The Brasserie Flo, Beijing

The Brasserie Flo is a quaint restaurant with a beautiful courtyard and a bar area. The setting reminiscent of 19th century Paris. I love the warmth of the vintage wooden interior and chandeliers. I have driven past this restaurant many times and have been wanting to dine there. Finally, I did! I went with a friend two days ago to try out their business lunch special. The business lunch special comes in three price groups (RMB 148, RMB 188, RMB 198). We chose the RMB 188 lunch special which includes an entrée, a main course (Chef specialty), a dessert and tea or coffee.

We were served two amuse-bouche and a bread basket with their own made butter. I am not quite sure what the green one was, but the mini bruschetta was bursting with flavor! The flavor was amazing! The tuna was good and fresh, and the bread was crusty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside.

For the entrée, I had the salade de foie gras “Rougie” (“Rougie” foie gras with fig, Granny Smith apple salad, and crispy fig brioche). The salad greens were very fresh, and the foie gras was rich and flavorful. These two combined had a certain je ne sais quoi to it.

Next, I had the crépinette de porc Rossini, purée, sauce périgourdine (“Le Pont de l’Ouysse” truffle and pork crépinette with seared foie gras, mashed potato, périgourdine sauce. On the menu, it stated that this was a Michelin star dish. If this was indeed a Michelin star dish, then I was somewhat disappointed. It didn’t blow me away. The overall taste was nothing exceptional.

For dessert, it was the Crème brûlée and red velvet cake. The Crème brûlée was fantastic. Very creamy! The red velvet cake … let’s just say, I have had better ones.

At the end of our meal, we were given a complimentary basket of Madeleines and a box canelés. The canelés were gorgeous!

Overall, I enjoyed my dining experience at the Flo profoundly. Each dish had an aesthetic appeal, and the waiters were friendly and attentive.

PHONE: +86 (010) 65 95 51 35

FAX: +86 (010) 65 95 51 40

HOURS:

Lunch :Sunday – Monday : 11:00 – 15:00

Dinner:Sunday – Monday : 17:30 – 23:00

http://www.flo.cn/brasserie/

The Lounge at the China World Summit Hotel

It was a polluted day, and I didn’t feel like staying at home. So my friend and I decided to chill at the China World Summit Wing hotel lounge, perched up on the 80th floor of Beijing’s tallest building. I know it’s not the best of days to be up so high, seeing that the view would just be smog.

We went to the lounge after dinner. It was dimly lit, with lounge jazz music playing in the background. The lounge attracts mostly foreigners, couples, and rich Chinese second generations. One can dine at The Lounge, or select from the array of beverages offered.

I ordered a peppermint tea, and my friend ordered some kind of South African red tea.

Other than chilling, we also brought along our work. After working for some period of time, we felt like having dessert. I ordered a chocolate mousse with raspberry jelly and my friend the Tiramisu. The fudge cake was rich but not too sweet. The texture was somewhat dry. The Tiramisu came in a cup made of white chocolate. It was 90 percent cream and hardly any cake. The cream was good quality, and the taste was decent.

Spaghetti with Tuna and Capers

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was browsing through the Yahoo food site. I’m always on the lookout for quick, simple, and yet taste great recipes when I get back from work. This recipe is one of those.

I didn’t have capers when I made this dish, and I used dried parsley leaves instead of fresh ones. However, it still turned out well.

The original recipe is for 4 servings.

12 ounces spaghetti
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
10 ounces tuna packed in olive oil (from 1 to 2 tins)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed, rinsed, and drained
Pinch of red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water; drain.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add tuna with its oil and garlic and cook, stirring a few times, until garlic is golden in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in capers and pepper flakes and cook, 30 seconds. Add 1 cup reserved pasta water; bring to a simmer. Add cooked pasta and simmer, tossing a few times, until liquid is reduced to a sauce that coats pasta.

3. Remove from heat and toss in lemon zest and juice, oil, and parsley; season with pepper. Add more pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, until pasta is evenly coated. Serve sprinkled with more pepper flakes.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

I love chiffon cake! It is one of the very popular cakes in Malaysia. So I decided to make lemon chiffon cake. I got this recipe from rasamalaysia.com. There are some great Southeast Asian recipes on that site, so check it out!

This is my second time making this cake. It turned out okay. It was a little too compact, not as light and fluffy as how a chiffon cake should be. Well, as they say – practice makes perfect.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
7 egg yolks
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Grated zest of 2 lemons
2 teaspoon vanilla
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the water, egg yolks, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients into the yolk mixture until the batter is blended and smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar at medium-low speed until foamy. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat the whites until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Gently fold 1/3 of the beaten whites into the batter with a rubber spatula just until blended. Fold in the remaining whites just until combined. Pour the batter into an ungreased tube pan or bundt pan. (I used bundt pan because I don’t have a tube pan). Bake 1 hour, or until the top springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.