French Market

French Market in Disneyland Anaheim

After visiting a few too many restaurants to look at their lunch menus, we finally settled down at French Market in New Orleans Square. A counter-service style restaurant that serves Southern classics with French influences.

Jambalaya ($12.99)

This was a dish recommended on the internet as being large enough to fill two people to the top. It was a spicy stew with chicken, sausage and vegetables over a bed of dirty rice. I didn't remember there was supposed to be shrimp until I stumbled upon one lonely shrimp. And that was the only shrimp in the whole dish; a bit disappointing. The dish must have downsized because it was probably enough to fully feed one person. Overall, the Jambalaya was flavourful yet not too salty, and the jalapeno corn bread that comes with most of the entrees is very good too (although not as moist as Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation's). It's not the best dish in the park but it isn't a bad choice.

Corn Chowder ($9.29)

The Corn Chowder came in a massive bread bowl and could be considered an entree for one. However, the person hollowing out the bread didn't do a thorough enough of a job so there was not quite enough room for adequate soup. Meaning the soup to bread ratio was rather off. The chunky chowder was packed with tons of corn and was a pleasure to eat.

Na Awlins Salad ($10.99)

Needing some vegetables with our lunch, we chose to order one Na Awlin Salad. The salad is prepared upon ordering and came with soooo many candied roasted pecans!! Delicious! The slaw makes for a great dressing. Other toppings include plump Crasins and some mysterious black bean looking things. This salad also comes with cornbread. A good salad that could also be an entree for one.

Three dishes was the perfect amount to feed my family of four people. We just drank water with our meal, which is provided free of charge. However, French Market is known for their mint julep, so if that is of interest, I would suggest trying one! Oh, and the Mickey beignets.
 
On our way out of the restaurant after lunch, my dad took a peak at the dinner menu. He was immediately drawn to the red snapper entree and said he wanted to come back for dinner. So, here we are at French Market for the second meal in the park.

Chicken Caesar Salad ($10.99)

The salad choices didn't change so we tried the Chicken Caesar Salad. It was a typical caesar salad except it had black eyed beans! There was a plenty of shaved Parmesan cheese and croutons (my brother's favourite salad topping). The chicken was thin and rather lacking in portion. This salad comes with cornbread too. Does the trick for adding some vegetables but romaine lettuce does not hold much nutritional value. I liked the Na Awlins Salad more than this caesar one.

Panko-Crusted Red Snapper ($14.99)

And finally, we come to the goal of the night, Panko Crusted Red Snapper. We had two of this entree. The fish was borderline dry but still moist enough to enjoy. (Snapper is naturally not very oily) A tomato-y, creamy sauce (not as neon as the photo depicts) dressed this fish and the flavour is very strong, but tasty. It was something I hadn't tried before and I quite enjoyed the pairing. The frozen carrots on the side are bland and has that 'previously frozen' texture that isn't pleasant. Perhaps those that are used to eating frozen vegetables will not find a problem here. The charred corn niblets are good as well as the nicely roasted potatoes, though the potatoes could have been cooked for longer to be more soft. This entree came with a potato bun, but it didn't taste very fresh. We just used this as a vehicle to mop up some sauce. For $15, this is a very affordable dinner entree and provides a balanced meal.

The seating is all outdoors but is covered and very cool. My parents really appreciated the live band playing as we enjoyed our lunch and dinner. If you are able to snag a table by the railing, it's a great place to do some people watching as well. After dinner, we were able to find a great seat on the ground for the viewing of Fantasmic, a nighttime show at the Rivers of America, which is directly across from French Market.

Nothing was overly salty, the service is quick and friendly, and the location is beautiful. If you're looking for a reasonably priced, affordable, yet still tasty meal in Disneyland Anaheim, French Market is a great choice! 

