Ladurée (Paris, France) Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées.  Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way. Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.
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Ladurée (Paris, France) Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées.  Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way. Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.
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Ladurée (Paris, France)

Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées. 

Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way.

Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.

Macarons from Pierre Hermé (Paris, France) These macarons had the same thin crust and chewy interior like those of Ladurée, but you could definitely taste the almond in these cookies (not that I minded!) Pierre Hermé’s flavors seemed more unique though - we had: Infiniment Caramel (infinitely buttery caramel) Crème brûlée (vanilla with caramel flakes) Infiniment Chocolat Chuao (chocolate from the village of Chuao in Venezuela) - this had a deep and rich chocolate flavor…yum! Imagine - (matcha and crisp black sesame) - oh, how I loved this combination, two of my favorite flavors in one! Infiniment Rose (infinitely rose) Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit) - I still have to learn to love passion fruit but definitely an interesting flavor Infiniment Praline Noisette (hazelnut praline) - a nice combination of almond and hazelnut flavors, liked this one a lot too! Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.
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Macarons from Pierre Hermé (Paris, France) These macarons had the same thin crust and chewy interior like those of Ladurée, but you could definitely taste the almond in these cookies (not that I minded!) Pierre Hermé’s flavors seemed more unique though - we had: Infiniment Caramel (infinitely buttery caramel) Crème brûlée (vanilla with caramel flakes) Infiniment Chocolat Chuao (chocolate from the village of Chuao in Venezuela) - this had a deep and rich chocolate flavor…yum! Imagine - (matcha and crisp black sesame) - oh, how I loved this combination, two of my favorite flavors in one! Infiniment Rose (infinitely rose) Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit) - I still have to learn to love passion fruit but definitely an interesting flavor Infiniment Praline Noisette (hazelnut praline) - a nice combination of almond and hazelnut flavors, liked this one a lot too! Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.
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Macarons from Pierre Hermé (Paris, France)

These macarons had the same thin crust and chewy interior like those of Ladurée, but you could definitely taste the almond in these cookies (not that I minded!) Pierre Hermé’s flavors seemed more unique though - we had:

  • Infiniment Caramel (infinitely buttery caramel)
  • Crème brûlée (vanilla with caramel flakes)
  • Infiniment Chocolat Chuao (chocolate from the village of Chuao in Venezuela) - this had a deep and rich chocolate flavor…yum!
  • Imagine - (matcha and crisp black sesame) - oh, how I loved this combination, two of my favorite flavors in one!
  • Infiniment Rose (infinitely rose)
  • Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit) - I still have to learn to love passion fruit but definitely an interesting flavor
  • Infiniment Praline Noisette (hazelnut praline) - a nice combination of almond and hazelnut flavors, liked this one a lot too!

Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.

European Experience: Afternoon Tea at Cafe Panis (Paris, France)

Sorry for being my childish self again here, but fellow Filipinos would understand why I find this photo so amusing. In fact, we were so amused that we ended up having afternoon tea here.

We were lucky to have nice sunny spring weather while we were out, so we had two glasses of Aqualemon, which had lemonade, squeezed lemon, mint syrup, and crushed ice. It was such a refreshing drink, with the ice and the lemon and the mint all mixed together! Couldn’t finish the whole glass though.

Of course we just had to try a real French crepe! We ordered the Crepe Complete, which had a thin, crisp crepe topped with powdered sugar and was served with chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and slivered almonds. 

This is what it looked like when I assembled the whole thing for me and G. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?

We also tried the Tiramisu au Nutella because it sounded like a unique combination. For something with Nutella, this dessert was surprisingly light, as it had soft ladyfingers, whipped cream topped with cocoa, and thin layers of Nutella syrup. 

