Café du Marché, Ladurée, Les Deux Magots, and more Ladurée
- By Robyn Lee
- Oct 21, 2006
- Comments
"Time to go to bed?" asked my mum.
"Are you kidding me? It's 11:30," I replied in a low, lethargic drone. That's how I sound when I feel unexcited—the auditory equivalent of mud.
"You're not going anywhere tonight?" I give an internal sigh.
"Uh...I don't usually go out at night."
"That's good," my mum says approvingly.
"Well, it's not really because I want to stay home. I just don't have anywhere to go."
I don't remember what she said after that. Calls to my mum are infrequent because 1) I don't miss her to death (although I love her, of course) and 2) I don't have much to talk about. At some point I did mention I got a root canal (oh, by the way, I got a root canal on Wednesday and it took about 15 minutes. Are they always that fast or are French doctors extremel efficient?), to which she informed me that root canals are associated with heart disease and perhaps a whole slew of health problems that are probably already in my future considering the way I eat.
- macaron a la pistache
Macarons aren't the source of all health problems, but they're sure as hell not making me any healthier considering how many of them I eat. Whaaaatever. If eating macarons and other tasty things are among the most self-destructive things I've done in my life, then it's safe to say that my life is pretty boring.
fooding with Lori
As soon as I said goodbye to one of my French classmates (as in, a classmate from my French class, not a classmate who is French) near the La Tour-Maubourg metro stop, a voice popped up from behind me.
"Oh my god ARE YOU ROBYN?"
I turned my head and was immediately embraced in a nearly body-slamming hug by the energetic, bubbly, infamously dessert obsessed and superbly awesome Lori. Of course, we planned to meet; otherwise the chances of a food blogger from NYC and a food blogger from Manila meeting in Paris would be kind of slim.
- Yes, I love my jacket
I took Lori away from her loving husband and sister in search of food. Hehehehe. As though we'd do anything else. Not that I thought I would feel differently, but I automatically felt comfortable in Lori's presence. Some people just do that to you. You click. No one has to think about what to say; the words naturally tumble out of your mouths. No awkward pauses. No thoughts of, "WTF do I do now?" I find it especially grafitying to be in situations like that as someone who feels awkward 99% of the time and has yet to understand the fine points of being social and whatever skills I should've picked up by now after two decades of fairly stable brain function.
- Cafe du Marche
After walking around the area (me feeling disappointed that JP Hevin was closed), we ate at Café du Marché on rue Cler, as recommended by Jade. After speaking rudimentary French, we were given menus in English. I've heard warnings about eating at places with English menus, but when the menu is obviously the same as the French menu (which was written on a board near the entrance), it doesn't make a difference. Confit de canard does sound a lot better than "fried duck" though.
- Confit de canard
The English description—"fried duck served with saute potatoes & green salad"—forgot a major component: garlic. Lots of it. Enough to sting your mucus membranes. Aside from the salad, garlic had impenetrated every part of my dish. Thankfully, I like garlic and I've found that as long as you're not eating it straight, which might kill a few sensory nerves, the more the merrier.
- innards
I may had been lucky with my experience eating confit de canard, but...does it always taste this good? Is the skin always so perfect crisp and fat-oozy at the same time? Is the meat always so fork tender and flavorful? (It may look dry in the photo, but it didn't taste that way.) I grew up with a preference for most other meats over duck since dark meat tends to make my mouth unhappy and I usually fail at eating anything off a bone, but duck doesn't usually taste like this! AND NOW I CRAVE DUCK. MM, DUCKIES.
The potatoes (not too oily, soft, impregnated by garlic essence) and salad (lettuce and...lettuce) were also excellent. But ye know, it was all about the duckie.
- salad
Lori went with a salad while I feasted on my fat-oozy duck. Her salad was more than just lettuce. Think of a salad bar. But much better. In a bowl. The liver pate (you know, your common salad component) was definitely the high point. This stuff has a creamy, melting quotient that few other foodstuffs could attain, although if I had to compare it to something I'd go with savory butter or buttery frosting...which I guess makes sense since those things are mainly fat. Foie gras cupcake, anyone? [rubs belly]
If the prospect of great food isn't enticing enough, it may help to know that my dish was only 10.50 € and Lori's 9.50 €. We were happilly stuffed.