Reviews on Yelp

Anaheim on Dwellable

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Cozy Cone Motel

Chicken Verde Cone ($6.99)

Needing to grab a quick dinner before the World Of Colour show began, I ran to Cozy Cone Motel (probably my 5th time in Cars Land that day) to get a chili cone. I wasn't quite sure which one of the two cones I wanted. The employee there asked if I liked spicy foods and I replied yes. She suggested the Chicken Verde Cone, which is like a green curry. I am very glad I got this one because it was unique and delicious. But warning: it gets increasingly spicy the more you eat it. The good type of spicy though. It's quite a large serving and works great as a dinner on the go. This size was just enough to fill me up to a comfortable level.

Chili Con Queso ($6.99)

I ended up getting the opportunity to try their other cone too because my brother decided he wanted one for his dinner too. This is the bread cone filled with a traditional beef chili. Not as spicy as the Chicken Verde but still had a kick. The shredded cheddar cheese on top melts and gets all gooey once mixed into the chili, yumyum~ There is also bits of crunchy corn chips to add some textural contrast.

Both the Chicken Verde and Beef Chili bread cones were delicious and cheap. These cones made for the perfect hand-held dinner while waiting for the World Of Colour show to begin. It's also from the adorable, new, looks-exactly-like-the-movie Cars Land, so you can't go wrong.

Reviews on Yelp





Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

The Calm Before the Storm: A Snippet of Coconut Crumpet's Life

The clouds move in and summer moves out. It's the Sunday summer leaves Vancouver, wind, rain, lightening and thunder take its place. Back to living in Raincouver...

Honey Roasted Mission Figs

To contrast that gloomy mess outdoors, I discovered a new favourite treat. I've documented my love of ricotta in pancakes and muffins, and my first box of mission figs. Combine the two in an open-faced sandwich, add a drizzle of honey and there you have it, the most classy breakfast ever. Here are some more detailed instructions:

Ricotta, Honey, and Fig Tartine

To roast figs, place them cut-side up on a baking dish, drizzle with honey, add a few cracks of freshly ground pepper and bake at 400˚F for about 15 minutes. Toast a slice of bread until brown. Spread ricotta cheese over one side, taking care to spread all the way to the edges. Drizzle with honey (or mix the honey in with the ricotta before spreading on bread) and top with roasted figs. Bake at around 400˚F until ricotta cheese is browned (about 15 minutes?). Don't be impatient like me and take it out the second a browning spot of ricotta appears. Good things come to those who wait ;)

Whole Wheat Ricotta Peach Scones

After a hectic morning of teaching Sunday school to the cutest grade ones and twos, and a roll of kimbap for lunch, I kept myself occupied in the afternoon by baking up a batch of scones. Whole wheat ricotta peach scones. It's the first batch of scones I've made at home where cutting the dough into shapes was possible. For some strange reason, whenever I make scones at home (yes, it only happens at home), the dough becomes so runny I am forced to make drop scones instead. They don't taste bad at all, but it's frustrating when everyone else can cut their dough into different shapes and mine always end up being circular mounds. I am not super content with the outcome of the scones; they were a bit too greasy and not sweet at all. I'll do a few tweaks to improve the recipe before I post it. For those that are itching to try these scones themselves, I followed the recipe from Smitten Kitchen but used frozen coconut oil instead of butter, milk instead of heavy cream, and added some meyer lemon zest (makes all the difference). I think an egg wash would really benefit the appearance of these scones and some vanilla or almond extract for an extra flavour boost. The glisten you see on my scones is from a drizzle of honey I added at the end and attempted to caramelize under the broiler.

Before the thunderstorm, and where I do my food photography

So this is how Coconut Crumpet usually spends her weekends, that is when there isn't any homework to be done. We'll be watching the rain fall for the next half a year... Although the chilly season brings bad weather, I am looking forward to eating mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival (it's actually before the Autumn Equinox...) this week and pulling out those large cans of pumpkin puree I've been storing in the basement since Christmas. I have a perfected pumpkin loaf to share with you all. It's one of my faaaaavourites! Time to dig out my rain boots and that black peacoat I'm known to wear all autumn and winter long.

