Revisit

On our day off this past Monday, we attended a food and restaurant industry expo to learn of any new trends or new products being introduced. So, essentially, it was a work day I guess. Now that we have been operating for a while, it is so much easier to navigate through the countless booths since I have a clearer idea of what we need. We came across some savory vendors and of course I'd always like to fantasize about serving a savory menu in addition to our desserts at Honeybee. "One step at a time," I'd always have to remind myself. Having a savory menu would open up an entirely different world of items to address: the dining ware, cutlery, table service? Would we even be considered a pâtisserie anymore? Perhaps a bistro! Well, wouldn't that be nice?

Afterwards, we had a dinner reservation at my old workplace. The old workplace that is now categorized as American rather than French with a new executive chef and pastry chef. The setting was the same as I last remembered it but the atmosphere was slightly different. The attire of the servers and runners had been revamped, now donned in a slick vest. The cooks and pastry cooks wore a trendy blue apron over their whites rather than the mundane yellowing white apron. The food itself was most noticeably different. The flavors of each savory dish were strong, sometimes overwhelming. It was delectable and necessary to consume slowly to enjoy it to the fullest extent. The desserts were a work of art. The plating was so intricate and beautiful. Of course I had to take photos to give credit to Diana, who did the plating on most of these.

It was really nice to be back again; to be treated like family despite so many unfamiliar faces who now work there. I'm so glad that my old colleague/friend had invited me to visit. The hospitality had been warm and friendly as usual. It was yet another memorable meal at The Modern. Hope to be back again sometime soon.

Being there gave me a nice surge of memories and a hint of desire to be back at a fine dining establishment. That dinner service rush with the tickets pouring in. Being swift, precise, and delicate with your movements. Having a pastry team family. Perhaps one day again. Honeybee ain't so bad either. If only there was a bigger pastry team instead of me being so lonesome on most days!

Anyhow, bed time again. À tout à l'heure.

Surviving Valentine's Day

And so I have experienced my first Valentine's at the shop. Friday wasn't so bad. Saturday was manageable. Sunday: the day that honors Saint Valentine himself. Cakes flew off the shelves much quicker than I had anticipated. It was such a bitterly cold weekend so it was surprising to see the number of people coming in! All in the name of love, I suppose. It was rather touching to think people were choosing our cakes to make up part of their celebration. Luckily, I had stayed up until 5am the night prior to decorate our Love with Coffee cakes! They were all gone before the end of the night. I surely hope many hearts were filled with happiness from these desserts. So the theme I've decided on for our specials was "time". I kept wondering, what's the best gift you can give to someone you love? Your time is the most valuable gift. 

The sugar cookie set, aka LOVE Cookies, took a good 3 full days worth of time just for the royal icing decoration alone. Needless to say, there was the dough making, rolling, chilling, cutting, and baking. The Saint Honoré took time in assembly by dipping each individual choux in hot caramel and adhering it to the base. On a side note, caramel is very prone to cooking your fingers if you aren't careful. Another little pastry knowledge: Saint Honoré is the patron saint for us bakers and pastry peeps. Why not honor the saint of pastries on a day of love, right? Blossom, a raspberry cheesecake, took time to slowly bake at low temperatures to ensure a creamy texture sans cracking. Love with Coffee, the most time consuming of all, needed time set aside for piping individual flowers to adorn each mini cake of 3 layers generously soaked with a coffee syrup. Each mini cake needed to be crumb coated, chilled, and frosted smoothly along the edges just like its adult versions. So did I stick to the theme successfully? Or was that too boring to read through? haha Well, regardless of the sleepless nights, I enjoyed every moment spent on these. It was nice to make something different from our usual menu and I hope the recipients felt the love put into each of them!

On a more personal level, my husband bought me a box of heart shaped doughnuts from one of my favorites, The Doughnut Plant. I'm not a flowers and diamonds kind of gal so food would be the best way to my heart. Extra points if it's sweet. 

Anyway, it's getting kinda late. It seems like this is the only free time that I have to blog a little. Another day to tackle tomorrow. I wish I had some hi-def photos to post up but I didn't even get the opportunity to do any proper photo shoots. So sad!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Is anyone sick of hearing Christmas tunes playing at every retail location and holiday booths yet? I've been playing it nonstop on Pandora. Trans-Siberian Orchestra will always be my favorite. Even my cat is in the holiday spirit because he's always perched underneath the Christmas tree. So the weatherman says it will be 70's on Christmas Day. This perhaps will be the warmest Christmas in my entire life. Despite the lack of snow, I hope that you all get to enjoy it beside your loved ones accompanied by some deliciously awesome food. I'll still be churning out desserts today and tomorrow for any last minute peeps (or people who just want a place to chill with friends). One more week of busting my chops in the kitchen and then I'll be hopping onto a plane that is headed to Curaçao! Super exciting stuff. This will be my first time stepping foot onto an island. Not only that, I will also get to visit my fellow Le Cordon Bleu alumni friend, Luigi, who operates his own pâtisserie over there. Can't wait to stuff my face with his desserts and everything else the island has to offer. Get to check out the beaches and its clear blue waters. Did I mention that I'm afraid of water and cannot swim? I bought a swimsuit just to fit in. 