Of course, we weren't so stuffed that we couldn't eat a little something extra after dinner. Don't you know that dinner isn't finished until you pile something sweet on top of the mass of pre-digested matter thats already in your stomach? That's my philosophy. No, I don't intend to live for very long.
- tarte tatin
We went to La Tour-Maubourg cafe opposite the La Tour-Maubourg metro station for dessert. Lori sensibly sipped on coffee while I chomped on a tarte tatin with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was enjoyable, although nothing to write home about. The creamy, flavorful vanilla bean-specked vanilla ice cream was more memorable. Then again, we weren't just there to eat, but to do that thing called "engage in conversation"; I heard it's all the rage with humans these days.
The way that Lori gets excited by food and anything else for that matter reminds me of...myself (my god, I hope that doesn't mean I would enjoy talking to myself). But more articulate. And more outgoing. And more [insert other good things]. More approachable, perhaps. During our post-dinner meal outside the cafe, an American man who was traveling around Europe along started chatting with us from a neighboring table. He didn't seem creepy or anything, but I had no natural tendency to talk to a stranger and it showed. Lori noticed an immediate change in my composure, most apparent by my attempt to occupy myself by drinking as much water as I could without drowning (well, you can't overdose on a carafe). I didn't really notice it until while walking to the metro she told me that she was worried I would start floating.
I'll admit that I didn't feel comfortable. My main though was, "How can I talk to Lori if we're talking to this other guy?" Maybe that's selfish. Well...I am selfish. And I don't have the brain capacity to have a conversation with two people at the same about different things or have one conversation interrupted by having to talk to someone else. This is all in addition to the main problem, which is the inability to come up with topics to talk about in the first place. Oops.
It's a lot easier to pretend to be comfortable online than in real life. Maybe that's why I succeed more with making contacts online. Oh well.
afternoon snack-age at Ladurée
I met up with Lori, her husband Bin and her sister Charly at Ladurée on the Champs-Elysees on Thursday afternoon to snack on hot chocolate and beautiful pastries. You know, just a little goûter, although by little I mean in size, not calories.
- oh yeaaah
This is how it should always be. We made our own little Ladurée buffet by putting our plates in the middle of the table and thus quadrupling the sensory overload. Want a closer look? OKAY.
- Millefeuille confiture Fruit Rouges
Millefeuille confiture Fruit Rouges: Caramelized puff pastry, light vanilla muslin cream, red fruit jam, whipped cream
Bin's choice. Although I don't like millefeille that much in general, I doubt many places make it as well as Laduree. It's beautifully constructed and thankfully tastes as good as it looks. To best eat the combination of fragile, crispy layers of pastry alternated with cream with the least amount of structural damage you should pretend you're trying to cleanly murder someone with a deadly heart pokage and give it a good, solid stab. Make a battle cry if it helps: "WAHRHARH" [stab]. Sorry I can't describe the taste, but I can't do any better than the descriptions from Laduree's menu.
- Millfeuille praline
Millfeuille praline: Caramelized puff pastry, praline cream, almond pralines and crispy hazelnuts
Charly's choice. She was the one who recommended the millefeuille; she clearly knows her stuff. I liked this more than the fruit jam millefeuille since I prefer nutty desserts to fruity ones. More stabbing, more yum.
- Elysee
Elysee: Cocoa "succes" biscuit, crispy praline, thin crispy chocolate leaves pure origin of Madagascar, smooth chocolate cream, chocolate zabaglione mousse, chocolate biscuit and cocoa soaked in cocoa syrup
Lori's choice. Holy bucket of penguin joy, this was amazing. Thin chocolatele layer on top, mooshed into a few layers of different kinds of chocolate creamy mousse stuff, mooshed into a light hazelnut studded biscuit. The delicate layering of rich components deceptively gives you the feeling that you didn't just eat a forkful of chocolate and dairy in different harmonious combinations. We compared it to a Ferrero Rocher in a larger and tastier cake form. If you don't enjoy this, something is seriously wrong with you. Sorry.
