After an afternoon at the Louvre, the only possible thing we are in any shape to do is walk a little down the road from the hotel for dinner. You see, our eyes were bigger than our brains so we thought that we could see everything that we wanted to although we did see the Mona Lisa (along with it seems half of Paris), Vermeer’s “The Lacemaker”, Michaelangelo’s sculptures and Napoleon III’s apartment (crazy gorgeous, especially the dining room). So we stumbled down the road from our hotel and that’s where we were welcomed warmly at Le Mesturet, a bistro serving traditional French food. It seems they’re used to overseas visitors, they ask us where we’re from and then smiling, hand us English menus. I get the feeling that they have a stash of other menus in a variety of languages.

Menu

For dinner, they have a menu formule: 2 courses for €19.50 or 3 courses for €25.50 and one is allowed to choose any of the dishes from the menu. We ask what is good and they point out what they’re known for. It’s hard to choose but we finally settle on the our selections, one that has our host worried, the Calves’ head. “Have you tried this before?” he asks hesitatingly. “No but we want to” we answer firmly. He laughs and says “Well I love this, it’s very good. It’s a Parisian only dish. Most chefs in Paris come from from all over but this one is originally from Paris itself. Tell me if you don’t like it though”. We promise to.

Amuse Bouche-pork and egg omelette

We pop in some of the complimentary appetisers, a pork and egg omelette. It’s tasty, and we’re glad that we tried this as other tables received olives. The crunchy French bread arrives just before our entrees do.

House specialty: grilled eggplant, tomato and goat’s cheese from Artisanal cheesemaker Lethielleux

The eggplant salad is enormous for a starter and our eyes widen when it approaches the table. The eggplant is soft and the tomato and goat’s cheese good although this is a fairly safe dish and similar to one that we’ve had at home often.

Slowly simmered rabbit terrine

The rabbit terrine is lovely, full of rabbit meat and delicious with the toasted baguette. It doesn’t have that strong rabbit smell which I dislike and I am glad that we ordered this.

Slow cooked duck from the Jeansarthe farm, shredded, topped with a layer of puréed potato

The shredded duck “pie” topped with mashed potato is lovely and heady with a judicious amount of red wine added to it. We often find that red wine is often abused and overused in cooking but this has just the right amount added to it.

Tête de veau (calves’ head)

And of course the dish that you’ve been wanting to know about, the Tête de veau is soft and unctuous, simmered until fall apart soft. The meat and soft jelly like ring of fat is mild tasting and when the cornichon remoulade added, gives it that added extra. It’s said to be a favourite dish of Jacques Chirac and takes about 5 hours to cook and must be fully cooked (never undercooked) and allowed to cool completely once it has finished cooking, otherwise it will explode.

We desperately wanted to order the Baked Apricot and lavender dessert with violet ice cream but they’re out of Violet ice cream which was the component that really intrigued me. No matter anyway, we’re both stuffed from the delicious meal and hearty serves. We’re given a friendly farewell, if only we lived locally (we don’t!) this would be our local restaurant.

Le Mesturet

77 Rue de Richileu, 2nd arrondisement Paris
Open: Monday - Saturday 12pm-3pm, 7-10.30pm

Pierre Hermé needs no introduction to macaron lovers - I’ve yet to meet a food lover or blogger that doesn’t adore these delicate little sweet morsels from heaven. Interestingly, Pierre Hermé Paris stores began in Tokyo, where most things French will receive an appreciative audience. He has been called anything from “the Picasso of pastry ” (Vogue), “pastry provocateur” (Food & Wine), “an avant-garde pastry chef and a magician with tastes” (Paris-Match), “kitchen emperor” (New York Times), “The King of modern pâtisserie” (The Guardian). High praise indeed. So it was with curiousity and excitement that I visited the main store on the Rue de Bonaparte.

It seems that on the smallest and most inconspicuous of streets in Paris lies a treasure trove of fantastic artists or designers that specialise in food. Case in point, Pierre Hermé’s shop is on a smallish street, unannounced when you’d think they would be shouting it from the high rooftops of Paris. The only hint is the minimalist words “Pierre Hermé” and the crowd. And what a crowd it is, it’s a tight fit to get into this tiny little store, outfitted like a designer set from Ugly Betty where 5 men in designer black outfits behind the counter take your precious order. It’s a little extreme and makes me giggle, especially when I am served by a very serious young man with one of those Kylie Minogue stretch headbands. Even the staff at Louis Vuitton weren’t this serious.

