As everybody knows, we still have a lot of London posts on our to-do list, but we are just TOO excited about our two very exciting Parisian discoveries.
Everyone knows about macarons (especially Laduree’s and Pierre Herme’s) but we recently discovered a MAGNUM ICE CREAM CAFE and MEERT WAFFLES from LILLE. Both of these places are located in the Marais (our favorite arrondisment in Paris).
MAGNUM ICE CREAM CAFE
Many of you may have been fortunate to buy a package of Magnum ice-cream from your neighborhood grocery store. These bars are available all over London and last year, came to the United States of America! There are a variety of different flavors and sizes (even mini-magnums) and we LOVE them – especially in the summer!
Now, imagine . . . .being able to design your OWN MAGNUM BAR! The first Magnum Ice Cream Parlor was located in Qatar (Don’t worry, we know what your thinking. We were thinking the same thing. “Seriously?” “Qatar?” “What were they thinking?”. Good business? Maybe – it’s HOT there!). The second Magnum Ice Cream Parlor opened at 23, rue du Roi de Sicile 75004 Paris. This is the FIRST one in Europe and the one that we were fortunate enough to try. By the time we arrived, it had been open for one month!
Here is a picture of the french directions(In case you read french). If you do, kindly inform us by commenting on our blog.
Our server kindly translated all of the directions from french to english for us. Here is a picture of our server:
We will now explain the directions to you just as she explained them to us. First, you choose your ice cream flavor, chocolate or vanilla. All of us chose vanilla. Secondly, you choose three toppings which they put in an ice cream sized box. The toppings include marshmallow, caramel bits, coconut, almonds, cashews, cereal, M&M’s, chocolate, coffee, brownie bits and more! Anya chose marshmallow (that’s pink!), coconut, and caramel bits. Mommy picked cashews, almonds, and caramel bits(rather boring flavors if I do say so myself). And Karsen picked coconut, caramel bits, and almonds. Here is a picture of the toppings:
The toppings are placed into a “box.”
Next, you can pick whether you want your ice-cream dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate. All of us chose dark chocolate. Immediately after the ice cream is dipped, it is “rolled” around in your box of toppings. Finally, a touch of white chocolate is added!
Here is a video of the process:
Here are some pictures of us enjoying the made-right-before-your-eyes-ice cream:
We rate magnum ice cream 4 1/2 smiley faces for deliciousness, and 1/2 for creativity. We subtracted 1/2 because it is WAY more expensive than the magnum bars that you buy at stores. In fact, they are 4 1/2 Euros EACH! To use Bhuya’s term, even though the ice-cream bars are delicious, they may not be good VFM (Value For Money – I think 4 1/2 Euros can buy a pack of Magnum bars from a grocery store!).
Overall, that is an average of 4 1/2 smiley faces (which is coincidentally how much each bar costs in euros!). Hey kids! Math is good for your health!
😀 😀 😀 😀 1/2 (out of a possible of 5 smiley faces)
NEXT POST: MEERT WAFFLES
Drum Roll Please…
First, a little history..(history is good for you too). Meert opened in 1761 in Lille, which is in Northern France (Wait a minute.. what do you want Karsen? Karsen wants me too tell you that Meert is older than the USA. Big bug of a deal Karsen). Meert still uses the same recipe they did in 1761, which is why it’s so good(kind of like when your parents use your grandmother’s recipe). Well anyway, it was started by Delcourt, who was succeeded by Rollez, and that was when the creation of the pastry was born. Then in 1990 they started a family tea room, highly popular, and just recently they started opening several more restaurants.
Well, that’s enough history for today. P.S-The Meert we went to is on 16 rue Elzévir 75003 Paris, just in case you want to go.
The reason we know about Meert is because our friend Jean-Luc introduced us to this delicacy. (By the way, Monsier Jean-Luc is the manager of the Laduree store on Rue Royale – we are giving you his title because that way you’ll know that he is an expert on sweet deliciousness!).
