Living on a budget, it is not easy to find tasty, affordable French food (#frenchfood) in Taiwan. Carrefour to the rescue! I was delighted to discover that the Shilin branch Carrefour bakery makes quite acceptable mousse au chocolat for only NT$69 each (about US $2.20, big enough for two people to share).
退休後省吃儉用，但忍不住偶爾想吃美味可口的法式點心。很高興發現家樂福士林分店的麵包師傅會做巧克力慕斯，一個才新台幣69元，因為一口氣吃不了那麼多，所以價格算很公道。
The only small problem is that they only make two per day. In the past, the bakery also made chocolate éclairs, but because very few Chinese people buy or even recognize French #pastry, they often went unsold.
[The two most popular types of éclairs: coffee- and chocolate-flavored]
可惜的是每天只生兩個。過去，家樂福的麵包師傅曾經一段時間還會做 éclairs （法國的長條泡芙類點心，外表像熱狗，最典型的口味是巧克力），但由於中國人很少購買（其實根本不認得那是什麼東東），家樂福以後完全停產，真令人難過！
When I was teaching at China University of Technology (#chinauniversityoftechnology), I sometimes placed special orders for a few dozen éclairs to share with my students. Unfortunately, this delightful and inexpensive pastry is no longer available.
當年在中國科技大學任教的時候，有時候會下訂單一口氣買二十五個 éclairs，讓學生有機會嚐嚐，可是好景不長，現在不再供應了。
This is why I visit Carrefour on a regular basis, even though it is a bit out of my way. If more foreigners bought mousse au chocolat, perhaps they could even be persuaded to bring back the éclairs!
雖然有一點麻煩，可是我還是一樣每個禮拜兩三次專程去家樂福購買巧克力慕斯，各位讀者如果跟我一樣喜歡吃巧克力，不妨吃吃看！ 如果買巧克力慕斯的人變多了，說不定還可以說服他們重新開始賣éclairs 了！
How to Pronounce the Names of French Pastry
mousse au chocolat /musoʃɔkɔla/
Note that mousse means “foam” in French. 慕斯是泡沫的意思
éclair au café /eklɛʁokafe/
éclair au chocolat /eklɛʁoʃɔkɔla/
The word éclair means “lightning”. Etymologists tell us that this lovely French pastry is supposedly eaten very quickly, hence the name. As for me, I prefer to slowly savor the aroma and enjoy the feeling of the cool pastry cream as it coats my tongue. It takes me up to ten minutes to finish one éclair: the best things in life should be savored!
éclair 這個詞的意思是“閃電”。 詞源學資料顯示，這種迷人的法國點心據說可以很快吃掉，因故得名。 至於我，我喜歡慢慢品嚐香氣，一小口一小口地徹底享受涼爽的口感。吃完一個 éclair差不多需要十分鐘：生活中的美食本來就應該慢慢品嚐。
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89clair
French Spelling
- The pure vowel /u/ in mousse is spelled OU (Note that the similar English vowel /u/ is actually a simple vowel followed by a glide /uʷ/)
- The double “s” in mousse is always pronounced /s/
- The “e” at the end of mousse and many other French words is silent, so the name “Charles” in English is pronounced /ʃaʁl/ (the “s” is also silent)
- The “ch” in chocolat is always pronounced /ʃ/. Another French word with ch- used in English is chauffeur /ʃofœʁ/ “a (high class) driver”
About Me
文通四海 Enthusiastic INTP Polyglot
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@wentong-syhhae/enthusiastic-intp-polyglot
I do miss a good eclair! They're not that difficult to make actually, its just finding decent fresh cream in Taiwan
Carrefour sells fresh cream, too.
Off the top of my head, I even know the basic steps:
(1) Make a pastry shell
(2) Make pastry cream (dark chocolate or coffee flavor)
(3) Make icing
(4) Put #2 inside #1
(5) Put #3 on top of #1
(6) Chill until ready to eat
I suppose one of my problems is lack of confidence in the kitchen :-(
Maybe I should force the issue?
Sad news! When I visited Carrefour yesterday, there was NO mousse au chocolat!!! I do hope it's because a curious reader decided to buy both of the ones they made that day.