Posts Tagged ‘pâtisserie’
- In: Capitol Hill | Eating | Seattle | USA | Washington
- Leave a Comment
I’m a little homesick after a week in London. An Antipodean feels at home in the Old Dart. The accent, the vocabulary, the cuisine, the flag, ‘it’s the vibe‘!
Our local bakery in Sydney was on my route home from work. I was tempted by their afternoon discounts of croissants, lamingtons, apple pies and vanilla slices, and their sponge cakes and fruit tarts were lovely gifts for dinner parties. I have many fond memories of sharing their sweet treats with family and friends.
Crumble & Flake, Neil Robertson’s new patisserie opened on Sunday and was sold out by midday. A Canlis and MistralKitchen alum, the Seattle food community was abuzz with Neil’s crumbles and flakes. He had baked the Momofuku Milk Bar crack pie for the Christina Tosi cookbook event at the Book Larder last year and it was a perfect replica of the sugary dessert.
Located on the same block as Dinette in Capitol Hill, I met the ladies at Crumble & Flake for morning tea.
A tiny glass storefront with an open plan stainless steel kitchen, the modern and minimalist patisserie had a one-to-one ratio of staff to customer when we were in there. They had already sold out of croissants for the day and Neil was apologetic on Twitter about the daily quantities.
Rectangular cabinets and white trays displayed the classic techniques of the bearded chef. On the left were fig and olive tapenade rolls and currant scones were on the right.
Rows of peanut butter cookies and ‘filled-to-order’ cream puffs in two sizes.
On the top shelf were ‘Cheweo’, an Oreo style cookie sandwich, and below were lemon and caipirinha macarons.
There were two left each of the double brownie and rhubarb financier.
We strolled up to Arabica Lounge, ordered coffees and sampled our purchases.
Two decadent discs of chocolate cookies were pressed together with a thick layer of cream. The Cheweo was indeed chewy, each bite was soft and luscious.
A cute golden orb, the mini cream puff was piped with vanilla custard. The crisp choux shell was a sturdy vessel for the silky fragrant cream.
Wide and flat, the lemon macaron had an intense citrus filling. The meringue was a little thin but the lemony paste was a highlight.
It was a saccharine welcome to Crumble & Flake!
- In: Australia | Eating | New South Wales | Sydney
- 1 Comment
This is a belated final post of my trip home in November. It’s been just over three months since I was in Australia and in that time we’ve had our first full winter in Seattle. There’s been plenty of rain, snow, sleet, wind and hail. But there have also been enough glorious days to sustain us through the darkest and wettest of the Pacific Northwest season. Sydney has suffered a drenched summer with mild temperatures and we experienced the prelude during our two weeks there. Thankfully our last day in Sydney was a lovely souvenir, a sundress and bare limbs day.
I had five items on my must eat list.
1. Chinese
2. Thai
3. Momofuku Seiōbo
4. Jamie’s Italian
5. Adriano Zumbo
We walked to The Star in the afternoon to complete number five.
We have been loyal patrons at Adriano Zumbo since it opened in 2007. His sweet treats have special meaning for us as the talented and passionate pâtissier made our wedding cake (croquembouche) and desserts (macarons in four flavours). The original Balmain patisserie is a narrow room with a glass counter displaying his whimsical creations where the queue was regularly out on the footpath. He has since expanded to several locations and the one at The Star greeted us with a radiant neon pink sign.
The concept store has a patisserie on the left and a dessert train on the right which was closed on Sunday.
Each year Adriano Zumbo celebrates his birthday with Zumboron Day. This year there were sixty flavours of macarons!
A sample of each flavour was lined along the window to tempt us. Left to right: finger bun (Australian iced bread), fried chicken, and gin and tonic.
Left to right: liquorice, Margherita pizza and mandarin.
Left to right: toasted marshmallow, vanilla ecstasy and Vegemite.
The interior of the patisserie was bright and funky. Desserts in cone stands enticed passers-by, a bathtub was topped with high tea tiers and Zumbo, Adriano’s cookbook, and the table has purple shoes!
A 360 degree view of each dessert with a description card.
Ovens warmed savoury quiches, pies and sausage rolls.
Peach boxes encased seasonal macarons.
‘In case of emergency break glass’ for sugar hit!
I heart Zumbo.
The stainless steel kitchen with containers of ingredients.
Trolleys of macarons for Zumboron Day.
Man Goes Peanuts: peanut butter crunch, mango compote, mango burnt honey mousse and pain d’épices. Peanut butter and mango were a curious combination in this layered and textural dessert.
Tarte aux fruits de la passion: passionfruit curd and pâte sucrée. The passionfruit tart and opera gâteau are my favourites at Adriano Zumbo. A glossy two toned disc was studded with passionfruit seeds, a perfect balance of luscious piquancy.
We savoured our last night in Sydney with a bottle of Champagne and macarons.
Our cache of of macarons: butterscotch caramels, chocolate orange, cinnamon doughnut, coffee, pandan and coconut, passionfruit and yoghurt, rice pudding, salted butter popcorn, toasted marshmallow, and vanilla ecstasy.
These colourful jewels were a sentimental farewell to Down Under.
My beloved Sydney, I miss you dearly.
- In: Chinatown-International District | Eating | Seattle | USA | Washington
- 3 Comments
I’m not a baker but I love desserts. A spoonful of sugar completes a meal.
In Sydney my favourite pâtisserie for dessert to take to dinner parties is Adriano Zumbo. He had my loyalty before his MasterChef Australia appearances! Macarons of every flavour and then some, seasonal and whimsical dessert concoctions, creative twists on classics, it’s Adriano and the Chocolate Factory.
Fuji Bakery reminds me of Adriano Zumbo in that I would like to order one of each! One each of the croissants, one each of the brioches, one each of the Danishes, one each of the cakes.
Painted a neutral colour and its name discreetly engraved on the window, Fuji Bakery is located at a busy intersection. There is an espresso machine serving Caffé D’arte coffee, and a couple of tables in the corner.
A curved pane of glass shields the two tiered display from prying fingers. There are some savoury items but the highlight is definitely the sweet baked goods.
After much deliberation, I selected four treats. Clockwise from top: fondant chocolat, custard cream, brioche Suisse and poire.
In a crimped foil wrapper, the mini cupcake sized fondant chocolat is made with bittersweet chocolate. The dense cake is baked until just set while the middle remains delightfully batter like.
Poire, the French word for pear, is a Danish topped with organic custard cream and pears cooked in Tahitian vanilla. The flaky pastry shell is a textural contrast to the soft, translucent and glossy pear slices.
Deceptively plain in appearance, the brioche is light and buttery, filled with an organic vanilla bean custard cream, and dusted with icing sugar.
Long and flat, the Grand Marnier flavoured chocolate custard oozes out of the brioche Suisse. The brioche dough is studded with orange peel and bittersweet chocolate, a rich and decadent combination best shared.
I shall cross the lake soon to visit the flagship store in Bellevue which has a comprehensive selection!
