Macarons & French Cakes @ Les Deux Garcons, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar

So far February is looking to be a sweet sweet month. :)

Today, we talk about Les Deux Garcons, hailed by many as "a piece of Paris in Bangsar". Last November, when Les Deux Garcons opened its doors, there was a lot of buzz about their macarons and French cakes. Obviously my interest was piqued as I love macarons and am always on the search for good macarons.

A hunting we will go..

The shop is situated opposite Cziplee, dressed in stark white, making it stand out amongst the other shops. There are a few (3-4) tables outside the patisserie if you wish to enjoy your cakes/macarons at the premises al fresco. As you step inside, rows and rows of beautiful cakes and macarons greet you.

Hello miss, care to eat me?

There are 11-13 cake selections, made freshly everyday. It was really hard choosing since everything looked so enticing, but in end we settled for the infamous Le Palladio (RM22) and Le Marquis (RM13) for the kids. Though our intention was to come here for macarons, it was the cakes that captured our hearts.

L'aveline (RM12)

Beautiful creations that tastes very good too!

La Duchesse (RM14)

When I visited, there were 12 macaron flavours on offer, from what the owner Ben told me, they will be rotating 12-14 flavours daily. For the more adventurous, there are flavours such as garlic and olive as well as capsicum and black pepper.. I went for the safer choices, orange campari, truffle, salted caramel, lemon vanilla and wasabi (not so safe I guess) since we were gonna share these with the kids.

Multicolored macarons.. very pretty for sure

A beautiful macaron box redolent of an eye-shadow palette dont you think?

Since we have heard so much about the macarons, we were certainly excited to try them out. They were perfectly formed, very pretty with nice feet and thick creamy filling. BUT... the ones we got just didn't taste right in terms of texture. We got five macarons, and they were all different in texture.. some were crunchy, some were chewy.. it just didn't taste like what we envisaged. I'm not sure if it's because we didnt eat it on the spot (we asked some other bloggers we met there if theirs were ok and they said yeah as they ate it at the premises) and took it home to consume. We always do this with all the macarons that we buy and have never had a problem before. However, we would go back again and retry (eat on the spot).

Anyway the macarons here are priced at RM5 each for the normal ones, and truffle ones are RM9 each. Tastewise, I would say the wasabi and lemon vanilla were the nicer ones.

Leaning tower of macarons..

Wasabi macaron

Winter truffle macaron

Salted caramel - check out the texture :(

The cakes though were very very good. The Le Palladio lived up to its high expectations. It is made up of a crispy almond tart, layered with joconde, vanilla ganache and white truffle mascarpone. Rich and creamy with a delightful scent and unmistakable taste of truffles... oo la la. Luxury in every bite.

LOVE in the form of Le Palladio..

We also loved the Le Marquis, which looks very pretty as well as tasting yummy. Hazelnut dacquoise, crispy feulletine, chocolate cream and 66% dark chocolate mousse.... it reminded me slightly of Ferrero Rocher (mm all things hazelnut/chocolate seem to do that). I love the crispy base as it balances the lovely, creamy chocolate/hazelnut top. The k! ids love d it too :)

Some Christmas decor in Bangsar Village (well, now u know how old this post was)

Verdict: Beautiful creations, love the cakes but the macarons were a letdown for us. Will return though to retry the macarons.

Btw, if you have Facebook and some time to spare, please can you click LIKE on this photo. Thanks very much - truly appreciate it!

Opening times: 12 noon to 8pm daily.

Full set of photos available to view here.

Location: Les Deux Garcons Patisserie, 36 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2284 7833

Website: www.lesdeuxgarcons.com.my

Fierce by name, fierce in nature

Vietnam House

If the name sounds familiar, it could be because 1 Utama's Vietnam House is the spin-off from a First World Hotel establishment on Genting Highlands. Vietnamese booze is the key attraction, but we'll get to that after the food.

It's pork-free, but there's no lack of traditional pleasures here. The steamed "banh beo" succeeds as a dainty alternative to Chinese dim sum. Smooth, sticky rice cakes, deliciously topped with chopped shrimp, crispy shallots & fish sauce.

A simple but spectacularly satisfying stew: braised chicken in coconut juice with egg in claypot. Something like this truly gives home-cooked recipes a good name.

One-plate meals are also available: Saigonese broken rice with grilled chicken.

Beef occupies a place of pride on the menu. Try the! "beef f ondue"...

... with raw marinated slices of meat cooked at the table by the helpful service team.

Grilled beef slices & skewered beef, with all the trimmings of Vietnamese fare.

Beef wrapped in betel leaves & beef salad. Enough to eat until the cows come home.

Here's where we needed the staff's assistance again: to transform the beef salad into beef rolls wrapped in rice paper. Despite the overwhelming bovine content of this dinner, we couldn't stop munching on the meat; the marinade is addictive.

A vast variety of desserts is available, but with scant stomach space remaining, we settled for these chilled lotus seeds in lychee compote.

Red wine from Vietnam's highland city of Dalat, for RM100++. Pretty interesting, with a slightly sweet, uncomplicated flavor that's suitable for easy drinking.

