De Farine et d'Eau Fraîche

Today I decided to go walking in the Gay Village, the eastern section of Sainte-Catherine street where the gay community is thriving. The place is lively, the road is pedestrian and there is much to see. However as the sun was just boiling me up from high above (we have had the most amazing summer in Montreal I think), I found myself walking on Amherst street and finally settled inside the loveliest of pastry shops, De Farine et d'Eau Fraîche. http://www.facebook.com/LOV.DFEF There I had the best café moka I ever had (normally I sweetened all my coffees but I just could not do it to this one. It was perfect.) The place is comfortable, lovely, fresh and exude an innocent happiness. The pastries are home-made,very small but packed with delicious flavours. They all look so good. I had a piece of carrot and pineapple cake, the best ever. The kitchen can be seen through a glass wall and it is both modern and ancient in a comfortable way. The tables are carved with DF & EF in a heart. The shop itself looks like my dream white kitchen. They make handmade caramel, small but with interesting flavours such as Lime & Coconut, Coriander and Apricot, Lavender & Orange (which I tried), Jasmin Tea, Thyme & Lemon, even Popcorn. Those or the cookies are ideal for a simple but personalized gift to someone you care about. The place will be ideal in the winter time to warm up a romantic date or just to share coffee or tea with a friend... or a sister. I mean they sell First Blush Darjeeling!!!

They are located right next to one of my favourite designers, Dinh Bà. http://www.dinhbadesign.com/fr/collections/collections/ (and they also have menswear, wink-wink to my male friends).

So if you visit Montreal, give this nick of Amherst street a try.

Regarding the picture, this is by far not the best shot I took. I had some perfect ones with perfect angle, or shots of the pastries. But this is the one I always came back to because it was my view of the experience.