Sunday, August 29, 2010

Spice Boy

I had been to Galeries La Fayette before. But it wasn't until my last trip that I noticed this wonderful spice shop on the second floor of the Por Homme building. It is a feast for your senses.. the colors and scents of familiar and not so familiar herbs, spices, and seasonings will  your catch your eyes, seduce your nostrils, and stir up your imagination. The labels even have flavor profiles and cooking suggestions on them. 



Fresh Nutmeg (lower portion) is the best. But what piqued my interest was the item above the whole nutmegs.
It is called "Macis" or "Mace" and it is the bright red, lacy covering of the nutmeg seed shell. It has a warm, sharp aromatic flavor which is more intense and slightly sweeter than nutmeg. Like nutmeg, it is great for milk dishes like custards and cream sauces, and also works well with sweets. Perfect for mashed potatoes. :)

All of these ready made spice mixes made me wish I had brought a larger suitcase.



A whole section for pepper. There were more than a dozen varieties of pepper and pepper mixes.

It's ironic how I live in Asia and have been looking for Sichuan Pepper corns for the past several months. Only to find them in Europe. 

Another section dedicated to Salt. There were roasted salts, smoked salts, a hawaiian black salt, fleur de sel, truffle infused salt, herb salts, and himalayan pink salt. 
I ended up buying a jar of pink Himalayan salt--perfect pasalubong for my brother in law.

This was the last picture i took before the security on duty put their hand in front of my iPhone
and warned me about taking pictures.
La Route des Indes is located at the second floor of the Por Homme building of Galeries La Fayette. It is near  the escalators. Just follow your nose.

3 comments:

  1. Oh wow! It's like one of the happiest places in the world! I can fill an entire suitcase with the spices and salts!

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  2. hi blogalag! sorry, i just saw your comment now!

    i spent more time here than i did in the whole mall. hahaha..wonderful, wonderful selection of spices in such a small space. Do you know of any good spice shops in manila? :)

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  3. What an awesome spice market, a real feast for the senses!

    ReplyDelete