An authentic French cake has now opened up in Ho Chi Minh City (La Dorée). It is a shop where you can enjoy one of the best delights in French cuisine.
Many people have tried French cakes in Vietnam for years, but have never known the true taste and color of a French macaroon baked to perfection. Many Europeans in Vietnam have spent years feeling home sick and nostalgic for a brown super-fragrant baguette.
This will not happen at La Dorée, where the original taste of French cakes is not spoilt by the different styles of chefs from other cultures. The owner of this chain has spent the last five years studying the confections of France and Switzerland. Now he has opened two stores in Pasture and Ly Tu Trong Streets, District 1.
Customers coming to these stores enjoy brioche, a pride of traditional baking villages in France. The high egg and butter content give the cake a rich and tender crumb. It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust from an egg wash applied after baking. In addition, there are French boulangerie, which have a variety of white baguette, black baguette, and baguette with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cereal and raisins.
Besides the French confections that have been known worldwide like épi or fougasse, the shops also serves different kinds of Viennoiseries. Such as butter croissant or chocolate croissant. They are baked goods made from yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread, or from puff pastry, added with the ingredients such as eggs, buttermilk, cream and sugar to make them richer and sweeter.
Hoang Vu Huy, a manager at one of the shops, said all the ingredients are made on the premises from flour, cheese, butter, to bouquet garni – a bundle of herbs usually including parsley, thyme and bay leaf to prepare soup, stock, and various stews, are imported from Europe.
The ovens are also made exactly like those in France’s bakeries. Huy said he had trouble with the ovens made from China, as they never showed the real temperature of the ovens. “So we invested in more appropriate ovens in order to cater for most fussy customer”, he said.
A specialty of the chain is macaroon, which is considered an ambassador of France. It is a round confection with rusty cover, around 3-5 centimeters in diameter and made from almond powder, sugar and egg white. The food is known as local specialty at several French regions like Nancy, Le Boulay, Saint-Émillion, Le Dorat and Cormery.
Huy said the shops are serving more than 30 different kinds of cakes and adding new types of cakes each week. Customers can also order an Italian Panini with the stuffing of their choice, and their own style of birthday cake with fruit or cheese.
Address:
La Dorée, 216 Ly Tu Trong, District 1
or La Dorée, 65 Pasteur, District 1
