27 August 2013

Brunch:

Chickpea & lentil salad w/"light" cheese slices

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

Warm apple crumble
(The employee told me they just took it out of the oven about 30 minutes ago so naturally, I had to get this. It's probably the closest to apple pie I'll ever get here, but it was still delicious on its own merits. The pastry was buttery and crunchy while the filling was moist and gooey. I loved how apple-y and cinnamon-y it was, and how there were chunks of apples rather than slices. Much more hearty. The best thing about the filling though, was that it wasn't sweet at all; the flavour of the apple really shone through, enhanced by the spices. This contrasted perfectly with the sugary, crunchy crumble topping. Absolutely loved this; perfect balance of sweetness to tart and crunchy to moist. If only it were fall back in New England...)

The inside.

Warm butter croissant (gave a bit to Nathalie)
(Finally tried their famous butter croissant!  So good. I prefer their almond croissants, but this was amazing too. Perfect flaky, buttery layers featuring an ultra moist inside and crunchy outside. The French know their own croissants. I don't like butter, but I wasn't even apprehensive about eating this croissant, even though the amount of butter they must have put in here was definitely palapable. Mmm, so good. I can totally imagine making a gorgeous veggie sandwich out of this. Croissant addictions. This is why I can't eat croissants.)

Almond croissant (ate about half)
(Still my favourite. Just as good as last time, if not better. I swear, if I could ship these out and they'd stay fresh, I'd do it immediately because this simple pleasure needs to be shared.)

 Snack at Casa del Gelato, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia:

Tiramisu, passion fruit & caramelised fig gelato (shared w/Nathalie)
(Probably the cheapest gelato I've encountered here, coming in at $5 AUD for three flavours. The lady recommended hazelnut, but I'm sadly allergic so couldn't eat that. I love fig, so the carmelised fig sounded amazing. It was not. I mean, it was good but it was also very, very alcoholic. I smelt like I was drunk when I went to class about fifteen minutes later. The fig provided more of the texture because it tasted more like some kind of sweet, caramel-y alcohol. I don't know caramel-flavoured alcohol drinks so I'll leave it at that. Passion fruit was easily mine and Nathalie's favourite. Extremely light and refreshing, and completely just brightened up the palate. I think it beats Helados Jauja's passion fruit actually. Perfectly sweet and tart with the right amount of creaminess. I could gorge on a gallon of this, maybe. Perfect summer treat though- exactly what you'd imagine the best passion fruit frozen cream-based dessert would taste like. The tiramisu was another recommendation by the lady since I couldn't decide on a third one. This was more coffee-esque than chocolate-y, but that's okay because I love coffee-flavoured desserts. It never got too sweet, and a large help in my attempts to cover the strong alcoholic content of the carmelised fig. Regarding texture of the gelatos, I was a fan. I've heard that while this place is very well-established in the community, their gelatos can sometimes be a bit on the icy side. But all three flavours were quite creamy and light; I'd actually label the carmelised fig one as borderline dense. So perhaps I came in on a good day. I want to make another trip soon to try their ricotta cheese gelato and a few others.)

Top view.

 Snack:

Finished the rest of the almond croissant
(So good.)

Snack (from Filou's Artisan Patissier, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia):

Forkful of this blood orange chocolate gâteau
(One of Filou's newer desserts! I always ask the employees what's new when I come in cutesy looking bakeries. The employee told me that it was more on the chocolately side with just a subtle hint of blood orange, but I beg to differ. While it's true that a significant portion of the gâteau is chocolate, the relatively thin layer of orange buttercream is extremely potent. Citrus is the first flavour, followed by chocolate goodness with a subtle hint of orange alcohol- perhaps Grand Marnier- and then the orange from both the alcohol and cream lingers, mixing with the last of the chocolate, but still declaring its presence. Strangely refreshing yet decadent. Similar to the previous gâteaux, this one was also incredibly light in texture. How do the French do it? All in all, it was a great large forkful. I'm saving the rest until later this week, but I wanted to sample the gâteau while it was still fresh.)

Forkful of crème brûlée (2)
(The employee recommended this until she remembered that I don't eat eggs. I love how she actually remembers what I told her and what I ordered, when the only time I've ever been in that shop was two weeks ago. I even saw the same customer from before! Another attest to how fabulous this place is. Anyway, I told her that I eat eggs when it's in
crème brûlée and she insisted that I had to try one. I love this place. That is all I can say. I have yet to consume anything I haven't enjoyed. I think this is the richest crème brûlée I've ever had, but its texture was so silky smooth and the crunchy, hard caramel topping complemented it perfectly. Caramel was dripping down from the sides of the tin and stained the white custard. Surprisingly, I didn't find the richness overwhelming and just wanted to keep consuming the creamy goodness, but that might have been because I only ate two large forkfuls. I can't wait to finish this later!)

The inside.
(I might have drank a bit of the caramel...)