A San Franciscan Weekend

The San Francisco bay area is truly one of my favorite places ever. Maybe it's just the "granola" side of me talking but there's a free, green spirit about the area that I adore, what with the constant presence of activism in the street corner or the bi-weekly farmer's market in almost every county. I jumped with joy when I saw that there are recycling and composting bins to be found throughout the city. I also hear that retailers are mandated to use recycleable or compostable shopping bags by law! If San Francisco can do it, why can't the rest of the country?


Anyway, the main reason for my SF trip is to attend a scientific meeting that's held over the weekend. I had to present a poster there and got the chance to attend some interesting talks. Initially I wasn't looking forward to the poster session because I thought that my work is kind of lame. However, many people stopped by my poster and asked many questions. It has truly revived the scientist in me. Wow! Someone's actually interested in what I'm doing, haha! :)

I attended most of the lectures and professional events that I thought were directly related to my work and this still left me with plenty of time to sightsee and basically do whatever I wanted to. On my first night, I met up with two of my cousins who lives in San Jose. Actually, they met up with me. They were so sweet that they picked me up from the airport! Here they are, regaled in plastic bibs!


Actually, the reason they were wearing bibs (I had one on too!) was that we were about to enjoy a crab dinner and eating crabs with your bare hands sure can get messy. Hendra brought us to Thanh Long in San Francisco for its crazy good Vietnamese seafood fare. We went there on a Friday night and it was super packed. Once I smelled the strong, distinctive scent of garlic, I knew that we were at a good place. Fortunately, we were seated within 10 minutes and my cousin Hendra shortened our waiting time by immediately ordering the specialties without even opening the menu. We had a giant Dungeness crab each and tiger prawns served over a bed of garlic noodles. The roasted crab was deliciously moist and super meaty. The sauce (made with garlic and "secret" spices, whatever they may be) was perfect for dunking the chunks of soft crab meat into. The butterflied tiger prawns were also tasty, though a teeny tad overcooked. My favorite just had to be the garlic noodles: a bit on the soft side of al dente and 100% garlicky!



Believe it or not, after that meal fit for giants, we shared two desserts: the molten chocolate cake and fried banana, both a la mode.The chocolate cake was just allright to me but the fried banana brings back memories of my childhood for me. One of my father's favorite snacks is fried banana, a staple of Indonesian cuisine. Growing up, he used to bring me along to a fried banana stand in the heart of the Jakarta Chinatown when he sneaked out of the house for a snack :)



Besides enjoying the seafood in SF, I also headed towards a Californian institution: In'n'Out. I've heard many friends rave about this Cali joint and I've always wanted to try it. The previous times I was in California, I wasn't able to make my pilgrimage for one reason or another. This time, I was determined to not miss it! After I presented my poster at the meeting, I decided to go for a run around SF. Long story short, I ran from my hotel (near the Civic Center) to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then to Fisherman's Wharf, before heading back to the hotel. If it sounds like a long run to you, it's probably because it WAS a looong run. I had planned it out so that I would have my post-run meal at an In'n'Out at Fisherman's Wharf. After a blistering run throughout the 45-degree sloped of Sn Francisco, this was a sweet sight for sore eyes (and legs!).


When I went into the restaurant, there was already a long line ahead of me. This particular In-n-Out was packed with tourists due to the location, but there were a number of locals too. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; so I ordered a double double meal. I just can't get over how funny the name is! :) So, the double double meal consists of a double double burger (double the patty and cheeese), fries and medium drink. The unlimited drink part was pretty awesome because I was sooo dehydrated after my run and I must say that I had never tasted a more refreshing or delicious Diet Coke in my life!


Mr oder took a little less than 10 minutes to complete, which makes me believe that they actually cook the food only after they received the order. Although the fries were unimpressive and were on the soggy side (McD fries are better), the burger itself was yummy. I could actually taste the meat! Unlike other fast food joints that serve burgers that are unbelieveably tasteless, I like the beefiness (yes, the BEEFiness) of an In-n-Out burger. As if this is not Cali enough, they wrap their burgers in paper instead of plastic, hand-cut their fries and lettuce, and only use vegetable oil. Isn't it awesome?

