Friday Quick Bites - Mille Danish from Free Mori

Free Mori, the latest name to hit the local bakery scene originated from Taiwan and has actually been around for 3 decades.  I patronise the outlet in SS2; the others are in Publika, Damansara Uptown, Shah Alam (google and check whether there's one near you as they are opening new outlets around the Klang Valley).  It's one of my latest hang out as they also serve coffee, tea and a special blend of fruit juices.  I enjoy sitting in the store, surrounded by all the lovely pastries, cookies and cakes.  Free Mori also market their cookies in lovely tin boxes which are great as gifts or even for your very own tin collection.  They also have a range of other things like coasters, cups etc. etc. for sale.

Bonjour Garden Bakery, Kota Damansara

Glorious Jade and I drove past this green house like structure and immediately decided to pull aside and check the place out.

 
It was a pretty sight and a rather inviting one.  Both Glorious Jade and I were drawn to it.  Upon further investigation, the "green house" that we saw is a bakery and part section of Bonjour Garden that serves food and beverages. The dining area was pretty normal to us whilst the bakery section attracted us the most.

It does look rather hot and bright...the temperature at that time was bearable on a sunny day.  Maybe it was bearable as one of the air con was running on high or maybe it was bearable as we totally love the setup of the bakery and forgot about the hot weather... I'm not sure, hahaha...

Tis The Season To Be Jolly - Snow Bear from Lavender Bakery

A quick post to perk one up on Mondays :o).  When I dropped by Lavender's Bakery in Midvalley, this bread, the size of my big palm, was the only one left on the tray.  It's slightly out of proportion; one hand bigger than the other, one feet smaller than the other, a bow tie with a frayed end and most noticeably - a cross belly button that was off center.  When I showed Owen this pic, he lamented that this was one "bad" bear (as in badly made) as the one he had a few days earlier was "better".

It was still a cute Snow Bear (RM4.80) to me, in my eyes, it still had all the attributes of bringing me the festive feeling regardless of its imperfections to others.  It was there, alone on the tray and still brought a smile to my face. I had to take it home and with the help of Glorious Jade's backdrop, took a pic of it...didn't have the heart to eat it.  But it was made for that purpose...so, ate it in the end we did (except for the bow tie).  Well, better than to let this white chocolate covered bread go mouldy and thrown away.  Now, that would be a waste...

Yes, it's the month of December.  Christmas decorations are all up around the shopping malls and Christmas songs being played on loop across the sound system in every shop/restaurant.  Let's get into the Christmas spirit.  Yup, tis the season to be jolly ... Happy Christmas shopping folks!

Must Visit ! Paillard Cafe-Boulangerie, Quebec City

Folks, it's back to Quebec and this time round this post is rather photos intensive as Paillard is a must visit if you're ever walking about Old Town especially.

We decided to grab a bite at Paillard; it's rather well known for its sandwiches.  The moment I stepped into Paillard, I fell in love with the place.

Inviting enough? Paillard's entrance

The place is spacious and the high ceiling makes this place even bigger.  Helps since the place can get quite pack during peak dining hours.

Boulangerie Premiere Moisson, Quebec, Canada

Boulangerie Premiere Moisson (First Harvest Bakery) was our first stop for brunch.  Actually this place is more than a bakery ... well, check out their website (there are French/English versions) and find out more about Premiere Moisson.  For your info, they even have a section on tips and recipes like Maple back bacon sandwich with home made coleslaw, Ratatouille Bites, Lemon Weekend Cake with Raspberry Coulis to name a few...so check out their interesting website with the many interesting sections/tabs.

Sitiawan's Hock Chiew Peah, Kong Peah, Gong Pian ?

(NON-HALAL)

Call it however you want.  According to Andrine, I have to try them when I'm in Sitiawan...it's a must!  So what do we do? Try to get our hands on some during our short trip there.  Asking around, our host manage to get his friend to take me to a biscuit shop that he usually goes to...but as usual for most places in Sitiawan, no address! - except that the name of the place is Cheng Li Biscuit Shop (tried Googling and couldn't find any info!)

Kong Peah dough with filling - flattened and waiting to be baked

Breadvale, Paramount Garden - Added Joy For Year End Celebration

(NOTE : AS AT FEBRUARY 2011, BREADVALE IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED AS THEY ARE HAVING STAFFING ISSUES. I WISH BREADVALE WELL AND PRAY THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RE-OPEN SOON. CALL TO CHECK IF YOU NEED TO).