Anyway, with the year coming to a close soon, I just wanted to get a blog entry in here. I remember 5 years ago during this time, my boyfriend came to visit me. It was his first time at Paris and he hated it because of how cold and icy it was! Definitely not an ideal time to travel there but if you'd like to avoid crowds of tourists, winter is the best time to go. Even though I barely had any heat in my studio apartment, I remember feeling very warm inside to have someone familiar to me be in the same room as I. Oh gosh, I was suffering major withdrawal when he left though! Especially with the oncoming months of lonely cloudy days. Talk about seasonal affective disorder. Luckily, this time around we'll be somewhere warm and not icy. He has been pretty dedicated to the shop on top of his regular 9-5 job. It's about time that he gets some rest in, even if it will just be for one week. Heck, my body and brain wants to rest too. To think we haven't even been opened for an entire year yet. Man, we're old.

Don't miss us too much. Maybe I'll have created some new items with a cleared state of mind while we're away for the new season. Until 2016 everyone. May you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with love and happiness (and of course, desserts).

Ride or Die

Oh dang, it's been so long since February. A little over half a year. Here I am again, typing this up while feeling that cold air from outside. I'm also extremely tired due to these 12+hr shifts for the past couple of months. In case I failed to mention, we've officially opened! I don't think that actually needed any mentioning since a few publications had already announced it. I'm also half hoping that no one visits this page since it was linked in a public article online earlier. 

It was such an exciting process at the beginning. The brand spankin' new kitchen was ready for use. The test trials for the spring/summer menu. Banana Chocolate Crunch went through 3-4 revisions, which was worth it as it quickly became one of our best sellers. The cleaning itself wasn't that spectacular but I still felt pretty motivated while scrubbing. I was a nervous wreck during the opening month. Even my family and staff noticed. Now that we've been riding this out for nearly 4.5 months, I feel like a pro! I certainly wish that were the case. There's plenty to learn and like recipes, many ways to revise until optimum efficiency is obtained. Some days, I can barely keep up with the amount of production necessary. I do have a kitchen assistant who alleviates some of the work. So, essentially, I no longer have to endure work hours that fall into 4am but rather more so 12am! That's 4 extra hours to do other things, such as ordering, paying bills, and apparently updating my blog. Sleep is so overrated! 

But in all seriousness, this position has been such a killer on the mind and body. My knee has been aching and on occasion, I'd have to limp a little but I can't stop working. Have a splitting headache? Suck it up, pop a pill, and keep going. Lacking sleep accompanied by blurry vision? All these motions have been so repetitive so it should come naturally. Keep the arms and legs moving. When I feel like passing out, the words etched on a friend's kitchen wall at The Pines come to mind: Ride or Die. That's how I keep myself pushing through time and time again. Autumn has started and the menu needs to transition into the more seasonal ingredients. The mind is so occupied by a number of other priorities but it has to be done regardless. Multitasking is not a special ability. It's a standard... daily.

Sometimes, people question why I make the desserts so complex. If they were simpler, I'd have a much easier time in the kitchen. Time-wise, it sounds very appealing to me but the concept of taking the easy route does not. Perhaps this is due to being surrounded by all the snobbish fine dining influences I've had since I started this journey. No offense. I actually like that they are snobbish because it exudes confidence. I have all these flavors and textures that I love and what better way than to combine them all into one dessert? As long as they play together nicely. It's also how I was trained, anyhow. I'd also much rather spend the extra time and effort on hand making tart shells. I'll confess, I have ordered pre-made before. It only happened once and never again. It felt so weird and more importantly, the flavors just cannot match those made from scratch. 

A number of people find that the pricing of our desserts are a bit high especially when compared to the numerous Chinese bakeries surrounding us. To be honest, this was expected. Without considering the amount of time and effort put into each individual piece, it might appear slightly overpriced for a seemingly small sized pastry. When ingredients, techniques, and difficulty level are put into perspective, the price is in reality relatively cheap. I sometimes question why no one bats an eye when shaved ice desserts range from 7 to as high as 12 (patbingsoo, I'm looking at you) but at times I'd hear someone commenting how a piece of my dessert tastes good but not worth it for the price. Is it because shaved ice looks larger in a bowl? It's essentially water and xx-flavoring that has been frozen and shaved by a machine topped with fruits (sometimes canned?) and mochi pieces to give an example. Not to bash on shaved ice. I frequently order this dessert regardless of price just because it's refreshing and tasty. Just wanted to throw an example out there because I'm seriously confuzzled by consumer perceptions here.

