Menu Monday: Snacks Around the World Showcase – France

It’s time to continue to make our way around the World Showcase, sampling packaged snacks that we generally wouldn’t try in our daily lives. If you have been following along, we have already hit Japan, Canada, and United Kingdom, trying snacks from a lollipop to chips. There’s more to discover, so let’s head to France to find a French snack to sample!

Before we go, since we’re on a snacking challenge, let’s make sure we remember the rules:

Snack Rules

• No snacks over $10; preferably less than $5
• As unusual as possible
• Something I personally would eat

France has some very pretty views, including a pretty section decorative bushes and a gazebo. While the streets of France can be very hectic, this area tends to be much more peaceful and calm, giving you a spot to escape the crowd for a moment if you need to, and offers plenty of shade.

France is well known for having multiple delicious dining options, including L’Artisan des Glaces, an ice cream parlor, Chefs de France, a restaurant with nouvelle French cuisine , Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie, an amazing French bakery, and the signature dining restaurant, Monsieur Paul. In addition to the restaurants and the shops we will be checking for snacks, the pavilion is also home to an attraction called Impressions de France. Impressions de France is a movie that covers 5 screens, giving you an immersive look at the French countryside and culture, all set to a fantastic French musical score. The attraction hasn’t changed since the park’s opening, but in some ways, that’s a good thing, as the film really is good.

While we are primarily concerned with pre-packaged snacks that we can take with us, it’s always worth a quick detour into Les Halles to see what sounds good on a particular day, though generally it’s more tricky to decide since everything sounds good. Something worth remembering is that, while the rest of the World Showcase opens at 11 a.m., Les Halles opens with the park, so you can run over here for a peaceful and amazing breakfast pastry or coffee to start your day of touring right.

After enjoying a break for a frangipane, I turned back to the shop in France to see what could be found to sample in the way of French snacks. There are multiple shops in France, and they carry a wide range of French products including perfumes, wines, French soaps, and various cooking implements.

Heading inside, I quickly find the small section that has edible goods. There isn’t a large variety available, and what is there is pricy.

After reviewing my choices, I am faced with my first true quandary on the Snack Challenge: what I wanted to get is above my self-imposed budget for one packaged snack. I needed to decide if I would rather get just something that didn’t really appeal to me just to get something, or spend a bit more and get something I expected to enjoy.

I decide to go ahead and splurge and get the honey candy. While it is undeniably above $10, it wasn’t much over at $12.95, and I reason I saved quite a bit in Canada by purchasing a lollipop that only cost $2.95.

At least that’s what I am telling myself! Since many of the snacks in France are pricy (for example, a piece of nougat with nuts that cost $6.95) I might as well get something that I could enjoy for a longer period of time. Hard candy keeps well, and it would make a very nice gift to bring home to a pet sitter or the person who checked the mail for you.

Once home, I opened the candy and pulled one out. It smelled quite odd, but once I tasted it, it was good, and did taste like honey. There was no odd taste to match the smell, which I appreciated. It dissolved like hard candy usually does, but in the middle was a thick liquid of pure honey. Once again, I found something I could enjoy and I would wish to get again once this is gone.

So, what do you think about the snack situation in France? Have you tried either the frangipane or the Boules de Miel before? Let me know what you think in the comments, and check back soon to see what snacks are to be tried next!