- Fraise Coquelicot (Strawberry with Poppy Seed),
Salted Caramel,  Fleur d’Oranger (Orange Blossom) - 
I have been eating macaron gerbets for a long time,  but after so many visits to here and other shops, I have got to say Laduree is consistently the one to beat.  Call me biased.  Call me uneducated.  I know there are shops which does better fillings than here and I appreciate them.  But the texture is always textbook perfect here despite adopting the Italian Meringue method nowadays.   The weakness lies in the slightly non-natural tasting fillings.  I am happy to compromise though ~  9/10

- Plaisir Sucre -
A little dense and nutty chocolate.   It was good but it wasn’t exceptional either.  ~  7/10

- - Jardin Bleu Royal Tea - 
Made with non-smoked Chinese and Indian Tea,  with additional Rhubarb and Wild Strawberries flavours,  scattered with Corn Flower and Helianthus Petals.   Suggested by the staff as I have exhausted my list here,  this was very enjoyable actually as it is exuberating that fruitiness fragrance with elegance.  It is not easy to find good teas outside of France,  it’s all about the tea culture. (UK teas I think are more up front in style in comparison but also great, but less blending.)   

- Lemon & Lime Guimauve Macarons,  Liquorice, Strawberry Candy Guimauve -
Very impossibly good!  Some people find Laduree macarons a little confectionary.  So might as well order their more candy like flavours.  All pretty decent and yes, candy like.   8//10

Rose Petal and Strawberry Jam -
Anyone want to share with me?  I only bought 2 jars and already gave out 1 to a friend !  6/10

Visiting Paris or France in general is not an easy task for a foreigner arriving here for only a few days.  I have been to Paris a few times but have only started taking photos in the recent years,  so all there is left to do is to eat, take photos to compensate for the past and hopefully getting to explore the hottest pastry shops along the way.   I do envy the bloggers who can eat a lot and not suffer much consequences,  but unfortunately I am not one of them.   I watch the mirror in horror as I gain weight daily but at the same time just want to munch munch munch,  nom nom now away.  I might have put on some serious weight in the past week,  but hopefully my reviews will be of benefit and use to you,  when you come past Paris next time.  I will work around my weight 1 day

-  Pastries & Macarons -
Very colourful trays.   Even a bit fake in colours..

- Berries Tart -
This looked good and was good!   The pastry shell was one of the more crumbled ones,  without being too hard and difficult to cut through, only to then shatter all over your hands.   ~  8/10

- Amaryllis -
A Macaron shell with Vanilla and Raspberry,
this was quite chewy and very enjoyable.  Not very crisp on the outside at all.  ~   7.5/10

- Macarons from Top Left Clockwise:   Salted Caramel,  Cherries Griotte, 
Pineapple and Ginger,  Turron de Alicante.
The fillings of the macarons at Gerard Mulot are at the best of it’s game.  For example.  the Cherries one surprising hid a whole pitted cherry inside and was quite natural in taste.  The Pineapple and Ginger was quite refreshing with a fiery pungence.   The Turron tasted just like the Spanish candy.  Salted Caramel was also representational of its intention.   My biggest gripe with the macarons is that they are only about being chewiness and not much of a crispy exterior shell in balance,  and the tant pour tant was way too sweet and even became sticky on the fingers  (guess it’s Italian Meringue based so it’s expected).   Loved the fillings,  but not quite the shell.   ~  7/10
 
-  

Angelina in Paris is of Austrian origins but nevertheless is one of the must visit institutions much like the lauded Laduree.   I haven’t been back here for too many years and last time I walked by I was preparing to have a big meal at Le Meurice next door,  so this time around I came back to take some pictures.    According to almost every guide book, their 2 most famous items to must order are the Hot Chocolate L’Africain and the Mont Blanc cake,  and the former still definitely holds true to this day,  but those in the know have probably been previously disappointed by their slightly too hyped up Mont Blanc chestnut cake!   The must order item here is probably their more unique Vanilla Crumbled Eclairs.   Since I’ve eaten both before,  this time around I just concentrated on my croissant and the hot chocolate this time!

- Croissant -
The Viennoiseries here are great as always.  
The laminated dough looked superbly layered,  with a crispy crust but was probably a too soft inside and could do with more butteriness.  On it’s own,  this is already a good croissant.  But I have had a few which were even better,  including Le Grenier a Pain,  Sadaharu Aoki,  Pierre Herme, etc.   ~  7/10

-

Hot Chocolate L’Africain -
The one I compare this to directly is the La Maison du Chocolat version.  This is also very viscous thick but probably less intense in bitterness,  although at the same time also less fruitier.  This is very well balanced…  Probably less challenging or hardcore,  but as an everyday drink this would be my more preferred choice over the VERO or La Maison du Chocolat version.  It’s good,  if only the shop provides any air conditioning!   ~  8/10

.Mont Blanc & Vanilla Crumbled Eclairs -
All the guide books will tell customers to must order the Mont Blanc cake,  but to me it was never that great and I will even avoid it.  On the other hand, their unique Crumbled Eclairs have been more special with it’s special choux pastry texture.. which a similar éclair can also be found in Melbourne at Chez Dre.   

