12 August 2013

Brekkie:

1/2 cup of oats, macadamia & honey cluster cereal w/almond milk

Snack at Filou's Artisan Patissier, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia:

Chicken curry pie w/tomato & pickled something relish
(I was going to get their spinach pie, but apparently it wasn't hot so I ended up getting this instead. And while I don't know if I would have enjoyed the spinach pie better, I loved this curry pie. The crust was so good! Since this is a French bakery, it was more of a mixture between a flaky phyllo-esque pastry crust and typical American pie crust, but man, it was great. Buttery with soft, flakey layers.  Mmm. The filling was equally delicious. One bite sent me straight back to childhood; the curry tasted almost exactly like the kind my mother made before she started "tweaking and gourmet-ising" her recipe. I really wish she had kept making this version, but oh well. Perfectly spicy and seasoned, I could have just eaten a huge bowl of this curry plain. The chicken was tender and wonderfully marinated, and the curry itself was savoury without being too heavy or overwhelming. While the relish wasn't needed, it was a nice entremet of sorts between bites instead of servings.)

The inside.

Chocolate chestnut mousse gâteau
(I've never had chestnut in a dessert before, but if this is what it tastes like, I will! Since I ordered a ton of pastries, I told the employee to just choose one sweet for me to eat there and the rest would be for takeaway. She gave me this one, saying that I'd utterly love it. And I did. Indulgent and decadent to a level where it should be sinful, this gâteau should be served to everyone. I was really afraid that it would be too sweet, or that the chocolate would get overwhelming but neither case happened. Instead, each spoonful was a morsel of bliss. The chocolate spongecake was light and moist while the mousses were rich, each displaying their respective flavours. While the chocolate mousse certainly overpowered the chestnut, I did detect a subtle sweetness reminiscent of the water chesnuts I used to eat. I actually can't describe the flavour of chestnuts very well, having only eaten them raw, but their sugary taste and crunchy, juicy texture reminds me of a syrup-soaked jicama. Anyway, this gâteau was so rich and creamy, but upon standing up to leave, I felt nothing. Almost as if each bite magically disappeared upon consumption. The cake was that light. I'm still perplexed by it actually, but am very pleasantly surprised at how indulgent it was without being heavy.)

Snack from Filou's while waiting for class to start:

Almond croissant (had about a third)
(If I could sing to the stars, I would. I love croissants; they're my guilty pleasure! Okay, one of them. But for someone who professes a dislike for butter, you'd be amazed at how much I can fawn over a good croissant. This croissant was/is spectacular! THE BEST CROISSANT I'VE EVER HAD. When I first got it, I was a bit skeptical because it felt very hard. I like my croissants to have a crisp shell, but usually that means the inside is rock hard as well, so I tend to stick to croissants that are more pliable. This croissant blew my mind away. It was hard, but when I broke off one end, the inside was so soft, moist and buttery that I wanted to cry. The flakey layers were there for me to peel off one by one, the shell was crunchy, it had just enough butter to remind you of how utterly sinful it is but nowhere close to a sickening level and the best part? THERE WAS MARZIPAN INSIDE. Or some version of marzipan. When Filou's called this an almond croissant, they meant it. Almonds galore! And I absoultely loved how the croissant was just lightly sweetened. Everything about this croissant was perfection. No words can possibly capture the euphoria I felt upon eating this croissant. It was that good.)

At another angle because this was seriously the best croissant I've ever had.

The inside features some kind of marzipan!

"Afternoon Tea" with pastries from Filou's:

Strawberry tart (had a teensy bite of it earlier)

Green tea, rest of the almond croissant, rest of the strawberry tart (gave some to Miffy)
(Mmm the croissant is still delicious. I wish I could just eat one at every meal. One of the employees recommended the strawberry tart to me and boy, was it a good recommendation. The strawberries were fresh and lightly coated in sugary syrup, enhancing their sweetness without overdoing so. I don't know what the filling was, but it was equally delicious and very subtle- letting the strawberries take the spotlight. As for the pastry crust, it was fabulous: crunchy, lightly sweetened, buttery and everything you could want in a crust. Each element complemented the other well, resulting in a beautiful strawberry tart. Too bad it isn't summer in Australia right now.)

Second round of tea, with pastries from Filou's:

Black forest gâteau

Lemon tart

Green tea, mini slice of the black forest gâteau, 1/2 of the lemon tart
(I'm not a big fan of cherries inside my desserts, but for certain items, I do enjoy the unique bittersweet and tart flavour only a cherry can contribute. This black forest gâteau was amazing! Light and yet so rich. This must be how the French stay so petite. How else wiould you indulge in these amazing pastries and still look so chic? The spongecake was light and airy, which matched the light richness of the cream. Little cherry morsels added to the decadence. The only time I usually eat this gâteau is during the math/comp sci department party; if all black forest gâteaux tasted like this, it'd be much more regular in my life. As for the lemon tart, it wasn't the best lemon tart I've had but it was quite tasty. Like I mentioned for the strawberry tart, the pastry was perfect: crunchy, lightly sweetened, buttery and everything you could want in a crust. I enjoyed the freshness of the filling; it was sweet, tart and slightly bitter from the amount of lemons they must have put in. Delightfully creamy and light, this lemon tart should have been amazing, but for some reason misses its mark for me. It's good, but I'm not going remember it very well.)

Dinner:

Open-faced grilled cheese sandwich w/cayenne & black peppers, green kiwifruit, celery sticks
(The healthiest thing I've eaten all day. Mmm. The way this "light" cheese melted reminds me of cheddar. I really do think it's cheddar. Sometimes I get the worst grilled cheese and tomato cravings, and while I can make a pretty good grilled cheese, I still can't imitate my pa's. TOO BAD HE WON'T MAKE ME GRILLED CHEESES ANYMORE.)

Late night snack:

Oats & berry cluster cereal w/almond milk