Hanoi rice-distilled vodka, a decent deal at RM24++ for 300 ml. The manufacturer insists this is best consumed with "roasted sweet snails" (not on Vietnam House's menu, alas).

Vietnam House,

S122, 2nd Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Center.

Tel: 03-7727-0778

Cake Pops: An adventure

Today almost snuck up on me. I realized it just in time to reminisce and celebrate with you guys.

Oh and this is a pretty long post, but I had a hard time making it any shorter.

Four years ago today, on February 1, I posted something that changed my life and maybe even some of yours.

I posted these cupcake pops. I posted them the day after I posted these pink cake pops. And I had no idea then the impact they would have. Seriously, read the old posts. Pretty amusing.

While the pink cake pops were super cute and definitely different since they were cake on a stick, it was the cupcake pops that became crazy popular thanks to so many of you. If it hadnt been for your enthusiasm, I dont know if I would have kept experimenting and creating craziness like the muppets cake pops for instance. It could have just ended right here with the cupcake pops. And, that would have been okay, too. They are still my and my moms favorite. I guess I have an attachment to them.

A little background history when I first made the pink cake pops, I was so excited by how they turned out. I wanted others to see them too because I thought they were so cute and I just knew they would make people smile. I was following the blog Cupcakes Takes the Cake (CTTC) at the time and I thought that if I could just make them look like a cupcake, they might feature them on their blog. So after I made the pink cake pop, I figured out a way to shape the cake balls with a cutter and dip them twice to make them look like a cupcake. Success! I co! uldnt be lieve it. So I added my photos to the CTTC flickr group and crossed my fingers that they would pick them to feature on their site. And they did.

For me that was it. I wasnt looking for anything more. Just to keep baking and making cute treats. And hopefully bring smiles to anyone that wanted to look at them.

But then, something crazy happened. A month or so after I posted the photos, I was invited to show Martha Stewart how I make them on her show like standing next to her. I thought I was being punked. I mean I had only been blogging for about four months when I received the invitation. And I hadnt been baking much longer before that. Lets just say I was petrified. But I did it anyway.You can watch the video here on her site. The link is on the sidebar. If you havent seen it before I think youll get a chuckle at what she calls them. Of course it wasnt funny at the time. I think I managed to mask my shock pretty well. I know I told them we shouldnt use chocolate cake on TV. Good times.

Lots of other fun things have happened since then, too.

• I started experimenting with designs and creating all kinds of cake pop themes.
• I visited the Pioneer Woman and we had a cake pop demo at the lodge. So fun. Love you Ree.
• I proposed to Melissa for Rich with cake pops. Miss you guys.
• Betty Crocker invited me to make cake pops for the cover of one of their magazines.
• I wrote a little book. You may have heard of it.
• I made cupcake pops with Blake Lively. Ummm what is going on?
• You guys became Pop Stars.
• I ! made som e cake pops for Disneys website.
• I made a little kit and some cards, too.
• My cake pops were featured in magazines like People, Entertainment Weekly, Taste of Home, Family Circle, O, and more.
• I went on the Today Show. Kathie Lee shook the pop a bit too hard and got candy coating on her eyelashes. My stomach sunk. Mortified.
• The book has been printed in several languages throughout the world. Craziness.
• And theres a couple more fun things coming that I cant say just yet.

But thats not all thats happened because of these tiny treats on a stick.So many other things have popped on the scene because you all fell in love with the cake pops I made. Your excitement and enthusiasm for cake pops are probably the biggest reason for their success and why they are now so popular. For example

• Cake pops are sold in a certain world dominating coffee shop.
• Bakeries and cupcake shops now sell them in their lineup.
• Businesses have packaged sprinkles and such to market for them.
• Commercials and other kits appeared. Some even use my designs. Flattering, I guess one could say.
• Machines are now on the market to make them albeit they dont let you mix the frosting in or custom shape them.
• Other books have surfaced on the topic, too, which just reinforces how popular cake pops have become.

But its not all that stuff that makes me shake my head in amazement.You guys have done so much with them on a personal level and have continued to inspire me along the way.

• So many of you have started home businesses selling cake pops.
• Or websites devoted to cake pops
• Or created rollers or stands or just about anything else you can think of to make or use with cake pops.
• I know many of you that make them just for fun. And make lots of them.
• Your emails and stories brighten my day every time I! read th em. There have been so many sweet ones too. Emails from all over the world. From places Ive never even heard of. Some that made me cry and some that made me laugh. But all that made me feel so special to have played a little part in bringing smiles to your lives.
• Big hugs and congratulations to all of you, too!

I think cake pops have definitely made their mark in the baking world, making life a little bit sweeter.

Actually, I think we need a National Cake Pop Day. Or an International Cake Pop Day. And today seems like a great choice to me.Thats it Im proclaiming February 1, the Official Unofficial Cake Pop Day. Whos with me?

Id love for you to tell me if cake pops have meant anything special to you.