Happy New Year! Now that it's back to work for most of us...I can only recall with much delight over the celebrations I had in the month of December 2010 while lamenting about going back to work! Hahaha.... I had come across Breadvale during one of my trips to Paramount Garden for my usual Hokkien noodles and I'm glad I did. It didn't start out as a bakery as it was initially a cafe but the proprietors decided to change their business model a couple of months down the line. So, Breadvale is officially only about a couple of months old and has now become one of my favourite haunts .

Their range of buns and cookies are rather good and reasonably priced at the same time plus the proprietors are friendly folks too! I like the Onion Cheese & Ham Bun, even the simple Chicken Ham Bun is lovely as the bun is pillowy soft :o). Most of all, what I love most from Breadvale is their Bread & Butter Pudding!

Feliz Navidad @ Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia

When Jason asked if I had wanted to take up an invite to check out Academy of Pastry Arts, I was rather nonchalant about it. I had no idea that there was an academy in Petaling Jaya in the first place (it's just 4 months old!) and I was still feeling tired after coming back from Melbourne. Now, I'm glad I went that day - I had so much fun while learning and having a hands on opportunity to decorate my very own gingerbread house.

This is what they say about themselves : -

"Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia, a premier institute offers you the rare opportunity to learn the art of bakery and pastry making in a professional setting, being personally trained and coached by experts in their field. Your skill will be finely honed through hands-on practice and repeated exposure to the best pastry techniques, tools, and ingredients.. Our Academy is dedicated only to the art of pastry and it is our target to be the finest pastry academy in Malaysia & Southeast Asia. We are committed to groom the best ready to perform pastry professionals entering the hotel industry and related pastry fields.

Read more about the Academy from their website and Facebook page.

The main kitchen area and classroom area.

Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia offers four main courses : -

Certificate in Pastry and Bakery (9 months)

Certificate: Art of Intermediate Pastry Program (3 months)

Certificate in Bakery Arts (3 months)

Continuing Education (Short term courses) See schedule HERE.

Short term courses (which range from RM150 - half day, RM250 - full day, RM500 - two days) include
Cheesecake
Chocolate for Beginners
Chocolates and Praline
The Art of French Pastry
Tea Cakes, Cookies & Bar

Course fees include EVERYTHING - ingredients, equipment, study material. For the longer term courses, pay up in full on the spot and you can get a 10% discount. Interest free monthly installments are also offered. If there are Master Chef classes held during your time at the Academy, you can attend the classes for free (these classes are at RM2000 each otherwise and are usually attended by established Pastry Chefs of the Southeast Asian region). Be taught by World Champion Pastry Chefs who are flown in to Malaysia!

We visited the Chocolate Room (Gasp! I would love to have a Chocolate Room in my house apart from the usual dining room, store room, bed room, hahaha!) - No Willy Wonka here, but lots of delicious chocolates made by students that were laying around - such temptation!

We were given a tour of the academy and also had the opportunity to see some students creating their masterpiece. There's also a sugar art work room and came across some students' lovely sugar art works.

New Hollywood Bakery & Restaurant, San Francisco

If it was not for the blog title I'm sure that New Hollywood Bakery could have passed off as one of the eateries in Klang Valley from the photo below, right?

Lots of old timers gather at this place which is quite pack throughout the day

Well, it isn't. It's in San Francisco, looking as Chinese as it could be in Chinatown. And just like my fave item from You's Dim Sum was the lo mai bao (aka glutinous rice pau), I have my fave item from this bakery too.

Presenting to you, the absolutely fantabulous lip smacking Green Onion Bun - a longish and braided bread.

Since coming back here, I'm missing these yummy Green Onion Bun (spring onion). At USD0.60 each, it's such a steal for something so delicious.

Eaten warm, the bread is soft and is just bursting with flavours of spring onions & salted butter. It's rich but yet not overwhelming. This is a must try (and try to eat one fresh from the oven, it's heavenly!) if you're ever in this area and is a fan of spring onions!

Now, I only wished that I had bought a dozen, froze them and brought them back! Sigh... If you find a favourite food of yours or fallen in love with a new food item while you were overseas, would you buy them in bulk (freeze them if you have to!) and bring them back?

Enjoy your Friday folks, the weekend's here again :o)

New Hollywood Bakery & Restaurant
652 Pacific Ave (Between Beckette St & Columbus Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel : (415) 397-9919