Brunch and Macarons at Comptoirs de France in Beijing

A great way to save money and time and not cheat yourself out of a good meal when travelling is to have a nice brunch. You combine 2 meals into one and pack in a morning and afternoon of sightseeing with only one break.

I was running around Beijing like a madwoman, trying to check off my list of things to do and places to see. When I was writing out my itinerary in Shenyang, I researched and found the perfect place for a nice Sunday brunch-Comptoirs de France in the Lido Plaza expat community.

Before you judge me on eating like a foreigner and not experiencing local foods, know that I've been living in Shenyang, where Western food is hard to come by. What compelled me to add Comptoirs to my itinerary is their Sichuan peppercorn hot chocolate, Sichuan peppercorn, green tea, and rose macarons. See. I did have good reasons for venturing into the expat community.

Sunday Brunch at Comptoirs de France

I ordered the petit dejeuner americain that came with a fried egg, REAL HAM (when I say "real", I mean perishable...China likes to use nasty fake ham and hot dogs that don't need to be refridgerated and can last a decade), mixed greens salad, tomatoes, 2 hash browns, an assortment of freshly baked bread, orange juice, and Sichuan peppercorn hot chocolate. All this was 58 RMB = $8.50. I told you brunch is a great way to save money!

Sichuan Peppercorn Hot Chocolate; Freshly Baked Bread

Everything on my plate was just perfect. This breakfast surpassed the American breakfast at the American International School in Dalian because the ham is REAL. In Dalian, they still used the psychedelic non-perishable red ham for the breakfast burrito, but it was certainly the best in Northeast China.

le petit dejeuner americain

After brunch, I splurged on macarons, knowing very well that I can't get stuff like this in Austin or Shenyang.

Rose, Green Tea, Sichuan Peppercorn Chocolate, Hazlenut, and Apricot Macarons