A newish addition to The Rocks dining precinct is a shiny, upbeat French Mediterranean bistro restaurant with a glossy bar right next door to The Argyle. The fun decor pays homage to their delightfully fruity name Ananas (pineapple in French) which is reflected in the golden pineapples hanging from the ceiling and evokes images of the glitzy opulence of the French Riviera.
Filed under Bar, CBD - The Rocks, French
Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to travel to Paris and had the most amazing pastries and croissants there. Ever since returning to Sydney, it has been so hard to find something even comparable to European pastries. I often find the ones here much too buttery, salty or just not fluffy and light enough, so you can imagine my delight when I found out a new viennoiserie was opening its doors in the Sydney CBD.
Filed under Bakery, CBD - Wynyard, French, Patisserie
You hear a lot about Balmain as a treasure trove of cafes, bakeries and boutiques but not as much about Rozelle which is the neighbouring suburb connected by the main thoroughfare of Darling Street. A group of us descend upon La Grande Bouffe in Rozelle for a Saturday morning brunch and this lovely French café was happy to accommodate all 12 of us – we’re lucky we had a booking because it was packed out by 10.30am.
I did a double take when I walked past Princess Coco on my way to the Darling Quarter for dinner – were those crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling? Plush purple velvet lounges and endless rows of neatly arranged truffles and pralines? It looked way too fancy to be a café but this specialty chocolatier is much more than that – it’s a temple for chocolate indulgence with a unique chocolate fountain to prove it!
Princess Coco opened in late August but there was already quite a crowd of chocolate lovers when we visited for some after dinner treats. The design of the place reminds me of the La Duree macaron store we visited in Paris, with the ornate golden touches on the décor evoking an atmosphere of French grandeur.
Quite a lot of their store space is dedicated to their chocolate display counter, so there are not a lot of seats available for large groups though we manage to squeeze 8 of us onto one of their tables. With the limited number of tables they have, I’d say that Princess Coco is more suited for couples and intimate small groups.
Their attentive and well-groomed waitstaff are friendly, taking us through the menu to select a range of their hot chocolate offerings and their signature desserts. We start with the Chocolate Fondue set which comes with delectable melted Valrhona dark chocolate to dip the fluffy house made marshmallows, petit chous, strawberries and caramelised banana pieces into. The set was impeccably presented, with some hot rocks keeping the chocolate sauce at optimum temperature. My favourites were the petit chous which were little cream puffs that burst in your mouth.
Fondue au chocolat, $15
Our next dessert consisted of very interesting flavours like salted palm sugar icecream and chocolate with warm citrus sauce. In my mind, I expected these flavours to clash badly but surprisingly the salty sweet ice cream worked and somehow the citrus sauce did not curdle the dairy component of the chocolate. All the elements of this dessert combined to produce a lovely mix which made the most of the Valrhona chocolate used.
Fondant au chocolat citron vert, $15
The cake which followed this one featured the more traditional flavour of mango, enveloped in a delectably soft mousse and blended with some smooth chocolate. I didn’t catch the name of this dessert because it was a daily special suggested to us by the waitress, but it tasted absolutely divine.
Mango Mousse cake
Rounding off the desserts for the night was the signature Princess Coco dessert where the waitress presented a superbly constructed chocolate sphere atop a crunchy base and proceeded to pour hot Earl Grey chocolate sauce over it so that it melted in front of our astonished faces. Continuing the citrus theme of the night, this cake featured the fresh zest of a mandarin compote and was very satisfying.
Reve de Princess Coco, $17
We paired our destruction of all these heavy chocolate desserts with yet more chocolate…this time in the hot liquid form. I liked the sound of the Jivara milk chocolate which was enticingly described with words like “seduction” and “perfect harmony”. Luckily, the drink lived up to the description as the smooth hot cocoa delivered the promised malt and sweet vanilla flavours to create a comforting hot milkshake in a cup.
Jivara chocolat au lait, $8.50
Then there’s the Earl Grey dark chocolate drink which is perfect for those caffeine addicts who love both chocolate and tea, with classic hints of flowery bergamot coming through the cocoa base.
Earl Grey chocolat noir, $8.50
I actually came back a few days later and tried their Coffee flavoured chocolate drink as well as their hot chocolate with a hint of spice. Surprisingly, I preferred the latter even though the scent of chai/cinnamon was quite strong at first but it melted into a comfortingly warming drink in the end. The Coffee flavoured chocolate was really a mocha and a bit too bitter for my tastes.
Valrhona Cafe noir au chocolat (front) and Chocolat noir epice (back), both $8.50
I’m really pleased that the city finally has such a gorgeous new dessert hotspot without the crazy queues you see at places like Max Brenner’s, though I expect the crowds will be flocking here as the word spreads. All in all, Princess Coco is a lavishly decked out chocolaterie with strong attention to detail, making it a perfect place to relax with some delicious after dinner treats. It will most definitely become a favourite destination of mine!
Princess Coco Chocolaterie
158-166 Day St
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9269 0881
Filed under CBD - Town Hall, Dessert, French
Before travelling to Paris, the only part of a pig I was aware of that was edible was the pork chop. That was before I visited Au Pied De Cochon and discovered that in fact the ears, cheeks, trotter, snout and other cuts were all edible! Never one to turn down different foods, of course I had to try it.
Au Pied De Cochon is located near Les Halles metro station but be careful – there’s about 6 different exits and the station is connected to a shopping centre so it is very easy to get lost. Once you manage to find the restaurant, it may look small from the outside but is in fact deceptively large spanning across three levels. The restaurant is very busy tonight for a weeknight and it fills quickly whilst we dine. The service is excellent with the staff attending to you as soon as you walk in, highly reminiscent of a 5-star hotel with superior service.
We start off the night with some complimentary pig pate. It is extremely fat, but we still lather it onto the bread because it is delicious and oils off our mouths to prepare us for some pork!
The famous grilled pigs trotter, bearnaise sauce, french fries – €18.60
Our first main of the night is their famous grilled pigs trotter. It is exactly that – a large fried trotter served on a plate. The dish seems to consist of quite a lot of fat and not that much meat. It’s definitely not the best cut of a pig if you’re looking for some hearty meat. And on that note, the meat was very salty and gamey, but otherwise there was not much flavouring other than the natural pork flavours.
“Mr Pig’s” head casserole, prepared like a calf’s head to a historic recipe dating 1947 – €23.70
This dish was a lot more interesting than the first. Served up in a hot pot were various cuts of pig meat and fat sitting in a boiling stock. The bits of meat and fat were extremely flavoursome and thanks to the stock, the carrots were also oozing with flavour. This was the first time I ate some unfamiliar cuts of a pigs head which I believe was the cheek and ear and perhaps the snout. Some cuts were a bit chewy and some were soft, just like bits of fat. Overall an extremely delicious dish that lets you sample new cuts of a pig!
At the end of the meal, they provide us with two meringues shaped as cute little pigs. Crunchy and sweet, it is a great way to end the night! Provided you don’t get lost on the way, Au Pied De Cochon is an interesting place to stop by if ever in Paris. But make sure to come here with an open mind to new foods as there is a high chance you will not have eaten these cuts of a pig before in Sydney.
Au Pied Du Cochon
6 Rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, all year
Excuse Me Waiter is a documented food adventure run by two hungry Gen Y food fanatics DK & Yvn. We can often be found roaming Sydney in search of interesting foods from food courts to high-end restaurants.
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