Kouignettes at Maison Georges Larnicol

May 15, 2012 by Andrea Leave a Comment

Kouignettes seems to have taken over the cupcake craze in Paris recently. Shops all over the city are selling the mini versions of the traditional Breton butter cake Kouign Amman.

I’d heard about the buttery Kouign Amman pastry for years but never got around to trying one. I’d planned on having a tasting in Brittany earlier this year but when my trip fell through so did my chance at sampling the best Kouign Amman in the country. Finally last week I got lucky when I stumbled upon Maison Georges Larnicol which opened in Saint Michel just last month. They have a massive range of kouignettes from the traditional nature, chocolate and pistachio flavoured ones to the more adventurous coconut, salted butter caramel and orange Cointreau.

Surprisingly the kouignettes at Georges Larnicol are available in a self-service counter. I’ve never seen anything self-service in France before but it’s a great idea. You can pick out your preferred sticky sweets and they weigh them at the counter for you. I got a mix of flavours include raspberry, pineapple and apple which I took home to share.

I have to say they weren’t as delicious as I expected. They are very buttery, rich and quite heavy. I’m not sure if that’s how they’re supposed to be but personally I prefer my sweets to be a little lighter. I did some research afterwards and discovered they are better if you re-heat them prior to eating so the butter oozes out of them. I guess I’ll give that a try next time but I’m not convinced that’ll be enough to put them on my favourite dessert list.

Maison Georges Larnicol isn’t just about kouignettes. They also have a large chocolate selection, pretty pots of salted butter caramel and the ever popular macarons.

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Filed Under: France

Breakfast at Angelina’s

May 10, 2012 by Andrea 1 Comment

I’m not much of a breakfast person but I am a hot chocolate person and the most famous hot chocolate in Paris is found at Angelina’s.

Angelina’s hot chocolate is thick, rich and delicious. Just how hot chocolate should be.

When I first tried French hot chocolate, I didn’t like it, preferring the sweet hot chocolate I grew up with in Australia. But over time I have been converted. Nowadays I expect my hot chocolate to be thick and almost syrupy but not sweet and it must be accompanied with a very large serving of cream otherwise what’s the point? In fact, that would be the one failing of Angelina’s hot chocolate, they don’t serve enough cream with it!

Of course, nothing is cheap in Paris and €7.90 for a hot chocolate is pushing the limits of what’s acceptable but you’re partially paying for the experience. Situated opposite the wonderful Jardin des Tuileries, having their famous hot chocolate or the full breakfast (either €20 or €32) in Angelina’s elegant dining room is worth the occasional splurge.

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Filed Under: France

Estaminet Lunch in Lille

February 1, 2012 by Andrea Leave a Comment

What does carbonnades Flamandes, coq à la bière and Welsh au maroilles all have in common? They are all traditional meals which you’ll find in the north of France and they all include beer as an ingredient.

It’s not surprising they like to cook with beer up north as that is their drink of choice and the local estaminet’s are like mini breweries, brewing their own unique beers which they serve in-house. At least that’s how it was in the past, these days many of the beers are now produced off-site but the traditional food remains.

In the centre of Lille’s Vieux Ville (old town) there are a few well known estaminet’s including Au Vieux de la Vieille where we had a first experience with local Lillois cuisine. We started with a beer based aperitif, le picon à la bière which is a blonde beer with orange peel. It was a little too bitter for my liking but it was nice to try something different.

Our mains arrived quickly and F had the carbonnades Flamandes; beer braised beef with sugar beet. The thick, dark sauce was not appealing to me but F said the meat was very tender and nicely flavoured.

I went for the vol au vent. There is no beer in this dish but I wanted to order it because this is something I remember eating as a child thinking it was classic French food. It possibly is but after all the years I have spent in France this is the first time I actually saw it on a menu. The creamy sauce with chicken and mushrooms was nice but very rich and filling. Half the portion size would have been more than enough. I was happy to have finally eaten vol au vent in France but I probably won’t be ordering it again.

