New Hype in Los Angeles - Not Cronut Knockoffs, but Real Mille Crepes from Lady M

Lady M Confections is a well known dessert store with vast media exposure such as Allure, Brides, Travel + Leisure, and New York - Best of New York. The very first location was established in New York and now Lady M has a total of four outlets. The latest opening is its first west coast store opened this summer in Los Angeles.

Minimal white color based store design and rectangular shaped layout are the general theme for Lady M, for both East Coast and West Coast outlets.

We arrived right when the confection opens at noon. It's not as crowded as it first opened during summer. However, steady customers starts to fill in the store soon after, mostly for take outs - large quantity take outs.

I read a Yelp review saying that Lady M was overflowed with Asians and a good portion of them were taking pictures of the cakes, which created a weird scene at the store. Well, it's true, and I was among one of them (but I did ask the waiter if pictures are allowed).

Lady M is pretty big among Asian communities. There were Koreans, Taiwanese (raising my hand), Japanese, and Cantonese at the store during my short 1 hour stay. It might be wise to arrive early still in case your piece of cake got taken away by one of my kind!

Mille Crêpes is what this confection is famous for. Created by gently piling up 20 layers of paper-thin crêpes coated with pastry cream. Besides Lady M's signature original mille crêpes, currently it also comes with citron, chocolate, green tea, marron (sweet chestnut), and strawberry flavors. The chocolate banana flavor not yet available in Los Angeles.

Lady M also carries other type of delicately made dessert. Light savory items such as sandwich and salad are also available for dine in customers.

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

Lady M Tea - Creamy Morning $6 -

Lady M's signature mille crêpes $7.5/slice -

My mouth is watering just by staring at the picture.

The crêpes is light, creamy, and with a slight caramel hint from the top layer. It's not overly sweet like some of the American cakes, which is ideal for a creamy treat like this. That way you won't get sugar stuck on your tongue feeling even till the very last bite.

Asian girls' picture taking mode.

Green tea mille crêpes $8/slice -

I would say the green tea version tastes even less sweetened, partly due to the slight bitterness from the matcha powder. Look at these paper thin layers, some might think $8 is very expensive for a slice of cake. However, you can tell how much work and precision goes into that one little crêpes. Don't even mention the quality of ingredients used. I think such a true delicacy definitely worth $8. For your reference, a 6 inch green tea mille crêpes costs $45 and a 9 inch one costs $80.

Checkers -

Made with vanilla sponge cake, chocolate sponge cake, and whipped cream throughout. To make it even better, the whole cake is covered with shining dark chocolate ganache. The cake itself is as good as the crêpes, I only wish the person who cut our slice can do a better job, so we get a cleaner color separation between the two flavors.

Flourless chocolate cake -

This one is pretty ordinary. You can still taste the quality chocolate used in the cake, but overall it's not as palate-blowing as others.

This place is definitely worth a try. The cakes and crêpes are light and delicate, similar to Japanese style cakes. However, the ones from Lady M are well flavored with its signature luscious cream, making the cakes light yet packed with delicate flavors.


Cindy's Rating: 8


Lady M Confections - Los Angeles
8718 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
http://www.ladym.com/

Operating Hours:
Tue to Fri from 12 noon ~ 7 p.m.
Sat to Sun from 12 noon ~ 6 p.m.
Closed on Mondays

*Do not take reservations
*Valet parking available
*Shipping available for certain items, please check website for details 

ROCQ Cafe - A Local Gem in Lake Forest, CA

I've been driving pass by ROCQ Cafe so many times but never really had any thoughts about giving it a try, until one day my friend suggested having a weekend brunch there last week. 

The minute right after I walked inside the cafe, the place gave me a cozy and welcoming feeling instantly. Well, to tell you the truth, I was mostly blinded by its ordinary green and white signage outside the cafe and would have never expected such a cute design for the interior.

On top of that, being around the neighborhood for quite some time, I know the quality of the restaurants here, sustainable but not outstanding. Therefore my mind just automatically blocked me from trying out most of the eateries around the area.

Brunch is only offered during weekends at ROCQ Cafe. In addition, this place only opens during day time (in case you're thinking about dining here during late hours).

Our seats (so cute)! - 

Menu - 

Inside the menu - 

My friend's fluffy looking coffee - 

Counter area - 

 Eggs benedict with crab cake $11.95 - 

"Crispy potato, roasted tomatoes, hollandaise sauce"

My classic French sandwich croque madame $9.95 - 

"Ham, Swiss cheese, bechamel sauce"

I rarely order croque madame so I'm not really in a good position to determine whether or not ROCQ Cafe did a fine job on this dish. However, I do know that my croque madame was really yummy. The crust was slightly crunchy and together with runny egg yolk created a luscious combo. The bechamel sauce was not over-powering so the savory flavor from the ham still shines through.

Perfect bite -

Besides these two dishes, there were other classic French selections such as coq au vin, crepes, and quiche.

To make our brunch even better - 

We selected one lavender macaron, one pineapple macaron, and a "green" colored vanilla cake - 

My friend said ROCQ usually makes heart shape macarons, but it was around Easter time so they changed to egg shaped macarons, which we did not choose. 

