Thoughts & Reflections

Author: karen

Sweet Treat: Strawberry Spring Cake

When I was at Takahachi Bakery, I only meant to pick up a birthday cake but something else caught my eye. This mini strawberry spring cake has everything I love: strawberries, cake and whipped cream. An added treat was the strawberry custard filling inside. I’m glad it wasn’t frosted on the outside; it’s sweet enough as is for my tastes and I’m trying to eat less dairy since it’s not good for my skin, unfortunately. The desserts at Takahachi rarely disappoint and I’ve been enjoying this one over the last few days.

February 27, 2014
Cornelia Street Café

A warm weekend (finally!) means finding any excuse to head out earlier than usual. So on Sunday, I met up with a friend for brunch (more like breakfast since it was 10:30am) at Cornelia Street Café. It’s one of those places I’ve walked by every once in a while in the West Village but never remember having seen it. The location was convenient for a meetup and a good starting point for a day-long walk around the city just to enjoy the weather.

The $20 prix fixe was a good deal, with a build-your-own meal from selections of bread, main courses, and two drinks. I opted for the Farmer’s Breakfast (with delicious crumbly bacon hidden beneath the eggs) while my friend ordered the Huevos Rancheros. The food was good and filling, but did not leave me feeling overstuffed. It was the perfect amount of food and a great way to start the day.

February 24, 2014
Matsunosuke

It seems as if I’ve been working my way through all the wonderful Japanese bakeries and cafés in the city lately. Matsunosuke is the latest one to open, a Japanese chain opening its first Stateside location. It specializes in pies but so far, all I’ve had has been their chocolate offerings. On my first visit at the start of the year, I bought a slice of chocolate cream pie and this past weekend, I ended up with their banana split brownie. I really wanted a slice of the signature apple pie but it was sold out when I visited.

The brownie reminded me of a smore, with the toasted miniature marshmallows and slivered almonds that decorated the top. There was a hint of banana in the brownie itself but it didn’t overpower the chocolate flavors at all. It was also a very rich dessert; I would’ve been happy with an even smaller portion since it was so sweet. And I finished it with a cup of hojicha, the only tea option available but it is a great choice to complement the different sweets served.

February 20, 2014
Hi-Collar

On Saturday, I had a sudden craving for an egg sandwich for lunch. Not the typical bacon and eggs on a roll but something a bit different. So it was off to Hi-Collar I went.

On my first visit many months ago, I wanted to try their pork katsu sandwich but it was sold out and I ended up ordering the Tamago sandwich instead. The menu describes it simply as an Osaka-style omelette and cucumber sandwich and it looks exactly that, with a mound of fluffy egg nestled between slices of soft, buttered bread. But just one bite of it conjures memories of childhood, sitting in a Chinese cha chaan teng and eating a Western-style breakfast. There’s a bit of horseradish (of which I’m not really a fan) in the sandwich which can taste too sharp at times but I can quickly wash away the aftertaste with a cup of perfectly brewed (via a small hourglass timer) tea.

A “salad” is served on the side: diced peaches swimming in slightly thickened evaporated milk. It’s one of the my favorite parts of the dish because it is exactly something I would find in Chinese restaurants years ago, usually as a topping (fruit cocktail from a can and a splash of evaporated milk) to a bowl of cold almond tofu. To me, it was more of a dessert, something I saved to finish my meal with.

February 18, 2014
Whitehall

There’s nothing like a hearty meal to help get through these cold winter days. I met up with a friend for brunch at Whitehall and we ate very well: she had the avocado toast with poached eggs while I chose the English fry-up. We both ordered rashers of bacon and I added black pudding to my plate as well (because no fry-up is complete without a bit of black pudding!). The food was great; it filled but did not leave us feeling overstuffed. We washed it all down with a pot of English Breakfast (for me) and several cups of coffee (for her). It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday morning and once fortified, we stepped out into the cold once more.

February 10, 2014
Rose Bakery

Most of the shops in the New York location of Dover Street Market is out of my price range but at least Rose Bakery is affordable. Though I prefer the menu of the London bakery, there were a few interesting British-influenced options here as well. What I really wanted to try is the Cream Tea but I was several hours too early for that so I simply ordered a scone and a pot of English Breakfast for a very light lunch.

