MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 7: 25-nen buri

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I have one last day in Paris and this was my day to run errands.  I had flat out refused to entertain any pleas to help secure Hermès handbags or anything of the kind.  The errands would all be food-related.

I pinged the elves in the morning, and Legolas Jr suggested that I check out the kouign amann at Blé Sucré.  It was a little out of the way for me... east of Place de la Bastille.  But the pictures on David Lebovitz's website looked interesting enough, so I hopped on the metro and went looking for breakfast.

I took a kouign amann, a croissant, coffee and sat down outside.  The pastries were cold, but still delicious.  The layers of the kouign amann were sweet and interesting.  Pretty good, I would say.  The croissant was really good... the type where the layers were stiff and brittle, which would break instead of bend under pressure.  Absolutely loved it.  Good job, Legolas Jr!

Next stop was Mora in Les Halles, to get some copper canelé molds for a friend in Taipei.  Unfortunately the shop was out of stock today, and I didn't find what I wanted until my third shop... and at twice the original budget.  Oh well...

Lunch was at Spoon Food and Wine, with my old friend Ralph.  Ralph and I went to school together in Tokyo, and haven't seen each other for close to 25 years.  I missed the opportunity to catch up with him last year, so I made sure to book lunch with him early this time around.  I had wanted something light so this was the perfect place for us.

Herbes et salades de nos maraîchers, concombre et yaourt - this was alright, although the yogurt threw me off a little.

Légumes et fruits d'automne cuisinés en cookpot, panais à croquer - this was pretty interesting...slightly heavier than a salad but it was all veg and nice. 

I'm starting my detox program so I didn't have any wine. 

It was good catching up with Ralph, as we each talked about what we've been up to since our teenage days in Tokyo.  I'm sure I'll have a few more food and wine encounters with him in the coming years...

A quick stop at the Virgin Megastore after lunch to get my Mylène Farmer fix, and I'm off to get my next fix at Pierre Hermé.  Guess what?  STILL no Ispahan macarons!  What do I have to do to get my hands on some?!

I pick up a bunch of small gift boxes for my friends back in HK, and proceed to get 2 boxes of the truffe blanche & noisette.  Ralph had told me about these babies and I was ecstatic to see a whole bunch of them.  I had apparently bought enough to earn a free macaron to taste in the shop, and I of course asked for the white truffle... What a wonderful creation!  The fragrance of the white truffle was so upfront...

Next I moved over and picked up 10 jars of confiture, made specially for Pierre Hermé by Christine Ferber.  Most of these were signature macaron flavors, such as Ispahan, Satine, Envie...  Can't wait to try all these babies!

A few hours later I sat in my hotel room pondering about my last dinner in France.  I was solo and didn't want a big and elaborate meal... and I actually contemplated going to McDonald's...  I read about "Crêpe Alley" just a couple of blocks away from the hotel, and trek up to see if I can get into Crêperie de Josselin.  Unfortunately there was a big group of people waiting outside, so I walked a few more steps and lined up outside Le Petit Josselin.

I didn't want a big meal, so I asked for the Andouille de Guéméné as a simple instead of the regular couple.  I just love the burnt taste of the blé noir galette... and of course find the pungent flavors of intestines irresistible. I was in heaven.

A perfect way to end the day.