Laduree, Paris - September 2007

We were hungry at about 5pm and since Laduree was just ahead of us, we stopped by to have afternoon tea. The queue to purchase their famous confectionery for take-away went all the way to the street and people kept coming and coming and coming.... Many took pics at the front of shop too!

If you are going to dine-in, make sure you push your way through the queuing crowd at the entrance and into the tea salon. It is a great experience though service leaves very much to be desired. Just make sure you allocate enough time to enjoy your afternoon tea. It is that impersonal and that s-l-o-w. The decor, however, has an old world charm to it.

Quoting their website :

"Ladurée Royale
This tea salon created in 1862 and decorated with wainscoting and frescos depicting angelic pastry chefs and voluptuous ladies, became a favorite address for people from all walks of life.
Since then the tea room’s habitués have rubbed shoulders with tourists and personalities from the world over."

Ladurée Royale
16, rue Royale - 75008 Paris
Tél : +33 1 42 60 21 79 - Fax : +33 1 49 27 01 95

Ispahan - it really is beautiful to look at - but a tad to sweet for me since it was a sandwich of 2 bigger-sized, thus thicker macarons. Love the rose and lychee flavoured cream and raspberries though. Warning : if not too hungry and not a fan of sweets, don't attempt to down one of these on your own. EUR7.70 each
Mini macarons (clockwise from left) - cassis-violette (blackcurrant-violet), caramel a la fleur de sel (salted butter caramel), framboise (raspberry), chocolat. EUR6.90/choice of 4 pcs For drinks, the order was for Cafe Liegeoise and Chocolat Liegeois at EUR8.40 each.
2 gift boxes for staff (6 pcs in each - See the red one? I think it was called Ruby Kiss or Red Ruby or something along the line. They were all delicious! Personally, I love the fruits ones and caramel with fleur de sel.

The black box is the limited edition as stated on their website :

I quote : "The Ladurée 2007/2008 Autumn Winter collection takes its theme from the Theatre. Throughout this period, Ladurée will pay tribute to Opera, Dance, Music and Theatre.
The year-end holidays will offer a particularly baroque celebration, fusing these Arts with gusto into a dazzling array of Epicurean delights.
The products and packaging in this collection will be delicate yet intense, sweet yet powerful. Reds, blacks, golds, pinks, and blue-greys provide the colour scheme while silky, changing, crunchy and spirited will be the keynotes of this season’s new creations."

Thankfully, the closest store is thousands of miles away or I would have to stand in queue pretty often and spend quite a bit of moolah on them AND will likely be diabetic.