Of the two varieties available, I settled on the maple scone (the other was hazelnut) with butter and apple butter. I prefer the traditional cream and jam accompaniment but the apple butter was very flavorful and tasty in its own right. According to the menu, clotted cream and jam is served with the afternoon Cream Tea so perhaps I will have to return one late afternoon to try it.

Overall, I think I would have far more enjoyed the fare if all the tables weren’t cramped together; on the ground level, the bakery space isn’t very large so it’s a tight squeeze whether one is sitting down or moving around. There is an upstairs sitting area but I did not learn of it until much later; I would have gladly walked up for a bit more elbow room. The one nice thing that did happen was that I ended up getting a free overview of the Market and its history from a woman who sat across from me. She works for Commes des Garçons—the company that runs Dover Street Market—and couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between three guys sitting around me as they were trying to learn more about the Market via their smartphones and so offered up a nice verbal guided tour of the place.

February 7, 2014
Patisserie Tomoko

It’s really nice to finally have a good dessert place in my neighborhood. There are plenty of cafés and bakeries but none of them stand out like Patisserie Tomoko. I’ve been wanting to visit ever since it opened but it’s a bit of a walk and the weather was warm enough over the weekend to allow for an excursion.

Once inside, the space is divided into two sections with an open kitchen right in the center. There are seats around the counter for dining in to the left and a takeaway area to the right. I took a seat at the back and studied the short menu. It is a dessert prix-fixe: one dessert with petits fours. There is also a premium set which comes with an additional starter. I asked about the starter and decided it wasn’t for me so I ordered the standard set and a pot of tea. Wine pairings are also available and suggestions are listed below each item on the menu.

The dessert that stood out to me was the Pear Mille-feuille with Earl Grey Ice Cream. I cannot say no to pears and Earl Grey though I chose a pot of genmaicha to balance it out. The pastry and ice cream were both delicious and thankfully not too heavy. When my empty plate was removed, a dish of petits fours arrived: matcha shortbread, a banana chocolate macaron, and kumquat financier. The latter was my favorite of the three thanks to the sweet and tart flavor of the kumquat.

At the takeaway counter, there are many more desserts available as well as a few savory items. I bought a pumpkin flan and a lemon tart for my sister and she said both desserts were very good. I’m looking forward to trying some of the other items as well.

February 4, 2014
Bellocq

One of the prettiest tea shops in the city is Bellocq. It’s close enough for me to walk to on a nice day but in the midst of a polar vortex as we are now, I’m more than happy to use mass transit instead. The shop is located on a quiet, industrial street and the storefront is pretty unassuming. But once inside, you can’t help but admire the view.

There are small tins by the window for customers to sniff and examine the different teas available for purchase. Behind the counter are large canisters full of loose leaves ready to be sold by the ounce. And in the back room is a lovely little sitting area with plants everywhere.
On the day I visited, the store was pretty busy with a mix of out-of-town visitors and city residents. Everyone was buying tea so it was while before it my turn but I didn’t mind the wait since I was admiring all the things in the store. Though there were several teas I wanted to try, I showed some restraint and only bought a sample of Golden Pu-Erh. But have no fear, there will be future visits indeed.

January 27, 2014
La Churreria

After a belated birthday dinner with dessert, a friend and I ended up having a second helping of sweets at La Churreria. We were in the general area and for a Friday night, it wasn’t crowded at all; perhaps we were a bit earlier than the drinking crowd and there was only one other occupied table when we arrived.

Initially, I wanted the churros con chocolate but I ended up satisfying my flan craving instead, choosing a crème caramel and a pot of chamomile tea (no more caffeine for me at that hour). And briefly, I was transported back to Granja La Pallaresa in Barcelona.

January 23, 2014
A Clean Slate

After a nearly six-month hiatus, I’m finally dipping my toes back into the world of blogging. Life has begun to slow down enough this past week that I could finally turn my attention on the blog; the last few months have been brutal and busy, not necessarily in a bad way but just enough to set aside most of my personal hobbies in order to get the important things done.

So this year will start with a fresh blog. Fresh, but not new since I was quietly posting here in addition to my old blog; this was initially an sandbox where I could experiment with WordPress to see if I could truly get used to the templating system and interface. Now that I’ve reached a point where I’m more comfortable with it, it’s time to retire all the old out-of-date content on both sites and start anew.

Wish me luck in trying to post on a more regular schedule this year.

January 20, 2014