Have Your Ice Cream Cake and Eat it Too: New Summer Menu at Comptoirs de France

As a sort of "disclaimer" to this blog, I should say that I am already a big fan of Comptoirs de France – their Chaoyang Park store gets regular patronage from me for my weekly bread and croissant runs, although I don't often sample the rest of the menu.

Said menu has recently been expanded with a selection of summery salads and light sandwiches, as well as a trio of festive ice cream cakes. 

The salads include that most trendy of dishes, the kale and avocado salad (RMB 50), as well as a spin on a Middle Eastern tabbouleh using quinoa (RMB 50). Trendster that I am, I prefered the kale salad, and I appreciate that Comptoirs serve the dressing on the side as always.

However, the absolute highlight dish of the new menu is the croque madame (RMB 50), three delicious layers of sour dough bread, thick Parisian ham, melted gruyere cheese, and mustardy bechamel, all topped with a runny-yolked egg. Trust me when I say that you won't need much more than this monster to fill you up for lunch.

If, however, you do have space for dessert, pick up one of their three different ice cream cakes (vanilla, chocolate, and rasperry-mango, RMB 128). You'll need to book it if you want to get them back to your office or home in one piece in this weather but it's worth the effort. The chocolate version features rich chocolate ice cream encased within a thick layer of Valrhona dark chocolate, while the fruit raspberry and mango sorbet version is a lighter ending to a rich meal. Currently they have a deal offering two cakes for RMB 198, which would easily provide dessert for 12-16 diners.

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
Instagram: @gongbaobeijing
Twitter: @gongbaobeijing
Weibo: @宫保北京

Photos courtesy of Comptoirs de France, Robynne Tindall