various Parisian delights

this entry is going to focus on food that i recently ate in Paris! everyone knows that basic French cooking is super important in the culinary world, and though i have to admit that fancy dishes with rémoulade and béchamel sauces are nice, the best thing about Paris are the pastries and desserts (: (:

let's start with the croissant. sadly, i only had one while i was there, but it was an amazing one that i picked up from a little pâtisserie down the street from where i was staying.

the insides were super buttery and soft, and the outside had a light, crispy crust. it was definitely très bon! many croissants that i've had in the states either had a hollow centre or tasted too bready. this one was good in that it made you full, but was still light and airy.



a cousin of the croissant would be the pain au chocolat.

i bought this one (€1.25) for a light snack to take back to London before getting on the plane. it was quite interesting because the chocolate inside was still in pieces rather than a melted gooey centre like i was expecting. it was a bit too heavy for my taste, but i can see how it'd go great with a cappuccino in the afternoon.

i bought a quiche from the same place that i got the pain au chocolat, and ate it while sitting near the hotel de ville.

since my French isn't exactly great, i'm not sure what this would be called. it had bits of red pepper, green pepper, cheese, and chicken in it, which was a surprise because i thought it was vegetarian when i ordered.

the bakery where i bought it heated it up for me, and i ate it like you would a pizza. the crust was quite nice, but the inside was slightly runny - reminded me of silken tofu.. i've had better, but this was only €3.50, so i suppose it's good for how much i paid.

the French are famous for their baguettes, which, when freshly baked, have the most amazing smell in the world.

the ones that i had for breakfast came with your choice of jam (i got cranberry) as well as butter, but i didn't even need to use them. it was seriously delicious enough as is! the crust wasn't too hard, and the insides were just chewy enough. mmm..!

the best thing about Paris? having access to a million and one crêpperies! it was fantabulous (:

this is a crêpe that i bought right outside of the Eiffel Tower - chocolat filling for €3.50.

it was really crispy on the outside, which was nice because the melted chocolate would've made it way too soggy by the time you got down to the bottom. the colour was a nice light brown, and i really wouldn't mind one of these every day..

i had my second one the following evening at a small take-away café in the Latin Quarter.

this one was coconut and sugar flavoured, and only cost €1.60!

look at all that goodness inside hehehe..

i was very pleasantly surprised, and even though it was kind of strange eating dry coconut flakes with my crêpe, it still tasted wonderful. i think i should have added something else with it though - maybe nutella?

either way, be on the look out for more French food posts because i had some interesting stuff there (hint: escargot!) that i'd love to share with everyone!

La Boulangerie Julien (pain au chocolat & quiche)
24, rue Saint-Martin
75004, Paris

La Boulangerie de Papa (coconut crêpe)
1, rue de la Harpe
75005, Paris