- Tarte Tatin
Tarte Tatin: Puff pastry, crystallized caramel flavoured apples, served with cream
And lastly, my choice. Yes, I said I didn't like fruit-based desserts as much as ones with nuts, and I just had a tarte tatin a few days before, but I wanted to focus on something simple and see how well they did it, kind of like why I eat so many pain au chocolats and baguettes (actually, that's probably just because they're cheap and I find them insanely delicious). Although you can see the individual apple pieces, they had been baked to nearly the consistency of apple sauce and had almost turned transluscent. Each slightly tart and caramelized bite of baked apple filled my mouth with warmth and subtle yet clear flavors of...apple. And tartness. And the greatness of sugars heated until they turn brown. All that lay underneath the mound of soft apples was a round of delicate puff pastry whose crispiness rang so true, despite being topped by something the opposite of crispy, that you could taste the layer-age.
A general observation I would make about all the pastries we ate was that they managed to combine oppositional textures without any one muddying up another so that the eater can experience multiple sensations in one bite. Combinging the desireable textures of crispiness and creaminess could result in the not so desireable texture of mushiness, but Laduree knows what they're doing. The hard-soft combination is what I love about crunchy crusted baguettes with soft innards or explains why I used to stuff potato chips in my sandwiches. I want the best of both worlds.
- hot chocolate
...Unless I'm drinking Chocolat chaud, in which case I just want richness, smoothness and chocolate overload-ness. Laduree's hot chocolate isn't too sweet nor bitter, is loaded with chocolate-ness and its thickness level, while moderate when it's hot, could coat your stomach after it cools down. Basically, it's really good and its smooth flavor lends itself to chugability. (You're damn right I'd chug this.) It's definitely worth trying if you like hot chocolate, but if I went back to Laduree I think I'd spend the hot chocolate money on another dessert and just stick to my carafe d'eau for liquid replenishment.
- all gone
I wish I could've stayed with them longer, but I had to go to French class. [sigh] (Stupid school, trying to teach me at inconvenient times. The nerve! Whether I actually learn much from that French class is debatable, as we're only on lesson three after so many weeks of class. OH WELL.) While rushing to the metro I wished I had come up with better good-byes to say to an awesomely unique friend who I probably won't see for a while. My brain was unfortunately kind of comatose at the time. You can count on me being comatose the majority of my waking hours.
Lori's destiny is to come to NYC so I can drag her to a gazillion of my favorite places and we can gleefully attack foodstuffs with our mouths and cameras in unison. I might allow her to do other things, but...IT'S DESTINY, DESTINY I TELL YA! Lori, don't let me down. :)
Les Deux Magots and Ladurée...again
- Les Deux Magots
I met up with Adelyn last Sunday at Les Deux Magots, the famous hangout for intellectuals and writers in the early 20th century that is today a good place to find American tourists like us, for a day of food, more food, aimless wandering and a movie (The Science of Sleep, as mentioned in my previous entry). Adelyn is a fellow blog reader who just happened to come to Paris this month for film school. I was the first online person she had met in real life (I've been the "first" for a few people, methinks) and hopefully passed the test of "non-crazy Internet person". At least not conventionally crazy.
- drinkies
Adelyn ordered coffee while I unsurprisingly went for the hot chocolate. I had heard good things about the hot chocolate, but it didn't do much for me. Needed more...chocolate. More thickness. More something. Although it was above average, it didn't have enough oomph for me to put it on a "must ingest again" list. Ah well.
- salad
Since the food was kind of pricey and nothing jumped out at us while screaming "EAT ME", we ate conservatively. Adelyn got a simple green salad. Nothing wrong with it. Mm, good ol lettuce.
- croque monsieur
My croque monsieur (think of an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich with ham) was perfectly fine. Nothing relevatory, but it's hard to go wrong with crunchy toast, melted cheese and thick slices of juicy ham. (Lori gave me a restaurant recommendation for awesome croque monsieurs. You bet I'm gonna get my bum over there and load up on cheesified bread.)
If I were more into sitting outside and staring at people walk by while chatting with a friend, I guess I'd enjoy going to cafes like Les Deux Magots more. However, this common Parisian activity isn't something I've picked up yet. I have nothing against sitting and sitting outside and staring at people walk by while chatting with a friend, but if I'm not eating something awesome, I would be just as happy sitting on a public bench.