Monsieur Jean-Luc introduced us to their best flavors! At least we think so. Pistachio, Madagascar Vanilla, and Pistachio-Raspberry.. beat that!! I’m getting carried away… the waffle is homemade and is filled with cream. Just imagine. . . . .butter, sugar, vanilla, pistachios swirling around in your mouth! MMMMMM!!! This is the stuff that dreams are made of!!
The waffles are put in boxes and wrapped with ribbons..
…and in a gold foil….
Voila!
They were sooo good, we wanted to go back the next day and buy some more. Unfortunately, they were closed on Monday. We trust that the next time you go to Paris, you will buy at least one of their 6 packs. If you don’t you’ll miss out. Remember, we’re warning you…
We rate Meert… . . . . (drum roll please)
5 smiley faces (out of five smiley faces)
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
i can’t believe you make all these discoveries when i’m not in Paris with you! those waffles look amazing!!!! what was the best flavor?
custom magnum bars? wowee. were they way better than the ones in the box?
also, i just wanted to mention that the meert packaging seems a little excessive. what if you just want to eat them right away?
Well, we received the waffles as a gift and the packaging was most certainly part of the charm. Just imagine receiving a beautiful box. . . opening it up and seeing gold foil. .. .and then those lovely waffles!!! Every time we opened the package, it felt like an occasion!
That said – we agree! Sometimes, you just can’t wait!!!!!!!
-the sophisti-kids
p.s. we just had our last waffles. boohoo! so sad!!!!
The waffles ARE amazing!!! Anya’s and papa’s favorite is the vanilla – that is the classic flavor and it’s vanilla from Madagascar (the capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo). Karsen and mommy like the pistachio flavor. That’s the classic with pistachios added.
The magnum bars are WAY better than the ones from the box!! And what’s even more amazing is how quickly the chocolate dipping sauce hardens so that it is ready to consume! We highly recommend trying it at least once. . . . .
-the sophisti-kids
Have to go to Paris again for the crepes and now these personalized made to order magnums (even though they are not VFM!). The waffles were super delicious . Thank you for sharing them with us in London. Pufa ji and I liked vanilla the best. Let’s see what Monsieur Jean-Luc introduces you to the next time we (all – hopefully) are in Paris.
How about we go to Paris next year? We hope Monsieur Jean-Luc introduces us to something even better next time!!
-the sopisti-kids
are we invited to Paris too? the girls love waffles and ice cream already, so it should be great for them too. or maybe we should go all the way to lille to find the original meert shop!
did you go back to that gelato place in Paris also?
Sure you are! I hope they like this new kind of ice cream and waffles. Yes! We went back to amorino but we will not be able to do a post on it. Sorry.
-the sophisti-kids
Great info on our favorite city Paris! We’ll be sure to visit those sweet spots on our next trip to Paris. Any way you can send us some sweet french patisserie smells? did you have any pain-au-chocolat? it’s my dad’s favorite.
We had a lot of french patisserie including pain-au-chocolate. But unfortunately, we couldn’t take any home except for Meert. Even more unfortunately, we finished all the Meert already. Sigh. 🙁
-the sophisti-kids
I had Magnum for the first time at a gas station store in a two-horse town in Virginia. It was pretty good.
If I was confronted with the opportunity to make my own Magnum, I’d find it hard to stop at just one.
We agree. We would have had more magnum bars, but we were too full from our enormous breakfast and lunch.(You know how Paris is). Also, It is very expensive.
-the sophisti-kids
The magnums look delicious. I’m having a hard time imagining what the waffles taste like, and what their texture is like, but I am sure they are amazing as well. It’s interesting how the ice cream server in Paris looks so Parisian, and the ice cream server in London looks so British.
The magnums were very good. Let me help you out. The waffles tasted like regular waffles except thinner, homemade, and otherwise 3x better.
Different people look different in different countries(excluding america of course).
-the sophisti-kids