• Do you sell them? Whats your site?
• Have you made them on your blog? Id love to see.
• Do you have a picture of yours on your facebook? Share a link.
• Do you follow my facebook page for cake pop inspiration?
• Do you have the book? Do you have a favorite design?
• Are you a Pop Star? Do you want to be?
• Have you started a business to help people make them?
• Maybe youve just eaten them before.Or have seen them at a bakery or wedding or party.
• Maybe someone has given them to you as a gift.
• And maybe you have no idea what Im talking about? Thats okay, too.

Leave a comment or a link and lets share.

Melancholia and Truffles.

Fedillini Pasta with Parmesan and Black Winter Truffles.

Firstly, apologies for my prolonged absence are in order. The past few months have been very tiring for me. Work and its implacable appetite for my attention and time was partly to be blamed. I have grown accustomed to its tedium and its abject disregard for my spiritual well being and sometimes, even my sanity. Ive somehow managed to hunt down that elusive me time previously, to edit some photos, reading a few snatches from literature not related to work and to write something in my blog, which is my form of emotional catharsis.

New Year Greetings to those celebrating Chinese Lunar Year.

Since November, the already elusive me time has been forced into extinction by a series of cataclysmic events, not happening to me, but to some people who are very close to me. I will talk about it one day when I am well and ready, but for the time being I am still shell shocked and am still totally devastated.

Beef Crusted Wagyu from their Lunch Menu

I had the opportunity to watch Melancholia recently and it spoiled my entire weekend, not because it was a bad movie. On the contrary, it was morose, spartan, haunting and beautifully acted by Kirsten Dunst, whom I had little regard for as an actress until this movie. Confronted with the looming specter of earths destruction by a rogue planet aptly n! amed Mel ancholia, the clairvoyant yet cripplingly depressed Justine was portrayed as the sanest and the calmest in accepting the inevitable.

Petite Threes...

Her reaction was idoneous, being chronically depressed, she has no more expectations out of life and probably welcomed the impending apocalypse as an end to her physical existence. As she prepares her young nephew for the event, she creates the illusion of a magic tent. A place where they can hide and escape the calamity. In the final scene, a calm Justine, her equally calm nephew, Leo and her whimpering sister, Claire sit and hold hands in a stick tent against a backdrop of an approaching planet in the Horizon with Wagners Prelude to Tristan and Isolde in the background. von Triers vision of the Apocalypse is oppressively nihilistic, yet beautifully calm and undistracted. The increasing brightness and deafening roar of the approaching planet ends with darkness and total silence.

Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio with Black Winter Truffles

I too required a magic tent to gain a temporary respite from the inevitable calamity that will encroach on the life of my friend. It takes very special people to make me ebullient again, and my fellow diners at Sage were just that.

Perfectly Twirled Pasta... Topped with Truffles. Food Modeling courtesy of CS

Dinner began with ! an amuse bouche of Chicken Roulade with Katsu Sauce, delightfully presented and refreshed my plate with its pristine taste.

Chicken Roulade with Katsu Sauce

Unlike the austere stick tent in Melancholia, mine was unabashedly hedonistic. All of the dishes came generously tented in a brownish brocade of truffles with its lacy grey veins. These were Himalayan Truffles which is the antonym of Chinese Truffles, which is less pungent and aromatic than the Perigords but nonetheless satisfying.

The Carpaccio of Hokaido Scallops was a beautifully rendered cold starter. Slivers of perfectly textured scallops bathed in slightly sharp and sweetish shoyu vinegar showered with winter truffles set the mood for dinner. Austere, yet satisfying without being crass, it was a reflective starter offering a tranquil repose for the agitated mind.

Boo's Pan Roasted pink Snapper with Sauce Prigueux

The pasta was breathtaking in its simplicity and the warmth of the cheese based sauce enhanced the beautiful aroma of the truffles. As we were seduced by this overture of beautiful aroma, we bit into the pasta with reverence, in homage to the perfect texture. The silky creaminess of the sauce was jarred by the slightly rougher texture of the truffles which reveled and continued to tease my tastebud as it made its way down the throat and ultimately filled my breath with its earthy aroma.

The Aged Angus was a reaffirmation of my carnivorous conviction. It was the best piece of bovine pleasure I! have be en able to indulge in for a very long time. It was buttery soft, flavorful and perfectly medium rare.

Aged Angus Tenderloin

The perfect ending of the meal was Mango Feuilletine that was served with Phyllo and not feuilletine flakes, served with Vanilla Ice cream and Truffles. I was surprised to find out from the owners of Deux Garons that their beautiful Truffle Marscapone Tart was not well received by certain clients. I guess it will take some time for Malaysians to be accustomed with the idea that truffles can go well with both sweets and savories.

Mango Feulleteine with Ice Cream and Truffles

I knew long ago that life is never just a bed of roses. It will be riddled with loads of disappointments and heartaches. No matter what happens, there will be truffles and friends to cheer me up and encourage me to forge on. The Truffle Dinner at Sage will be inked into my memory forever.

N.B. I am blogging from my MacBook and am having trouble calibrating the screens color. If the pictures turn out funny, ping me.

Food from Sage's excellent value Truffle Tasting Menu, available till end of February.