- Yes, Ladurée!
You don't plan to go to Ladurée twice in a six day period; it just happens. It was only a short walk from Les Deux Magots and, holy shizzle, actually opens on Sunday. Macaron action, here we come!
- whole, chomped
Yup, the rose macarons is pretty awesome. Once again, I fail at describing the taste of it besides that it tastes kinda like rose. It's not exactly floral, more of a sweet, pleasant taste that is hard to identify. Perhaps eating five at once would help me get a better idea of the flavor. Yes, eating larger quantities is always the answer.
I noticed that Ladurée's cream is unique in the realm of macaron innards in that it's soft, light, and sweet, but not airy or sticky. It feels somewhat...clean. Like I could eat a tub of it and it would just pass through my system. Or not.
I had to try a large macaron, which I obtained by making silly hand gestures and finally just saying "grosse", which to my understanding isn't right since macaron is masculine. I'm an example of how not to speak French.
- praline macaron
Anyhoo, larger macarons allow for more taste savouring and enjoyment and for 3.40 € it's not a bad deal. Laduree excels at the optimal filling-to-cookie ratio, which looks about 1:1. Nothing was too light or heavy, dry or moist. If it had a little more flavor, I'd be more likely to label it as perfect. However, these macarons (or any macarons) aren't really on my dream food list. I just...really like them. And prefer to eat them multiple times a week. Not obsessed, not at all.
- religieuse à la rose
Adelyn also went for a non-macaron dessert. Her description of the religieuse à la rose is "It's actually a sort of puff pastry with cream filling and massive raspberry chucks...not exactly deserving the "religious experience" title but not all together bad either." I doubt I would've enjoyed this much since eating choux pastry tends to make me wish I were eating anything else (maybe I've just had really bad experiences with choux pastry), but I'd think that if you were going to get a good religieuse anywhere, Ladurée would be a safe bet.
Adelyn is an awesome person to hang out with. We are awkwardness...squared! We might eat out this weekend. A few times. Aren't I such a good influence? But could you imagine what would happen if Lori actually lived here? We'd probably eat until our important organs exploded.
I ate more stuff in the past week, but I think you have enough eye candy for now. Think baguettes. Lots of em. My waistline is expanding and there is no sign of sensible eating in sight. My future is full of doom.
Man, I'm too tired to think of a good way to end this entry. Sorry. It's about 1 PM and I'm still in my pajama's for god's sake. It's a common occurence in my life.
addresses and stuff
Café du Marché
38 rue Cler, 7th
Metro: Ecole Militaire (8)
La Tour Maubourg Cafe/Brasserie
Corner of rue de Grenelle and Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg
Metro: La Tour-Maubourg (8)
Ladurée
75, av Champs Elysées, 8th
Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt (1, 9)
Les Deux Magots
6 place Saint Germain des Prés, 6th
Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés (4), Mabillon (10)
Ladurée
21 rue Bonaparte, 6th
Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés (4), Mabillon (10)
Comments
Macarons, like chocolate, are a source of happiness. ;)
The Massive Praline Macarons look awesome, source of double happiness?
What?! You met Lori? That's so awesome crazy - my stomach is growling with envy. Aw man, that's so cool, I'm glad you guys had such a good time :) I'm coming to nyc next week but you won't be there!!! gah. I'll go eat piggy pudding and clinton st. pancakes BY MYSELF then! PS, I think you may be able to sample all the macarons of Paris by the end of the semester - you'll be macaron master!!! :)
"We are awkwardness...squared!" <-- yessss, brilliant! hilarious. i'm out for that soiree that i'm due for...ugh! looking forward to more entries on our food escapades! tomorrow! woohoo!
OMG! The desserts you had with Lori and her family looks fabulously delicious and drool worthy!
Confit de canard is technically duck cooked in its own fat, but it still means in a way, fried duck.
I have to say, that rose macaron looks a little odd. Especially the fact that it's a bright neon pink cookie.
Wow, to live/study in Paris I would die from gluttony, if I ever went there. But heck, le savoir vivre!