I was never a big fan of macarons until I tried Ladurée, the case still applies today.

Not sure about the coloring of the vanilla cake, which somewhat resembles active fungi. Taste-wise, the cake is decent and moist.

The portion is on the smaller side here at ROCQ Cafe. I felt like I need two orders to fill my appetite. However, I do eat a lot for my first meal of the day. The truth is the food here is not extraordinary awesome but it ain't bad at all. I wasn't overly impressed but the cafe surely proves itself to be one of the best choices around the neighborhood if you're looking for a light meal. And somehow I've been having this urge asking me to come back again. Perhaps the cozy vibe of the place has something to do with it.

Cindy's Review: 6


ROCQ Cafe
22722 Lambert Street
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 916-0722

Monday - Friday
11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday/Sunday
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Catering service available, check out ROCQ Cafe official website for more details.

Cafe Blanc

Somehow I've been waking up with this uneasy feeling every morning,

Sort of like breathless..unsettling sense at the very tips of my nerves,

And the bad thing is that I don't think this feeling is going away anytime soon.

What's going on?

Maybe the stress is coming from my writing class..

Especially my group project, it's killing me...

What am I suppose to do? Any ideas?

Meditation? Yoga?

Or should I just cope with it and live like this all the way till summer time? Till I'm out of school?

It's driving me nut!

I only know that at this moment,

Maybe one slice, wait, two slices of cakes will relax my body a little bit..

So I went to Cafe Blanc last Friday for a quick mind and body relaxation therapy.

Ice tea-

Comes with milk and honey.

Pardon me that I can no longer remember the names of these cakes,

They're both chocolate based,

The top one contains some nuts and the bottom one has white chocolate mousse in the middle.

And they give you a tiny scoop of gelato for each dessert.

Cafe Blanc is a nice and cozy place where you can truly "relaxed" and rest up,
The taste itself is leaning toward Japanese style patisserie,
Light and not too sweet.
If you are a big fan of these kind of dessert, Cafe Blanc is the place to go!
Overall Rating: 6

Cafe Blanc

298 E. 17th Street. Unit B

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

(949) 631-9999

http://www.cafeblanc.us/

Pâtisserie Chantilly

I'm on a mission of finding my second favorite dessert place.

(First one is almost unbeatable: Extraordinary Dessert),

Note that we're talking about places within 2 hours driving distance,

So instead of buying an airplane ticket and fly half way around the globe for a small bite of cake,

I can just hop on my car and race to my sweet goodies.

There's also another alternate solution for my sugar craving habit while caring about the earth by consuming less gas at the same time,

DIY - do it yourself, wait, should be DIM - do it myself,

But that's another scenario,

We'll have a deeper discussion about this issue later on.

So who's our lucky candidate for my "second favorite spot"?

Patisserie Chantilly, located just about 45 minutes away from where I live,

First and the only requirement? Check!

Here's their dessert display area-

Small but very clean cake munching area-

According to their website,

"Chan · til · ly: (shaàNte yée) - Sweetened whipped cream. The name for this cream is said to have originated from the ancient white castle in France, Château de Chantilly."

After we figured out how to pronounce the name of the place, now it's time to dig in!

Chaux au Chocolat-

Usually I don't eat cream puffs,

(besides those prepackaged ones that you can find in Chinese supermarket,

I know the real thing tastes better, but it's a childhood thing,

I've been eating the pre-made one since I was little,

My taste buds miss those snacks sometime)

But that chocolate cream and cocoa dust were calling my name when I passed the counter,

Seriously I'm not joking here,

So I unconsciously told the lady that I'll take that chaux au chocolat....

It was pretty good though, no regrets there,

The chocolate cream was very creamy and not heavy at all,

Even after I finished the whole puff, I feel like I can still have another one...or two....or maybe even more....

Front: Tarte aux Fruits. Back: Mousse au Mango (Seasonal)-

Tarte aux fruits was ok, nothing special.

The mousse au mango in the other hand is actually better than what I expected,
Initially, I was thinking...
"This orange thing will just taste like every other mango mousse, which the sugary taste usually overpowers fruity aroma from the mango."
Surprisingly,
It was actually pretty dang good!
The tropical fruity aroma was successfully delivered,
And the tapioca on the top was just amazing,
I thought that its chewy texture will "interrupt" the overall structure of the mousse,

Instead, it actually mixed pretty well together with the mousse.

Grapefruit Gelee (Seasonal)-

There's no bitter taste from the grapefruit at all,

Nicely done, the presentation was cute too!

(Thinking about making grapefruit granita next time~~)

So did Pâtisserie Chantilly successfully won the second place in My heart? My stomach?

Mmmmm not quite there yet,

But if you like Asian style patisserie, come and give this place a try,

I gonna keep on my journey in the search for that second love.

Overall Rating: 7

Pâtisserie Chantilly
2383 Lomita Blvd #10
Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 257-9454
http://www.patisseriechantilly.com/

Layer Cake Bakery

I was at Pho Bac Ky for dinner,

Thought that steamy hot soup noodles can make my strep throat feel better.