Angelina in Paris is of Austrian origins but nevertheless is one of the must visit institutions much like the lauded Laduree.   I haven’t been back here for too many years and last time I walked by I was preparing to have a big meal at Le Meurice next door,  so this time around I came back to take some pictures.    According to almost every guide book, their 2 most famous items to must order are the Hot Chocolate L’Africain and the Mont Blanc cake,  and the former still definitely holds true to this day,  but those in the know have probably been previously disappointed by their slightly too hyped up Mont Blanc chestnut cake!   The must order item here is probably their more unique Vanilla Crumbled Eclairs.   Since I’ve eaten both before,  this time around I just concentrated on my croissant and the hot chocolate this time!

- Croissant -
The Viennoiseries here are great as always.  
The laminated dough looked superbly layered,  with a crispy crust but was probably a too soft inside and could do with more butteriness.  On it’s own,  this is already a good croissant.  But I have had a few which were even better,  including Le Grenier a Pain,  Sadaharu Aoki,  Pierre Herme, etc.   ~  7/10

-

Hot Chocolate L’Africain -
The one I compare this to directly is the La Maison du Chocolat version.  This is also very viscous thick but probably less intense in bitterness,  although at the same time also less fruitier.  This is very well balanced…  Probably less challenging or hardcore,  but as an everyday drink this would be my more preferred choice over the VERO or La Maison du Chocolat version.  It’s good,  if only the shop provides any air conditioning!   ~  8/10

.Mont Blanc & Vanilla Crumbled Eclairs -
All the guide books will tell customers to must order the Mont Blanc cake,  but to me it was never that great and I will even avoid it.  On the other hand, their unique Crumbled Eclairs have been more special with it’s special choux pastry texture.. which a similar éclair can also be found in Melbourne at Chez Dre.   

Dalloyau is one of the most oldest and traditional style French food shops dating back to 1682,  but seems to have dropped off the radar or lost its lustre during recent years.  They’re not making much noise lately.  Yet, they continue to garner a big following in it’s Japan outlets but I was more keen to revisit the Paris stores instead – once again I chose the bigger one of their shops in Bastille which carried the best range.    This store runs as both as deli as well as a Tea Salon,  which definitely suited my purpose.   There are to be No Photos allowed,  but somehow I took a lot of them before I got told off again,  just like my experience at Pierre Herme.


- Dalloyau Opera Cake -
This is their famous Dalloyau Opera Cake,  which everyone else in the world copied from!  Although not my 1st time trying it,  it’s always good to revisit it a few years down the track.   Invented as the Opera cake in 1955 by Cyriaque Gavillon from Dalloyau,  this cake borrowed ideas from similar sliced cakes and created to show visible layers of various ingredients, to be eaten in a single bite to release the various layers in taste.   Joconde biscuit is soaked in coffee liqueur,  then layered with coffee buttercream and then there are 2 layers of chocolate ganache in between.  

- Canele - 
Trying a traditional Canele de Bordeaux here makes sense.  The exterior crust on this was spot on, slightly caramelised but not hard crispy.  The inside was slightly hollow in the middle,  but at least not wet like the one in Laduree Paris.   This didn’t have as much rum and vanilla taste though but was still detectable,  but had a good egginess instead.   It’s not perfect – but it is better than most that I could grab on a regular basis!   ~   8/10

- Salted Caramel & Cognac Champagne Remy Martin Macarons
 I liked the Cognac Champagne version more,  with just a hint of Cognac spiking the macaron sandwich.   It was decent.  You can find prettier macarons out there,  but this passed the taste test.  The Salted Macaron one was also good but a little too sticky and chewy. ~  7/10

Breizh Café seems to be the hottest Creperie in Paris nowadays,  and many foodies have been carrying this on their lips.  The brand also has outlets in Cancale in Brittany,  and also in Japan.    The menu planning is sensational indeed,  carrying anything from the freshest of Brittany or Normandy oysters,  to the most exotic of ingredients to put on their galettes and crepes.   You should make reservations at least 2-3 days beforehand,  don’t count on walking in.  Unfortunately however,  on the day of my visit the base buckwheat base for the Galettes de Sarrasin was too hard and had too little buckwheat taste,  I have had slightly better.  (Then again, the finer grades of the Buckwheat Soba noodles in Japan also have less buckwheat taste when they only eat the core bits,  so it doesn’t mean I am right in my own preference.)



