VittlesVamp

Lucky Southeast Asian Potluck

I have a great number of blessings and several lucky turns to be thankful for.

Seriously. I know I am fortunate - very fortunate.

My foodie friends are just one of the many joys on my proverbial plate - and on my literal plate too.

Case in point: a Southeast Asian potluck dinner at friends' apartment the other night.

My contribution? A banging rendition of a Thai dish that pairs pieces of fresh pineapple with a room temperature pork, shallot, palm sugar and fish saucey jam. Sound weird? Perhaps. Taste delicious? Heck yeah! The dish is called Ma Haw, and here is the recipe.

Now, let's turn our attention to what others brought to the table...

Vietnamese Banh Mi with sliced steak and homemade paté. Someone else "whipped up" gorgeously sour Pork Larb. Another guest made spicy Thai Papaya Salad. And then there was this...

Holy mother f*ckin' sh*t! This Thai Khao Soi was ethereal. Apparently it was based on a recipe from the dearly departed Thai hot spot Pok Pok. I immediately looked up the recipe.

The recipe is a heavy lift. That potluck guest brought some serious weight to the game. I was duly impressed.

And then, there was this...

Wow.

Yeah. One of the guests was a former Pastry Chef (she preferred Pastry Cook) at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Her Southeast Asian-inspired dessert was a beauty - a Filipino calamansi pudding with lime zest, coconut crunch and little meringue buttons.

Yup. Enormously thankful for my foodie friends.

And, to be clear, their friendship is even better than their food.

How lucky am I?

Unboxing in Paris

So, I didn't just go to Berlin last month. I took a quick trip to Paris because...well, because it's Paris! And, when in Paris you shop. Yes, I dropped by some vintage shops and the occasional jewelry store, but my kind of shopping is pastry shopping.

Paris was happy to oblige.

First stop? I went to Rue Montorgueil to visit the oldest patisserie in Paris, Stohrer, which was founded in 1730. It's an oldie, but a goodie. Oh, and what goodies awaited.

And, frankly, I couldn't wait much longer than a few steps out of the shop before I had to break open my box...

...and indulge in heavenly bite of vanilla pastry cream in a Puits d'Amour...

I was deeply in amour.

And, now I needed to be shaken out of my reverie. Oui? Oui!

Onto The French Bastards! They are known for being eminently Instagrammable. Did I 'gram? Non! I saved my snapshot for le blog. And here it is...

...a truly divine Chocolate Pear Tart. Did they box it up for me though? Regrettably, I just got a bag. Now, I know why they are bastards!

One last pastry stop before I headed to the airport to catch my flight back to NYC. I took a morning stroll down Rue du Nil and hit the Terriors d'Avenir Boulangerie. The bread selection was stunning, but this is what called to me from behind the case...

...an utterly perfect Crousti-Flan that melted in my mouth and offered a crunchy, caramel-like base. This was addictive. I wanted to take a box of them home, but thought better of it.

But I'll be back. More unboxing will be necessary in 2025.