Those of you who have had dinner at M's house in upstate NY might recognize that yellow-domed thing in the picture: pan dulce. This just happens to be the specialty of M's neighbor (and Boston-bound runner), Queen of the Pattermooses. And where did I find such a delicious treat here, you ask? In one of the downtown "bakeries" right here in China.And yes, the scare quotes around bakery are necessary because while China has a long and distinguished history of food preparation, their baking skills are (how shall I put it?) crap-tastic. Not surprising, perhaps, in a county where 99% of kitchens are not equipped with ovens.
Of the 10 or so pastries that D and I bought from the bakery, this was the only thing that was remotely edible (but not even half as good as the Queen's).
I have been feeding my need for baked goods with Oreos (which are a bit pricey here -- treated like an import food, maybe).
2 comments:
I LOVE this blog!! Where else can one learn Chinese curse words, read a passionate homage to the pan dulce, and be exposed to great words like "embiggen" and "crap-tastic"? (Both perfectly cromulent words, in my humble opinion.)
And thanks for your misguided belief that I will someday qualify for Boston. At present, however, pan dulce have settled around my ever widening middle. This, coupled with my inherent pokiness, may keep me from BQing for quite some time.
Have hope. We found some top notch bakeries in Taipei. The selection was a bit different, of course, but they had tasty cakes and baguettes. Maria particularly liked the multi-colored spongecakes with or without cream.
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