'Ono Kine Grindz

Ladurée - Paris, France

I only had a day in Paris, and not even a whole day at that.  I took the Eurostar from London at 6:30 am and arrived in Paris at just about 10:00 am.  The train departed Paris at just after 8:00 pm for an 11:30 pm arrival in London. 

This meant that I really did not have much time to explore the city, but it was nice to be back in Paris after a 13 year absence.  I also missed places that I really was hoping to visit -- pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki, Pierre Hermé or the original Ladurée located at rue Royale.  Instead, on the way back to the train station, I stopped at the Ladurée salon located on the avenue des Champs Elysées.

Saint-honoré rose-framboise (7€)

Flaky pastry, choux pastry, light rose petal confectioner's custard, raspberry stew, chantilly cream flavored with rose water, rose syrup fondant and fresh raspberries.

Ladurée Champs Elysées
75, avenue des Champs Elysées
Paris, France
Telephone: 01.40.75.08.75

Safsouf Sweets

A couple of days ago, I received a few more treats from Lebanon.  This time there wasn't any baklawa, but instead, a bunch of confections from a company called Safsouf Sweets.  Sorry, I don't know what the names of any of these are, but I enjoyed every single one over the last couple of days.

Safsouf Sweets
Tarik El Jadideh
Near Makhfar - Blom Bank Side
Beirut Lebanon
Telephone:  704504

Al Baba Al Mumtaza Sweets

Here are a few goodies direct from Lebanon courtesy of a friend's visiting family. 

I don't know what any of these are since the writing on the box is in Arabic, however, by visiting their website, I can guess what a couple of them are. 

The one on the bottom left is the pine-nut ish-al-bolbol and the one on the bottom right is the pistachios bourma.  The ones in the back are probably different types of baklawa.  They were quite tasty and I enjoyed them with a cup of tea last night after dinner.

Here is link to their website.

Nisshodo Candy Store

男の日
(otoko no hi)

Today is the 5th of May.  You could have been celebrating Children's Day, if you were in Japan, or Cinco de Mayo, if you were in Mexico.  There may be others who celebrate a holiday today, but for us here in Hawaii, those are the two celebrations that garner the most attention. 

Since I am of Japanese ancestry, the first holds the most meaning for me.  However, instead of referring to today as Childrens' Day, most of us here in Hawaii still refer to May 5th as Boys' Day or Otoko no Hi (男の日), which is in turn part of the larger Boys' Festival or Tango no Sekku (端午の節句). 

When I was younger, Boys' Day meant putting up a display in my parent's house complete with dolls covered in armor, letting the koi streamers hang from a bamboo pole out front and eating kashiwa mochi or chimaki.  Nowadays, it means celebrating by giving away some chi chi dango from Nisshodo to friends and co-workers.

There is quite a large Japanese population here in Hawaii, and many of us order mochi for Boys' Day.  I placed my order for the chi chi dango from Nisshodo about 3 weeks ago for pick up today.  If I had placed my order any later, it may have been refused due to demand.

By the way, if you're not too familiar with the area, Nisshodo is located in a bank of warehouses.  If you're not too careful, you won't be able to find it.  The sign is not visible from the street.  You need to turn into the driveway and drive towards the back.  You'll see Nisshodo on the left.  Here's the shop at 6:00 am.  Looks quiet right?

To tell you the truth, I'm sure they've been up for quite some time preparing all the mochi that's going to be picked up today.  When I approached the door, I saw a small sign on the door that said "SOLD OUT".  For those of you who were hoping to get some mochi today, my apologies.

Stepping inside the shop, which is located in a largely industrial part of Kalihi, it's empty.  A few beer boxes sit behind the counter full of pre-packed mochi that's been ordered weeks in advance for today's festivities.

In the display case, you will find that very few of the items for sale are actually "displayed" here.  For the most part it's empty, and I think it's main purpose is not to show what's offered, but to separate the work area from the customer waiting area.  Besides, I think most of their customers are regulars.

About a minute after my arrival, a worker appears from the door behind the counter.  I explain that I'm there to pick the chi chi dango that I pre-ordered.  She disappears through the door, only to appear a couple of minutes later with my order in hand. 