I actually found your blog through Lori's first, because I was looking for pictures of dessert to show my host family (that, and I'm secretly addicted to food porn). I'm so happy you two got to meet up in real life! It's too bad you both can't travel through other places in Europe and sample the pastries. By the way, my friend lived in Italy last year around this time, and she said that she made a trip to Switzerland once for a chocolate festival. Now that you're meeting more people, you should find out what's going on with that, and take a field trip to eat chocolate!
really enjoy your macarons post! i'm from singapore and there's only 2 bakeries i know of that sell macarons on our tiny island.. yeah its that sad!
Religieuse actually means nun -- those pastries are called so because supposedly they look like little nuns. It works better with the chocolate ones, because who ever heard of a pink nun? And they don't usually have the weird cream teeth. I don't know how else to describe it.
Les Deux Magots = not known for the food.
Oh and, confit de canard? Yes, it's really that good. Although, my big problem with duck is that everyone always wants to serve it with sweet sauces -- plum, orange, etc. And, maybe this will sound crazy to you, but I can't stand sweet food in a main course. Dessert only! (I also hate sweet and sour soup.) So I'm always on the lookout for restaurants that serve savory duck -- I may have to try this one!
Ivan: Haha...I think it's more like a normal sized macaron is half hapinnes and a large one is FULL happiness. I always feel a bit unfulfilled eating the small ones. :(
Kathy: You'd love Lori! (And vice versa.) If the three of us ate out, I don't wanna know what would happen...like some kind of explosion fo combined excitement for sweets.
Piggy pudding! Ahh! Pancakes! Eeaah! I'll share em in spirit!
Tina: Mm, duck cooked in its own fat. I guess they didn't want to write that on the menu, haha! But that does sound really good, uh huh.
The colors are kind of intense. I wonder what it would look like without the intense pink...just white I guess?
Miranda: Oh man, a European pastry tour would be so awesome. [dreams] Maybe I can do that in the future. Far..far away future. Rawr.
WHoaa CHOCOLAT FESTIVAL HOLY CRAP WHERE [googles]...okay it's not easy to google chocolate festival and Switzerland; I mainly get chocolate makers. Hm. Well. Maybe I can go to a chocolate show in Switzerland in the future too. Mraah.
cherelle: 2 bakeries are better than none! :) We just need to spread the word, and then maybe people will make mooore.
amy: They look like nuns? [squints] Malformed nuns? With...yes, cream teeth?
I knew LDM wasn't known for food, but I was hungry. And they have a menu. Raaawr. The thing I read about it said to just get something to drink, but even I want more than hot chocolate for lunch...(wait I should rethink that)...
I don't mind sweet sauces, but I'd rather not mix sweet and savory. However, I'd be find eating pastries for dinner!
Really great post here. I envy the duck, but I love duck with read wine sauce (with cranberries or chestnuts). When I was younger I never liked the sweet sauces or condiments that are served to a lot of food. Here we serve some jams (lingon berries!) with game. Now I love it, but it just clashed before. Weird to think of, really. Tastes change a lot as you get older.
Oh, and I went to Petter's spider-exhibit at the Aquarium yesterday. It was great. Particularly the fact that you could eat you way through the entire Aquarium for free! I had mussels, russian giant crab (what are they called in English, anyway?), scallops, shrimp, crayfish, crabs, fish cakes (some that were chosen as the best fish cakes in Norway last year), several forms of free sushi and a few different dishes that the chefs in the annual Best Seafood Chef competition made. One which was boring, one which was good, and one which was amazing. All from the same fish! Damn, cooks really do matter.
Oh, and food.
Oh, and I've run out of coffee. On a sunday! *sob*
Cool! You met Lori! Yes, she is tres cool!
If you ever go to Pierre Herme, pls have a macaron for me!
jenn
- manila
Gahhhhh!
All day now I'm going to have the KIZZ song "Lick it UP" stuck in my head after seeing the picture entitled "all gone" from the Ladure'e photo set.
That "TART TATIN" is the ROXOR \m/ \m/
I hope you guy's cleaned those plates off.
