J'adore Paris

On June 10th 2011, I ditched my friends and I ate my way around Paris. It was a monumental day as I discovered I don't have a sweet tooth, I have about 32 of them. I know and you know that I can eat a lot, but I didn't know I could eat this much sweet things in one day.

The day began with a quick bite of chaussons aux pommes from a boulangeri not far from our hotel. I had an itinerary and my first destination is not far from the Louvre, at Rue de Rivoli, Angelina. I found this place whilst watching Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy. The tea house was already busy that morning with people having breakfast, but if you're there for cakes to take away, the wait shouldn't be that bad.

cakes at Angelina

All the cakes look fantastic and deciding which one to have was not an easy task. But the two that caught my eye and mouth straight-away are tartelette Eva, one sinfully rich chocolate tart with perfect pastry base and smooth chocolate filling; and also the millefeuille a la vanille bourbon which is vanilla-bourbon crème pâtissière sandwiched between layers of buttery puff pastry... I have also been told to try the hot chocolate here, as apparently it's one of the best, but hot chocolate in the morning makes me sleepy and I need focus.

Tartelette Eva et Millefeuille à la Vanille Bourbon 

I then met up with my friends again at Arc de Triomphe followed by a nice walk to the Eiffel Tower. After taking lots of photos, I ditched them again at lunchtime and I went off to my next stop: Pierre Hermé famous for its macarons. No doubt, they make the best macarons in Paris. The same macarons are actually available at Selfridges in London, but I just had to visit the Paris shop for the experience. Unfortunately taking pictures inside the shop is strictly prohibited. As soon as the shopkeeper saw my camera, I was told to put it away. Be prepared to queue for a long time but the macarons are worth the wait... You might want to practise some Japanese too, as I was queueing with lots of Japanese tourists... such lovely people.

The macarons are so beautiful to look at and even better eat. Oh, and these little delights do not come cheap... My personal favourite are the rose and pistache (pistachio), but do try the mogador (passion fruit and milk chocolate) and eden (peach, saffron and apricot)... or get the selection box if you want and can afford it.

Not far from Pierre Herme, I then visited the famous Poilane bakery on Rue du Cherce-Midi. Lionel Poilane apparently sells the most bread in Paris. Poilane's signature bread is the large round rustic sourdough loaf with the big 'P' inscription.

The moment I stepped into this charming little bakery, I was immediately welcomed with the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread. Apart from sourdough, you can also get rye and raisin bread, walnut loaf, milky white loaf, apple tart, gingerbread, baguettes, croissants, cookies, jams, etc. It was like heaven. I used to get the signature loaf to take home, but found out sometime ago that the bread is now available in the UK. Hooray! They deliver abroad too, so check out the website.

photo courtesy of frogandprincess

The last bakery I visited, I promise this is the last, was La Pâtisserie des Rêves or in English, Pastry Shop of Dreams. It is located in Rue du Bac and I absolutely love the bright, cool design of the shop and the display cakes are presented so beautifully under bell-shaped glass dome. On the right hand shelves, there were piles of chausson aux pommes and pain gourmand a la vanille, but the three items I simply had to try were the Madeleine, the kouign amann, a round-crusty-buttery-sugary cake and this one is also flavoured with lemon paste...

photo courtesy of the taste of... Paris

and the chocolate éclairs... This is one serious éclair. Each one is wrapped in a tunnel of fine dark chocolate and then flecked with gold. It's beautiful and delicious. The wonderful thing about the chocolate tunnel is it manages to stay firm and keep its shape, but it just melts in your mouth. The choux pastry inside is so tender and the chocolate cream is smooth, smooth, smooth. I am craving for one now....

My friends and I met up again for dinner not far from Notre Dame Cathedral and I desperately need to eat savoury dishes... and I had moules marinieres, duck a l'orange and whilst my friends were enjoying their profiteroles and crème brûlée for desserts, fresh fruit salad for me.