Blueberries and custard galore – affordable French pastries brimming with happiness

Text & Photos /Paperclip. Food Photography Joy

A long time ago, this was once a refined French patisserie. When it closed, I passed by the same address many times, only to silently mourn the shuttered doors. Unexpectedly, a new French bakery and pastry shop called "Grape. Bread" opened here later.

The name "Grape. Bread" may sound a bit unusual, but it’s actually just the French "pain aux raisins," a common breakfast bread you’d find in any French bakery alongside croissants, chocolate bread, and baguettes. Perhaps the owner loves this bread, or maybe he believes bread is inseparable from daily life and doesn’t need an overly flashy name.

Today, my goal was to enjoy some delicious French pastries and then take some bread home.

My friend and I chose the shop’s signature "Lemon Tower" (NT$120) and the mouthwatering "Devil’s Blueberry Tart" (NT$120). We also each ordered tea and picked two macarons to try.

For NT$120, the traditional French tart at Grape. Bread is an absolute steal. This blueberry tart may look simple, but it’s made with quality ingredients: a crisp, buttery traditional French tart shell at the base, layered with a cream almond filling mixed with blueberry juice, vanilla custard in the middle, and topped with a generous heap of fresh blueberries, finished with white chocolate drawn in the shape of the "devil’s mark" from One Piece.

The Lemon Tower is essentially a lemon tart (in Taiwanese Hokkien, "léi-mn̂g" means lemon), and its dreamy appearance makes the name "Lemon Tower" fitting. The craftsmanship of this tart is quite intricate, with egg custard and yogurt sauces layered between the tart shell and the top lemon curd, offering a varied texture and a balance of sweet and tangy flavors.

The macarons aren’t too expensive either (I remember one costs NT$55, compared to the usual NT$60–70 or even NT$90). We got pistachio green and a two-tone caramel fleur de sel flavor.

I was originally looking forward to the caramel fleur de sel, but surprisingly, between the two flavors, the classic pistachio one won out with its delicate, authentic pistachio taste. The caramel fleur de sel one, for some reason, had a faint hint of refrigerator smell to me—maybe that’s what ruined the perfect image?

Whenever I visit a French patisserie, I always try to buy a canelé if possible. Their canelés are excellent—crispy on the outside, moist and elastic inside, with evenly distributed holes. Fans of this traditional French treat should definitely give it a try.

I also bought a croissant and a round French bread for breakfast the next day. Since I don’t have an oven at home, the croissant still retained a bit of its flakiness the next morning, though without baking, it lacked some of the buttery aroma. The French bread is made with a sourdough base, giving it a chewy texture and the rich flavor of aged dough.

By the way, the red juice here looks quite magical. It’s made with 80g organic cranberries + 60g red dragon fruit + 60g purple grapes + 50cc homemade black bean soy milk + 50cc low-fat fresh milk + a little honey, then blended slightly. The gorgeous color comes from the red dragon fruit—it’s a drink perfect for women.

Grape. Bread is very close to Exit 2 of the newly opened Songshan Line Nanjing Sanmin Station. After exiting, you’ll immediately see Jixiang Road. Turn right and walk for about three minutes until you see the high school basketball court. Grape. Bread is located near the alleyway corner by the basketball court.

[info]
Grape. Bread
https://www.facebook.com/Pain.aux.raisins
1F, No. 97, Lane 11, Guangfu North Road, Songshan District, Taipei City
02-27480696
11:00–21:00 (Closed Sat & Sun)

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