Cafe Fernando

Sadaharu Aoki, Paris

Perfectly balanced layers of joconde, buttercream and ganache, dusted with matcha powder to resemble grass and painted with thin streaks of matcha glaze to look like bamboo stalks. The slice of cake on the left is called “Bamboo” and it is from the most inspiring patisserie I’ve visited in Paris: Sadaharu Aoki.

At Sadaharu Aoki, located just a few blocks away from Jardin du Luxembourg (the largest public park in Paris), you can see his detail-oriented nature in everything he presents. And what makes him incredibly unique is his ability to incorporate Japanese ingredients into classic French pastries with refinement and subtlety.

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Paris Continued

I never would have thought one day I’d visit Paris, come back and tell you about a place that serves chocolate mousse in plastic cups.

But I really am going to. And please don’t leave. Hear me out first. Here’s how it happened:

Paris/Day 2/Noon/Hotel Room – We are dropping off morning’s treasures and about to head out.

Friend: “I am so hungry. Let’s grab a quick bite around the hotel and then we’ll start exploring the chocolate shops, OK?”

Me: “There aren’t any nice places around the hotel for lunch. Besides, we have to go to Cuisine de Bar, I’ve heard they have the best tartines. They even pour a welcome glass of wine if the wait is long!”. But he insists. “Are you sure we can’t have lunch somewhere closer? I really have to eat something now!”

I look at my map and go “My Paris map says no.” You should have seen the look in my friend’s face. I guess my riff on Carol Beer’s catchphrase was to blame. So I shut up and we start looking for a place around the hotel to grab a quick bite.

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Chez Dumonet, Paris

I must be the laziest food blogger ever. It has been almost a year since I visited Paris and there’s still so much I haven’t told you. Sure, A l’Etoile d’Or alone is worth visiting Paris, but we can’t live on just caramels and chocolate, right?

OK, maybe I can, but I’m assuming most of you wouldn’t want to. Plus, I feel like I won’t be able to get another good night’s sleep if I didn’t tell you about the best meal I’ve had in Paris.

I don’t remember exactly what I was tracking down, but I remember giving up, sitting on the pavement and start looking for a place nearby on my Paris map. There was a red mark (“must visit” category) on a street, which looked like a 5-minute-walk away from where I collapsed, so I got up, told my friend the food was near and we started walking.

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