Keeping in mind my splurge at Laduree the other day and for good measure, a parting reminder of it before he exits the crowded shop by my husband, I select comparatively few things. Just a Desire, a 2000 Feuilles and a selection of 7 macarons in a box. I could get them packed in a plastic bag but given that the counter guy has just tried to pick up three with his tongs only to have them crumble right in front of me, I ask for the box. It’s extra of course like all nice boxes here in Paris (grrr). I feel proud that I’ve only chosen a few things and my total is only €22.88.

2000 Feuilles €6.20

We don’t have long to go home and once we do I take them out of their boxes. As the weather was a warm 25 degrees today we have to act quickly, the 2000 Feuilles is on the verge of melting. In fact just seconds after the photos were taken, it collapsed. It doesn’t stop me from sticking my fork into it and plundering its many layers. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the pastry perfectly crispy despite the custard layers (how do they do this in Paris? Everywhere else it goes soggy) and the cream is a rich caramel cream with a chocolate crunch at the bottom. The bottom layer is brushed on the base with butter and sugar. The textures on this pastry are incredible and should you ever come face to face with this pastry, open your mouth and take a bite-I dare you to stop at just one forkful.

Desire €6.60

The Desire, a fitting name is a sponge filled with cream and raspberry jelly, a lovely light concoction but I have the feeling I should have chosen a more exotic offering.

Close up with focus on the Jasmin silver dusted macaron

Macarons 7 boxed for €10.00

The macarons are what made him famous so the flavours I tried were: Eden (Peach, saffron and apricot), Jasmin, Rose, caramel a la Fleur de Sel, Mosaic (Pistachio, cinnamon and griottines aka french morello cherries), grapefruit, Mogador (chocolate and passionfruit). The Eden with apricot is my definite favourite, it is so definitely apricot-ey followed by the delicate Jasmine and Mogador (chocolate and passionfruit). The trends for these gorgeous little things are edible metallic dusts, seen most distinctly on the Jasmin macaron.

I hate to be one of those people who always has a suggestion or always harks back to something “back home” but in Tokyo, one isn’t charged for getting something in a lovely box, and this box is also functional in that it preserves your goodies perfectly so that they can be consumed with both visual and palatable pleasure. There’s nothing worse than reaching home and finding that your food has been smashed to smithereens. It upsets me in fact, that I’ve paid a premium for something that looks perfect only to eat something that looks like it’s through the spin dryer. Another thing that they will also do in Tokyo, if you’ve got a long trip home, is put in a packet of dry ice which would have helped save the 2000 Feuilles should I have wanted to bring them to someone else’s house for dinner.

In any case, my husband, my very own Louis XIV, the man whose mantra is “quantity over quality” finds himself enraptured by the macarons. When someone brings up Pierre Hermé, he startles awake and says in a very impressed tone “that Pierre guy, he makes really good biscuits”.

Pierre Hermé

72 rue de Bonaparte, 6th arrondisement 75006 PARIS
Tel : +33 (1) 43 54 47 77
Open 7 days 10:00-19:00 (Saturdays open until 19:30)
http://www.pierreherme.com

I know that I’m basing a whole story on a single ice cream. But it’s no ordinary ice cream, believe me on this. It’s from Berthillon, a famed luxury ice cream maker whose flagship store is on my favourite place of all in Paris, the Île St Louis. This small connected island boasts some of the prettiest shops and streets, it’s like walking in a movie set. It seems that shopkeepers here have not been bitten by the rude bug like many others in Paris. Or maybe I’m so in love with the area that I don’t even notice. Berthillon is so good that they incredibly, shut their shop for 2 weeks in August during Summer and are closed on Mondays, although you can buy their ice cream from several stores on the Île Saint Louis and elsewhere that proudly display the Berthillon logo.

I will confess now that I am not a huge ice cream lover. Actually let me be more specific, I love ice cream but can only eat at best 1/4 or 1/3 of a scoop. Something stops me and I think “No, that’s enough”. That can probably save me from a future of obesity (ok my pastry addiction cancels that safety net out). But at Berthillon I can eat the whole thing and I do - selfishly.

The line of course is long for the ice creams here. It’s no secret that their ice creams are wonderful. What is especially wonderful is that a flavour tastes of theirs always tastes so strongly, intensely and unmistakably like that exact flavour. Case in point is Pistachio: I once tried their Pistachio ice cream and it has ruined me for life. I tried one in Sydney at a supposedly fantastic ice cream shop only to be bitterly disappointed. You see it wasn’t even vaguely Pistachioey enough. Berthillon’s is unashamedly full of flavour, if someone served you a scoop of any of their ice creams and didn’t tell you the flavour, you’d guess it within the first blissful lick.