Ladurée (Versailles, France) I finally got my hands on real Ladurée macarons! We bought a box of 8 pieces which had the following flavors: Citron (Lemon), Caramel Fleur de Sel (Salted Caramel), Pistache (Pistachio), Praliné (Praline), Chocolat Yuzu (Yuzu Chocolate), Chocolat (Chocolate), Rose (Rose) and Vanille (Vanilla). One thing I noticed about Ladurée macarons versus other macarons I’ve tried is that their macarons don’t have that lingering almond taste - if you try their lemon macaron, you taste only lemon, if you try pistachio, you taste only pistachio, and so on. I personally don’t mind the taste of almond flour, but I was impressed that all their flavors were pretty spot on. My favorites were the praline (it had a light sweet nutty taste), chocolate (deep dark chewy chocolate…need I say more?), and rose (I will sound weird for saying this but it reminds me of rose-scented bubble baths my sisters and I had when we were younger).
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Ladurée (Versailles, France) I finally got my hands on real Ladurée macarons! We bought a box of 8 pieces which had the following flavors: Citron (Lemon), Caramel Fleur de Sel (Salted Caramel), Pistache (Pistachio), Praliné (Praline), Chocolat Yuzu (Yuzu Chocolate), Chocolat (Chocolate), Rose (Rose) and Vanille (Vanilla). One thing I noticed about Ladurée macarons versus other macarons I’ve tried is that their macarons don’t have that lingering almond taste - if you try their lemon macaron, you taste only lemon, if you try pistachio, you taste only pistachio, and so on. I personally don’t mind the taste of almond flour, but I was impressed that all their flavors were pretty spot on. My favorites were the praline (it had a light sweet nutty taste), chocolate (deep dark chewy chocolate…need I say more?), and rose (I will sound weird for saying this but it reminds me of rose-scented bubble baths my sisters and I had when we were younger).
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Ladurée (Versailles, France)

I finally got my hands on real Ladurée macarons! We bought a box of 8 pieces which had the following flavors: Citron (Lemon), Caramel Fleur de Sel (Salted Caramel), Pistache (Pistachio), Praliné (Praline), Chocolat Yuzu (Yuzu Chocolate), Chocolat (Chocolate), Rose (Rose) and Vanille (Vanilla). One thing I noticed about Ladurée macarons versus other macarons I’ve tried is that their macarons don’t have that lingering almond taste - if you try their lemon macaron, you taste only lemon, if you try pistachio, you taste only pistachio, and so on. I personally don’t mind the taste of almond flour, but I was impressed that all their flavors were pretty spot on. My favorites were the praline (it had a light sweet nutty taste), chocolate (deep dark chewy chocolate…need I say more?), and rose (I will sound weird for saying this but it reminds me of rose-scented bubble baths my sisters and I had when we were younger).

European Experience: Château de Versailles (France)

Finally, I have some time to write about the last leg of our honeymoon! Before I write about Paris, here are some photos of the Château de Versailles (roughly pronounced as Sha-tu de ver-sigh, thanks to my “Neanderthal” French speaking skills) or the Palace of Versailles.

Our travel director mentioned that once you see this palace, you’d understand why the French Revolution happened. And really, I have never seen a more extravagant palace until I saw the Château de Versailles.

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View from the outside - we had an hour to roam around before our appointed time to enter the palace.

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Behind the palace was an extremely vast garden…and when I say vast, I mean 800 hectares!!! 

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In spite of the various construction projects happening on site - the rest of the garden was well-maintained and very beautiful!

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This is the view that greeted us once we got inside - little did I realize that this view would be the most plain among the state apartments we were about to see.

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So most of the state apartments look like this, with elaborate marble and art. 

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This is the Hall of Mirrors, which is a long and wide hallway with chandeliers. It really is an amazing sight, although I was wary of having one of the chandeliers fall on me as they looked really heavy.

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At this point, I’d like to say that it is a bit uncreative for the monarchs of France before the French Revolution to all be named “Louis”. As it so happens, King Louis the XIV, King Louis the XV, and King Louis the XVI all lived at this palace from the 1600s to the late 1700s. 

As for their queens, they were all named “Marie” (remember Marie-Antoinette?)

Below is a painting of King Louis the XIV. Notice how funny looking his legs are? Our local guide mentioned that in the past, a monarch only stood long enough for an artist to paint his face, then the artist will paint some random body to go with the face.

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At the end of our tour, surprises of all surprises, we found a Ladurée shop just at the exit of the palace! While I never visited the Ladurée store when it opened in New York a couple of years ago (there were so many other cheaper macaron places in NYC anyway!), I told myself that I had to try their macarons when I visit France.

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So here they are in their chewy glory. Will be writing a separate post about them in a bit.

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Finally, I couldn’t help taking a photo of this! The pups are just as fashionable as their owners in France!

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Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.

