La Palme D�Or had a quiet opening in Ala Moana last summer, but the steady lines of customers and an ever changing collection of Japanese inspired French pastries has me thinking they are here to stay for good. And that is good thing indeed, because with Saint Germain�s slowly falling standards (those airy light strawberry shortcakes are now only a memory!), we�re in great need of some proper pastries.
After a light shopping excursion on Saturday, I stopped in for a custard and coffee puff ($2.75). I thought to eat it with a fork, like a proper lady would do, but you know what? Cream puffs are made to be eaten with your hands. I have a tendency to eat my food in layers, so I lifted off the top shell, a feather light hat richly dusted with kinako powder.
Then I picked up the rest and took a single bite so that I could taste the shell, custard, and cream all at once. Oh yes, it was a delicious thing! Coffee cream whipped light, and piled high over a pudding like custard specked with sparkles of vanilla beans. Sorry the pictures are so blurry. I took it next door to the caf� in Barnes & Nobles to eat, and boy, is the lighting in there bad!
When I got home a few hours later I saw a very big box on the kitchen counter that said �FROZEN DUCKS (6 COUNT)� and some other Chinese characters written all over it. Funny thing was that the smell coming from the box was quite fragrant, like it held something other than FROZEN DUCKS, and lo and behold, it was a baby pig!
It turned out that my dad placed an order with Nam Fong in Chinatown for an entire roasted baby pig. Haha, it was not only for our family. We are not nearly that gluttonous. A family friend was holding a dinner party and my mom said it was, �good luck for the year of the boar.� And let me tell, you baby pigs are amazing! The skin was roasted to a deep golden brown, crackly and rich with sweet, juicy fat. Not too much meat inside, but apparently the success of a properly cooked baby pig lies in the skin. I�ll admit however, that maraschino cherries eyes creep me out quite a bit. By the end of the party the entire pig was eaten save for the face.
Buddy was just a few feet away when I opened the FROZEN DUCKS box and I bet he smelled the pig immediately because he started jumping up and down the same way he does when my grandma gives him oxtail.
La Palme D'Or
Ala Moana Center Mall Level Mauka
1450 Ala Moana Blvd #2240F
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 941-6161
Nam Fong
1029 Maunakea St.
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 599-5244
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