The rest of the time in SF, I spent munching and snacking instead of having big sit-down meals. I just wanted a taste of as many things as possible! Of course a trip to SF is never complete without a visit to the largest Chinatown in the US. I searched high and low for this one bakery my cousin brought me to previously, where I enjoyed the most luscious egg tart ever. After an hour or so looking lost and having lost hope, I found it: the AA Bakery & Cafe!

As with most Chinatown bakeries and cafes, this one was filled with older Chinese folks, enjoying their morning egg tart or other yummy pastries over a piping hot cup of milk tea (or nai cha). As for me, I made a beeline to purchase my favorite Chinese pastries: egg tart, steamed "paper" cake and a custard bun topped with a thin almond cookie.

Unlike the Chicago C-town bakeries, in SF, the egg tart shell is made with puff pastry, giving it a rich flavor, flaky texture and a delicate crispness that is distinct from the graham cracker-style crust used in other cities' C-town bakeries. The actually egg custard part is also much milkier and softer, which makes SF egg tarts my favorite ever!


The custard-filled bun topped with almond cookie (I don't know its official name) was also a yummy treat. I've never seen them in the Chicago C-town and I first had this with my cousin in SF a few years back. This bun combines a soft bready texture with the cool creamy filling and a lightly crunchy cookie top. Man, Asian cuisine is chock full of foods and dishes that combine different textures and flavors; and this bun is (in my humble opinion), the most delicious example of that.


The steamed "paper" bun (my absolute favorite Chinese pastry ever!) was not as good as the ones in Chicago (Chi-town pride!). It had a layer of crust (not hard, not soft) on top that the cakes in Chicago don't have. However, the flavor was spot-on and was perfect with a cup of strong latte.


And guess what?!?!? I was in Cali during the cherry season! When I saw a fresh shipment of cherries in C-town, I couldn't resist! Don't worry, I didn't buy all these (though I wish I did)!


On the last day of my trip, I was lucky enough to catch a farmer's market outside the Ferry Terminal building. I mean, how much more Californian can it be than a farmer's market? There were plenty of fresh fruit (cherries, peaches and berries were in season) and to my delight, there was no shortage of samples!




I was particularly struck by the impressive size of some figs and decided to try one. The fig was so big it covered the palm of my hand! Not only was it gigantic, it was actually quite delicious. It wasn't as juicy as some figs I had, but it was very seedy and not too terribly sweet. I enjoyed the subtle flavors and devoured it, skin and all.


As if all this fresh fruits and veggies wasn't enough, there were more gourmet stores in the Ferry Terminal building itself. The one that caught my eye first was Acme Bread Company. I've heard of the legendary Berkeley-based bakery and lucky me! They had a branch in SF! I mean, seriously, this place is so good that there were a couple of folks who made their pilgrimage here either first thing from the airport, or on their way to the airport. What better endorsement is there?



Although I was tempted by the baguette, I decided to stick with a classic: the butter croissant, which went perfectly with a piping hot cup of latte. The croissant was as croissants should be: flaky layers of buttery richness. I enjoyed it immensely, but it would've been infinitely better had it been warm, if only slightly (I know, I know, I'm so demanding!).


There was another bakery (or as they advertise, patissier) in the Ferry Terminal Building named Miette. Their delicate decor and beautiful pastries drew me to this store. In particular, I was enchanted by their macaroon offering.


Suddenly hankering for them, I bought one of each flavor: pistachio, rose, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Tha packaging was totally adorable, with the little cookies swaddled in pretty pink tissue paper within a mini Chinese take-out box with a handle.



Although I enjoyed the flavors of the macaroons, I was a tad disappointed by the texture. Unlike the crisp yet chewy macaroons I had in Paris, these Miette macaroons were just soft. It might've had something to do with having them all stacked up in the large cookie jars, instead of having them lined up in a single layer to be kept as dry as possible. Still, I liked the flavors of the macs, particularly the rose macaroon.

I'm really very happy with the trip to SF. There are still some places I would love to visit or eat at in the Bay Area. Fortunately, I won't have to wait long for that chance because I'm returning there in July for a friend's last hurrah of sorts :) Ciao!

Thanh Long
4101 Judah Street
on the corner of 46th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122
415.665.1146

In-n-Out Burger
333 Jefferson St
San Francisco, CA 94133

AA Bakery & Cafe
1068 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 981-0123

Acme Bread Company
One Ferry Building
Marketplace Shop #15
San Francisco, California 94111

Miette
One Ferry Building
Marketplace Shop #10
San Francisco, CA 94111

Paris in Spring 4 - the (last) little bits

I didn't want the luxurious culinary experience in Paris to end, so I bought a few tidbits that would allow me to prolong it (though not as well, obviously).

