Perfect Pastries at Da Giuliano

Sally Wilson — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:00:00 +0000

The BSB Sanlitun Christmas bazaar not only delivered hours of fun for my kids, as they set about decorating ginger bread men with icing and candies, chocolate slabs with nuts and fruits, and Christmas cards with glitter, it also introduced me to Da Giuliano Pasticceria Panetteria. This great Italian pastry shop and bakery is a stone’s throw from the BSB Sanlitun campus. A warm croissant or pain au chocolat is a truly wonderful thing, especially on a cold Beijing morning. Those distinct layers of pastry, light and crisp on the outside, with a softer dough texture inside. It’s all about the quality ingredients that go in to the dough, namely the butter, the flour, and sometimes the chocolate. Da Giuliano does a pretty good job of getting it just right.

The perfect accompaniment to a fresh pastry is of course a decent coffee based beverage, something else which Da Giuliano does well. With a very good selection of coffees, including espresso, cappuccino, latte, and a wonderfully rich Italian hot chocolate. Teas include English breakfast, red, jasmin, and green, and prices are a very reasonable RMB 26-28. There’s a range of smoothies and fresh juices, including orange, carrot, and celery with apple.

Their pastry offerings extend to almond croissants, chocolate twists, and cinnamon swirls. All of their pastries are much larger in size than in other city bakeries. The chocolate twist could easily be shared with at least two of your friends, and prices range from RMB 12 to 18. There are homemade artisan biscuits RMB 25 for 100g, and a vast array of pasticceria mignon, or mini pastries, for just RMB 7 each. Perfect for breakfast or brunch is to order one of their special sets for RMB 55. You can have a hot drink, fresh juice, croissant, with jam and butter, or the coffee or tea set, which includes seven mini cakes.

If you need a cake for a special occasion, you can order from a selection of cheesecakes, tarts, gateaux, and tortes. If your Christmas isn’t complete without a pannetone or two, Da Giuliano must have the largest range of any one store in Beijing. With a range of sizes and flavors available, all of which are beautifully packaged. They also have individually wrapped Italian chocolates, which would make a great gift this holiday season.

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Joy (Flickr), Sally Wilson

You Can Have Your Dream Cake and Eat It Too

morganshang

The lady loves to dream up designs and then see them come to life. The tools of her trade are fondant, food coloring, and fine sculpting tools. She is Jane of Auntie Jane Bakery fame.

Now in her Shunyi location for nearly five years, Auntie Jane’s passion for producing pastries and cute character cakes began when she was living in the United States over 20 years ago. She enrolled in baking lessons with a fellow Taiwanese living in California. She enjoyed working with him so much that, when she decided to set up her bakery in Beijing, she knew she wanted him to come on board. And so, despite not having been in touch for nearly 15 years, the two started collaborating again – this time with Jane at the helm.

Prior to having her own shop, Jane honed her skills in making fondant via classes at the Wilton School. She picked up more baking tips and tricks by attending further classes in Chicago and the UK.

Jane is very hands-on in running the bakery, as well as its sister Taiwanese restaurant next door, Yammy. She supervises everything from menu and kitchen to pastry workshops, client relations, handling inspections, and meeting China’s strict quality standards for her new line of packaged food. But her favorite part in all this remains using her own hands to create her signature cakes.

Her most recent cake, a labor of love, was for her daughter’s graduation from Dulwich last week. Just as she did when her son graduated from the same school, Jane surprised her daughter’s classmates with a special cake. Her daughter Jacqueline, the youngest of her children and herself an artist, helped her mom conceptualize the design.

It featured all 92 graduates, topped with a little fondant lollipop head. Each student had a name card and distinguishing features like hair color and eye shape. It was a well-received present from one proud mom to her daughter’s class.

Jane is happy to sit with clients to discuss their ideas for a dream cake. Whether it’s for a birthday party or another event, she will try her best to give you what you want. Past projects have varied from a dragon boat cake for a school principal to character cakes for a little girl’s birthday party and a wedding cake that the scene of the couple’s engagement (complete with a miniature 4×4 vehicle by the edge of a lake). Jane has done nearly every imaginable design and is looking forward to doing more.

Plan to see Jane a month before your event and you can work with her at having your dream cake come to life too.

Auntie Jane’s Bakery 北京安缇婕恩烘焙工坊

Price dependent on design and size, express orders (5 days before event) will be subject to a surcharge. Daily 9am-10pm. 5 Tianzhu Huayuan, Tianyun Plaza, Shunyi District (6458 1368 , 6458 1968 , 1380 136 3500, janehsiao@yahoo.com) 顺义区天竺花园天韵广场5号

Photos courtesy of Dulwich College Beijing

Dana is the beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent. Originally from the Philippines, she moved to Beijing in 2011 (via Europe) with her husband, two sons and Rusty the dog. She enjoys writing, photography, theater, visual arts, and trying new food. In her free time, she can be found exploring the city and driving along the mountain roads of Huairou, Miyun and Pinggu.

pastries – Beijing Kids

Perfect Pastries at Da Giuliano

You Can Have Your Dream Cake and Eat It Too