I normally order several pounds of chi chi dango (US$4.75 per pound) yearly.  Each box contains a pound of chi chi dango and comes tied with a simple red ribbon.

Inside each box are about 18 to 22 pieces of pink or white chi chi dango.  They are individually wrapped, but not sealed, so they should be consumed on the day they are purchased.  Besides, why would you want to wait to enjoy these?

The chi chi dango is soft and sweet with a light dusting of katakuriko (potato starch).  You can probably get mochi of similar quality at many other shops as well, but for me, visits to Nisshodo have become an annual tradition.

For those of you who haven't had chi chi dango before, here is a recipe for microwaveable mochi that I use that produces a similar taste and texture.  For the pink colored mochi, add a couple of drops of red food coloring to the mochi prior to cooking.

Microwaveable Chi Chi Dango

1 cup mochiko (mochi rice flour)
1 cup water*
1/2 cup sugar
Katakuriko (potato starch)*
Vegetable oil cooking spray

**NOTES**

- Water can be substituted with milk if preferred.
- Kinako (roasted soybean flour) can be used instead of katakuriko depending on personal preference.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until sugar and mochiko are dissolved.  Pour the mixture into a 5-cup microwaveable tube pan that's been lightly coated in vegetable oil cooking spray such as Pam®.  Microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Remove from microwave and let mochi stand for about 5 minutes.  Turn out onto a cutting board that's been dusted with katakuriko (or kinako, if you prefer).  Cut into pieces with a plastic knife and serve.  The mochi should be kept in an airtight container.  Keep no longer than 3 days depending on the humidity.  Mochi should not be refrigerated.

The koi no bori (鯉のぼり, carp windsock) didn't go outside this year, so I took his picture on the coffee table in the living room.

Nisshodo Candy Store
1095 Dillingham Boulevard Suite I5
Telephone:  808.847.1244

Pistachio Baklawa

When I got home from work, a surprise was waiting for me.  Not a big surprise, but a nice nutty one. 

A friend brought over some baklawa that came to Hawaii via Lebanon.  This baklawa was made with pistachios instead of walnuts, and I heard this was more authentic than what we usually eat here in the states.  Can anyone tell me if this is true or not?  In any case, I savored every bite.  Now I'm wishing that there was more.

By the way, Augustus Gloop, of Grab Your Fork, asked for a baklava recipe a while back when I had made mention of it to her by way of a comment on her blog.  Augustus, I apologize for the delay, but the recipe and post will be up this Sunday, April 10.

**NOTE**

I initially stated that this baklava came from Greece, the post has been corrected to reflect it's true origin and name.  It's actually baklawa from Lebanon.

Bashodo Warabi Mochi

Since I'll be leaving on a trip to Singapore in about a week's time, I decided that instead of my regular "every other day" posts, I'd do a post every day.  Today and tomorrow, however, I'll be doing two posts.

Earlier this afternoon, I stopped by Shirokiya Department Store located at the Ala Moana Shopping Center.  I frequently come here for the "straight from Japan" foods and confections.  I've done a couple of posts on some of the yummy treats that I've gotten here before. A while back was the ichigo daifuku.  More recently were the cream puffs from Beard Papa.  This latest post is about something called warabi mochi by Bashodo Co, Ltd.

According to what I've read, warabi mochi is made using the roots of the bracken fern (warabi).  The roots are ground into a powder, then filtered, and then finally after months of preparation, they become warabi mochi.

When I got to Shirokiya, there was a sign, as usual, indicating where the warabi mochi was. 

Unlike the setting for Beard Papa's cream puffs, there wasn't really a line, but there were many curious onlookers.  To the left of the preparation area, on one of the counters, were a couple of packages of uncut warabi mochi (that's what it looked like).

(My apologies for not getting a better picture, this looked like a huge slab of "white" konnyaku.)

Here's some of the warabi mochi after it has been dusted with kinako (soy bean flour).

Now the real action.  As I watched, the warabi mochi "sheets" were cut into strips lengthwise, and then cut again, to form cubes.  They were then dusted with kinako, not just once, but twice.  First dusting was right after they were cut.  Second dusting was as they were being packed.

Here's the box of warabi mochi that I took home.  It was US$3.99.

