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Home Made Palmier

I’ve made Palmier‘s twice now from my kitchen, and I had no idea my husband liked this treat until he ordered one at a cafe. To surprise him, I made some at home and he was really happy! It takes no effort at all to make them and no recipe either really!

I use the following ingredients and then just produce them:
Half a sheet of Puff Pastry (thawed)
2 or 3 teaspoons of Granulated Sugar

I then sprinkle some sugar on my work surface, and roll out my puff pastry on top of the sugar – so sugar gets into the the pastry.

Home Made Palmier - Rolling Puff Pastry

When I’ve made it to the dimensions I like, I sprinkle more sugar on top, and I fold in by quarters until they meet in the middle. I then slice them about 1cm thick as my palmiers are smaller than the usual (since I only use half a sheet).

Home Made Palmier - Cutting

I baked them until it’s golden brown on the back, and flip them. It normally takes around 5 to 7 minutes per side in a 400F oven. I let them sit a little bit out of the oven for it to set up and enjoy with tea! 🙂

Palmier

The next time I make this, I think I’m going to make Cinnamon Sugar Palmier as I read about that a few days ago and thought it was an excellent ideal! 🙂

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Sun Chiu Kee in Calgary

We recently went back to Sun Chiu Kee or Sun’s BBQ Restaurant after awhile now as there has been so many new places to try. Sun Chiu Kee is a place I’ve always enjoyed going to and it’s great to return for dinner, instead of lunch.

We ordered a Lamb Hot Pot which was on their winter special menu, deep fried tofu with salted egg yolk, abalone mushroom veggie.

The order of the Lamb Shank Hot Pot came in a large wok of bubbling broth with some lettuce on the side. The broth was quite delicious, and the vegetables in the soup included carrots, leeks, dried bean curd – which is the “skin” of tofu when they make the tofu, and used in a lot of Chinese cooking. There was a dipping sauce that came with this dish, which was fermented bean curd, and they added honey into it. I thought that was really nice, as I normally add sugar when I make it at home. This was a great dish that they have on their winter menu as it was really hot (in temperature), and the meat was cooked to perfection. It just warms you right up – especially when you put the soup in your bowl with your rice.

Sun Chiu Kee - Lamb Hot Pot

The next dish that we ordered was Deep Fried Tofu with Salted Egg Yolks, and it wasn’t as flavourful as it can be, as this recipe is one where you can add a lot of flavour. When they made it here, it only had subtle salted egg yolk flavours. Salted Egg Yolks is actually from what we called Salted Duck Egg and it’s a ducks egg that is preserved in brine (salt water) and when you see it in the store, it is normally covered with a dark black layer of what looks like dirt. To use this egg, simply scrape off the layer and then rinse it under water – and then you’d use the egg in your cooking. This preserved egg has a denser and firmer consistency, and it holds its shape. So, to make this dish, they basically take that egg yolk and mash it up – cook it down with butter until it’s a thick sauce like consistency…. and of course, you deep fry your tofu and toss it in the sauce. It’s a great dish, but this time had a serious lack of flavour.

Sun Chiu Kee - Deep Fried Tofu

The last dish we had was a veggie dish, we ordered Abalone Mushroom with Gai Lan, and we ordered this because we needed vegetables! Gai Lan is also called Chinese Broccoli but I think it has more “bitter” taste, but cooked properly, it’s quite good!

Sun Chiu Kee - Abalone Mushroom with Gai Lan

I’ve been to Sun’s BBQ Restaurant for a late night dinner, and my experience was pretty good with the food. Be sure to read about me going to Sun Chiu Kee for late dinner!

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Muffin Man – Kensington, London

We stopped by The Muffin Man as a quick stop for breakfast one morning before heading over to Buckingham Palace and stand in line for the touristy attractions we were planning for the day. The Muffin Man was a great little stop, even though it wasn’t a fast stop. We made an order right from their bakery section and it took the waitress awhile to even put our goodies into a bag to give to us. Instead, she continued to serve the seated customers, and that made is “in her way”. She had to maneuver around us, making it difficult for everyone.

We figured if she just took our order and quickly gave us our goodies, we all would’ve continued on our merry way. Regardless, the baked good from the Muffin Man was extremely delicious.

I ordered the Lemon Cake which was a denser muffin (hence cake) in a muffin form. It was really lemony and refreshing. The cake was quite fresh.

We also had a Chocolate Danish made with dark chocolate filling wrapped in crusty and flaky pastry.

Lastly, we tried their Banana Coffee Muffin, and even though I didn’t try it at all, I hear it was quite delicious, and it had a soft coffee center. This muffin sure sounds delicious, and I’m sure given another opportunity, I’ll try a muffin – as the place is called the Muffin Man after all!