Other traditional meals I would have liked to have tried are the soupe au maroilles (potato and maroilles cheese soup), Welsh au maroilles (bread soaked in beer topped with ham and maroilles cheese then grilled) and the dessert crepes with brown sugar caramel.

I’m not sure I would go back to an estaminet as the food is so heavy but it’s not a bad choice for a cold winters day in Lille.

Filed Under: France Tagged With: estaminet, france, lille, restaurant

Fantastic Foodie Market in Lille

January 9, 2012 by Andrea 2 Comments

Lille would have to be one of the best foodie locations I’ve ever visited in France. There are loads of fantastic restaurants cooking traditional and modern cuisine, the bakeries and patisseries are exceptional and you can even find locally brewed beers. I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of weeks in Lille just to sample more of the food. There’s a good number of food markets too and my favourite is the Wazemmes open air market held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The fruit and vegetables at Wazemmes looked so much fresher than what I find in my local markets. I don’t know if it was local but it was definitely fresh and seasonal.

This bread is one of my favourites in France. It’s quite heavy but wonderful with a smear of French butter. Of course there were plenty of baguettes for sale too.

Along with incredible fresh produce, the Wazemmes market offers a huge variety of ready made meals which are ideal if you are shopping for a picnic. North African food is well represented with different slow cooked dishes with couscous, one corner had a number of Asian stalls, a few were selling paella but the market favourite seemed to be roast chicken and potatoes. That would be my favourite too.

I was surprised to see these prawn crackers or chips a la langoustine as they’re called in French. I haven’t seen those around since the 80s.

If you want something sweet you can go for North African/Middle Eastern treats like baclava or lokum (Turkish delight) but if you prefer the local speciality I suggest trying the Merveilleux which you can find everywhere around Lille including at the Wazemmes food market. It’s two discs of meringue sandwiched together with fresh cream and coated with grated chocolate. I think it’s safe to say the Merveilleux is my favourite French dessert of all time.

To get to Lille’s Wazemmes market, take the metro to Gambetta and follow the crowds or your nose to the main square where the market is held.

Filed Under: France Tagged With: france, lille, market

Sugarplum Cake Shop

July 31, 2011 by Andrea Leave a Comment

As much as I like sitting in little Parisian cafes watching the world go by, sometimes I feel like they’re not the most welcoming of places. I know you can order one drink and then linger for a while but I don’t always feel comfortable to do so. That’s why I often prefer cosier little cafes which I guess are more like what you’d find in Australia or the US rather than what’s typical in France.

Sugarplum Cake Shop has that warm welcoming feel with communal tables, free wifi, free coffee refills and a beautiful selection of American style cakes, cookies, muffins, and cheesecake. I headed to their little coffee shop after reading a positive review from David Lebovitz as I usually trust his judgement. Being in the 5th arrondissement of Paris (near Rue Mouffetard), Sugarplum is not exactly in my neighbourhood but I figured it would be worth the trek across the city for their homemade lemonade and a slice of layered cake.

When we arrived there were two other people there who were to pick up a large order of cupcakes. There seemed to be a problem with the order and the only girl working there was getting a bit stressed trying to sort the problem out. We took a seat and read the latest copy of Fusac until she had a free moment when we placed our order. She served us two small glasses of freshly made lemonade and two very large slices of cake.

The cakes were some of the most beautiful cakes I’ve ever seen and it was tough deciding what to choose. Eventually I ordered a raspberry cake and F got the dark chocolate and vanilla (I think). I was so looking forward to digging in but after the first bite I knew it wasn’t for me. It was very, very sweet and way too dense for my liking. I’m not sure anyone likes a dense cake but I wonder if the super sweetness isn’t an American thing. Either way I had to pass on the cake and F didn’t like his either. At least I can say I loved the homemade lemonade. It was very tangy and refreshing, just how it should be.

If this coffee shop was close to where I live I would go back and give it another try but unless I just happen to be walking by one day I don’t think you’ll find me sitting back and relaxing at Sugarplum.

Filed Under: France Tagged With: cafes, cake, france, paris