What's in Paris? - Part 2

One must never ever leave out the cakes and pastries in the itinerary when he/she visits France. Forget about your diet for a moment and indulge your sweet tooth in these goodness. I'm a hugeeee fan of French pastries and I have not tasted better pastries other than the ones I have savored my taste buds with in Paris. This is one of the many reasons why I have visited Paris more than once in the past and why I would return to Paris in the near future. Here are a few of my favourite places that I have been to. Feast your eyes; 

Claus

14 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris, France

Probably the only brunch food I had in Paris and boy, did I make the right choice as there are wayyy too many brunch places to choose from! It was definitely worth the 40-minute queue.

L'Excuse Mogador

21 Rue Joubert, 75009 Paris, France

Start your day with a good ol' classic crepe. There is a variety of crepes on the menu, both savoury and sweet. Take your pick but...why not both?

Sadaharu Aoki

 35 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

I love anything matcha and black sesame! & this place will forever top my must-have list. They serve really good Japanese and French fusion desserts and I always recommend my friends and family to try them whenever they go to Paris. My personal favourites are Bamboo & Zen.

L’Éclair de génie

14 Rue Pavée, 75004 Paris, France

Nobody makes better éclairs than the French, I suppose. This place delivers some of the best éclairs in Paris. It has a few branches in Paris so it's not hard to look for one. The hardest part comes when you have to pick the éclairs that you want to consume.

Jean Paul Hévin Chocolatier Patissier

231 Rue Saint Honoré - côté cour, 75001 Paris, France

As I'm a huge fan of chocolates and macarons, Jean Paul Hévin is so far my favourite and the best place to satisfy my cravings for macarons. I have tried almost all flavours and none was a disappointment.

Angelina

226 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France

Angelina is a good place, especially during Winter, for a Mont Blanc and a cup of velvety & thick hot chocolate. The gorgeous 19th century-style interior would definitely elevate one's foodie experience.

Café Pouchkine

64 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

Their honey cake is amazing & it's a must-try! Other desserts are amazing too. They have a branch near Galeries Lafayette; an ideal place to take a break after shopping. It's a win-win situation. 

Ladurée

18 Rue Royale, 75008 Paris, France

A favourite place of many for afternoon tea. The classic ambience that emanates Parisian charm; also a good place to start experiencing the French culture, made my trip to Ladurée worthwhile.

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So, these are the places that I have tried during my visit in Paris. Not once, not twice, but for countless times. Many thanks to my friends (you know who you guys are!) who know my love for real French pastries, for their effort to bring back some to me during their trips there! Blessed.

I also have a list of other brunch and dessert places which I would try the next time I travel to Paris;

Holybelly
5 Rue Lucien Sampaix, 75010 Paris, France

Paperboy
137 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris, France

Carl Marletti
51 Rue Censier, 75005 Paris, France

L’Eclair de Génie
32 Rue Notre Dame des Victoires, 75002 Paris, France

Aki Boulanger
16 Rue Sainte-Anne, 75001 Paris, France

Jacques Genin 
133 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris, France

What's in Paris?

It's been a really long hiatus (3 years, I suppose?) since I last updated this blog of mine as I was doing my undergraduate study in the UK. There was absolutely insufficient time for me to blog although I really wanted to. I was trying to balance both my social life and academic performance (don't let me get started with the assignment workloads) and it pretty much drained my energy and used up most of my time there to the extend that I had no time to blog. I used up the remaining time by doing what I love to do most; traveling, cafe hopping, shopping. Believe it or not, I hardly used my laptop except for university purposes and online shopping, whoops. Also, I slowly broke the habit to keep track of every update on my phone's social applications everyday; surprise, surprise. 

Of course, I am eternally grateful to be able to travel, dine in some of the best restaurants, savor all sorts of cuisines and local delights, experience a whole new different culture and environment, also to be exposed to multicultural communities from living in Central London during my time as a university student. Over the past 3 years, my interest for photography has been piqued and I've brushed up & still trying to improve my photo editing skills which explains the inconsistent filters/effects on my Instagram profile! 

