makan | joie de vivre
Tucked away in the heart of Scotland’s St Andrews is a picturesque alley coming straight out of a storybook. While enjoying sumptuous scones and a warm cup of Earl Grey at The Cottage Kitchen, I had to capture this street view with a sketch. The intertwining cobbled streets, the shadows of the past, and the […]
It’s hard to miss this magnificent tree with its gorgeous network of trunk and roots as well as branches which seemingly protect the entire Kilo Kitchen Restaurant from the elements. The restaurant’s architecture was clearly designed and built around this stunning specimen. Once inside, the ambiance is a heady mix of concrete textures, a sea […]
Everytime we catch a train from Bordeaux St Jean train station, we can’t resist dropping by Le Fournil de Belcier for their freshly baked sandwiches and pastries. I’m not sure if it’s the air, sun or food, but people in Bordeaux just seem incredibly warm and helpful. You often have people going the extra mile […]
French baking has so many extensive types of dough and pastries that the French themselves might not know about all the available pastry varieties out there! We found out about Maison Pralus many years ago as we have family living near Roanne, the town where the family business originated. The maison’s founder August Pralus was […]
As you can tell by now, we are frequent visitors to Rue Montorgueil (Montorgueil Street), a well-known pedestrian street of gourmet stalls, cafés and restaurants in Central Paris. There are no lack of pâtisseries (pastry stores) along this street, but don’t get distracted by commercial chains like Paul, Le Pain Quotidien, Eric Kaiser… Since you’re […]
With the sunlight piercing the windows of the French country-style kitchen, and everyone crowded around the island table with their teas and coffees, I always look out for the packet of waffles among the freshly baked viennoiseries, baguettes and chouquettes (puffs).
There are so many amazing boulangeries (bakeries) in Paris, but “The French Bastards” definitely stands out with its cheeky name. Unlike other parisian establishments which display proudly their long history (est. 1890 or Maison founded after the meteorite landed on the dinosaurs etc), you’ll see printed prominently on their shop front: “Maison fondée hier” (Maison […]