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡ 

Saint Germain Bakery 新之美餅店

Cakes from Saint Germain Bakery

My mom finally went to redeem her tattered wedding gift certificate for a few pieces of cake at Saint Germain Bakery's Metrotown location. When I think of Chinese-style bakeries, things like sponge cakes, 'Mexican' buns, coconut tarts, wife cakes, and 'pineapple' buns come to mind. All of which are part of my childhood memories~ So deep, yes I know.

The gift certificate was good for $12 worth of goodies, and we decided it would be best used if we purchased special items we couldn't normally buy. We got six pieces of dessert for just over $13.

Desserts from Saint Germain Bakery

Let us get on with reviewing each dessert! I'll be going from left to right following the photo above.

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

As I was searching the internet for baking inspiration, I came across the To Die For Lemon Loaf. The description made me drool: "organic coconut, organic millet, coconut milk and the juice of fresh organic lemons", totally a loaf made in heaven for Coconut Crumpet! Hunting down a slice on my next trip Downtown was immediately put on my to-do list, but I can't wait that long and had to formulate one for myself.

This recipe was created by me, based on a bajillion different lemon loaf recipes I researched. Many lemon loaf recipes call for a mere 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Nononono, that's not enough lemon-ness for me! In my recipe, I added a heaping third cup of lemon juice; that should do the 'lemon' part of its name justice. Also, being Coconut Crumpet, it's important that the coconut flavour shines through too. Coconut oil adds a fabulous aroma, but doesn't contribute much to the tastebuds' experience. Shredded coconut also doesn't add flavour, but gives texture and fragrance (if it's been toasted!) The coconut flavour comes mainly from the rich and thick coconut milk. Not the kind that you get in tetra boxes that substitutes cow's milk in your cereal bowl every morning. The kind that comes in a can. It's much too heavy in calories to drink, but it works wonders to enrich cooking. I recommend you use one similar to Rooster Brand's Gold Label Coconut Milk. 

This recipe is definitely Rachel-ified since it's low in sugar and only made with a small amount of healthy fats. Don't worry, it won't sabotage your diet. I'm very thankful that this loaf actually worked; the loaf came out tall and cooked in the time I predicted. Besides the fact I overdid it with maybe more than 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds and my splash of vanilla was slightly too much, the flavour and texture of the resulting loaf is wonderful! Not too sweet, prominent meyer lemon taste, a bit of a crunch from the toasted coconut shreds and poppy seeds, richness from the coconut milk, and even moistness throughout the loaf...mmm~ It was the perfect way to use up the last three meyer lemons sitting my fridge. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my taste test of this loaf during school today. Once I get a hold of a real slice of To Die For Lemon Loaf, I shall make necessary adjustments to make this even better. So...without further ado, I proudly present to you (that rhymed!), Coconut Crumpet's interpretation of the To Die For Lemon Loaf! 

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

By Coconut Crumpet and inspired by Erin Ireland's To Die For Lemon Loaf

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 2 meyer lemons
• 5 tbsp coconut oil, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ⅓ cup meyer lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsp poppy seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened medium shredded coconut, toasted
• Large flaked shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a custard cup, gently toss lemon zest in sugar to draw the oils from the peel out.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
5. Add coconut milk,lemon juice, and poppy seeds to wet mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and fold until halfway combined. Add toasted coconut and continue to fold until just combined. 
7. Pour into prepared pan and top with large flaked coconut.
8. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick check comes out with moist crumbs. Broil on high heat for about 3 minutes at the end to achieve a golden brown top crust. 

 Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Mango Coconut Mac-nut Bread

Mango Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread and the star ingredients

We have been experiencing near 30 degree weather; summer is near, summer is near! As you may already know, my mood is heavily influenced by the weather. Sunny days make me very happy, which aids me through a week of tests at school. On weekends, it is my time to relax and take a break.

A weekend is not complete without doing some baking (but it can be complete without studying biology...-guilty-). This loaf is my attempt at packing Hawaii into a pan. Hawaii is truly paradise, and I am eager to return there. But for now, this loaf will have to do.