Our friends at @mypekoe and their wonderful artisanal pastry chef and baker @kerenye is one we have been on the lookout for, a very long time! This beautiful small batch bakery is a recent addition to the much loved @alserkeralavenue. Completely decked out in minimalist ivory, brass and amber tones, this venue is a must visit for their simple but expressive menu.
Those who know Keren from her Kizmet and Baker and Spice days will find her working her magic in her Pekoe kitchen, endlessly experimenting with new ways to match flavours and ingredients. Not everyone can produce the perfect croissant, but Keren manages with both the plain and her take on the almond. She teases us with her new products on stories, but does not serve it on a plate until she gets it just right. You’ll know when she does. Everyone has particular tastes, and our palates cherish the classics through and through, but we don’t condemn the efforts that go into experimenting with new flavours to make contemporary classics stand out – nor do we pass up tasting them.
Her canelès are beautiful (found minus the rum in the UAE) – a delicate French pastry that is popping up a lot more in Dubai cafés these days. I could eat a dozen of her vanillas. They are flawless – superb crunch on the outside, with a fragrant aerated inside. You’ll eat these freshly baked if you’re lucky, they sell out fast once they are done which includes the added black sesame and matcha flavours. We were joking with Manish Bhargava (@freeyourleaves) on how they didn’t come out of the kitchen fast enough, and he explained how Keren, in her own words, had told him, “Food waits for no one, you wait for the food to come to you!”
This is the perfect place for breakfast or afternoon tea, but one can also indulge on lunch with the beautiful signature Egg & Cheese Sando with silky scrambled eggs, sliced onions, chives and cheddar cheese on the toasted milk bread that acts like a soft pillow to the touch. This is now the milk bread used by another of our favourites, @kinoya.ae (Japanese restaurant), for their delectable Katsu Sando. The Salmon & Mango Smorrebrod on her winning Rye Bread with thinly sliced smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes with fresh mango slices topped with dill, alfalfa sprouts, and lemongrass flavoured whipped cream is a truly delicious combo, and the choice of the savoury danish pastries with Asparagus & Pesto or Mushroom & XO Sauce are moreish sides to add to your order.
I now collect all our fresh bread from Pekoe! The White Sourdough is house made flour which is 70% hydrated and made with locally sourced ingredients when possible, and is cold fermented for over 16 hours. The 30% Rye Sourdough is a mix of rye and white flour with water, salt and honey, and it really has become our go to bread. It’s soft, it toasts so well, and we’ll be sure to have an emergency loaf in the freezer at all times. Good bread is gold!
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