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GO Artisan Bakery

Guest of Thalias: Sara Duong, for the pleasure of fine gastronomy in an ideal atmosphere

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Sara Duong is a young, elegant, smiling French-Cambodian woman who decided to settle in her native country in 2019. She’s now a business developer in the architecture and engineering firm Archetype, which operates in 18 countries. She was born into a family of restaurateurs, so it’s no surprise she loves good food and has a soft spot for the Thalias group brands.  The objective of this culinary experience was to solicit her expert appraisal of Topaz’s seasonal menu, aptly titled “Savouring Elegance”. To start, Sara selected the red snapper carpaccio with Asian herb vinaigrette, a signature dish that exemplifies the establishment’s expertise and is likely to captivate our guest. She then proceeded to evaluate another fish dish from the special menu, the pan-fried turbot fillet with lemon, butter and caper sauce, which she deemed to be of an equally high standard.     However, Sara was astonished and gratified when she encountered the roast rack of Australian lamb enrobed in a spring vegetable crust and accompanied by a sauce featuring morels mushrooms.  « It is perhaps the most exquisite dish I have had the privilege to experience today. I was gratified by the initial meals, particularly the fish, but it was the overall presentation and quality of this dish that truly impressed me », she said.  Ultimately, our guest will conclude her repast with the hot chocolate fondant and Madagascar vanilla ice cream, a dessert she will consume as a mere indulgence, given that “it was a very copious lunch.”  In addition to the generosity of the menu, Sara revealed that she was impressed by the quality of the produce at the conclusion of her gastronomic experience. Furthermore, the dishes served were of an excellent standard, exhibiting a well-balanced flavour profile and a harmonious combination of ingredients. They were also tastefully presented in an original manner. In addition, Topaz Norodom is a venue frequently patronised by our guest for business lunches. The establishment’s distinctive ambience, comprising an abundance of verdant foliage and tastefully appointed interiors, makes it an ideal venue for business lunches. Indeed, according to her, the restaurant is a particularly agreeable establishment.   “It is my belief that it is of the utmost importance to take my customers and potential clients to a place where they can enjoy a meal of the highest quality, while also feeling completely at ease in a tranquil and welcoming environment. Additionally, the prices of the business lunch are notably affordable.”, she said.  While she is similarly partial to Malis and its Cambodian cuisine, Sara professes a particular affinity for Khéma Pasteur, citing its combination of sophistication and intimacy, its tranquil ambience, the opportunity for conversation, the amiable service, and the appealing presentation of the dishes. Furthermore, she considers that Thalias restaurants are particularly conducive to business meetings and lunches due to the quality of the food, the variety of dishes, the affordable prices, and the consistently pleasant setting.  Reserve a table Subscribe to the Thalias newsletter for exclusive offers, invitations to events and culinary news. Subscribe here out more: Discover our culinary world in more detail. Visit our website   

Khéma Croissants — Put a Smile on your Day

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At GO Artisan Bakery, we pride ourselves on making a pure butter croissant that brings together all the rich, buttery silkiness, the fabulous flakiness, and rich flavour that the best croissants deliver Buttery puff pastry, lightly crisp on the outside, meltingly soft and slightly chewy on the inside with a silkiness that comes from the abundance of butter used in its preparation, the croissant is perhaps one of France’s most instantly recognisable creations. The café-croissant is a French institution and probably one of the first things every visitor to France indulges in. It is the opening phase of their journey, a confirmation that (yes!) they really are in France, that life is good and it’s about to get better. But if you can’t be in France, you can still taste France, and at just a couple of dollars for a freshly brewed coffee with a delicious, freshly baked croissant to dip into it, well, there aren’t many better starts to the day than that. Surprisingly, for such a nationally iconic food, the croissant is actually a relatively recent invention, and its story doesn’t even start in France. Instead, the croissant’s history curves all the way back to 17th century Austria, and the much mooted origin story of their very curvy kipferl. The kipferl though is much “breadier” than the sumptuous pastry that has become France’s favourite breakfast, as indeed were the earliest iterations in France. It was an Austrian named August Zang who made the Austrian kipferl a popular indulgence in 1830’s Paris. But even then, the first written reference to it appears in Payen’s Des Substances Alimentaires, published in 1853, while ten years later it pops up again in the Littré dictionary, where it is defined, rather uninspiringly, as a “little crescent-shaped bread or cake”. A later reference in Les Consummations de Paris (1875) includes ‘croissants for coffee’ in a list of ordinary, as opposed to fine, pastry goods. Definitely not our croissant then, which succeeds at being both ‘ordinary’, as in every day, but lusciously indulgent all at once. The first published recipe doesn’t even appear until 1905, just before French chefs rolled up their sleeves and made this Viennoiserie their very own by melding the idea with puff pastry. The croissant was born. Thank all the gods. At GO Artisan Bakery, we pride ourselves on making a pure butter croissant that brings together all the rich, buttery silkiness, the fabulous flakiness (croissants are probably not advised for those who are obsessively tidy), and rich flavour that the best croissants deliver. Dip it in your coffee (the French way), or slather it with butter and jam (the English way), or just savour it on its own: plain, simple and unadorned deliciousness. But first turn the crescent-shaped treat on its side and instantly put a smile on the start to your day. And then you get to taste it. Written by Nicky Sullivan