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Fougeraise Galette, 
"La Coglaise" Andouille Chitterling sausage, 
with Bordier Farmhouse Creme Fraiche mixed Mustard Sauce - €11,80
The chitterling sausage in this cross-section guise seemed packed together than rounded in appearance.  The taste is NOT strong.  It will suit those who dislike pig organs smell and uric acid.   I am somewhere in between however so I found this too weak.   The buckwheat crepe likewise,  was too hard and eating this made my jaws fell sore after a few bites just like eating too many stale nachos.   The buckwheat flavour was also very weak.  A little disappointed overall ~  6.9/10

Carrement Sarrasin - €7,50
Buckwheat Crepe (sweet),  Buckwheat Honey,  with Buckwheat Ice Cream.  
The trifecta combo of buckwheats,  and the first time I have eaten a buckwheat crepe as a dessert dish.   Unfortunately once again,  the crepe was too hard and also missing buckwheat flavour.  The Buckwheat honey fared better,  and also the ice-cream.   In the end I thought this sounded more promising than it delivered in the flavours.    ~  7/10

Bordier Salted Caramel -
Wish I could carry these back to my friends,  but don’t think they will last before they melt away.  Actually quite good indeed.  But I think I have had better at say Caprice or Jacques Genin or somewhere else...    ~  7/10

Salted Caramel Butter by Bordier -
It is quite good indeed,  actually I liked this better than the above Salted Caramel candy itself.  I can so buy a plain crepe and spread this on top.  Or put it into a toasted sandwich !

Francois Sehedic Apple Cider from Fouesnant, Brittany -  €12,50
This is of the drier,  almost farm house like style.   Very utterly good and more concentrated than the Gold Medal winning bottle Cidre Fermier du Pays de Broceliande I drank at Creperie Suzette,   real artisanal stuff and worth the price tag.   ~   9/10  


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Overall was very slightly disappointed with the execution of the Sarrasin buckwheat crepes here as they were quite hard but not having much buckwheat taste either, unlike my favourite Josselin.   3 out of 5

A famous Crepe street on Rue du Montparnasse,  there weren’t so many Asian faces that I had come to anticipate compared to the likes of Laduree or Angelina.    As someone who has a crepe fetish,  I have imprinted this street into my mind as the 1st place to visit if I long for crepes in Paris although I always suspected  it to be also touristy,  hence sometimes I did try out creperies in other areas for cross comparison.   This street is closer to the Edgar Quinet Metro station than the similarly named Montparnasse Bienvenue.    A train ride to Brittany or Normandy for good creperies meanwhile might only be a few hours away,  but it is always exciting to see so many Creperies all occupying the same street!  

Paris locals might know of better Creperies in the more suburban areas, and if you do please do leave me a comment so I can work out where to visit next time around!    In the mean time,  this was another visit to Creperie de Josselin after skipping it the last time just like I deliberately skipped La Maison Angelina before a 2nd revisit.   After all quota is limited.   This time I was back with a mission and in fact Josselin was the first creperie I have ever visited in Paris years ago.  Upon this revisit I really want to compare the best creperies I have eaten so far in Hong Kong, France and Australia or elsewhere and settle it once and for all!


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Couple Andouille de Guemene - €9,40
2 separate Layers of buckwheat pancakes are wrapped around this amazing pig tripes sausage!  2 Layered crepes are popular here but so far I have never seen it outside France.  The galette de sarrasin base texture was really great with bites of Buckwheat and aroma, was edge crispy but not tough.  Can’t foresee this getting any better.  Absolutely to die for level.  Amazing.   ~  12/10

Maraichere -  with Spinach, Fried Egg, Lard Bacon, Fromage Cheese, Crème - €9,30
One of the signatures at Josselin.  This was simply sublime once again.  I can’t rave enough about it.  The presentation of the food is not that attractive here,  not exactly neat but this is just so Creperie de Josselin style.   To me,  the taste is more important and the galette crepes here I ate on that night were just simply unbeatable.   Personally I would rate here over >  La Creperie (Hong Kong) >  Breizh Café(Paris).   The latter was the most promising,  but that visit didn’t deliver in taste.  Whereas La Creperie HK is inconsistent but as good as Paris creperies if not better.  Josselin meanwhile looked the most normal and sterile but tasted easily the best!  ~  10/10 

One of the oldest institutions in Paris’s Haute Cuisine fine dining scene,  I locked in this restaurant to visit and after a 2nd try was finally granted my wish.   After consulting friends and foodies who visit Parisfrequently,  it was interesting many of them also mentioned 2 Starred Le Cinq as the place to be at.   I definitely had that on my agenda as it has a sister restaurant in Caprice in Hong Kong,  but after visiting the highly regarded Paris (Le Meurice ***) last trip around,  and on a later trip trying out the controversial Japanese-inspired  (Sur Mesure by Thierry Marx **) plus previous places before my time of taking food pics,  I decided to trust my instinct and give Ledoyen a chance as I had a feeling it is old school yet also silently reinventing the Parisian  dining trend! [IMG http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HkBOcyFydkk/UKyHEpseyPI/AAAAAAAAU3U/z47bKiegKSo/wlEmoticon-Inlove%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800]  I have got to say this meal by Chef Christian Le Squer was simply perfect from start to the end,  there was a weighted balance between sensibility,  classiness, execution, taste and meal planning  – having tried out some of the fussiestrestaurants in Europe before here or after,  I really enjoyed this French Classical style dining with a modern mentality.