On the other hand, the disgruntled commentary makes it extra comforting when there are people who recognize the work I do and appreciate it. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside to know that I've successfully made someone's day brighter (and stomach happier). At the end of the day, the key learning is: You cannot satisfy every single person. So, I apologize in advance to all those who do not agree with my concept of what a dessert is. If I could, I would cater to everyone's needs but sadly, I can't and I can only hope that people would understand.

That being said, now I want some shaved ice despite how cold it is tonight and how sleep-deprived I am currently. Hope you're all in bed dreaming happy and sweet thoughts. Until next time, y'alls.

Almost One Year and a Little History

So, in one week on February 11th, Honeybee Pâtisserie LLC will be 1 year old! Time really flew by. One year ago, I was so confident that the shop would have been opened by summer. Little did I know! 

The brainstorming really began in the fall of 2013. I was initially going to name it 5Thirty, which was based on a favorite album (05時30分) from my unhealthy childhood obsession with Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau. The story behind that name is it represents the time when most employees get off from work and get to relax. I had wanted the shop to be an oasis from the rush of NYC where people can kick back and enjoy some cakes. That's still the focus currently, in case anyone is wondering. The name was eventually scrapped because I was afraid of copyright infringement of some sort. How heartbreaking would it be to get sued by Andy Lau! My dear friend Pocky suggested naming it after my blog and after some thought, I did. In the following months, I met with a few contractors who enlightened me on the entire process regarding architects and engineers. "What? I need to have approved drawings for you to start work? I can't just tell you I want an oven here and a sink there?" Apparently, that's not how the DoB rolls.

I decided to quit my job and seriously do some research while looking into architects and engineers. It took some time before I found an architect whom I could afford and was somewhat on par with my aesthetic likes. He was officially hired in February along with the engineer. That was when I slapped down the $210 fee to form this company since I needed a registered business to file the drawings under. Then, I had the luxury to discover through lots of direct mail marketing that I was legally bound to publicize the LLC formation in two local newspapers for 6 consecutive weeks within 3 months or else face consequences. I scrambled to get those inserts in and I'm betting not a single person read my notice or even knew it existed. This obligation varies from state to state by the way.

Anyhow, fast forward to May and with just one revision, drawings were approved! I held onto those stamped documents so close to me with tears of joy in my eyes. It was back to the grind again with searching for a contractor. Gosh, those meetings were so utterly painful. They were like disappointing blind dates. Some of them were the type who gave the false pretense that we had a spark but they would never call back or worse, ignore my calls. It took nearly THREE months to finally find someone, who surprisingly lived just around the corner from me. No, I didn't find him by walking around my neighborhood but I did look up licensed contractors on the DoB site under the last name "Chan". I admit, not the best method but it was my last resort. Why "Chan"? That name is more common and yielded more results than "Ng" or any other Chinese name did. Also, I picked Chinese so that they can communicate with my mom if there were any circumstances that needed it (and indeed there were many). I did Google-search these companies as well for their portfolios and some background check so it wasn't entirely random. On a side note, I found out who did the renovation of Saint's Alp Teahouse at St. Mark's Place while I was doing this DoB searching. Too bad they never responded back to my inquiry.

It was at this point that I realized my original budgeting for construction was way off, hence, launching the Kickstarter campaign. Sorry folks, I really did try to find the most cost efficient crew to do the job but unfortunately, given that we're in NYC, there's no escape from exorbitant prices. I think everyone knows the rest of the story from thereon.

This brings us to today where I'm trying to get the gas meter set up but am getting denied because the gas company cannot find DoB's approval in their system. Why do you do this to me, DoB? Why did you miss your payments so often that the meter had to be removed, previous tenant? At least I was able to submit the application for the Food Establishment Permit. Let's see how DoHMH will treat me. Fingers crossed.

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoyed my little history of the 1.5 years into the making of Honeybee Pâtisserie. Did you know that business names are not allowed the use of any accent marks? Legally, we are just "Patisserie" so it does get a little confusing sometimes because the correct way of spelling it is with a circumflex over the "a". I don't think this matters to many people anyway, aside from proficient French speakers perhaps.

Sun is about to rise so I best head to bed. Oh yeah, I was grooving to the 5:30 album as I typed this up. hah. Have a great rest of the week y'alls.

