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The best waffle recipe

I have, at last, found the best waffle recipe and it is from "Cakes in the city".

The recipe is not only easy, the waffles come out all crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. What's more wonderful is you can freeze them! I've tried it. All you have to do is to take one out right from the freezer in the and toss it in the toaster. They come out almost as crunchy as if they were just baked! Now, you can just sleep as much as you want on Sundays (or any other weekday you might afford) then get up and toast some waffles to start :)

Here is the translation of the recipe:

All credits go to Cakes in the city which is a treasure's box of recipes of simple everyday sweeties that reminds us of our childhood.

For 16 - 20 waffles (depending on the size of your waffle griddle)

500 g of plain flour

30 g of sugar

1 pinch of salt

5 eggs, slightly beaten

250 g  of melted butter

500 ml of warm milk

350 ml of warm water

2 packages of dry yeast for bakers (Francine is a French brand, a package from this brand contains 5 g)

powder sugar (or any thing you want) for topping

Disolve the dry yeast in 100 ml of warm milk and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, water and the rest of the milk until smooth. Add in at the end the yeast and milk and the melted butter.

Leave it to rise for about 1 hour. It depends on the temperature of the place where you'll put the dough. It should double in volume.

Heat the griddles, brush with butter then stir a bit the dough so it goes back down a bit. Pour dough on the griddles and bake till beautifully golden about 4-5 minutes.

Sprinkle with powder sugar and enjoy.

They are so crunchy that I don't need to put any topping on them. So when I make them, I add in a bit more sugar in the dough. And you should think about setting an alarm to check on the dough during the rise time. Several years ago, I had a freaky experience with a waffle dough left unwatched that turned into a monster! Hours after, we found the dough literally like a living form, bubbling and trying to escape from squeezing itself from under the lid we put on the bowl.

Real dim sum

After the fusion dim sum, I had an urge to have some real ones :) 

I was so in a rush that I forgot to bring my camera. So just take this as a preview, I'll get more drool inducing pictures. This gives me another excuse go back to Chinatown for more chicken legs :P

Dim sum @ Chine Masséna

Dim sum @ Yoom, Paris

The sushi trend has lived its days but it's dying out slowly. The novelty combined with the healthy aspect of sushis started probably about ten years ago in France. Since then, many fast-food/ delivery chain stores have appeared selling classic or fusion sushis.

Now that people have already adopted sushis, a new trend must come to satisfy people's curiosity. Korean restaurants are spreading but due to the spicy food, I think it'd be difficult for Korean cuisine to conquer the French that easily.

The chinese dim sum is a new little trend blooming in Paris. While it's easy to find dim sum in London, it's really hard to find in Paris because there are less Cantonese natives here. I've tried the chain store Sum and the restaurant Yoom. Both have a high-end concept with fancy interior and the food is fusion.

So, more about Yoom. I've heard about it since it opened maybe a year ago? But I also heard that it's doing so well that you can hardly get in without a reservation. At last, I went there last week with some friends, I've called for a reservation, of course. The restaurant is small, canteen style, with long tables and benches. Interior design is clean with gray, beige and red accents. Menus and plates are printed with vintage Shanghai style illustrations.

You'll find on the menu items inspired from Cantonese dim sum such as Ha Kao and different kind of dumplings, steamed or fried. There's also items inspired more from Vietnamese cuisine like sticky rice crepe or steamed in banana leaves. For dessert, they have some home made and also serves 3 items from Sadaharu Aoki.

Everything I tasted were good. I most liked a set of beef dumplings that had a complex mix of ginger and herbs. I think the tastes are balanced, not too crazy fusion, just an enhanced version of the classic.

Obviously, as a true fan, I had to order an Aoki dessert to finish. There was 2 out of the 3 on the menu that I haven't tasted yet. I hesitated before choosing the lemon tart. Because I tend to always have issues with lemon tarts. More on that in another post, maybe...

Conclusion, as a pure Cantonese, I can tell you the dim sum you find at Yoom are not the "real" ones but it's still worth the experience.

Setting up for summer

We are lucky this year to get an early glimpse of summer. Everyone are already heating up the barbecue, I need one urgently! Mine finally got defeated by the rust cancer last autumn. I went to IKEA but seems like their marketing team didn't plan with the weather forecast. They were just starting the spring collection. So what I got back are these little lights. They remind me of Chinese lantern festival which was my favorite holiday. My mom would take me to buy the lantern I want then I'd stuff myself with mooncakes. Why don't they make mooncakes all year long? TT