When I first visited Paris last year, I struggled with the language. After figuring out how to get that throaty ‘r’ sound going, the next thing I very quickly learned to say for survival reasons was: “Une macaron au chocolat s’il vous plait” — which got me exactly one enormous chocolate macaron.

My aunt and I went for a masterclass in macaron-making a few weekends ago. It was a pretty good course, sans the woman who (1) Kept coughing and sneezing in the direction of the ingredients; (2) Kept stealing our chocolate buttons — isn’t it written somewhere in Life’s Handbook that you NEVER EVER touch another woman’s chocolate? I almost smacked her about the head.

Anyway, so yesterday my aunt and I decided to have another go at mastering these macarons.

Holy crap are they a pain in the arse to make. It took us four tries to get the sugar syrup right. I quite enjoy piping and am getting better and producing less poo-like shapes. But then you have to leave the piped shells at least an hour before you pop them into the oven. And when making the actual shells you need to keep the dry mixture fairly dry once you add in that first bit of meringue. And you can’t  over-fold the rest of the meringue into the dry mixture — which is very difficult when it’s on the dry side and you want to ensure that everything’s evenly mixed. And you can’t even eat them until the next day! To quote Boromir from The Lord of the Rings:

It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing.

But oh what DELICIOUS LITTLE THINGS they are.

Behold! Our very own macarons au chocolat! No cracked shells and a nice little ‘foot’ at the bottom of each shell. Next time, we’ll be sure to make more chocolate ganache for these wee beauties.

^ Yum yum. Tender and spicy and sweet. Perhaps using manuka honey was a bit of an expensive option, but we’re trying to clear out the pantry at the moment.

^ With thyme-and-anchovy-crumbed roasted tomatoes.

I followed a Heston recipe for the white sauce. Had to substitute the British cheeses (Spenwood and Berkswell) with NZ varieties, but it turned out generally OK. Was hoping it’d be a bit cheesier-tasting. Also thought the sauce was a bit runny, but once it sat with the pasta for a bit, it got nice and creamy.

^ Banh mi Nhu Lan.

^ Obligatory stop for more Fanny’s.

^ Iced mocha. So good..

^ Flying rice at Com Nieu!

^ Spicy sardine-y dish.

^ Quail.

^ Roast chicken and rice.

^ Banh xeo at Restaurant 19.

^ Froggy dish at Restaurant 19.

Whoops, got the ordering of the days a bit messed up here..

^ Grubs on sale at the morning market. Plump.

^ Making our own Cao Lau!

^ Steak grilling.

^ Cooking something else meaty and delish.

^ Amazing fried banana in coconut milk dessert.

^ Eating at Bale Well. This place is INSANE. Imagine your most overbearing aunt standing over you and making you all this food and then making you eat it. Awesome. And cheap! It’s basically near-endless amounts of meat and veges wrapped in banh xeo and dipped in sauce.

^ Amazing Cao Lau noodles, a speciality of Hoi An.

^ Crispy wontons. Refreshing. Tasty. Morsels.

^ Chicken salad from Miss Ly’s.

^ Ba Buoi chicken rice shop. Super cheap, super tasty chicken rice. You just go in, sit down and they start bringing you the only thing they serve — chicken rice. You get a wee soup with it too. Very cheap. It’s quite a light meal. I could’ve had two. The guy chopping the chicken had one arm.

^ Lovely iced Vietnamese coffee.

^ My fish dish of the day, at Green Chilli restaurant. The chef took our orders himself and explained everything to us. Very accommodating, very good service. Very good food. They make Vietnamese, Mexican and Italian food. I had my reservations about this combo, but I’d go back. No doubt.

^ Someone’s fajitas. Beautifully juicy chicken.

^ Hello creme brulee!

^ Possibly a Snickers-related dessert. SO GOOD. SOO BAD.

We had an AMAZING, incredibly tasty and filling meal at a monastery. If monks eat like this every day, I’m joining!

^ Meat patty-like dish.

^ Stir-fried veg.

^ Soup.

^ My favourite dish — a spam-like (in both flavour and texture) NON-MEAT dish. So tasty!