Woman vs. Fish - First Attempt Yup. I stared for a while at those big red eyes as I have never prepared a whole fish in my entire life. G’s parents usually give us fish fresh from the sea, but this is the first time we have received one that was still intact. I tried following instructions on how to gut and scale a fish but seriously, it’s not that easy. Who knew that this Maya-Maya’s (Red Snapper’s) scales were that tough? Plus, its fins and teeth were really sharp, so I had to be really careful. Removing the guts was not a fun experience either, though I think that was the easiest part of the process. In the taste department though, this fish was delicious. I sauteed garlic and bell pepper, seasoned and fried the fish for a while in tomato sauce, then finished baking it in the oven. The flesh was soft and did not have that “fishy taste” which was good. I had this whole fish to myself, with a bit of scales and all.
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Woman vs. Fish - First Attempt Yup. I stared for a while at those big red eyes as I have never prepared a whole fish in my entire life. G’s parents usually give us fish fresh from the sea, but this is the first time we have received one that was still intact. I tried following instructions on how to gut and scale a fish but seriously, it’s not that easy. Who knew that this Maya-Maya’s (Red Snapper’s) scales were that tough? Plus, its fins and teeth were really sharp, so I had to be really careful. Removing the guts was not a fun experience either, though I think that was the easiest part of the process. In the taste department though, this fish was delicious. I sauteed garlic and bell pepper, seasoned and fried the fish for a while in tomato sauce, then finished baking it in the oven. The flesh was soft and did not have that “fishy taste” which was good. I had this whole fish to myself, with a bit of scales and all.
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Woman vs. Fish - First Attempt

Yup. I stared for a while at those big red eyes as I have never prepared a whole fish in my entire life. G’s parents usually give us fish fresh from the sea, but this is the first time we have received one that was still intact. I tried following instructions on how to gut and scale a fish but seriously, it’s not that easy. Who knew that this Maya-Maya’s (Red Snapper’s) scales were that tough? Plus, its fins and teeth were really sharp, so I had to be really careful. Removing the guts was not a fun experience either, though I think that was the easiest part of the process.

In the taste department though, this fish was delicious. I sauteed garlic and bell pepper, seasoned and fried the fish for a while in tomato sauce, then finished baking it in the oven. The flesh was soft and did not have that “fishy taste” which was good. I had this whole fish to myself, with a bit of scales and all.

Old Swiss House shows us how their Deluxe Wienerschnitzel is made. My first video on Tumblr ever. Please pardon my very elementary video editing skills and shaky hands. But I am pretty sure that you will be hungry if you manage to sit through this video. 

European Experience: Dinner at Old Swiss House (Lucerne, Switzerland)

Our most memorable meal during our Europe tour is actually in Switzerland, where G and I chanced upon the Old Swiss House. We were initially intimidated as it looked like a fine dining restaurant and we were just dressed in shirts and sneakers. But we were so hungry (and wanted to try real Swiss food) so we went in anyway.

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Luckily, we weren’t turned away (even without a reservation), and our server, who was in traditional Lucerne dress, was actually quite friendly and very attentive. She told us that this restaurant (along with its dishes) has been established and run by the same family for years (in the mid-1800s).

As an appetizer, G and I shared breaded cubes of cheese served with some salad (really sorry as I didn’t take note what this was called exactly). The cheese inside was extremely rich and contrasted well with the sharp alfalfa sprouts and fresh lettuce.

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I had the Small Sliced Veal “Zürich Style” in Mushroom Cream Sauce served with Roesti-Potatoes. Roesti is kind of like hash browns but much thicker. The shoestring strips added crisp on the outside but the inside was smooth and savory like potato croquettes. This is also the first time I’ve tried veal (as I rarely eat red meat) and it was very tender (and not chewy). The mushroom sauce was very hearty but balanced by the parsley sprinkled on top. Delicious!

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G went for the house specialty called the Deluxe Wienerschnitzel (Breaded veal escalopine cooked in pure butter, served with egg noodles and breadcrumbs on top). I actually took a video of our server making the Schnitzel so will post it as soon as I can. But upon checking the restaurant’s website, my worst fears were confirmed - this dish alone is made with 150 grams of veal, 5 eggs, 50 grams of grated Parmesan cheese and 80 grams of butter!!! I think my blood vessels just tightened typing this!

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The Schnitzel being cooked - up close.

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And here it is, served with egg noodles topped with the remaining breadcrumb-egg-butter-cheese mixture! Plus I thought it was smart that they wrapped the lemon in a thin cloth so that the seeds won’t get into the food when you squeeze the juice on it.

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By the end of the meal, we were both pretty stuffed, but we couldn’t pass on dessert: in their menu, just under Our Famous Chocolate Mousse, the line, “It’s a must” was clamoring for us to try some of this dessert.

