Day 5 - Paris

I'm in Paris, and I'm in love with this city.

I almost didn't come here. Paris was an afterthought. I thought it was just yet another European city, similar to all others, but when I mentioned to my colleague, Kyle, that I was going on a Europe trip, he told me about these bread shops and pastry shops in France. I have a sweet tooth, and after hearing that they have a shop just dedicated to pastries, I really wanted to go. And when I found out that the flight was really cheap and short from London, that's when I made the decision. I shortened my London trip by 3 days, and penciled in Paris.

Typical alley in Paris

And boy am I glad I did. As soon as I walked out of the train station from the airport and started walking towards my hotel, I was instantly taken in by the charm of the city, and I knew I was going to love it. The local cozy cafes and bakeries at each corner; small clothes shops hidden in the alleys of tall, ancient buildings; huge, beautiful cathedrals at main intersections; kids playing ball at the local park. It's a combination of these things that gives Paris a charm of its own.

Me in front of Seine River

Seine River

Cathedral of Notre Dame

I saw some stuff in the main city. Cathedral of Notre Dame. Seine River. But I really want to talk about the best dessert I've had in my life.

I had already eaten a crepe for an early dinner, but around 9 PM I was still hungry, so I decided to go into a semi fancy place for dinner. I was actually searching for a dessert place, and this restaurant came up, so I decided to give it a try (it was called Un Dimanche a Paris, or A Sunday in Paris). The main dish itself was excellent, but the dessert! On the menu, it was called a Chocolate Souffle. Here's what the waiter brought me.

Best dessert in my life

The souffle is simply a light, fluffy chocolate disc, topped here with blueberries. The inside is a hot, molten chocolate sauce, that mixes well with the fluffy cake at the top. As soon as it's served, the cake begins to flatten out, and the sauce kind of hardens into a caramel-candy like texture. The white thing you see at the top right corner is frozen yogurt, topped with what I think is crushed meringue. You eat them together, and when you do, you can instantly feel the juxtaposition of opposites in your mouth. There are three levels of contrast at play. First, the coldness of the frozen yogurt meets the warm, gooey chocolate souffle, creating a curious sensation in your mouth. Second, the smooth texture from the yogurt softens the crunch you get from not only the hardened souffle, but also from the crushed meringue. And lastly, the creaminess and the sweetness of the yogurt blends so well with the tart from the blueberry sauce. I normally don't like sour things, and the dessert overall wasn't very sweet at all, and yet, the combination and the ratio of sweetness, tartness, and creaminess was just perfect. I really felt like I was eating a piece of art, and wondered if the pastry chef had studied literature or poetry, or had formal training in music or painting.