Ladurée [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Ladurée
Address: 75 Avenue Champs Elysées, Paris (2 additional locations)
Website: http://www.laduree.fr
Style: French
Price: $$$

/partially copied from my vacation post with all (too many) the corresponding photos/

This was my mandatory trip to Ladurée. As in the home of the macaroon. As in a Cake Tour Must. Aaaah, this was heavenly and I knew it; it was something which I had been planning as soon as I knew (and probably, before) I was going to Paris. There, I chose to go for the Champs Elysées location which is just so cute in all its gold and pale green glory. There, you have a tearoom where you can indulge in overpriced (in my opinion, though I really should have splurged once) treats and drinks as well as a take-out counter. The line, by the way, seems to always be massive though it goes rather quickly. When you order, you continue on and pay and then, in true classy form, they bring you your gorgeous little bag which I carried around the city as the proudest little pastry lover in the world. ;)

Ahem, nevertheless, you go here for the macarons. This is without a doubt; in addition to this place being credited with having invented these little cookies with their ganache filling, these are also the best macarons in Paris. In the world, this is might be contested, especially by my brothers, but he he he we're going to be getting to that at a later date. ;P Anyways, I have to say that their macarons are also the only thing here that's reasonably priced. There are places that charge much more for theirs in Paris (again, at a later date ^^), so at 1,60 euro (if I remember correctly) and the possibility to save some money on the multi-pack gift boxes (though you gotta watch out since some boxes you end up paying for!), they're an affordable snack for anyone. The only problem is that you can go overboard and keep asking for flavours (I saw this happen on the two occasions I was there), you're going to end up paying for it. Duh! So, be like me and calculate beforehand how much your budget will give you and go in there knowing exactly how much you'll buy. ;D

But~ to my purchases. The first time I went, I naturally only went for the macarons. I purchased the prettiest box under 20 euro (la boite arabesque with 8 macarons -- 14,90E to be exact ^^) and pretty much filled it up with the standard flavours, mainly because I'm a fruit lover. So, from the top left (the colours will help you out here as well), I chose: 2x fruits rouges (the French language's version of 'mixed berry'), green apple, blackcurrant and raspberry. This was my first time ever eating macarons and straight from the store, they were amazing. Slightly hard on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside, with the flavoured ganache being intense and very tasty; the green apple tasted a little artificial, but the mixed berry especially was superb: sweet and slightly tangy and tasting unmistakeably of its flavour. Of course, I was quite dumb and assumed they were just like any other cookies and I brought a majority of this box home with me... two weeks later. When everyone sampled them, they were hard as a rock and no one really appreciated them so much. -_- (Mimi's Tip [well, okay, I read it on a pamphlet I got from another macaron purchase]: store these in the fridge and take out 30 minutes before you want to eat them to keep up maximum freshness) But seeing as I did in fact eat some, I went back again to buy some separately (though they were handed to me in a paper bag and were so beat-up after walking around with them, I didn't take a pic of it), this time I got: 2X mixed berry, fleur d'oranger (orange water), mimosa. I tried neither of the latter two; my brother got a mimosa and said it was like "eating Body Shop": very perfume and soap-like. The orange water didn't get rave reviews either; it was slightly bitter and also had that perfume quality to it. Didn't take any of the chocolate, but personally, I'd stick to the fruit. ;)

I also came to treat myself to something, seeing as it was my last day in Paris. I went here (this same second time) late in the afternoon so they didn't have much selection left, but I couldn't resist this one -- it looked so yummy. I was thinking about the amazing Saint-Honorés or Millefeuilles, but seeing the amount of whipped cream in them, I chose the uh, healthier option. It also ended up being one of the most expensive. -_- All the prices were grouped together at the other end, so all I saw was the price of the lemon tart -- thinking that there couldn't *possibly* be such a huge difference in price. Yeah, 2 euros to be precise (6,30 euro). :/ Still, this was special because it was filled with a passion fruit cream, then with the raspberries (with some sort of liquor glaze) heaped on top of it. It was delicious, BUT Stohrer still takes #1. :)

Overall, Ladurée is a must-see when you're in Paris. Brave the lines and pick up something tasty; it's worth it! Sadly, the above price rating is an average between the $$ macarons (both small and large sizes are reasonably priced) and the $$$$ cakes and pastries. The latter are phenomenal, but at 5+ euro per piece, are they worth the price? Hmmmm, probably not (and yes, that took a lot of deliberation XDDDDD), especially when you can pick up equally tasty, elaborate treats at almost half the price elsewhere... you just won't get the pretty pink box (alas!). ;)

Rating: ****