One of the little bit of Paris I don't regret getting is the Ispahan tea, from (where else, but) Pierre Herme. Heady with joy from being able to taste the Ispahan from his store, I was addicted. As some of you know, I love love love tea also. So combining one of the most exquisite flavors and tea makes me very happy!


The leaves are basically a combination of Darjeeling and Kemum, scented with rose, lychee and raspberries. The tea was totally different from the original Ispahan, but it was very nice and pleasant. I can definitely smell the rose but not so much the raspberries and lychee.


I also purchased a little box of Ispahan nougats from the same store. Studded with rose-pink flecks reflecting its flavor, the nougats are little individually-wrapped mouthfuls of joy. For Ispahan overdose, one can have this with the tea I just mentioned above. Ho ho!


I especially adored the bag of lavender that I bought in Montmartre. I haven't opened it yet but it gave my luggage such a wonderfully pleasant scent. I can't wait to browse for recipes to use these beauties. Got any ideas to share?


At the airport, I bought this pack of madeleines for the plane trip back to the US. I only had a pistachio madeleine and was hankering for a cakey yet bready treat. Even though it looks like some cheesy, inauthentic French pastry, it was surprisingly delicious. They were moist, very buttery and decadent. Maybe it was my relatively low expectation from buying it at a convenience store at an airport, no less.


Thanks to a fellow blogger at Chocolate and Zuchinni, whose posted on Pierre Herme's source for rose syrup, I hunted down a little Indian shop about a mile away from the hotel we stayed at for Natco rose syrup. Supposedly, the legendary PH uses this rose syrup for his Ispahan creations. I can't wait to use this! Some ideas I have include ice cream, possibly cupcakes and maybe (dare I say) macaroons?


Besides food items, I bought a beautiful pair of vibrant red ballet flats. It was a bit of a necessary impulse buy (if one can call it that). One fine day in Paris, I wore a pair of sexy boots that have heels that are just a tad too high for comfortable sightseeing. After close to an hour of torture, I chanced upon these at a United Colors of Benetton store and snapped up a pair of the right size. Ahhhhhhh, pure sole heaven :)


While in was there, trenches was the "in" thing with it being spring and all. At the same time, the color grey was also ubiquitous in clothing shops. I fell in love with this hip-length grey trench at a Naf Naf store in the St. Germain area and just had to have it! I know, I know, it's a pretty impractical buy for me because spring in Chicago lasts for like, 15 minutes! Well, at least I'll look comfortably stylish for 15 minutes *winks*


Overall, Paris was beautiful and I enjoyed myself throughly, though a bit on the pricey side (that damn euro!). It was a sweet just-us-sisters springtime in Paris. I can only hope that it won't be our last excursion together.

Anyway, if you notice a slight improvement with the pictures for this post, it is thanks to my new homemade toy. Voila! The magic of the homemade (read: ghetto!) light box. I've been hankering for one of these babies but a professional light box easily costs a few hundred bucks and the best ones out there are a few thou! I stumbled upon a really cost post about making your own lightbox for under $50 and it was the perfect weekend project. It would also be perfect for the photos for my upcoming business venture. Check it out!


It was waaay larger than I expected and it's now occupying the whole dining table, which is fine because I don't really dine on it. However, if I were to do it all over again, I would use smaller poster boards. Now, the only problem is, my white background is turning up light blue. It's not something that I can't fix with image editing software but I would really like it to be super white by itself. Any ideas?

Where on Earth is the Foodiva?

It has been a crazy month or so to say the least. Let's recount what has been going on during the past month or so:

1) A hop across the Atlantic for a whirlwind weekend Parisian trip with my dearest sis. I don't think I ever regained my normal footing after that; it's been insane since then. And I still have one more post on this trip!

2) Two different sets of college friends visiting over two different weekends. This was a total treat for me and I tried my best to minimize my work time during the weekends they were here. But that left me quite guilt-ridden for not working enough!

3) A departmental retreat at Wisconsin; just another excuse for grad students to party/get drunk/bond on the university's wallet. Another fun, boisterous weekend with no work getting done.