Abricot and Pistache ice cream double cornet €4.20

I choose a double scoop, one scoop of Pistachio and one scoop of Apricot. A single cornet is €3, a double €4.20, a triple €6 and a quadruple €8. The apricot sends me into raptures, it’s sweet true Apricot flavour sings through every single lick of this delicious ice cream. The pistachio, a pale green hue, not one of those lurid strong greens, is voluptuously creamy and so nutty it’s a complete delight as always.

Things this deep and intense should come with a warning label.

Range of cheeses in a shop on the Île St Louis

How cute are these umbrellas?

I think this shopkeeper is tired of people dripping Bethillon everywhere!

Berthillon

31 Rue St.-Louis-en-l’Ile Paris
Tel: 33-1-43-54-31-61

You can’t really go to Paris without doing some shopping and despite the fact that the Euro is giving the Australian dollar a sound drubbing making it less splendid a past-time, an afternoon browsing the department stores is still compulsory. One thing that can make it even more pleasurable is the idea of having something unusual to eat and unusually good at that, in the department store itself. Délicabar is the baby of Sebastian Gaudard who delights in mixing savoury ideas with sweet eg chocolate and raspberry soup, Foie Gras and Chocolate and Salmon Mille Feuille. It’s like mixing metaphors but with more success (and judiciousness).

The Department Store Le Bon Marché was designed by Gustav Eiffel. At the moment, it has a lot of scaffolding to the side so it looks less than ideal. I also like to combine my shopping with a bit of the macabre (and I don’t mean Goth or Halloween outfits this time) so earlier that day we went to the Catacombs of Paris where 6 million bodies were buried in the late 18th century.

I’m not a ghostly apparition-honestly!

It certainly works up the appetite walking the 1.7kms and climbing the 82 stairs and descending the 130 stairs. After a quick browse at Le Bon Marché, we head up to the 1st floor and find the Délicabar, the concept of snack chic (i.e. the opposite of McDonalds-if the brightly coloured resin Alessi creatures were made into a restaurant, it would be this). It features bright pink and orange and plenty of whiter than white in the inside area and green and white on the balmy outside terrace. The menu is in French but we manage to decipher a few words and the fact that dishes in black text are savouries while the dishes in brown text are sweets. A waiter also thoughtfully comes by to explain some of the items in English for us.

Bread

A waiter also explains some of the recommendations, some of the items are no longer available but we order the Foie gras and chocolate on thinly sliced toast and the Salmon Mille Feuille and the chocolate and raspberry soup to finish.

Smoked Salmon Mille Feuille €13

The salmon Mille Feuille is a leaf shaped pastry top and bottom with an accent of poppyseeds and a filling of smoked salmon and cream cheese. A side salad of lightly dressed fennel accompanies this. It’s inventive but I can’t help feeling that it needs a bit more moisture from the filling although the pastry is incredibly crisp.

Pain Foie Gras Chocolat €18

The Foie Gras and chocolate on the other hand is fantastic and has you wondering why this is the first time we’ve seen this. The chocolate is thin enough so as not to overpower and oversweeten the foie gras and when spread on the thin toast with the dressed leaves, it’s superb. A word of warning though, and that is to share this plate with someone. I found that only having one piece of the Foie gras and chocolate was a little more than enough as it’s incredibly rich.

Chocolate and Raspberry soup €7

The chocolate soup with raspberries arrives and whilst it looks like hot chocolate it is slightly different. For starters it comes in a very large cup and eating it with a spoon gives it a different flavour. The raspberries are perhaps a bit too bitter with the bittersweet dark chocolate but if you like your chocolate bitter this dessert is for you. There is also a scattering of finely chopped nuts inside.

Fauchon’s Madeleine store

I also leave you with some of the food purchases I made that afternoon from Fauchon, the “Lips” chocolate boxes, white chocolate tablettes and an ice cream from Hediard across the road. And of course the Mothership, the Chanel Rue Cambon store. Bag Lust!

