Eric's Best in Europe

A long awaited entry right? The last two Xanga entries are not really "written" but now I decide it is the time to write something again! As this special year in Europe is drawing to a close, I think this little note would definitely give me the benchmarks for my favourites ever...... Will be updated regularly!!

Best Macarons: Pierre Herme, Paris, France

Before coming to France I was never a supporter of macarons. Crazily sweet and presented in various unnatural colours, I was wondering what kind of people on earth would love it. Yet, it was prospering in Hong Kong since 2005 but they never impress me. I was trying my best to stay away from this kind of crazy patisserie.

Upon arrival at the home of macaron, France, I decide to give them another chance. Macarons do have very high popularity in France and you can find them from all kinds of cake shops, chocolatiers or bakeries, from very high class stores to very common stores, or even in supermarket. After consulting various people with experience in macarons in France, I bought my very first box of macarons here with my classmates. I still remember the conversation I had with my schoolmate after we bought the macarons from Paris:

Schoolmate: How’s the taste of the breasts of the young girls?

Me: ?????? (Totally stunned when being asked such a question at 11:30pm. I referred as being “harassed”)

Schoolmate: They are so sweet, crispy and soft. I like them very much.

Me: !?!?!?

Schoolmate: Are you sure that you don’t know?

Me: ……….. (Believe it or not, I really have no idea at all…… “la jeune fille” in French definition probably is quite young. I swear I would not do things like that.)

Schoolmate: Thank you so much. Now I know where I should look for macarons in Paris!

Me: !!!!!! (Crispy or soft? Or both? Or something else you are talking about? I was totally confused before this sentence.)

Schoolmate: Don’t you know they have such a nickname?!

Yes…… French compared macarons to the breasts of young girls (Anyway French can connect EVERYTHING remotely related to various body parts. For some “fine” examples, read here: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/Monsieur-Pi/article?mid=32&prev=44&next=24).

OKOK that is the end of the “witty” conversation. As I said, macarons can be found everywhere in France, but there are a few shops in Paris really stands out. To me, Pierre Herme is the best among them. In fact, Pierre Herme made his fame in Japan instead of Paris, and his success there led to a glorious return to the capital of France later on. The texture of their macarons is really crispy and soft: crispy outside and soft inside. The flavour is very natural and intense, with balanced sweetness.

Pierre Herme’s macarons also have a lower content of oil than those of Laduree or other famous macaron makers. Personally I think it gives them a nice balance. Occasionally they will offer special seasonal flavours like white truffle & nuts, foie gras & chocolate, wasabi……. Though I am seldom interested in such fusions and innovations, Pierre Herme does do a great job in these creations. I am very pleased to have rediscover macarons through them.

Besides macarons they also make very good cakes. The “Vanille Infinitement” tart and the classical Millefeuille are simply brilliant!

For macarons, bring me Pierre Herme or nothing…….

http://www.pierreherme.com/

春眠不覺曉

處處聞啼鳥。

夜來風雨聲，

花落知多少?

Happy Chinese New Year

The firework in Hong Kong is always the best. Whenever, whatever.

Meanwhile, there are always idiots around, and here is another example in the Year of the Ox:

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/video.html?url=%2F090127%2F11%2Faeiu.html&offset=2

Happy New Year and Kung Hey Fat Choy to everyone!! Wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Ox!

2009年1月3日信報

享巴黎美食 補心靈不足

張建雄

聖誕新年期間遊巴黎是特別熱鬧的。香榭大道自大小皇宮以下，為節日建了整排的小木屋，讓巴黎人大做遊客生意，由衣帽紀念品到美食都有，行得有點冷，還可以來一杯熱紅酒（Vin Claud）暖暖胃，何等寫意？何況這段時間，溫度都在七、八度間，在陽光普照下，不會覺得冷。

巴黎鐵塔夜來照燈，去年以歐盟新特色，藍色的燈光，加上十二夥星，十分顯眼，巴黎人的藝術設計，確有兩度板斧。

香榭大道上食處甚多，筆者在拙作《法國試食行》中，選了Ledoyen為香榭大道最優雅的食處，建於1728年，今年已有二百八十年歷史，當年去時只有二星，如今已升為三星，這座古老建築物雖然佔地甚廣，但午間營業只開放向香榭大道和小皇宮方面的一個廳，座位只有四十五個，也是要預訂為佳的食處。此廳入內要細看天花和牆壁的花紋，古老樸實但也有雅氣，掛燈不是水晶燈，但自有其吸引力，單是這種氣氛，就是模仿不來。

開胃最要緊

坐下點了開胃飲料，侍應就送上開胃食品，用一塊火山石作碟，上置四件開胃菜：煙鱔魚、芒果鵝肝醬、秋菰Cepe酥、果味氣泡，頗有新舊食法合併之意，配以Krug香檳不俗，

