Sorry to bring this up...

But I have a wheat allergy.. and normally cannot eat wheat flour (but Spelt is ok for me). But funnily enough, I have no reaction when I eat croissants that are made in France!

Tried the same in several countries.. and results in uncomfortable situations! But if the dough has been flown-in frozen from France, and baked in premises.. eg london to Bangkok, I am fine. Bangkok Grand Hyatt imports the frozen flour dough from France!

I think it has to do with the type of flour France uses.. (and the preservatives that are in the ones made elsewhere..)

Just FYI

====Having said that, I like the ones from La Duree in Paris. Yum !!

I've never heard a better excuse for demanding French croissants! ^

Belgian, rather than French, but I can recommend Hendrickx in Chicago at 100 West Walton, just off the mag mile.

Run by a Belgian couple, everything is authentic, and they wisely started off very small-scale with only a few items. Now, they're steadily growing.

Really, really good Croissants. Also real Belgian coffee with the funny little plastic cone on top of the cup.

Hmmm. I was disappointed. Small and very expensive. Haven't been for a couple of years.

Croissants also differ as to location, and type. Also from one year to the next, changes in a bakery can lead to unwelcome changes. Mom and Pop for me is usually a good bet but not necessarily if there is only one bakery in a town!

Villandry in London used to do some excellent croissants and some other of the baked goods were really nice. I'm embarrassed to say I'm usually very satisfied in Italy with an Autogrill marmellata (croissant with apricot jam inside - a very mass-produced item) either in their cafe at the Duomo in Milan or at many of the Autogrill motorway service stations! provided it comes with a nice espresso... of course :D In Switzerland I go for Laugen-croissants, made with a salt dough. Yum!

My best croissants of all time are probably the almondy nut croissants (they have a name that I've forgotten) at the original Laduree in the rue Royale in Paris. In the old days before the family that also owns Paul took it over, it used to be my "local". I recall seeing more than one famous French actress there regularly both before and after their various facelifts!

I've heard there are some very nice croissants in California, especially in the Bay Area. But so far I never managed to find award availability on the Air New Zealand flight I wanted to get there...

On a slightly different topic I'm usually very happy with the brioche at Pain Quotidien (and lots else at Pain Quotidien :D).

ps I forgot. Some London offices I know are near some of the city centre branches of Tesco which sell fresh hot croissants in the bakery section. Get them while they;re hot... the Tesco's in Regent Street south of Piccadilly Circus and the one at Hammersmith Underground station are a couple of those that do this. Mostly in the mornings there are several hot deliveries. Price-performance is pretty good on these.

Poujauran in the 7th on rue jean nicot was my fave. Closed but the nondescript place that opened in its place also has amazing croissants.

fauchons paris. On a side note though, a couple weeks ago I was heading to the eiffel tower and I stopped in a patisserie for a croissant and had the best one ever. Man I wish I knew the name of the place!

It's now Secco, and sad to say the quality has really gone down over the past couple of years.

Here in HKG where I am based, my favorite place for croissants (I alternate between Almond and Pain au Chocolat) is Le Salon de Te de Joel Robuchon at the Landmark in Central on the 4th floor.

In Shanghai (few experiences) the Paul at the Portman was nice (no longer there I believe).

In Beijing my favorite has been at the Sofitel Wanda Hotel at their breakfast buffet - they keep bringing fresh ones!

My experiences in mainland China, to be honest, have mostly or all been limited to 5* hotels and not patisseries/bakeries that have been set up.

What plastic cone? I genuinely have no clue what you're on about :p

As for croissants, any non-chain bakery in France will do. A Paul is the next best thing though.

Maison Kayser is now a chain and even international. I haven't been since they've expanded. Are they not so good?

+1

I agree this is the primary reason it is difficult to find a true rendition of a French croissant outside of France.

No idea, I've never heard of them before. Paul is pretty much present everywhere in France (even at some motorway service stations) so it's convenient when there is nothing else in the neighborhood, hence why I prefer them as a chain solution.
Though the first thing I did when I arrived in Paris in June (to visit the Musée de l'air et de l'espace) was look for a bakery with fresh croissants. when in France I suppose ...