Tuesday, March 16, 2010

FENDU BOULANGERIE

Fendu Boulangerie
Manoa Marketplace
2752 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822-1855
(808) 988-4310
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
closed Monday

My first love over anything is bread. I love all kinds of bread but baguettes have to be my all time favorite. When I worked for The Hotel Sofitel I really learned how to make the perfect baguette. The whole process for me was amazing. Its a very soulful process. Taking very simple ingredients and making this awesome product, a little piece of heaven is something I am in love with. But what I loved the most was taking the bread from the oven. The smell just would flood the kitchen and the sound, oh the sound. it was like the bread was talking to me...the crackling noise that it made. And the way they looked with the crunchy crust and the beautiful markings and the beautiful light brown color. Oh the baguettes, how I miss them! Well not anymore since I have discovered Fendu Boulangerie.

This is a real french bakery tucked away in Manoa marketplace. A real jem! The first time i walked in there was a few months ago and i fell in love with the rustic decor and the cuteness of this bakery. With 2 cases filled with all kinds of yummy pastries and desserts, I was in heaven. I mean I bought almost one of everything.
I first noticed the bread baskets against the wall the were full of rustic, beautiful bread just waiting to be bought. And then I noticed the croissants. Again I am very picky when it comes to these types of pastries. I was trained by the best so I know what the best is. I have to admit I was skeptical. I mean I have been let down so many times before. So i bought only 1 of everything. I loved that there were lychee danish and bostock. I will explain what these are later. But back to the croissant. I purchased my items and Nick and I went and sat outside while we waited for the fresh out of the oven baguettes that i remember.
I opened my bag os goodies and started with the lychee danish. I took my first bite and it was so flaky and so flavorful. Just a perfect little danish. Of course the lychees are from a can this time of year but you could not tell that from this danish. the lychees were so sweet and tender. So after i got over how good the danish was i was so excited for the croissant. But would it be everything I expected?
Oh how it was and more....
This croissant had beautiful color, perfect curve and when I pulled it apart, it was so light and flaky and all the layers, there were so many beautiful layers of buttery goodness. This croissant was so good we went and bought 6 more to take home. But would they make it home? I don't think so.
I also tried the bostock. for those of you who do not know what this is, Bostock comes from eastern France and it consists of a brioche (high butter content sweet bread) loaf that is sliced, dried, soaked in rum syrup, covered with almond frangipane and some sliced almonds before being baked a second time. I never see this anywhere so I was excited to see it here. And it was so good.

We also bought some bread which of course is not like mine but it was really good. had a nice crunch and good flavor. Of course we had to eat a piece right out of the oven.

We have gone back several times since that first day. I have tried there speciality sandwich's, made on all there fresh bread. We event tried some their pizza and everything we had was consistently yummy.
The service has always been good. We found that the place does get busy on the weekends so waiting in line will happen. But it is so worth it once you taste the pastries. This chef really has been trained correctly and you can tell him and his staff love what they do!
If I see him I will thank him personally for being a little piece of France to Hawaii!
Go check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.
Next time HAPA DOG! The hot dog meets Local style!!

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