B. Patisserie

A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to meet up with a few of my pastry school girlfriends. One of whom has a macaron bakery in Venezuela and was on her honeymoon in the States. After a really late brunch... okay it was pretty much breakfast at 1pm, we headed over to B. Patisserie. B Patisserie is a magnificent pastry shop opened by Belinda Leong about six months ago in Pacific Heights. If you haven't heard of her, she's done stints all across Europe (including Pierre Herme), and was the pastry chef at Gary Danko and Manresa. The clean look and modern lines of pastry shop is very reminiscent of Philippe Conticini's La Patisserie des Reves, though she designed an open kitchen with a back wall lined with refrigerators. Since a couple of my friends worked at Pierre Herme, and she was curious about my stint at Plaza Athenee, we had quite a bit to chat about. However meeting the chef, and the amazing decor (including  seasonal tree wall mural decorated with macarons), did not overshadow the pastries.

If they aren't known for it yet, B. Patisserie will be known for its kouign amann. If this looks familiar... you've seen it before. I reviewed some of Larnicol's kouginettes, and even made some when I was in pastry school, here. Yes, they are buttery cakes of death. Anything with a nearly 1:1:1 sugar, butter, and flour ratio that essentially fries in its own pool of butter should not be legal. But then again with its flaky, sweet, and slightly caramelized layers... you take another bite..and another. Don't worry, we split the cakes between six people (so we could try other things at the bakery).

We also sampled the passion fruit bostock, chocolate caramel toffee mousse, and kalamansi lemon tart. Hanging out with pastry school friends is definitely not good for the waistline. We all share a common passion and would gladly go on a pastry crawl or sit around arguing the merits of salted butter or the latest pastry craze (which happens to be cronuts if you're curious...more on that later). There are few people who understand my need to dissect and analyze a dessert. I miss these friends deeply, and am grateful for the humbling time we've spent scrubbing pots, hosing floors, being trapped in refrigerators, and just getting plain messy with chocolate together.