Apparently, this company has been around for a really long time.  On the box, it says "SINCE 1868"!  I wonder if they've made this same warabi mochi all that time?  So what was it like?  See for yourself.

The warabi mochi was soft and slightly sweet.  The texture was so smooth, that like konnyaku, it just slid down my throat.  The kinako had a wonderful flavor and complimented this mochi very well.  After my dinner of sobameshi, I enjoyed this warabi mochi with some green tea.  I'm going back for some more of this warabi mochi tomorrow. 

By the way, sobameshi and warabi mochi are both products of the Kansai region of Japan.  Maybe my dinner had an inspiration.

Ichigo Daifuku (Rice Cake with Strawberry)

A couple of weeks ago, Shirokiya Department Store was having one of it's usual promotions.  This time, it featured food and products from Hokkaido, Japan.  There were lots of people milling around, sampling the different foods and making purchases of goods that would only be available for a limited time.

Through the crowd, I noticed a sign for ichigo daifuku (rice cake with strawberry, US$5.40, 3 pieces), but there was none left.  They were all sold out!

It was then that I noticed the two men furiously preparing more...

It was hard for them to keep up with the demand.  I had to wait about 10 minutes to get my share to take home!  Was it going to be worth the wait?

Once home, I carefully took one of the mochi out of the container.  If you've never eaten ichigo daifuku before, it's mochi (glutinous rice cake), that's wrapped around a filling of strawberry covered with koshi-an (smooth azuki bean paste).  It's then rolled in katakuriko (potato starch) to keep it from sticking to everything.

This mochi looked like it would taste just as good as the one I can get from Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo.  You can read a newspaper article about Two Ladies Kitchen here.

Here's what it looks like on the inside...

The strawberry was fresh, sweet and maybe just a bit over-ripe.  There was a lot of smooth, SWEET azuki bean paste as well.  In fact, I think it was a bit too sweet for my taste.  It was definitely a lot sweeter than what I've had in the past.  It must have been a combination of too sweet, over-ripe strawberry combined with the too sweet azuki bean paste.  I would normally like the strawberry to be a bit on the tart side to balance the flavor of the sweet bean paste.  Oh well....I enjoyed it while I had the chance.  I guess I'll just have to make the trip to Hilo...and soon!

Shung Chong Yuein Ltd.

Today after lunch, since I was in Chinatown, I decided to stop by Shung Chong Yuein Ltd. 

This shop sells a wide variety of Chinese cakes and confections.  When I come here, I will normally buy the macadamia nut candy and the peanut candy, and today, I get a bit of both. 

The peanut candy (US$.35 per piece), which is cut into the shape of a diamond, is fresh and full of crunchy peanuts.  The peanuts are the combined with honey then coated with sesame seeds to make the candy.  The reason why I like this peanut candy is because it's made fresh.  It's not too sweet and is not so hard that it'll crack the teeth.  In fact, this candy has just the right amount of "sticky chewiness" to it, but at the same time it doesn't stick to your teeth or the roof of your mouth.  You can easily taste each of the flavors in this...the peanuts, the honey and the sesame seeds!

The macadamia nut candy(US$.65 per piece) is essentially the same, the only discernible difference is that it's cut into rectangular shaped pieces.

I've also, on occassion, had the lotus seed cakes, the black sugar cakes and the duck egg cakes, all which have been fantastic as well.

Shung Chong Yuein Ltd
1027 Maunakea Street
Telephone:  808.531.1983

See's Candies

After brunch at Mei Sum, I decided to pick up some chocolates at See's Candies at the Kahala Mall.  This is actually a standalone shop right outside the mall's entrance.

Once inside, the shop is crowded (as usual).

Under the lights and glass of the shop, the featured items are delicious chocolate confections (US$14.30 per pound)!  Here is a sample of the chocolates that are on display...

here's more...

and more...

and more...

Hungry yet?  What I actually like about these shops are that they give FREE samples to everyone that visits!  My favorites are:  dark nougat (honey nougat, coconut and vanilla covered in dark chocolate), dark almonds (roasted almonds covered in dark chocolate) and the California crunch (sorry don't know what's in this). 

See's Candies
Kahala Mall
4211 Waialae Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.9592