La Chandeleur - French Crepes Day

by Aude
 
Calling all the foodie lovers out there, today is French Crepe Day (also known in French as La Chandeleur) and I have prepared a very yummy article for all the crepes lovers out there:

• Where to eat crepes in Hong Kong?
• An easy recipe of crepes to make at home
• A few words from the ultimate crepe lover – Philippe Ricard, founder of La Crêperie in Asia

 
But first thing first, why do French people eat crepes on February 2^nd?
February 2^nd is originally a religious holiday also known as Candlemas, the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is said that in the 5^th Century, Pope Gelasius decided to commemorate that day by organising a candlelit procession through the streets of Rome during which galettes (savoury crepes made of buckwheat flour) were distributed to pilgrims around town. Well, that’s for the historical and religious background. And now, who’s in for a few crepes?
 

• Where to eat crepes in Hong Kong? Our Top 3

Ok, being French and having Breton roots (did you know that crepes originated in Brittany, West of France?), I must confess that crepes means quite a big deal to me. I tend to be classic when it comes to eating Galettes and Crepes. I do not care about how Insta friendly it looks, what I want is something authentic that reminds me of my holidays in Brittany. 

• La Crêperie

​ Definitely not a hidden gem but La Crêperie offers the best French crepes in town. No wonder why they have been around for 7 years now !
I usually don’t go fancy and just order the very classic Galette Complète – buckwheat flour crêpe filled with French ham, Emmental cheese and a sunny side egg – but they have plenty other options both savoury and sweet.
 
Wanchai:  1/F, Kui Chi Mansion, 100-102 Queen’s Road East 
Sheung Wan: G/F, 69 Jervois Street 
Causeway Bay: 8/F, The L Square, 459-461 Lockhart Road 

 

• Fleur de Sel  

Again not a new baby in town, Fleur de Sel first opened its doors in 2010. The menu will take you from both the classics to stylized creations by Chef Gregory Alexandre.
 
Shop 2J, Po Foo Building, Foo Ming Street – Causeway Bay 

 

• Odelice!  

Unlike the two previous one, Odelice! is not about crepes only (but still a French bistro). Yet, a section of the menu is dedicated to buckwheat and I do enjoy heading there for lunch from time to time.
 
G/F, Unit 9, 2 Landale Street, Wanchai
 

• Making crepes at home 

Making sweet crepes at home is possibly the easiest thing in the world! You’ll only need 5 ingredients.
 
Recipe for 4 people:

1. Flour: 250 g
2. Sugar: 100 g
3. Egg x 4
4. Milk: 75 cl
5. Butter (unsalted): 120 g

 
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and sugar. Add melted butter, eggs and milk and whisk again. Store in fridge for at least 30 min.
 
Hong Kong Madame tips: I love adding just a drop or two of orange blossom aroma to the mixture!
 
Heat a lightly oiled or buttered frying pan (medium heat) and pour a ladle of batter. Tilt the pan with a circular motion for the batter to coat the entire surface evenly. Wait a few minutes and once the bottom is light brown turn the crepe and cook the other side.
 
Easy, peasy, yummy!
 
Hong Kong Madame tips: if you are too lazy to cook at home, you can also buy plain crepes to take-away from La Crêperie. All you have to do is to heat them up before serving. Plus, if you order a few days before you can also go home with a jar of their homemade and totally addictive salted caramel.
 

• Philippe Ricard, founder of La Crêperie

Founded in 2007 in Shanghai, La Crêperie  first opened its doors in Hong Kong in 2010. The group is also today in Ho Chi Minh City. Being half-Breton myself, I needed to take a few minutes to sit down with its founder, Philippe Ricard, and understand what makes this very simple product so successful in Asia.
 
How did you end up opening Crêperies in Shanghai and Hong Kong? 
I have always loved crepes! I am half-Breton through my mother, whose maiden name was Kernevez (editor’s note: very Breton name), and 100% Breton at heart.
 
I first arrived in Shanghai in 2004 to open a local brand for a French optical company. Back at that time, there was a French restaurant featuring, among other dishes, 3 or 4 crepes on the menu and I would always go there when craving for crepes (which was quite often). They closed in 2005 and, missing my dear crepes, I decided to launch La Crêperie in 2007.
In 2010, I was contacted by a young French guy, Yann Blandford, keen to open a crepes restaurant in Hong Kong. Perfect timing as I had already started to work on that project! We decided to partner and work together on that opening.
 
What about the beginnings of La Crêperie in Hong Kong? Crêpes are not the kind of fine dishes French is usually known for, what is difficult to introduce it to make it successful among the Hong Kongese? 
We have been lucky to be successful among the local people from the beginnings. Without really trying to adapt our recipes to their tastes since our aim has always been to recreate Breton taste using French products and authentic recipes.
We have decided to develop our offer with a few bistro dishes options to better cater the wishes of our clients.
As for the French expats, it seems that they do love galettes and crepes as much as I do (editor’s note: entirely true for my part) and some of them are regular customers. But we also see more and more of them coming for our bistro dishes and not only our crepes, just because they enjoy our casual and friendly style, our French products and our reasonable prices. So in a nutshell, we got a nice mix of customers.
 
What are your top-sellers? 
We have 4 top sellers among our galettes:

• L’Eckmuhl: Melted Reblochon cheese, potatoes, lardon, onion and cream (editor’s note: tested and definitely approved!)
• La Bigoudène: ham, Emmental cheese, egg and a choice of one vegetable
• La Marin: scallop, parsley, cream, lardon, garlic, mix mushrooms, white wine sauce
• La Rennaise: sausage, onion, mustard

 
As for the sweet crepes, my personal fav is, the recently launched in Hong Kong, Coco Cadiz - coconut ice cream, chocolate, salted butter caramel, coco drops, whipped cream. A killer!
 
Two other very popular ones are:

• Le Défi: homemade caramel ice cream, cooked banana, salted butter caramel
• La Snickers: Nutella, salted caramel, peanuts and Chantilly cream