London, England Post 3

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others.

September 12th- 16th, 2005

While in London John and I made a trek to Paul Boulangerie and Patisserie near Covent Garden. Paul boulangeries can be found in many other cities. I had never visited one before.

John tried this Quiche Lorraine and gave it a very favorable review. I nibbled on the crust and found it very tasty indeed. You can see some of the Paul cakes and pastries in the background of this picture.

We sampled their sugar-coated chouquettes, tiny crowns on choux pastry dusted with sugar. These sticky sweet little puffs melted in your mouth and were delicious, though left your hands needing a wash.

We also tried their mini-croissants. These were some of the best I have had. The flaky crust had sincere integrity and did not compress in your hand after the first bite.

The interior was soft and golden. I think these could have been a touch moister, but to be fair we did visit in the afternoon and they may have dried out a bit. Overall, these were superb croissants.

We also tried the brioche. These were good, but nothing to write home about. They also suffered from tasting a bit too dry.

Lastly, we bought a loaf of two-olive bread for our long bus ride to Glasgow the next morning. We packed some fruit and cheese to enjoy with it as well. This was a nice bread, it would have been lovely toasted but it was tasty right from the loaf as well. The baker did not skimp on the black and green olives and the crumb was soft and hearty, making this a lovely lunch. I could have gone for a bit more substance and character in the crust, but then again I could have also gone for six more inches of leg-room on the coach. We can’t always get exactly what we want I suppose.

Next stop, the Isle of Bute, Scotland.