Try my Brest

What: Paris-Brest

Where: Paul Lafayet, K11, TST

Cost: $30-40?

Yumminess: ***/*****

Around a week before trying this, I've had the so-called Paris Brest from coco frans at the TST MTR station. I know what they sell is nothing like the real Paris-Brest, but it was satisfying nevertheless (like a giant cream puff with more custard to choux pastry ratio than normal). A week later, I bought a Paris-Brest from Paul Lafayet. The pastry was quite hefty, which was evidence of the density of the hazelnut buttercream which filled up the centre of the 2-ring-sandwich. Its diameter was around the same as the coco frans Paris Brest (4-5 inches-ish), but their satisfaction level was worlds apart. After finishing the one from coco frans, I was left wanting more (or just satisfied...my sweet tooth is insatiable lol). On the other hand, only HALF of this one from Paul Lafayet was starting to feel enough. For someone with an insatiable sweet tooth...that's amazing (for your reference, I can finish an entire 6" cake on my own). 

Look at how thick the buttercream is!! In fact, I ate this with a FORK. No spoon needed. There was some point when I just ate the buttercream alone, without the pastry, with a FORK. It was that thick. As should be the case, the buttercream had an oily mouthfeel, especially towards the end as it started to get melty. And as it was hazelnut flavoured, it kind of tasted like the stuff in Kinder Buenos, except much much thicker, way more nutty, and way less sweet (although still very sweet). 

I was amazed that I managed to finish the whole thing in one sitting. Needless to say, I skipped dinner that night.

My next target was Saveur de France's Paris-Brest...but I heard they closed down. :( What a shame, as it was the only place I knew which sold authentic homey French pastries (like tarte au flan!).

New McFlurry

What: Mango Oreo McFlurry

Where: McDonald's 

Cost: $9.80

Yumminess: *****/*****

So they've begun to give the option of mixing in some of their swirl cone flavours (raspberry and mocha, other not available with McFlurries [yet, I hope] include grape, chocolate...I think that's it) or their new sundae flavour, Mango, into Oreo McFlurries. McFlurry + hot summer day....what else can I say?

Finally Updating!

Eeeee I've been lazy again. Between dreading the start of school and World Cup...real life took precedence over the Internet. Now that's school started, I'm staying at home more though, so more time to blog =D. And I'm actually STUDYING and it's only the 4th day of school *gasp* (as opposed to 4 days before the exam like last year...). All my classmates are doubting how long this will last and why I suddenly changed from the lazy procrastinating pig I was last year. Heh...gotta keep this up.

So, as promised...going to blog about beef. 11/6 was my Mum's birthday (and the beginning of World Cup...can't believe it's coming to an end already ><), and we ordered a bunch (i.e. a dozen per person...only my Dad managed to eat up his share AND the rest of ours too lol) of oysters + Kobe beef from some wholesale shop in Ap Lei Chau for a RIDICULOUSLY good price. Haven't had Mum's cooking in a while...the steak was perfect. Cake wasn't so good though...Black Forest from Mimosa. Totally not worth the price as it was bordering on bland. In fact, I don't really like their famous napoleons either...my favourite is actually from the Peninsula. Beats even the recently popular Tony Wong's or Paul Lafayet's versions.

The next day, after band practice, I went for AYCE hotpot at wtc Causeway Bay with 2 friends. I actually wanted to go to Wildfire, but as I was planning to treat, my friends didn't want me to spend so much and dragged me to the AYCE. They ended up forcing me to let them split the bill in the end though -____- I think the place was pretty new. Also, I believe Hainan Shaoye is next to it and was opening that night/the following night as there were a lot of flower baskets. I want to try Hainan Shaoye so badly but no one will go with me! Parents aren't interested :( maybe I'll drag my brother along. Soooo the restaurant is called Mou Mou Club (I think they meant moo moo....) in English and 牛涮鍋 in Chinese. It's on the 3rd floor of wtc. 


They have several sets to choose from. One group of sets include both beef and pork, and with different soup bases to choose from...these sets were less expensive. The other group are sukiyaki sets, and you can choose different grades of beef with different prices. We chose the 2nd tier of sukiyaki set, which costs $148 + 10% service charge for 90 minutes. You can also add $20 to have unlimited drinks, but as they didn't have their alcohol license yet, and we didn't feel like pop/juice...we didn't choose this option.

The beef comes thinly shaved on dishes:

For some reason, the quality kept on getting better with progressive plates of beef. Usually it's the opposite...not that we're complaining ;). I think we managed around 4 plates in total. The sauces included the usual...soy sauce, sesame paste, chili sauce, but also had a yuzu dressing which was quite refreshing. Sukiyaki sets also include a raw Japanese egg, which was heavenly when mixed with soy sauce and dipped into with hot beef. Yummmmm...