4) The incorporation of my business idea. My partner was actually the one who did most of the paperwork for our business and I'm so so so excited about this!!! I will definitely show off the website to you guys once it's up and running. Also, on this thread, I'm finally certified by the federal government and the Illinois state to handle food for sale! Yippee! The food sanitation class basically took two whole Saturdays of my life and I'm just so thankful it's done!

5) Training for the Soldier Field 10-mile. As if there's not enough on my plate, I have to be crazy enough to sign up for a 10-mile race with my friend. Actually, I'm kind of glad I did because now I have to get my butt of the couch and exercise!

6) Regular work. There's nothing regular about what I fondly refer to as "work" because even though my official title of grad student sounds all distringuished and noble and intellectual, nothing could be further from the truth. We're really just lab slaves in disguise. Paying us a meagre stipend that we have to pay taxes on (!), we easily spend 60 hours per week in lab. And then, when we get home, we'll be all guilt-ridden if we didn't spend some more time actually reading up and keeping up on the current research.

It's been crazy busy, but you know what? It's been fun too :)

Paris in Spring 2- "street" food

My sister and I were pleasantly surprised by the nice-ness of the Parisians we encountered (with one exception, which I'll describe in a later post). I mean, we didn't think they would be nasty or anything, but we keep hearing about how the French despise the English, the Americans and English-speaking people. I found them quite friendly and accomodating, though not as warm as the neighboring Italians. My sis and I joked that maybe they're so nice to us because they keep mistaking us for being rich Japanese tourists, who visit France in droves.

My sister and I visited Paris at a good time; the city wasn't choc full of tourists unlike in summer and all the shops are open. So, in a way, we got to experience Paris fully. I think it helped that the small hotel we stayed at is located in a residential neighborhood (the 9th arrondisement). Paris is a truly beautiful city. Each day, my sister and I would marvel at the intricate, old apartments that line the streets of Paris. The older buildings are prettier. I have to say that French modern architecture that we saw in the outskirts of Paris were rather ghastly!

Paris is also a true blue food heaven. The streets are littered with patissiers, boulangers, boucheries, fromageries, fishmongers, cafes and restaurants. It seems that Parisians still shop for food every day to ensure freshness. Small mom-and-pop shops that specialize in different food items still flourish (thank goodness!), although we also saw many modern convenient supermarket chains around town.

My favorite food neighborhood in Paris is Montmartre. Known better as Amélie's neighborhood and a nightclub district in the 18th arrondisement, it is a quaint Parisian area rife with narrow streets that are littered with various specialty grocers in the daytime. We walked down Rue Abbesses, only to be welcomed with the sights, sounds and scents of fresh fruit stands, baked breads and pastries, wonderful cheeses, and cafes. It looks like a residential area except for the droves of tourists coming to see Amélie's neighborhood, the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur or the Moulin Rouge just a few steps away. It's one of those neighbourhoods where you'll see people walking around holding a partially-eaten baguette, wrapped with only a small square of baker's paper.


Besides the adorable little cafes lining Rue Abbesses, I loved the little shops selling various goodies. We saw a long line outside of a bakery and decided to get in it. The lines are a pretty good gauge of how good a place is, no? I mean, it's got to be pretty good if there are so many people clamoring for it! The bakery is Le Grenier à Pain and like many others, my sister and I were attracted by the heady scent of freshly-baked breads. We didn't get their baguette (silly us!); instead, I went for a delicious pistachio madeleine and my sis had some mini pigs-in-a-blanket (I'm sure there's a more elegant name for it in French though I don't know what it is) and a chocolate chip-studded mini bread that looks like a cheese stick. The breads were very yummy and the perfect snack for our stroll through Montmartre.


Walking down Rue Abbesses, we saw many people holding a pretty pink cake box tied up with a flourish of red ribbons. Our curiosity piqued, we tried sussing out the source of this mystery, only to find a quaint little tart shop, Les Petits Mitrons. Best known for their tarts (both sweet and savory), they also sell pizzas and little pastries and chocolates. After our little feast from Le Grenier à Pain, I can only thank God that Les Petits sells their tarts in slices too, so we can have a taste! My sis got a classic apple tart (that we consumed before we could snap a pic) and it was yummy. We found it a little too sweet and unlike tarts we've had in the US, Les Petits' doesn't have a layer of custard between the crust and the fruit. We particularly enjoyed the glaze on the fruit and can understand why so family French families in the neighborhood decided to make it a part of their Sunday ritual.