While pulling my car into the plaza,

I noticed that the new Tapioca Express is finally up and running,

Decided to grab a cup of tea after pho,

To wash down that onion taste in my mouth.

So me and my friend were walking along the side walk,

Eh?

Layer Cake Bakery?

Since when there's a bakery in the plaza?

Right at that moment,

I completely throw Tapioca out of my mind, let's go and grab some dessert home!

Vanilla, Raspberry, and Pistachio Macaroon-

Ok, I have to admit it here,

I'm never a macaroon fan,

Somehow I have issues with this kind of texture,

Something like macaroon and meringue, just not my thing.

So why I still bought those?

I don't know, they were so cute!

Banana Cream Pie-

Perfect sweetness level, not too over-powering.

However, a little bit more fresh banana slices in the pie will be better.

This time I only got 2 things from the bakery,

So no ratings for now,

For sure I'll stop by some time and give other items a try.

Quick note,

The owner of the bakery was pretty nice,

Good service always gets Cindy's business!

Layer Cake Bakery
4250 Barranca Parkway, Ste 1
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 786-0223
http://layercakebakery.com/

Champagne. Not Your Normal Daily Drink.

I was in the mood for champagne, thought that it should a wonderful day to start my day.

Note* that I'm not an alcoholic here,

I'm talking about a cafe joint that actually called - Champagne -

They have stores throughout California,

The one I went to is located at South Coast Plaza (they actually have two stores there),

And yes, I went shopping again...

As for my lunch, I had garlic chicken panini with Caesar salad-

I'm a big fan of panini,

How can you resist it when you see that melted cheese flowing out of a hot, crunchy bread.

However,

The salad was ok. Nothing special.

Cindy's Rating for Panini: 6

Cindy's Rating for Caesar Salad: 5

Bread Pudding-

I know the presentation doesn't look so good,

But it surely tastes creamy and delicious.

(Still can't beat my favorite bread pudding from Extraordinary Dessert!)

Cindy's Rating: 6

Champagne also carries other items such as crepes, quiches, and soups.

Wait a second, I'm not done yet,

There's a bakery side that carries fresh baked goods everyday.

Croissant, brioche, black forest, fruit tarts, creme brulee, napoleon, baguette,

You name it.

I can get more than what I expected for a small price.

You wanna join the faux alcoholic group and start out your day with Champagne too?

Overall Rating: 6

Champagne (South Coast Plaza)

3333 Bear Street #151

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714) 429-1502

http://www.champagnebakery.com/index.asp

Fugetsu Do in Mitsuwa - 神戶風月堂

Fugetsu Do is a Japanese bakery (菓子屋) that can be traced way back then.

It has been in the business since 1897. Over 134 years of history, and the popularity still remains.

Besides many stores throughout Japan,

Fugetsu Do's notable dessert even make it all the way across the sea to the land of America,

So I can get a bite of its sweetness brown sugar financier-

Not too sweet, and the aroma of brown sugar just spread out in my mouth every time I have a bite of this heavenly thing.

Cindy's Rating: 7

Fugetsu Do is also famous for its gaufres, give it a try if you ever stop by Mitsuwa!

Overall Rating: 7

Fugetus Do 神戶風月堂
665 Paularino Ave (inside Mitsuwa Marketplace)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

http://www.kobe-fugetsudo.co.jp/index.html

Crepe Maker in Irvine Spectrum

Before I start writing about the crepe place today,
Let me tell you what I have been munching on the whole day first.

As I woke up with an empty stomach,
I reached my pot and heated up one plate of soup to start out my day.
Later on I successfully murdered one giant watermelon and cut it into pieces, with a few in my belly and never will see the sunlight again.

Shortly after two hours, I finished up one plate of pasta which I made few days ago.

I couldn't really do anything with this full stomach, so I just sat there watching this Japanese movie directed by Akira Kurosawa,
Unfortunately, the dvd just died on me approximately during the last 10 minutes due to mysterious scratches.
Oh well, I should have guess the ending already after watching numerous films with the same director.
By the way, I was watching Umi Wa Miteita (The Sea is Watching),
If any of you know the final ending, please feel free to contact me in any way.

Then I decided to stop by Tea Station for boba after my first half of lazy afternoon,
Laid my fat on the chair, flipped through several Taiwanese style paparazzi magazines.
Enough,
I need to walk around.

"Sadly," I saw this creperie on the way....

Crepe Maker-


Couldn't take my mind out of nutella crepes....so I surrendered....to this yummy devil...

Black and White (Nutella and Fresh Banana)-


Cindy's Rating: 5

Did I mention anything about I'm having a small Bar-B-Que in one hour?
That possibly equals to 3 pieces of large chicken, one hot dog (with the bun), 1 quesadilla with whatever I gonna put inside, and some drinks...

I do have a really bad eating habit...


Crepe Maker
73 Fortune Drive #105
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 585-9898

http://www.crepemaker.com/