隨後送上麵包四款，傳統小長棒、甜味包，用黑墨魚汁蝦乾製成的黑麵包，惹味無窮，

用以配頭盤的干貝，相得益彰，在秋冬季，不能不食松露菌，用蛋液和牛骨髓製成的Souffle，加上松露菌絲和液汁，不愛麵包的女士也要添食。

冬季也是晉食法國名菜牛胸腺的日子，Riz Deveau也不是位位廚師做得好，要小小一件，上面煎得香，下面魚生粥，僅僅熟，才得其嫩，過火即欠佳，液汁用芒豪蔬熬汁最佳，要不膩加幾片用牛骨煮透的黑蘿蔔，當然不可無酒，Pinot Noir中的輕柔者最佳，有點年份，稍稍老化更佳，酒保云，何不來支布根尼，1996年的Savigny Les Beaune，是Jean Boillot家的，發瓶後花香四溢，酒色淡紅，十五分鐘後即合飲，配牛胸腺果然不俗，大廚Lesquer值得三星，做海鮮盤的Merlan魚尾，大蝦和帶子，也是用心無比，有如來了一幅法國名畫。

要有三星派頭，就要不斷有新意，吃完主菜，來甜品前，還要為閣下準備吃甜品的胃口，送上Moca啫喱加雲呢拿汁，熱冷相混，可以開胃，再加四樣小點，這樣令人忘了濃味的主菜，

進入甜品世界，才能品嚐巧克力餅配香蕉雪糕和鳳梨蘇菲，

這時再加一杯香濃法國咖啡，才夠圓滿。

當然，在衍生工具橫行的時代，飯後還要三寶，幾片薄荷黑朱古力（22%）要Maison Chocolat的，一支Davidoff的雪茄，外加一杯Porte酒，還要有點年份的，1967年的Cockburns，經過Decant才慢慢品味，如今室內禁煙，賺快錢的時代亦俱往矣，等下一波吧。當然，光是讀Ledoyen的酒單，看那幾頁的Cote de Rhone的美酒，歡樂時光還是快點回來吧！

不過，法國酒徒不論何時，還是有發美酒的豪氣，此日鄰桌兩位法國老兄酒意甚濃，不知2008年是何世也，Mission Haut Brion只是用來吃頭盤，吃主菜烤干貝，才Decant一瓶三十年白酒，酒色金黃、酒香飄鄰桌，確是佳品，如此賀歲曰可。

二百年小店

飯後到聖母院所在的小島散步，發思古之幽情，三十年前所住的小旅館猶在，仍是三星小店，親切得很，這家已有二百年歷史的小店，人人都是過客，想當年為筆者訂房的老友已仙逝，為之悵然。

步出小島，到拉丁區前，信步走入莎士比亞書局，這家聞名讀書界的小書局，仍在年輕作家在二樓寄宿讀書，二樓的英文書只借閱不賣，地下店的書亦以英文為主，是巴黎遊客缺書時的補充站，取價合理，誠為心靈補充的佳處。

A Brief Note About Hong Kong & INSEAD

I was chatting with Julian after a great squash match today. We were enjoying a nice pint of Heineken as a reward of our tough and entertaining match. Julian is a British but he lived in Hong Kong for quite some while when he was young. It's great that two squash players with Hong Kong background showed our global schoolmates that this tiny place still have some sportsmen around!

While we were refuelling ourselves with beer, Julian told me about his last visit to Hong Kong 2 months ago. He shared his experience around the city with his friends, and getting wasted in Azure after having loads of whisky in China's Club. Everything is so familiar and nice, and it makes me miss Hong Kong so much. Honesly speaking I am not missing my home as much as some of my friends did here, and I do pretty enjoy the time in France. But it's true that you will realize how good the things around you everyday are, when you are away from them. Something that you have been taken for granted but never have the opportunities to rethink and appreciate. I know some of my friends may not share the same thought as they feel rejuvenated when away from Hong Kong. But just like different people have different taste on food, there's no right or wrong on the opinion.

Another P5 schoolmate, Alex, really falls in love with Hong Kong. Though working in Hong Kong for a relatively short while, he speaks Cantonese well and loves Hong Kong so much that he would suddenly fly back in weekend. He told me that he seems to feel that there's a "calling" within himself and makes him want to fly back all in a sudden, and he just go online and buy the ticket from Cathay Pacific (full fare I guess?!), rushing to CDG from his home in Avon, and jumped onto the flight.

Incidentially, one of Julian friends was the son of the tailor that made my very first suit for graduation presenation and interviews. I have to admit the world is really so small. Among the people I met here, there is a fellow St. Paulinian, there is someone who study in the same campus with me in 2004 though we never met, there is someone who like food and wine as much as I do, and there is also someone whose colleague has just married -- whom my friends know well too. There are many many crossroads in our life and INSEAD is a big roundabout (imagine the crazy roundabout in France where cars come from all direction) where people meet and come across each other. Now 4 months are gone and I have to say that I love driving in this big roundabout!