Another pretty friggin' awesome place we went to was this legendary ice cream place, Berthillon. After hearing that it's the best ice cream in Paris, how can I, an ice cream addict resist? The ice creamerie also has a cafe with an outdoor section for customers to people-watch (how French!).


They have a little freezer in front for orders to go and this was the offering of the day.


With the exception of cannelle and noix, we pretty much deduced what the ice cream flavors were. My sister got a scoop of caramel and I foolishly tried cannelle, only to realize after the first lick that it's cinnamon. I don't hate cinnamon or anything like that, just that it's not my favoritest spice ever. Still, the ice cream was pleasantly creamy, smoothly gliding over my tongue as it melts. It was also not excessively sweet, which was surprising because believe me, the French love love love sweet. Maybe it's because it was cinnamon flavor; my sister's caramel was decidedly more sugary.


Another famous French food is the crepe. I've made some at home before, but due to the limitation of my small non-stick pan, I was never convinced it was really French. My home-made crepes were also too thick, I thought; nothing like a paper-thin French crepe. So when we saw a line in front of this man's creperie-on-wheels in the St. Germain area, we just had to have one! I mean, check out his expertise! He has two crepe irons going at the same time to get in the groove!


Fortunately, we didn't get a crepe near Notre Dame, where the crepes were already pre-made and stacked for uber tourist-trap convenience. I mean, how good can it be if you didn't know when it was made. Maybe an hour ago? Or yesterday? So if you're in Paris and wants a crepe, stay away from the touristy areas. Crepe fillings include the savory four cheeses and mushrooms to sweet classics such as butter and sugar, Nutella and fruit jams. Nutella and jam seemed to be the most popular one, and who can resist Nutella anyway? I mean, check out this guy skilfully filling and folding the crepes!


As I expected, the crepe was much larger and thinner than my homemade ones (duh!). Filled with melty Nutella and soft bananas, it was a party in my mouth. I can only imagine going back to that crepe stand every day if I lived in the area.


Another "streety" food that we enjoyed immensely was the falafel. You wouldn't expect it but apparently, Paris has many fantastic Middle Eastern/North African cuisine offerings, thanks to immigrants from these countries. We tried the falafel that supposedly had Lenny Kravitz's stamp of approval, because of course, we trust Lenny Kravitz!


Besides that, my Parisian friend had recommended L'As du Falafel. I mean, if the New York Times had reviewed and recommended the place, how bad can it be, right? So my sis and I trekked to the beighborhood of Marais, got lost a couple of times, and finally found the holy grail leading to this falafelerie. It's rather funny that right across from L'As du Fafafel was anotther famous, fancier-looking falafelerie, Mi-Va-Mi. Could it be that they're owned by the same person? Who knows? Anyway, one big mistake we made is we didn't order the original falafel sammich, but instead decided to go for the meatier schwarma because we felt like meat, dammit! How can you not want meat once you see this huuuge chunk of meat displayed shamelessly, teasing your eyes and nose and taste buds?


And boy, was the schwarma good! Check out those chunks of chicken bursting from the pita! And the cabbage! And the sauce! This thing is so big that you need a fork to eat it, unless you don't mind (or want!) the sauce schmeared all over your face, that is, haha, which might not be so bad *winks* We were quite glad we only got one sammich after seeing just how humongous this thing is! At 7 euros a pop, it had better be humongous! It was very delicious; the chicken chunks were nice and juicy and tender, the veggies crisp and fresh, the sauce was tangy and slightly spicy at the same time. I would definitely go back to L'As du Falafel again but I wouldn't mind trying out their competitor either.


I thoroughly enjoyed Paris' street food scene more than its fine dining, at least, what we got to experience of the "fine" dining anyway (which wasn't that much). I love that there are so many delicious options for eating on-the-go, whether it's the classic Nutella crepe, a bite of falafel, or a perfect cup of cappucino.