Other ingredients were laid out buffet style (quite neatly and cleanly too...I ABHOR messy AYCEs :S). The selection wasn't extensive, but quality was good. Veggies included carrots, turnips, romaine lettuce, Chinese baby cabbage, corn, spinach, and a variety of Japanese mushrooms. Processed foods included wieners, various fishballs, and fish-wrapped burdock. The tofu and aburaage (deep fried tofu bag) were among my favourites as the tofu was very fresh (I think it's from Japan) and the aburaage was sooooo good after soaking up all the beefy sweet sukiyaki base. They also had regular udon, Inaniwa udon, and green tea somen. The Inaniwa udon was reaaaaaaally good and slippery and just heavenly with the sukiyaki base. There was also plain rice and fried rice. I didn't try the fried rice as I was too busy mixing the plain rice with the sukiyaki base and eating up SOOOO DAMN GOOD, but my friends said the fried rice was OK. 

So...uh, after all that, pretty obvious which set seems more attractive eh. SUKIYAKI BASE mmmm...I could just drink up all that soup (which would probably be very bad for my health :p). Service was OK too...although they were a bit slow in refilling our water glasses. Ohhh, they also have AYCE ice cream tubs, but as I was with 2 guys, they weren't interested in staying to wait for me go on a dessert binge. XP

Went to Henry House for drinks after, but I had to drink virgin cocktails cus I was driving afterwards. Looked sooo retarded haha. 

OK back to studying now! Psychiatry I'll ace you >=] 

Today's Eats

You'll soon figure out that this blog will feature lots of snacks. I'm a HUGE snackeater...unfortunate to my waistline. If I could have my way, I'd probably eat junkfood for all my meals (DISCLAIMER: Kids, don't try this at home. It could be detrimental to your health, BMI, sanity, reputation...etc....:P)


What: Albert Menes Garlic and Olive Oil Croutons
Where: city'super
Cost: $60ish?
Yumminess: ***/*****

Why did I pay $60 for dried bits of bread in a bag that was half empty (or half full I guess)? I don't know. It was on the special display counters and I have no self-control when walking past those types of counters. Albert Menes seems to be a really reputable company who makes French snacks and tea-time goodies (judging by the price city'super sold their products at...lol). I bought a box of petit-beurres by the same company a week ago (gone in 2 days...no pic) and it was divine, with the use of excellent salted butter evident in the flavour. These croutons had the same proof that premium ingredients were used. Just a whiff of the opened bag was proof enough. The garlic and olive oil flavours were well balanced, and the olive oil even seemed to have a little sweetness to it. The crunchiness was satisfying while not being too hard. I'm usually one to avoid garlic (again, why did I pick this bag up in the first place then??), but somehow it was really good on these croutons. I really appreciated the all natural ingredients used...there was no post-snack thirstiness at ALL (no MSG), and the garlic aftertaste was minimal. If you're expecting an American-style garlic bread flavour, you'd be disappointed; these are much more delicate).

What: Halva Kulfi
Where: i-scream
Cost: $22 (yay for being a student)
Yumminess: *****/*****

I never understood Hongkonger's (or as we Vancouverites call them, hongers) passion for Haagen-Dazs. Sure, I enjoy a scoop of HD too, but their flavours are SO BORING. The only thing I LOVE about them is their sorbets...they are appropriately icy. Gelato stores' sorbets seem to be a lot creamier, which I guess is their own style, but I prefer icy sorbets. However, I'm glad that gelato is on the rise in HK, as I much prefer the flavour variety and texture of gelato. My favourite store has got to be I-Scream. Found by 3 Italians and a Canadian (YAY!), they provide an everchanging variety of flavours. And most importantly, I pass by it everyday on the way home, so it's hard to resist temptation >< I've tried ALL their basic flavours already lol...I'm such a loser. Last week I saw they had 2 new flavours: Halva Kulfi and Pernod. Today, when I finally had quota for gelato, I found out they already ran out of the Pernod flavour T_T Oh well there's still Halva I needed to try. Kulfi is the Indian version of ice cream. It's usually made from cream instead of nonfat milk like gelato...but I really hope (for my waistline's sake) that what I had was made in the gelato style.

I don't think this is very popular among the Hongers as the tub was still quite full. Also, when I asked for a scoop of this flavour, the salesgirl raised an eyebrow and asked me if I have tried it before and if I was sure I wanted it. Lol. Geez, it's not any weirder than their Wa Mui flavour! The texture was suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper creamy (which is why I think it's possible that it was made from cream) and melted really slowly. Even the melty bits were heavenly. It tasted kind of like chai...I think it's the cardamom in it? I'm not sure. There were black specks (a bit spicy...maybe cloves?) and some crushed almonds mixed inside.

I was spooning the melted liquefied gelato into my mouth at the end. Damn. Writing about it makes me want more.