*Can't wait 'til I taste your butter
I'm just be glad for the time together
Your such a treat and it's time I taste you
There ain't a reason on earth I'd waste you
It ain't a crime to be good to myself
Chorus:
Lick it up, lick it up, it's only right now
Lick it up, lick it up, ooh yeah
Lick it up, lick it up, come on, come on
Lick it up, lick it up
Don't need to wait for an invitation
I've gotta live like I'm on vacation
There's something sweet I can buy with money -
lick it up, lick it up
It's all I need, so believe me honey
It ain't a crime to be good to myself
chorus
Come on - it's only right now (it's only right now)
Ooh yeah (ooh yeah) ooh yeah (ooh yeah), yeah
*not quite the actual lyrics
rEd
speaking of chocolate festivals, when I was in Perguina in Italy, (the city that is home to the Baci factory) there's apparently a chocolate parade every year for a week in October, and chocolate spews out of the fountains. No joke. Unfortunately, I was there in August.
Beautiful pictures, as usual. Mille fueille looks lovely . . I have an urge to stab it.
I ate at Dona (very close to Buttercup Bake Shop) and in midtown with my family last night for my dads birthday, Micheal Caine and Roger Moore were at the table next to mine. pretty sick, as I never see famous people.
Can't wait for more baguette shots!
Made ya a little something over at YouTube. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oYPrkXLj_k
rEd
That last one is a pastry? For reals? Oh my god. That's one kickass pastry. If they made pastries like that all the time we'd finally achieve world peace. All we need to do is to catapult pastries into Third World countries and they'd all die of sugar seizures.
"Fois gras cupcakes." I can't get the words out of my mind.
As usual, a wonderful post, and I'm pleased to see your successful internet friendship file expand once again! I am very much enjoying my vicarious trip to Paris - merci!
Oh Robyn, so glad you met Lori in person, plus had such amazing food with her and her family. She's a great person to eat with. Hopefully you can visit Manila soon (hey, a graduation present?) and we can take turns feeding you (like a giant baby in swaddling clothes? HA!).
A good number of food bloggers here are going to be at a EB party in November, we'll think of you and wish you could be here.
Oy, Robin! Am back home in Manila, but the memories of our eating trips still lingers. Man, I can still taste that hot chocolate. Haunting. I'm set to post about our meeting up, phenomenal wasn't it? Am SO GLAD to have met you. Like you said to me, I'll echo it back to you, "Thanks for being awesome!"
So whenever I comment on your entries I have to limit myself to ONE FOOD ITEM or I'd write a comment as long as your post.
So... OK.
A+ for getting a rose-flavored macaron, I love rose-flavored things. I have a delicious rose tea I got at Harrods in London. It's like drinking a rose... and tea.
The pictures are all pretty awesome. :D And it's great you got to meet some of your internet contacts while you're over there.
The rose macarons were so... pinky, lol. Can't find a better word.
And that last picture reminded me of a wedding cake. Seriously. WOW. That was a gorgeous pastry. It looks so perfect that I'd probably admire it before I ate it. :)
that opening shot of a macaron a la pistache looks exactekedkedly like the one I got at a Brit Paul and your phone failed to receive through SMS !!
(useless post of the day)
jenn: Not just tres cool, tres SUPER COOL! (And I say soo-pair kuhl!...something like that.)
I will eat more than one macaron for you! Haha.
red: Holy crap. I'm mildly frightened, but also honored that you'd go through the trouble of making a slideshow to better illustrate what you were talking about...since I would've otherwise had no idea what that song sounded like. Which may have been a good thing; I'm not sure. ;D
susannah: CHOCOLATE PARADE! Oh my god. I would be all over that.
Whoa, that's quite a celebrity sighting there! I've rarely ever seen celebrities in NYC, at least no one insanely famous. However, I'm very unobservant, so I may have been within sight of famous people and not known it. That's probably what would've happened if I ate with you. ;P
Ooh I ate a baguette today without photo-ing it. Evil!
Adalmin: It's fo' REALZ!
I hope they wouldn't REALLY die of sugar seizures...although at least the last moments of life would be uber tasty...
Marsha: When you say you can't get it out of your mind, do you mean because it sounds so good or beacuse it sounds so offensively horrible? A foie gras cupcake kinda makes my stomach churn, hehe.
Mila: Going to Manila would be a pretty awesome present. And I wouldn't have to find lodging, eh? JUST HOP AROUND PEOPLE'S HOMES! Not annoying to them at all! Yeah! Haha!