Savoring Final Moments

What an arduous journey it has been so far since the last post. I'm proud to say that we're over 90% complete! The notorious display case that had caused a huge delay (and headache) in the completion of the counter setup finally arrived last week. Man, was that a workout just to shift it from outdoors to indoors. Then, I got sick shortly after when the final touches were being made. We could have reached 95% had I been at the shop instead of sitting at the doctor's office. Thank goodness for technology, messages were being relayed back and forth with the help of my brother and husband. The remaining percentage is just some minor installations (surveillance and POS system), setting up gas account, and passing inspections.

I was asked the other night if I was having fun. Initially, I had wanted to say scream "NO!" because I was mopey dopey over the delays. On the other hand, the question had also made me reflect on what was accomplished so far and despite the tribulations, it has actually been somewhat fun now that phase one is nearly over. There were moments I had really wanted to toss in the towel because there was always an influx of issues one after another. It seriously takes a huge amount of patience and organization. I guess the proper metaphor would be as though you are preparing mise en place for a busy night ahead for the first time at a new restaurant and working a station you had never before. There are so many things in your list to prep but you need to evaluate your time and how efficient you are so that you can have everything ready by the time service begins. Has to be of quality too. No half-assed stuff. Did that make sense? I know. I do that metaphor thing way too often. Anyway, things ended up working out and even though we weren't able to open in 2014, I'm still pretty darn happy that it hasn't come to a complete halt.

It has been partially trial and error. Not every decision made has been the best one but meh, do better next time. Sometimes there's success and sometimes there's mistakes but you try to turn it into something worthy. Okay, I realize that the word should be "failure" as opposed to "mistakes" but I don't believe in failure because I want to succeed. Who doesn't?! Just make sure you don't end up cutting into the building's structural beams because that might be something irrevocable. And yes, that was one of our early major issues. Wasn't my fault though! The plumber decided to take the matter into his own hands without the approval of anyone.

So, that's my update so far. Not sure how insightful this piece was but too late. You've already read it and I've taken up your time. Oh yeah, awning is supposedly scheduled for installation later this week. The whole neighborhood will soon see the store name. Honeybee will no longer be a secret that I have enjoyed keeping all these months.

The Truth Comes Out and Renovation of the Mind

Warning: I am going to share my true experience and it might sound more like a rant so please bare with me. Okay, so my original intention was to keep this pastry shop start-up progress as simple as possible without too many details because I admit that it sometimes get kinda boring to read. I was picturing that I could give off the impression that I've been extremely well composed all throughout and seriously know every single thing I'm doing but dammit, it's been real hard. That's the truth but surely it comes as no surprise to anyone unless you're a pro at this entrepreneurial game or you're just naturally gifted (hats off to all you business owners out there). It's been like running a marathon but you're no where close to the finish line but you have to keep running even though your legs feel like they're about to retire on you any moment. God, how I wish there was a car to just hitch a ride from. Then aside from forcing your legs to move against its own will, there's a crowd of people along the way each holding different signs but they're all essential for paving the path so you have to read each and address every one while you're running. No, you can't wait till next week to handle the issue. This is when I discovered that there really aren't enough hours in the day to complete the to-do list. Sometimes I get so absorbed that I don't realize which day of the week it is. Before I know it, we've been 2.5 months into renovation. Like what the what?!

I've come to realize that no amount of research can prepare you for becoming a business owner. It's helpful to be well versed in codes and regulations but when it really comes down to it, the best learning process is to just jump in. Hands on. Exactly like the kitchen. You can read all the recipes and procedures but you won't know how it looks until you whip out the mixer and start whisking. Learn to adapt to the climate changes. Not every day will be dry. Sometimes it'll be humid and that moisture is gonna mess with your macarons whether you like it or not. I'm still learning and trying to keep up with the pace of things but I tend to think that I've grown less naive and have gained a dose of realism. Sometimes things won't go the way you had planned and you'll have no other option but to revise the recipe. One way or another, it's about finding a method that works best for you.

So I hope this didn't sound as repulsive as I am imagining it did. It's been rather thrilling and I can really see every step being taken. This entire project is unfolding and I'm looking forward to see the outcome. Not only is the space being renovated on but who I am as a business owner as well. I'm learning about my capabilities and finding out where my limitations lay. Only one year has passed and this is just the beginning of a long adventure.

I'll try to be more diligent to my blog as Honeybee grows and hopefully can share some insight with the rest of you. If not, this could also serve as a record for me to look back on in the future and laugh at myself for being such a n00b. It's important to be able to admit faults and take things with a grain of salt. Criticism will always surround you and follow you wherever you go. Don't let it dissuade you though. There's a reason why you quit your steady day job. Never let the passion fade.

On that note, take a gander at my passion. What's a blog post without pictures, right?

Congratulations if you've made it this far. Thanks for taking the time to read my meanderings. I tried to be cohesive but it's late so gonna hit the sack now!