Influenced by a Book: #LauraFlorandDiscussion

As a reader, there have been times when something that I read in a book has influenced some of my actions. Influenced by a Book is a feature that lets me share experiences like that. You can view some of my previous posts here.

My friends Kim and Mina are co-moderated a discussion of Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. I wasn’t able to join the face to face discussion in Manila earlier today, but I participated in the online discussion. A common reaction to reading this series about chocolatiers and pastry chefs is to crave delicious desserts and chocolates like the ones described in the books. Because of this, Mina requested that we share photos of our chocolate adventures on social media and use the hashtag #LauraFlorandDiscussion. I’ve shared pictures all over Twitter and Facebook, and I wanted to consolidate all of them in this one blog post. I don’t know whether I should be proud of myself for using #LauraFlorandDiscussion to indulge the dessert addict in me, or be embarrassed by how sinful some of these creations are. Sharing these pics in no particular order because I’ve forgotten the exact dates when I had them (also not giving a timeline on when I had these 😛 ).

Paris Baguette is a Korean bakery that has a branch near our office. I get some of their pastries for breakfast from time to time. I love their chocolate earl grey cake (more like a mousse) because I’m a fan of both chocolate and tea-flavored desserts:

Another cafe near the office is Paul, a well-known cafe in France. I’ve seen branches of it in French airports and train stations. I dropped by to grab a croissant and chocolat chaud for breakfast one day:

Paul’s macarons have two sizes: tiny and huge.

Royce is a fancy Japanese chocolate brand and my go-to whenever I’m in dire need of chocolate. I think they’re reasonably priced for the quality that they provide.

Awfully Chocolate is a Sinagaporean chocolate store that offers a variety of dark chocolate desserts. My favorite from them is their cold poached chocolate, a kind mousse that’s so rich and yummy. I’m not a big fan of their truffles, I think the ones from Royce are better.

This post would not be complete without a Laduree shot! I’ve tried Laduree in Paris and Singapore and I think the quality is pretty consistent. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite macaron brand in Singapore but I feel like they started the trend so they deserve the popularity. I tried their earl grey flavor when I visited this time.

Bonheur Patisserie is a brand that comes up whenever I search for macarons in Singapore. I didn’t love them the first time I tried their macarons but I’ve found two flavors that I think they do really well: lavender and rose.

Bonheur Patisserie’s lavender and rose macarons paired with St. Marc’s matcha latte

I’ve been meaning to try Patisserie G for a while now and finally got to do so when I was in that area with my friend. We shared their signature dessert called the G spot and I had a lavender lemon macaron. We found the G spot just okay, but I thought the macaron was yummy.

Last, but certainly not the least, is another well-known Parisian cafe that opened a branch in Singapore: Angelina. I previously blogged about their chocolat chaud and macarons. This time, my friend and I ordered their Negresco pastry (meringue, chocolate mousse, dark chocolate shavings ) and signature Angelina tea (light and fruity). My friend and I agreed that the Negresco is much better than the G spot mentioned above.

OMG I’m feeling so guilty just looking back on these pictures. I need to have more salads in the coming days and weeks. I used to say that I would have started a food blog if I didn’t have a book blog. So it’s also been fun to go to these places, try their desserts and take pictures. Sometimes, I share my food adventures on Instagram. What do you guys think of all of these yumminess? 🙂

Influenced by a Book: Chocolat Chaud et Macarons

As a reader, there have been times when something that I read in a book has influenced some of my actions. Influenced by a Book is a feature that lets me share experiences like that. In a previous post, I talked about how A Wish Upon Jasmine by Laura Florand influenced me to give lavender oil a try. Today’s post is also inspired by another Laura Florand book, The Chocolate Kiss. The female MC of the book has a special way of making chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) while the male MC is renowned for his macaron creations.

My friends Kim and Mina are co-moderating a discussion of Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. While I haven’t reread any of the books recently, I’m being reminded of them because of the discussion threads. So when I had an emotionally draining and stressful work day, I chose to drown my sorrows in Angelina’s chocolat chaud and macarons:

OMG this chocolat chaud was super thick. It’s rich enough for me to marry! I could have had it just by itself for dessert. But I’m a macaron fan so I went ahead and ordered a set that included dark chocolate, chestnut, lemon and chocolate passionfruit. I finished all of these by myself and yes, I did feel slightly better about my day after this particular indulgence. Just one more work day to get through before the weekend is here.

What about you, have you done anything lately based on something you’ve read in a book?

Influenced by a Book: Lavender Oil

As a reader, there have been times when something that I read in a book has influenced some of my actions. I’m starting this new feature Influenced by a Book to talk about things like that. I have no idea how often I’ll do posts like this so let’s just see how it goes.

First up is something influenced by one of my favorite reads this year, A Wish Upon Jasmine by Laura Florand. This lovely romance is set in Provence. It features a heroine who is a top perfumer and a hero who is a perfume executive (and is part of an old perfume family who has a strong presence in the business). So being the serious business guy that he is, the hero gets tension headaches which he usually just tries to live through. A thoughtful solution that the heroine suggests? Lavender oil. Check out this snippet:

It said: If you get a headache, try this.

And for some reason – it must be his fucking head – that made his eyes sting.

He uncapped the vial, and the scent of lavender hit him immediately, spicy, fresh, optimistic. The scent of a bee sting easing. The scent of a field on the plateaus, high up, away from the world, with a wind rippling waves of purple. The scent of an afternoon making love in a small, shadowy room above an old perfume shop.

He held the vial to his nose, his eyes closed, and his breathing slowing and deepening. That tight pain eased the minutest degree at the first breath, and then a little bit more with the second, and a little bit more, like a guitar string close to snapping being slowly, slowly adjusted back to proper tightness. It eased until he almost forgot about it, his lashes growing heavy, his face muscles relaxing.

Lavender essential oil that I recently bought

That scene makes me go awww. I love the way lavender smells and I’ve used lavender-scented perfumes, shower gels, shampoos, and other bath products. I also love its flowery taste and have eaten lavender-flavored cakes and ice cream, and I’ve savored lavender tea. But I’ve never thought to use lavender essential oil for headaches, which I get from time to time, especially when I’ve been working long hours. I try to avoid taking Biogesic / paracetamol if I can help it because I don’t want to depend on it. So when I felt a headache coming on, I decided to try the treatment that Jess suggested. While my headache didn’t completely go away, the lavender oil did help me relax. Maybe I need to inhale more of it.

What about you, have you recently done something that was influenced by a book that you read? Also, what do you think of this new feature of mine? 😛