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold through with the almond meal and chocolate mixture.
• Line the base of a 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.  (*I used a loose-bottomed cake tin lined with parchment paper)
• Pour in the mixture and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
• Cool in the tin.
• Spread the cooled cake with chocolate fudge icing, if desired.  (*I left mine unglazed and ate a slice with some ice cream instead)
• Serves 10