Bites of Bretagne- Part I (Desserts and Fruits de Mer)

If I go to another place, I want to eat the food of that place. Period. Not for me the pleasures of hot ‘pav-bhaji’ in the Alps or ‘dosa’ in the Acropolis, thank you very much. (these are real-life examples told to me by some tourists)

So, although I was quite surprised to see two Indian restaurants in Quimper, nothing would have induced me to step into either. With all the interesting looking creperies, boulangeries, patisseries and chocolateries around, it would have been an idiotic thing to do.

But first- the desserts. Or rather- the macarons. I had vowed to eat my fill of these, so it was like a dream come true when one of the first shops I saw in Quimper was ‘Les Macarons de Philomene’

Inside was the most delectable, mouth-watering array of macarons I had ever seen (which anyway, wasn’t much in the first place). It was impossible to pick one, so I settled for three. And thus began my foray into the sweet, sweet world of french desserts. We went back a couple of more times to try out different eclairs and tarts. Each one was a sinful, divine treat.

Quimper is famous for its crepes- they’re eaten as a savoury or as a sweet, depending on the filling. A very versatile food! I preferred mine with cheese and ham or just plenty of butter, but many kids had theirs with Nutella- which I thought was an insult to the crepe.

The next local speciality was the seafood. On our arrival, we were served a plate of  ‘langoustine’- which is a kind of small lobster or a very, very large prawn. These are boiled and served with a side-dish of mayonnaise. It was a little difficult to eat anything that was looking back at me, especially since I had to snap off its head and tail and remove the shell, but once I got past those hurdles (a bit messily), I found them quite delicious, washed down with sips of chilled white wine.

I also tried some varieties of fish- none of which looked or tasted familiar. They were served with sauce or vegetables, each one was prepared differently and they were all yummy. So unlike the fish-tikka/fish-fry/fish-curry that I was used to.

At the urging of my friend, I was persuaded to try snails. I was reluctant mainly because I thought they would be difficult to remove from their shells; which as it turned out was not the case. Drenched in butter and seasoned with plenty of garlic, each escargot was a scrumptious, juicy bite.

On our last day in Bretagne, I got to taste oysters. FRESH oysters. So fresh, they tasted of the sea (and the sand- a little!) Each shell was pried open and nestled within was the oyster, clinging to the shell which still contained sea-water. It was to be removed with a knife and quickly popped into the mouth. Not an easy task but one which my host accomplished with the greatest of ease. I however, fumbled a lot! The first oyster tasted briny and then slightly milky and so did the second. I did not try a third and I have been unable to decide whether I would attempt eating oysters again.