So our server got out two wooden pails, one with freshly whipped cream and the other with rich, thick, pure dark chocolate mousse. This was only the small portion but a bite of this was just so indulgent!

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So…this was definitely the best meal I’ve had in Europe, but at a price! But I have no regrets because we really enjoyed the experience and the food, and of course, we deserve to treat ourselves to something really nice every once in a while.

Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.

European Experience: Lucerne (Switzerland)

By the time we reached Switzerland, we had jumped from speaking (at least, the best way we could) German to Italian to German back again, because in Switzerland, people speak either German, Italian or French, depending on their location. This is because Switzerland is surrounded by Germany (North), Italy (South), France (West) and Austria and Liechtenstein (East).

We stayed in Lucerne, where most people speak German. It was still pretty cold when we went here, as seen in the snow covered mountains in the distance.

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But before we reached Switzerland from Italy, we passed the 3rd longest bridge in the world, called the Gotthard Road Tunnel - more than 16 kilometers! Certainly not a tunnel where you can hold your breath and make a wish. ;) 

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Remember the Swiss Guards I mentioned while I was in Vatican City? Well, this sad looking, dying lion monument was in memory of the loyalty of the Swiss Guards who protected the French royalty during the French Revolution. This is definitely one of the most unique monuments I’ve ever seen.

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To add to another of my “mosts”, Lake Lucerne is probably the clearest lake I’ve ever seen in my life. Below you can see the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), which is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe.1 Our travel director urged all of us to cross this bridge at least once so we did!

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Interestingly, Lake Lucerne is heavily inhabited by swans! I have never seen so many swans in my entire life! They’re pretty huge and don’t seem to be scared of tourists, because they do come closer to you especially when they see that you have some snack or piece of bread in your hands.

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I’ve seen some swans actually walking along the sidewalks, posing for excited tourists, but I was only able to take pictures of them in the water.

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We also rode a cable car to the peak of Mt. Pilatus which surrounded Lucerne.

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Sadly, the weather was a bit dreary and cold when we went up…

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…so we couldn’t see much of Lucerne from the top of the mountain. Didn’t help that I wasn’t a big fan of snow.

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Did you know that Switzerland breeds St. Bernards (You know, like that lovable family dog in the movie Beethoven)? These St. Bernards were originally used as rescue dogs for those who got injured or lost in the mountains. Sadly, I wasn’t able to see a live one but the souvenir shop at the top of Mt. Pilatus had some stuffed toy versions.

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While everything in Lucerne (as it is probably in the whole of Switzerland) is more expensive than it is in other European countries, G and I had our most memorable and delicious (and yes, most expensive) dinner here! Below is a picture of Schnitzel being cooked in front of our table. I will be writing a separate post on this.

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Disclaimer: My European Experience series is based on a “crash course” tour of 8 countries in 14 days. Therefore, these posts will contain only some sights and tastes of each country.

Homemade Chocolate Tartufo (Rome, Italy) This really put G (an extreme chocoholic who would only eat chocolate desserts) to the test. Chocolate Tartufo (which means “truffle” in Italian) is rich and thick chocolate gelato typically filled with cherries, covered in roughly chopped chunks of dark chocolate, then topped with whipped cream. Too chocolatey for G. This baseball-sized scoop would probably be good enough for 4 people (unless you’re a monstrous chocoholic who can eat this whole).  Nonetheless - a bite of this was just delicious. :)
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Homemade Chocolate Tartufo (Rome, Italy) This really put G (an extreme chocoholic who would only eat chocolate desserts) to the test. Chocolate Tartufo (which means “truffle” in Italian) is rich and thick chocolate gelato typically filled with cherries, covered in roughly chopped chunks of dark chocolate, then topped with whipped cream. Too chocolatey for G. This baseball-sized scoop would probably be good enough for 4 people (unless you’re a monstrous chocoholic who can eat this whole).  Nonetheless - a bite of this was just delicious. :)
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Homemade Chocolate Tartufo (Rome, Italy)

This really put G (an extreme chocoholic who would only eat chocolate desserts) to the test. Chocolate Tartufo (which means “truffle” in Italian) is rich and thick chocolate gelato typically filled with cherries, covered in roughly chopped chunks of dark chocolate, then topped with whipped cream.

Too chocolatey for G. This baseball-sized scoop would probably be good enough for 4 people (unless you’re a monstrous chocoholic who can eat this whole). 

Nonetheless - a bite of this was just delicious. :)

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