Le Grenier à Pain
38, rue des Abesses, 75018 Paris

Les Petits Mitrons
26, Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris

Berthillon
29-31 rue saint Louis en l'ile, 75004 Paris

St. Germain Crepe stand
Near the St. Germain metro stop, right across from a Starbucks

L'As du Falafel
34, rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris

Paris in Spring 1- the Mac post

As some of you may already know, I recently spent a long weekend in Paris with my dearest sister. It was a much-needed respite from the usual stresses of work and the daily grind. It was also a just-us-sisters QT getaway that we both wanted to have before real jobs and families get in the way. My sister had been to Paris once but I had never been to the city of lights, so I was uber excited about this spring getaway. And seriously, Paris in spring sounds just positively fabulous, doesn't it?

Overall, it was quite a decadent weekend, what with butter croissants, scrumptious desserts, wonderfully strong coffee and cheesy croques. Despite the calorie overload, I'm rather surprised that I didn't pack on the pounds. I suppose it can be attributed to our extensive walks around the city. Before the trip, I did some research on Robyn's and David's blogs for (what else, but) food recs around Paris. I totally recommend their sites for any Paris restaurants/eateries!

Armed with a list of some twenty restaurants, patissiers and boulangers, my sis and I explored not only Paris' stunning monuments and sights, but also its array of decadent eateries. Can I just add that we were totally gaga over maccarons? We have had maccarons in the US before. As a matter of fact, I tried to make them once but failed miserably. The maccarons in Paris were totally awesome and addictive! French maccarons are not to be mixed up with the American macaroon. American macaroons are basically super dense and super sweet cookies made with flaked coconuts, egg white and tons of sugar. I enjoy these on occasion, but I much prefer the delicate and elegant traditional French ones. French maccarons are basically sandwich cookies, where the cookies are made with ground almonds, egg whites and sugar.

Maccarons are sold everywhere in Paris; and I mean EVERYWHERE, whether it's just a chain bakery or artisan patissiers. The maccaron's status is almost like that of the baguette in France (though not quite, yet). We mostly made our maccaron pilgrimage to the legendary shops we've heard or read of online. The first maccaronerie we visited (or really, stumbled upon) was Ladurée on Rue Royale, the very first Ladurée shop. The bakery was founded by Louis-Ernest Ladurée in 1862 and this is the shop that invented the French maccaron. There was a 5-minute long line when we got there consisting mainly of women clamoring for their legendary baked goodies. Besides maccarons (they're on the top three racks in this picture), Ladurée also sells breads and cakes.


Trying to pace ourselves, we bought merely four mini macs (from leftmost, going clockwise): rose, cassis (blackcurrant), pistachio and caramel. Aren't they just pretty?


Unable to secure a table at Ladurée (they only allow lunch patrons at the time), my sis and I trekked to a nearby cafe and ordered some wonderfully strong French coffee as accompaniment for our macs. As a sidenote, although I don't normally drink coffee, when I do, I love super strong coffee. The French are pretty damn good at making strong cappucinos; its aromatic bitterness is the perfect contrast to the very sweet maccarons.


The Ladurée maccarons were yummy. My favorite was the nutty pistachio and I think I found out that I don't like blackcurrant. I find their cassis maccaron bitter and sweet, though not in a good way. Another maccaronerie we also stumbled upon is Toraya, a Japanese confectioner that has a Salon de Thé in the heart of Paris. Toraya specializes in the Japanese sweets, known as wagashi; but in their Paris branch, they also have maccarons. Unlike other maccaroneries, Toraya's macs have a Japanese twist. Toraya's maccaron offerings include distinctly Japanese flavors such as matcha (green tea), azuki (red bean), kinako (toasted soybean flour), shiro-goma (white sesame) and kuro-goma (black sesame). We tried all five and agreed that we liked all of them. The flavors were strong but not overpowering; the cookies were perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle; the cookie-to-filling ratio was just nice. Unfortunately, my hands were slower than my mouth because I didn't get to take a picture of these wonderful macs. But if you're in Paris, this is hands-down one of the maccarons to try!


Kitty corner from Toraya was another dessert bar/Salon de Thé, Jean-Paul Hevin that a friend recommended. The shop was inconspicuous and we almost missed it if we hadn't been looking so hard. There were so signs on the front door or window, just a little white piece of wood jutting out the wall of the shop. Upon entering the shop, I thought we got it wrong. It felt very much like an exclusive haute couture boutique or something like that! The counter was full of pretty dessert creations, lined up neatly like little soldiers. Shelves carried the signature truffles in beautiful blue tin cans and cookies in elegant boxes. Again, I tried out some maccaron; I think it was green apple and praline that I tried. Both were chocolatey and I couldn't taste the actual flavors they claimed to be. I guess it's to be expected as JP Hevin is really famous for his chocolate creations. My sister chose one of his meringue chocolate creations that was reminiscent of a giant, fluffy Ferrero Rocher. It was a chewy meringue surrounded with a crisp layer of cookie (I think), that's then chocolate-drizzled and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts.

