The millefeuille mission - Part 2

And here we are yet again. Same time, same place (Paris), same people (me & hubbie)….different millefeuille. To continue from where I left off, there was a reason for needing to share my Pierre Herme millefeuille. It’s because we were on a double millefeuille mission. No two millefeuilles are the same, and we were, after all, in serious patisserie territory.

After Pierre Herme…with #1 millefeuille in hand, we headed a couple of blocks south & turned right into rue de Vaugirard to the tiny shopfront that is Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki. Trained in both Japan and France as a pastry chef, Sadaharu Aoki’s shop might not have the sleekness of Pierre Herme’s, but nonetheless, his display and choice of patisseries is truly special. Again, all the classic French treats are there, but what sets Aoki apart is his Japanese twist on the traditional. For example, his green tea versions of the éclair and French macaron. So, if it was our aim to do a comparison of millefeuille, then I was going to have to select his Matcha green tea millefeuille. A lovely Japanese salesgirl placed my treat in its own little white box (you know the French are serious about their food when they package their patisseries so impeccably). And off we went. To the Luxembourg Gardens with both millefeuilles in hand…to share.

Well, I gotta say, it was hard to pick a winner between the two. The green tea millefeuille had the crispiest, flakiest pastry, layers of smooth green tea-flavoured crème patissiere & an I-could-eat-this-forever caramelised top sprinkled with Matcha green tea powder and icing sugar. Words truly can’t describe the experience….all I remember thinking was that if Pierre Herme didn’t exist, Sadaharu’s millefeuille would make more than a suitable substitute. Maybe substitute is the wrong word; they are different after all. And so in this contest, there were two winners….our tummies. N

Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki
35 rue de Vaugirard
75006 Paris
Metro: St-Placide
Open: Mon-Sat 11am-7pm