Food Cravings – French traditional and casual food

by Aude
 
Food cravings are back! After our first edition focusing on Italian food, this time I have cooked up a 100% French traditional dishes menu for you. I know, again it’s not a very light article but hey it’s all about food cravings here and to be 100% honest my cravings are usually more towards pornfood and dirty things than towards vegetables and healthy bites. That’s actually the big drama (but also big joy) of my life: I do love food way too much! Aren’t we all the same?
 
 
On the menu today?

A few casual eateries where to get your cravings fixed

A super easy and way to yummy Croque-Monsieur recipe

 
I’d better warn you, there’ll be not Robuchon (my fav restaurant ever) or Caprice today. Not even Le 39V Hong Kong even though I deeply love the place. Cravings are meant to be satisfied easily so we will be talking Bistro food today rather than Michelin star dishes or fine-dining places. 

 

Eating casual but yummy French food  
 

CRAVING SOMETHING SAVOURY
 
 

If you are a regular reader (which I thank you for!) you know it already … I could easily eat at Le Bistro Winebeast  each and every day. I just deeply love Chef Johan Ducroquet twist on very traditional French dishes. Plus the menu changes every 6 weeks which means

1. That everything is freshly cooked and seasonal

2. That I have a perfect excuse to eat there at least once a month (pure work ethic of course, because if the menu changes regularly I must give it a go every time it changes to make sure I can still recommend the place … right?)

 
Hong Kong Madame crush: Le Pithiviers (HKD 368) – French puff pastry w/ quail and foie gras
 
Le Bistro Winebeast
G/F & 1/F, Tai Yip Building
141 Thomson Road – Wan Chai 
 

 

If I am in the mood for French food but am thinking snacking rather than feasting, AOC eat and drink  (same owner as Le Bistro Winebeast but different chef) is my go to place. Small place, nice Chef, serious French vibes and good wine selection … you know what this tiny unpretentious little spot nestled in the heart of busy Wan Chai market just perfectly matches the dishes it serves:

- Homemade traditional pork rillettes (HKD 78)

- Fines de Claire n°4 Oysters (6 pieces / HKD 98)

- Homemade Duck Confit (HKD 198)

 
AOC eat and drink
15 McGregor Street – Wan Chai 
 


 

Ok, I must confess and crazy deep addiction to Croque-Monsieur. I know, nothing over fancy but Croque-Monsieur is my little weekend guilty pleasure. And I do find that they serve a very yummy one at Metropolitain  in Sai Ying Pun.*
 
* read the article till the end as I am also sharing my fav recipe to make the ultimate pornfood Croque-Monsieur at home (and guess what, it is just super easy)
 
Metropolitain
G/F, 46 Hight Street – Sai Ying Pun 


 

Speaking of French traditional dishes, here are a few that I could definitely not leave without:

And if you are just like me, you’ll be happy to know that they are all (among others) listed on Terroir Parisien menu.
 
Terroir Parisien
Shop M20-M24, M/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road - Central

Feel like eating your cheese platter in rather than doing take-away? I would head-off to La Fromagerie, a small and super casual cheese and wine bar in Soho. They stock two of my fav cheeses St Marcellin and Epoisse … not for the faint-hearted. But they also do takeaway if needed (and who doesn’t need cheese from time to time?).
 
La Fromagerie
16 Elgin Street – Soho
 


CRAVING SOMETHING SWEET 

Another of my French sweet weaknesses are Canelés – sweet little delights originating from Bordeaux and mixing a custardy inside w/ a super addictive thin caramelized shell. So good! Lucky me Le Canelé d’Or got me covered!  Freshly baked canelés delivered straight to your door (not good for my bikini body, not good at all … but they are so tiny cute they can’t do any harm right?)

Last but not least, I do need my weekly fix of buttery croissant … you can take the French girl out of France but you can’t take France out of the French girl, right? So grateful for Pastry Chef Grégoire Michaud to have open Bakehouse in Wan Chai because

1. They serve the most perfectly buttery croissants
2. It’s in Wan Chai so not in my neighbourhood which mean I do not get to eat a buttery croissant a day and definitely say goodbye to all that hard training at the barre and yet still easily accessible whenever the craving is just too strong 

 

Cooking Croque-Monsieur at home  

 
I just told you … Croque-Monsieur is my jam. I have been tasting a few recipes, all equally easy but definitely not all equally yummy. But after years (yes yes years) of intensive researches, I am pretty happy to say that I have found the ultimately yummy Croque-Monsieur recipe. All credits going to Michelin-star Chef Jean-Pierre Vigato (you see, even a Michelin-star chef has simple cravings!).
 
FOOD SHOPPING

- 50cl of milk
- Sandwich loaf

Hong Kong Madame tip: buy it from the bakery rather than from the supermarket … nothing worse than a so so bread if you ask me   

- 50g of butter
- 100g of grated cheeseAgain please put that supermarket cheese back on the shelf … we are going for an easy recipe yes but not for a cheap one.
- Ham 


TIME TO COOK
- Pour the milk in a shallow dish
- Quickly dip a slice of bread (just one side) in the milk, drain
- Spread the cheese on the side of the bread that you just dipped into the milk
- Add the ham
- Dip another slice of bread in the milk and close your Croque-Monsieur (always making sure that the milky side is inside) 
Once all your Croque-Monsieurs ready, put them in the fridge for at least 6h and up to 24h. Make sure to cover your plate, you don’t want those yummy things to be all dry!
 
Ready to serve?
Hop, a knob of butter in the pan and all you have to do is to glaze that Croque!
 
Easy peasy!
 


You’ve got some cravings that you would like us to satisfy? Always here to rescue fellow foodies! Got a super yummy address you’d like to share? I’ll be more than happy to hear about it!
Drop us a mail at contact@hongkongmadame.com
 
All photos courtesy of the restaurants and brands except the cheese platters from La Fromagerie (photo take, by our Director Aude Camus)