Fauchon “Lips” chocolate tablettes €22 and white chocolate blocks €4.50

Hediard ice cream stand outside the Madeleine store

Hediard ice cream, mango at the bottom, passionfruit at the top

Chanel’s Rue Cambon store

Délicabar

Le Bon Marché
24 rue de Sevres
6th Arrondissement, Paris 75006
Tel: 33 1 42 22 10 12

On my last trip to Paris, Laduree was one of my fondest memories. The Salon de Thé was an elegant, Belle Epoque place to stop by when shopping at the huge LV store on the Champs Élysées gets too much and all you want to do is rest your weary legs and feet. Unlike last time, which was on a Saturday, there isn’t a line although there is a sign in French that I think means that for the comfort of other patrons, cameras aren’t allowed. So as any good food blogger does, I bought an array of cakes to take away with me, to be savoured in the hotel room where eating these delicate morsels and licking cream off your hands and moaning and groaning with pleasure won’t be frowned upon.

I can’t choose so I just keep choosing and before I know it I’ve amassed a €76.46 bill of cakes, macarons, pastries and petit fours. I will admit that two of the purchases were cooler bags, one for me and one for my sister so don’t think I’m mad ordering that many cakes and pastries.

Le Haul

Taking these goodies back to the hotel we eagerly take these out of the boxes (and please tell me I’m not the only bag lady that saves these lovely boxes-clean ones only obviously!).

St Honore Pistachio and Strawberry €5.20

The St Honore is a devoted poem to whipped cream and strawberries. The cream is a little excessive but the strawberry choux underneath is perfectly dry, not soggy in the slightest and filled with strawberry gelee and dipped in a deep strawberry icing.

Religieuse de la Violette €4.30

My favourite last time was the Religieuse de la Rose but as I am also a Violet fan, I choose this one. Out of the two, I admit I favour the Rose purely for the flavour but the Violet is sweet and lovely and the choux remains dry whilst still filled with the violet flavoured custard (unlike the variations of this I’ve found in Australia which are a soggy mess).

Ispahan €5.90

The Ispahan, a creation I believe was masterminded by Pierre Herme, is a raspberry macaron sandwich, filled with lychee and raspberries and a lychee/rose custard and topped with a perfect rose petal and raspberries. It’s squidgy, divine perfection.

Boxed Macaron selection (€14.10 for 8 )

The challenge for me was remembering which macarons I had bought in my selection. Luckily, the flavours are strong and I have ordered strawberry licorice, coconut, blackcurrant, citrus, lime, raspberry, licorice with just one macaron unnamed (pale cream with pale jade filling). Of course being macarons I love them and eat each one with small bites to prolong the taste.

Petit fours €7.40 for 100grams (€10.36 total 6 Petit Fours)

The mango topped domed tart is delicious and moist and filled with sweetened, dessicated coconut as is the pineapple mint tart. The second from left, the biscuit sandwich is less successful with the biscuit soggy against the raspberries and smear of buttercream. The coffee walnut dome is strongly flavoured with walnut and coffee although this has suffered in transport and the icing has stuck to the paper.

Petit fours €7.40 for 100grams (€10.36 total 6 Petit Fours)

The issue with icing and transportation has also occured with the chocolate chestnut dome with the chocolate icing sticking it to the pistachio and wild strawberry macaron sandwich. The macaron sandwich is delicately sweet and delicious.

Kougin Amman €1.70

Not the most glamorous sounding, the girl behind the counter asks whether I really want this and I do most certainly. She says it’s just sugar flavoured but having had this before, I need to have another. The only two flavours are sugar and butter but the texture is crisply gorgeous and layered. I find this way too easy to eat in one go despite my best intentions to share this with my husband.

Mini croissant Nut €1.10

The mini nut croissant is glazed with sugar and features a small smattering of chopped nuts. It’s a bit more exciting than your regular croissant although I don’t think I’d buy one again, instead favouring the other divine pastries.

Cannele €1.80

The chewy spongey Cannele is well liked my husband. I find the outer a littel too caramelised for my taste but apparently these are a national obsession.

Abricot Pistachio snail €2.00

This delicate layered pastry with strong with sweet apricots with a touch of pistachio. Absolutely delicious and a lovely alternative to a cinnamon snail.

And don’t worry, I didn’t eat these all in one day and I did share these with my husband. After all there is clothes shopping to be done tomorrow!

Laduree

75, avenue des Champs Elysées - 75008 Paris
Tel : 01.40.75.08.75 - Fax : 01.40.75.06.75
The Restaurant is open daily from 7.30am to 12.30am - The shop is open daily from 7.30am to 11pm except on Saturday 8.30am to midnight and on Sunday 8.30am to 10.00pm