From now on, I would be sharing my experiences (just like before) on my blog and hopefully, my memory does not fail me. What would I blog about? Anything and almost everything actually and I'm pretty excited to start my blogging journey once again! 

P/S : Don't worry, I've decided to come up with shorter and less wordy posts in the future. 


More pictures, less words. I promise.

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If you do not know, my first other European country that I've visited when I was a student there was France. Needless to say, it was a trip to the capital; Paris, also known as the City of Love and one of the Fashion Capitals. I've actually been there for three times and I can and will never get tired of Paris. 

I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of the Love Lock Bridge before they were taken down few years back. A tradition of 'love locks' was considered as a romantic gesture where couples would have their initials engraved or written on a lock that would be attached to the bridge, with the key thrown away for eternal love. This was one thing that I did not have to trouble myself for when I was there, hah. I remember that I had to brave the frigid and rainy weather that night just to take a few shots of it. No regretssss.

No umbrella so I assumed and hoped a beanie would at least protect my scalp from the rain.

Many of us know that France, a shopping paradise for many girls, is famous for its fashion heritage. Coco Chanel, Hermès, A.P.C., Louis Vuitton, Longchamp, YSL, Isabel Marant to name a few are some of the prominent French fashion labels that are highly sought after by many women. With so many French designer brands for all genders and ages, sitting across various price spectrum, how can anyone resist not pampering him/herself by indulging in retail therapy? In Paris, the most convenient place for tourists to shop would be Galeries Lafayette which houses almost every top fashion brands. It's one of my must-visit places everytime I visit Paris, especially for the food hall there! Mm-mm. And the Louvre is situated approximately 15 minutes walk away from the department store where you can have a look at the renowned Mona Lisa portrait. The queue for tickets can be a little crazy so it's always advisable to purchase any attraction tickets online to avoid waiting in line. Ugh. It can save you wayyy a lot of time.

The Louvre.

The exterior of the Notre-Dame Cathedral illuminating at night is pretty amazing. During my visit in winter, a giant Christmas tree was displayed right in front of the Gothic facade; an almost perfect setting for a moody winter inspiration shoot only if it snowed. I would absolutely take a photo with Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame too, if only he was real.

Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Don't miss out the Arc de Triomphe, one of the famous Arches in the world. What's interesting about this commemorative monument besides its historical significance is its location, where the arch is the centre of a roundabout. Cars would circle in orbit around it, causing massive traffic congestion. I guess they wanted an even closer look at the monument, who knows! 

And of course, the majestic Eiffel Tower is probably on everyone's travel bucket list. It was a pity that the lawn in front of it was fenced off during winter. It would be a great picnic spot during summer though! The tower lights up every night and I heard the view from the top deck is spectacular although I haven't witnessed it myself before because it was raining and the queue was too long.. 

Definitely one of my favourite pictures with Jessica.

The Tuileries Garden presents manicured rows of trees that retains its aesthetic quality even during the winter when deciduous trees have shed leaves. However, if one prefers to visit this picturesque garden when the trees and flowers are in full bloom, it'd best to go in Autumn. 

Going to Disneyland has always been a childhood dream of mine. I've been to the one in Paris twice and it never fails to reignite my inner child (hey, don't judge). I always had the urge to grab hold of every plushie I saw especially the Tsum Tsum that are merchandised almost everywhere in the park. & I'll be sure to visit Tokyo Disneyland one day just for the Green Alien Mochi heh.

These are some of the main attractions that I personally think are worth a visit. There are without a doubt, many other attractions but I spent most of my time hunting for good Parisian cakes and pastries. Guilty as charged! But no worries, I'll share some of my favourite patisseries in Paris in the next post.

Till then!

Up next: What's in Paris? - Part 2