Muffin Man

12 Wrights Lane Map
(0871) 075 7360
Kensington, London

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The Almanack

After checking into our hotel that was across the street from The Almanack we had to go for a lunch, and found ourselves at the Almanack. The restaurant is large, spacious, bright and just a lovely place to have been. We enjoyed our lunch in a large yet comfortable space.

I tried the Fish Board and actually split it with my sister as I just ate a burger. The Fish Board comes with Smoked Mackerel Pâté, Prawn Cocktail, Marinated Anchovies, Mini Fishcake & Tartare Sauce, Cucumber Sticks & Rye Bread. It was the perfect plate to share, and it was really tasty. Each item on the fish board had its own unique taste and texture which was really fun to experience – as we don’t have this like this. None of the items was fishy at all – which really made me happy! The smoked Mackeral had a really nice smoked taste, and it was firm but flaked off into pieces really nicely. The prawn cocktail was pretty fun – not the best prawn cocktail I’ve ever had, but it was really fun to get my hands dirty and enjoy it! I like anything deep fried, so the fishcake was right up my alley! It was really light and fluffy and cooked perfectly as well. Nothing was bad at all! I don’t know my thoughts of anchovies, but I do like these ones from the Almanack! 🙂 So, it was a very satisfying meal, and one I will remember!

We ordered a bunch of other lunch entrees, which I didn’t try. But, everything was gobbled up in a heart-beat, so I’m assuming it was delicious! The table ordered Potato and Watercress Soup

We also ordered a dish of Caesar Salad to share at the table. It was a nice and fresh salad and it was well received by everyone.

Free-range Chicken & Crispy Bacon, and topped off with Anchovies & Croutons. The last dish that was ordered was Honey & Mustard Roast Free-range Gammon

We went back to The Almanack for breakfast the following morning, and they served a wonderful breakfast selection! From Salmon Eggs Benedict to the All American Breakfast. We had a lot of us, and we had a nice selection of breakfasts ordered.

First of all, everything was cooked perfectly, and that means they looked and tasted good too! I started with the Pancake Breakfast which naturally was pancakes and maple syrup. They did drench the pancake in the syrup and by the end, it was too sweet. The pancakes were light and fluffy and wasn’t cooked until it was a beautiful golden brown colour.

The Salmon Eggs Benedict was really delicious. There was some salmon instead of the traditional ham, and spinach on the eggs Benedict. This really was a nice touch with a nice taste to the dish.

Our table also had the All American Breakfast which was a large and filling breakfast – perfect for a busy day ahead – which in our case was! This breakfast consisted of beans, toasts, mushrooms, sausage, bacon and eggs. It’s truly a hearty meal.

The Almanack

Abbey End North Kenilworth
Warwickshire
(01926) 353637

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Le Restaurant de Paul Covent Garden – London, England

While we were in London, we visited Paul twice! The first time, we went in for lunch, and tried delicious PAUL’s Hot Chocolate which was a delicious rich hot chocolate that coats the spoon and coats the mouth and stomach as we digest it! It’s really good, and I would call it “drinking chocolate” more than enjoying “hot chocolate”. What a wonderful treat it was!

For the lunch, I ate mixte crepes which was a perfectly cooked crepe filled with ham, emmental (cheese) and bechamel sauce. It was really creamy with the cheese and bechamel sauce, and once you cut into the crepe, the emmental oozed out. It was perfect! We also ordered the Champignon Crepe which was filled with mushrooms instead of ham.

We also had an order of Croque Madame which was ham, cheese, bechamel in toasted bread topped with emmental and a fried egg. There was a little salad on the side, and some toast! I didn’t try it, but it looked super delicious – and nothing was left on the plate at the end of this lunch (all plates), so you know it’s really good!

The second time, we went in more as a light snack midday! It was a nice treat after doing a lot of touristy events to sit down and relax over a cup of coffee. I had a delicious Mocha Light which was made from the chocolate that is thick and creamy! It was one of the best mocha’s I’ve ever had, and I think it has everything to do with the hot chocolate that Paul’s is famous for.

I enjoyed a piece of Coconut Flan which is ultimately a coconut tart that was really coconutty, light, soft piece of cake. We also had a Palmier A light, crisp sugared Puff Pastry Biscuit.

This palmier was really good, as most of the ones we’ve had was hard instead of crispy… so to my delight, this palmier was one of the best!

petit panier de pains was another treat that was actually shared within the table, and it’s a petit basket of assorted bread. It was good alone, with butter, with jam, and with both! 🙂 Pizza Provencale which was a slice of pizza topped with cheese, tomato and black olives was a vegetarian delight.

29 Bedford St
Covent Garden
(020) 7836 3304