Amazing French Pastry shop on the Queen West in Toronto.

Remember my previous post calling for my pastry substitute in TO?

• Best Pastry Place (so far) – Clafouti on 915 Queen St West
  416-603-1935
  Closed on Mondays. Cash Only.

I think I have found it! They have my favorite french pastry, the Clafouti! I had the Pomegranate & Raspberry Clafouti and it was as good as the fruit Clafoutis I had in Cannes.

The food in France is exceptional. Just about anywhere in the town you can find good food, shall I thank the authors at Lonely Planet (France) as well?

The Adventure

This is “Andouillette with Fries” I tasted in Monte Carlo. It’s a speciality dish in France.
It’s pork intestine. Guess, the French could be like the Cantonese in terms of the exotic food. The bad taste of the intestine is suprisngly not there thanks to the strong pepper seasonings and the sauce.

I also ordered the Rock Fish Stock Soup to start. It’s the best 16 Euros I spent on soup!

A Suprise

Dim Sum Plate in Nice! Can you believe it? The round dumpling located at the “4-o’clock” of the steamer is a dumpling I like a lot, but even I couldn’t find that in Hong-couver!

The sweets

Of course the day cannot end without desssert! It’s fruit Clafoutis. It’s a different rendition of the one I had at Provence Marinaside in Vancouver. It’s made out of eggs (like quiche but sweet taste) with lots of exotic fruits and a light tart base. On the topm it’s like creme brulee, it’s burnt a bit. It’s exceptional. Thanks to the recommendation from Lonely Planet.

The Snacks:

We brought this Smoked Salmon cone at Monoprix (I think it’s like a supermarket giant that sells just a bit of everything. It’s like a upscale Safeway with London Drugs and Winners all in one!). Inside the cone, it’s a pate of Smoked Salmon topped with some cream and the gello with chieves.

A Regular Lunch in Nice

We went to a nicely decorated place on Boulvard de Jean Medicine in Nice. I guess the French will call this place “sympthatic”. It’s the Combo I picked to satisify my eggs craving. It’s a Sandwich of American Style and with the toxically delicious White Chocolate Raspberry Tarte!

After fighting over the jetlag, my second day in Montpellier of this small very old town in the south of France was being very plesant. I took the TGV for the first time from Gare de Lyon, Paris to here for about 3 hours. The scenery along the way was like a dream, everywhere you look outside from the windows was like mountains covered with greens with a lot of farm fields.

The family I am stayed with is a very nice one. The dad is born in Quebec but speaks very little English and the mom who likes to argue a lot is a civil servant. I lived in a 17th century old apartment with the orginial fireplace and ceiling decoration. It’s like watching a french movie. The room I stayed in was the biggest bedroom I have lived in before. It’s about 150 square feet with a nice comfy double bed with a nice fireplace and desk. The ceiling is like 15+ feet high with an equally tall windows, with the old wood shutter outside.

Staying in this town only with 230,000 people, the advantage is that only a few people could speak english which is a perfect for me to learn my french. Suprisingly, my 2-year french is just sufficient for survival. I just need to explain things a few more time. The family I stayed with is fa-tas-tic! We had a 2-hour dinner last night but we talked for more than 1:45 hr. I went to the class for the first time today, classmates are super awesome. I managed to pass the test and I am taking my conversation and writing class.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/4 pounds)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, optional
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chicken broth
1-2 cups water, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream and parsley for garnish

Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Arrange the halves cut side down in roasting pan that has been sprayed with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Bake squash in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until very tender. Set aside to cool. When the squash is completely cool, scoop the flesh from the skin. While the squash is baking, cook the onion and the ginger in the butter in a saucepan, over moderately low heat, for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened, Add the broth and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, covered. Add the squash pulp to the sauce pan. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, in batches, and puree until smooth. Add enough water to achieve the desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the soup to the sauce pan and cook over moderate heat until it is hot. Garnish each portion with the heaping teaspoon of low-fat sour cream.

Quiche Recipe:

Ingredients (serves 3):

• 1 9″ crust (get the pre-made Tenderflake crust from Safeway)
• 1 pack of maple-leaf pre-made bacon (100g)
• 3 eggs
• 250ml whipping cream + 100ml 2% skimmed milk
• 100g Gruyère cheese, grated
• salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Pour the grated Gruyère cheese into a big bowl, then add the milk/cream, and the beaten up eggs, and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour the bacon onto the crust, then add all the ingredients in (1).
3. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 30 mins. serve the quiche warm.

This rack of lamb was a creation I did to my family 2 christmas ago. It was a great hit.

Crusted with dijon and fresh herbs, oven-roasted, served with Japanese soy beans and mushroom risotto.