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Amuse Bouches of Campari and Orange Ginger Bubble,  Comte Cheese Puff with Cepe Mushrooms, Bruleed Foie Gras with Raspberry Sandwich,  Vegetable Roll with Poppyseed..
They look good and they tasted equally great.  I especially liked the spoon of Campari with Orange Ginger bubble as it was so appetizing and I was told to eat from this order.   ~  10/10
 
Au Bon Beurre -
The bread offerings were expectedly great,  you can count on it when eating in France but forget it when you eat in HK except for places like Caprice and Petrus, or Robuchon Macau.  I thought a previous butter encounter at equally 3 Starred Le Meurice was  already the bomb, yet this was less cowy but more sophisticated in finish.  I asked the maître d' who makes their butter here?  He showed a big shock on his face and explained it’s just normal Au Bon Beurre from a local farm associated with the restaurant naturally...  If I could just get such great quality produce butter at my disposal >.<   Crazy good  ~  12/10

Beef Jelly Consomme and Horseradish Granite,  Peas and Beef Mince -
For summer, another lovely starter and quite intense.    

Grosses Langoustines Bretonnes, Emulsion d’agrumes -
Blanched Brittany Langoustine with Citrus of Lemon, Orange and Grapefruit, Coriander & Olive Oil Emulsion.  2nd half of Langoustine  encased in a fried Kataifi pastry.  With Seaweed crisp and Jelly beneath.   I really liked this dish for balance and perfect execution.   

Ris de Veau en Brochette de bois de Citronnelle Rissolee,  Jus d’herbes -
Another signature at Ledoyen,  this is the best Sweetbread I have ever had in my life by far.  It was covered in a Sweetbread Crumb,  brochetted with 2 lemongrass stalks,  and served with a herbs sauce and Broad Fava beans and Peas.  Cooked perfectly just barely under well-done and for once I could actually taste the organ too.  And this was huge!  This was only half portion and it was fist sized already.  Didn’t know Sweetbread organ can be presented so huge lol!

Mignardises - 
I find that in Europe Mignardises are not confused with Petits Fours, which come after the meal with coffee. This was served on an edible Meringue plate.

Campari Dill and Basil Croustillant,  Citrus Sorbet,  Grapefruit marinated in Honey & Lemon Juice,  Confit Pink Grapefruit -
I will be lying if I said this wasn’t once again a foodgasm level dessert.   This was just so right..

 
.... to be continued 

   This boulagerie shop in Montmartre near Sacre Coeur has won a 1st Prize for both their Baguettes as well as their Croissants in Paris.  The shop has roughly 30 outlets in Europe all the way to Tokyo.   The locals who live in this area and queuing in line with me told me excitedly that this IS the best shop in Paris when it comes to traditional sourdough breads and the same applies to their other pastries and tarts.    Since everyone is born different,  I will just write it as I discovered it myself.  

- Those Apricot,  Pear or Apple tarts,
just look superb -

- Kouing Amang -
*Kouign Amann,  to be precise and what I think they have meant to type..   

- Paris Award Winning Croissant -
This looked too pale in colours, right?  At that very moment,  I was thinking,  I am getting duped again with all these marketing fanfares and lies…  But the proof is in the pudding, and once I bit in I knew I was in for a home base run of a viennoserie.    The pastry layers literally bursted into a million shards as soon as I clamped my teeth together against the pastry,  the sound it made was completely new to me.  It was just educational.  The pale colour of the croissant was very deceiving indeed,  and they probably deliberately under-baked it knowing that the customer might re-heat it in the oven.  This was just so amazing and no wonder it has won the 1st Prize for the best croissant in town.  If only it was more browned by default,  but understandable from shop’s point of view.     ~  9/10 

- Citron Tart -
The shop highly recommended this.   The pate sucree crust was more on the softer side, and a plastic fork will cut through it easily like butter unlike many places which are more too hard crusty!  The citrus curd was quite tangy and had a very lime-like taste which really awakened your senses,  it was really refreshing and also both sour and sweet simultaneously.  Liked this ~  but probably think this was a little too pedestrian like to be artisanal and slightly too sweet in the background.   ~  7.5/10