I must say that although the macs weren't my favorite, I regret not getting some of his legendary chocolates! Well, there's always next time...

Ok, now, for the maccaron highlight of my life (so far, I hope), I present to you Fetish! Please rid yourself of any naughty thoughts now, I'm not that kind of girl! If you're a French pastry enthusiast, you probably know what I'm talking about. It is a theme that was launched by the legendary pattisier, Pierre Herme in 2006, to celebrate his "favorite tastes, sensations and epicurean delights". Now doesn't that sound simply pleasurable? And lucky me happened to be in Paris for his first Fetish of the year, and the theme is "Ispahan" this time around.


Ispahan is PH's most famous creation thus far. I've heard about and seen pictures of it all over the blogosphere, only to despair at not being able to taste this mythic pastry ... until now, that is! Ispahan is actually a clear pink, half-open Damask rose originating in the Middle East. Its name is derived from Isfahan, a city in Iran. In the pastry world, Ispahan is basically a novel combination of the flavors of rose syrup, lychee and raspberry that was created by who else, but Pierre Herme himself. We almost didn't make it to his shop because we left it until the last day (I can't believe I actually did this! We should've gone there on our first day!), but fortunately, we had some spare time on our last day to make our pilgrimage to his shop in St. Germain.

Everything about the shop was beautiful. As I went in, I felt like I was entering a box of precious jewels. The walls were a dark, deep chocolate, providing contrast to the bright pastries on the counter and the boxes of cookies and chocolates on the shelves. The store had gone Ispahan-crazy and so did I. There were many Ispahan creations, including cakes, nougats and tea. The PH packaging was also very simple and clean. Guess what I have in my box?


Okay, if you're not jealous yet, check out the loot I had in it!


Now, what about this angle? *winks*


There are really no apt words to describe this genius creation. It was delicious and the flavor combination was definitely more than the sum of its parts. It just simply, magically works! Of course, it helps that the cookies were baked to perfection and it was just so darn pretty! I also like the symbolism of the Ispahan; it combines flavors and ideas across multiple cultures: the maccaron (French), rose (Middle-Eastern), lychee (Asian) and raspberry (Western). I haven't tasted a better pastry ... yet, I hope. If there is a perfect dessert taste-wise and ideologically, the Ispahan is IT! You may think I'm crazy for waxing poetic about a pastry like this, but the Ispahan has inspired me to re-try making macs at home again soon :)

Of course, one maccaron from PH isn't sufficient to judge his genius, right? Here's our other set of loot (from top to bottom, left to right): olive oil, apricot, 2 Ispahans, vanilla and jasmine. They were all very delicious and beautiful. The apricot and Ispahan macs had a shiny, silvery sheen on the cookies. The idea of the olive oil mac was a bit weird but the flavor was very nice. I could definitely taste the olive oil but it wasn't icky or savory at all. I love jasmine tea and I wasn't at all disappointed by the jasmine mac. Its aroma was pleasant and the jasmine flavor was delicate.


It's quite unfortunate that maccarons are so fragile and delicate. I suppose that's part of its appeal too. If they weren't so delicate, I would've bought boxes of them, enough to sustain me for a few months. After being so spoiled for choice for a few days in Paris, I was yearning for some mac action back here in Chicago. Upon my return, while I was grocery shopping, I remembered that a French-style bakery in the same shopping complex had maccarons. I had one of their pistachio creations and was rather disappointed. It was nicely chewy but it didn't have a nice crisp layer at all. The creamy filling wasn't flavorful enough and the whole mac was ever-so-slightly soggy. You probably think that I've probably snobbed up, having had the best macs in the world. Maybe so, maybe not. I suppose I'll always have Paris...

Ladurée Royale
16, rue Royale, 75008 Paris

Toraya
10, Rue Saint-Florentin, 75001 PARIS

Jean-Paul Hévin
231, rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris

Pierre Hermé
72, rue Bonaparte Paris 75006