Giant baby, that is what I am. Sounds good to me!
I may not be thinking hard enough, but EB is...uh...muhwuh?
Lori: Woohoo, I can't wait to read your post! Then I will know what you REALLY think about me...[ahem]...just kidding. :) Yay, awesomes!
Ilana: Tea tastes like dirty water!
...Sorry, that's just my opinion. I have issues with tea. (sigh) Rose tea sounds like it would be nice! I'll try it if I get the chance.
Daisy: It is wedding cake-esque. It even has one of those silly silver ball things that NO ONE CAN EAT. Boy, I love those! Uh.
sophie: Argh, my phone! So useless, it won't even receive photos.
I saw this article today and thought of you (beware the microwaves!)
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005268790
Bonjour RObyn!
Yeah, Lori rocks. She also surprised me with a lovely box full of Laduree's macarons. Heaven, I say! Heaven!
I was so touched by her gift.
Robyn, quand est-ce que tu venir a Manila? Ce sera un plaisir de te rencontrer et de t'apporter autour avec Lori pour une aventure de nourriture!
Yeah, yeah, I know. My french is rusty! Ha Ha Ha!
But you get the gist
A bientot!
jenn
SCALA
Yes, I like your jacket, too!
I am sad because I've never known the joy that is the macaron. You can't get them where I live. Sadness.
And Robyn, dude, stop apologizing for your non-food rambles! This is your blog and you can write about whatever you want to.
Also, you sound like an introvert, which is a fine thing to be (I should know!), so don't torture yourself too much over the not-fitting-in-ness. It's easier for some than others.
Not that you needed to hear it from a stranger, but I think you're getting a lot more out of Paris than some students do. Enjoy yourself and eat a macaron or three for me, okay?
Halo. I was just searching more information on the bakery my friend suggested me to go, "Ladurée." I am currrently studying abroad in Paris for the quarter. Wow. I think you might be also doing that as well. I love your blog. Now, I have to try the places you suggest. Hopefully, they are not too expensive. Do you know that this weekend, "Salon du chocola" is opening in Paris, Porte de Versailles. Visit http://www.chocoland.com/home.php?titre=1&id_code=13&cat=1&sscat=
Definitely go check it out. BTW, I love the fact that linked to your blog and saw those pictures. Luv it.
you can't believe how great it is to read your blog if you're just back from a short trip to Paris, really wanted to stay there and are really grumpy and depressed...
best remedy so far...(!)
I’ve written as well a little something (more is coming...) about the best city ever on my blog if you want to read it...
and you can’t believe how bizarre - I went in these 3 days as well to Laduree (of course) and ordered also the tarte tatin and Elysee! (only your pics are looking a whole lot better - it was for dessert after dining there - champs elysee - and the light was - how shall I put it...- really crappy. =)
well, I am going to be a little more depressed some where else now...
see ya!
have you tried pierre herme? they have great desserts too. address: 72 rue bonaparte. i tried a pistache macaron at laduree but found it a tad too sweet for my taste.
How fun! It's so great you both got to meet and spend some time together over such wonderful food. I've had the pleasure of meeting Lori a couple of times over food and she is one cheerful, fun and interesting woman. :) Hey, come to Manila, you won't annoy me. You can hop on and off my couch all you want. hehe
Hey Robyn, glad that you met Robyn. Guess you've noticed, the girl has fans. (Myself included.)
EB = Eye Ball, meeting up with people you met online for the first time.
COME HERE ALREADY. It's unfair, if Lori goes to NYC then SHE GETS YOU ALL TO HERSELF. The girl has to share! :P
Robyn...you lucky girl! Lori told me (when we tried out this new restaurant in the place I work in) all about how easily you felt comfy with each other. The weird thing is, it seems that as long as both or three parties are foodies, conversation flows and awkward moments are far and few in between.
Anyhoo, this is an offside topic, but I'm getting a root canal on my second molar tomorrow. I'm scared to death and am in so much pain. I wonder if it's going to hurt as bad as I imagine it...
The 'millefeuille' desserts look yummy. (What we always used to call Napleons back in the US). Have you tried the 'millefeuille' yet at Le Dome? Like you described the cream inside the macarons, the Dome's 'millefeuille' tastes light and pure.