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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Friday 30 August 2013

Provençal and Mediterranean @ C'est Mon Plaisir, Montparnasse (Paris)

It's not easy being a restaurant-seeking foodie in Paris on a Sunday. Many restaurants close on Sundays, which was one of the reasons we'd gone to the market on Sunday morning to pick up our lunch supplies. I wanted a proper sit-down affair for dinner, and I managed to find one close to our hotel that opens 7 days a week that had gotten decent reviews on both yelp and tripadvisor. C'est Mon Plaisir translates to English as "it's my pleasure", and the restaurant serves food using Mediterranean and Provençal ingredients. It has a fairly nice interior with a laid-back atmosphere and pretty good service. Only the a-la-carte menu was available on Sundays, but more attractively-priced prix fixe (set menu) options are also available during the week. We were quite pleased with the quality and taste of the food.

The amuse-bouche served to us shortly after we placed our orders. I recall it was a lovely cold soup, but I can't remember exactly what it was. It was great with the bread:

Hubby's first appetiser was Ravioles de Foie Gras, jus aux girolles et trompettes (fresh foie gras raviolis with wild mushrooms and creamy juice, 12.50 euros). I enjoyed this, which had deep earthy flavours from the mushrooms, and the foie gras was not too overpowering nor too rich. This was a fantastic choice for mushroom-lovers:

I went for the Mesclun de jeunes pousses, graines de courges et vieux Parmesan (mix of young salads with old parmesan cheese and marrow seeds, 8 euros). Everything was crisp and fresh, which was perfect for a summer's day:

Hubby ordered another appetiser for his main course - Crumble de Moules et Magret séché à la crème de curry doux, servi froid (cold mussels with smoked duck crumble with mild curry cream, 9 euros). It sounded like a strange combination, but it was a good choice! I loved the textural contrast of the crumble with the creamy curry, and everything went well together. The only negative was the burnt toast which was too hard to chew, but it is not an integral part of the dish:

My main course was Saumon et Gambas comme une Bourride, pomme de terre Roseval (salmon and prawn bourride with Roseval potatoes). The bourride was a fish stew, similar to bouillabaise. It was delicious, but take note that it is spicy (not indicated on the menu) - thankfully our 4.5-year-old boy didn't seem to notice the spiciness:

Hubby could never pass up on dessert, especially French desserts, and he ordered Nougat glacé maison aux fruits secs, coulis de fraises (in-house frozen nougat with dried fruits and strawberry coulis, 8.50 euros). C'est delicieux, and reminded us a lot of the very first nougat glacé we had:

All in all, it was a pleasant meal we had at C'est Mon Plaisir. If you're in the Montparnasse area on a Sunday around meal-time, this restaurant would be a pretty good choice for food.

C'est Mon Plaisir
150 Boulevard du Montparnasse
14th Arrondissement
75014 Paris
France
Tel. +33 1 43 21 03 48

Sunday 25 August 2013

Delicious ice cream @ Berthillon, Île Saint-Louis (Paris)

Berthillon makes ice cream that many consider to be the best in Paris. With such a grand reputation, I knew that our trip to Paris wouldn't be complete if we didn't visit the flagship store on Île Saint-Louis to have a taste of Berthillon's ice cream. One of the best things about Berthillon's ice cream is that it contains only natural ingredients, so we are not ingesting the chemical preservatives, artificial sweeteners and stabilisers that are commonly found in ice cream. I read that up to 15 flavours may be produced everyday at Berthillon, and that about 60 different flavours are produced throughout the year. Since the ice creams are manufactured based on what is in season, the flavours are very intense and unmistakably true to flavour. Berthillon is extremely popular, and I'm certain that there is always a queue of people lining up for its ice cream during its opening hours. Berthillon also distributes to retailers within the Paris region, and it's usually advertised quite prominently where Berthillon ice creams are sold, so you don't even need to go to the original store in Île Saint-Louis to try the famous ice creams!

Berthillon parlour and tearoom as seen from the outside:

Hubby's choice of flavours - a scoop of Mojito on top of a scoop of Chocolate, both of which he really enjoyed. The chocolate ice cream had a deep and intense flavour. Check out the length of the queue in the background:

I chose Gingerbread and Raspberry. Strange combination, but I really wanted to try these two flavours. The gingerbread ice cream was surprisingly much like eating gingerbread, except the texture is creamy. The raspberry ice cream was intensely tart and distinctively raspberry:

If there's only one place you go for ice cream in Paris, make sure it's Berthillon!

Berthillon
31 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île
4th Arrondissement
75004 Paris
France
Tel. +33 1 43 54 31 61

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Paris Day 2: Notre-Dame Cathedrale, Saint-Chapelle and Tour Montparnasse

We did a lot of sight-seeing on our second day in Paris. The French architecture made an impression on us - not just at the major tourist sites, but also the 'ordinary' buildings on the streets that houses shops, restaurants and residences. We started off our morning picking up breakfast and lunch supplies at an organic market, then made our way perhaps the most famous cathedral in the world: Notre-Dame. The queues to enter the cathedral was prohibitively long, and not willing to waste precious time in Paris waiting in a line, we admired Notre-Dame's architectural beauty from the outside. We also crossed the bridge over to Ile Saint-Louis with the sole purpose of having ice cream at the original Berthillon ice-cream parlour, which is considered the best ice cream in Paris (review to follow). After ice cream, we strolled over to the nearby Saint-Chapelle to admire its beautiful stained-glass windows. In the evening, we went to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Paris, Tour Montparnasse, where we enjoyed uninterrupted sunset views of this beautiful city. Here are some snapshots of what we saw.

A stained-glass window of Saint Marcel inside the belfry that was raised in front of Notre Dame in celebration of the cathedral's 850th year. This 13-metre high temporary belfry will remain erected until the end of 2013:

Notre-Dame Cathedral, as viewed from the terrace leading from the temporary belfry:

The river Seine as seen from Pont Saint-Louis. Click on image for larger view:

The impressive structure of Notre-Dame Cathedrale as viewed from the direction of Pont Saint-Louis:

Admiring the gothic architecture of Saint-Chapelle:

The lower chapel of Saint-Chapelle:

One of the many stained-glass windows of Saint-Chapelle:

A statue of Louis IX (aka Saint Louis) in the lower chapel:

A few of the many relics housed inside Saint-Chapelle:

Huge 13th-century stained-glass windows in the upper chapel:

The apse of the upper chapel of Saint-Chapelle:

A sculpture of Jesus Christ standing at the front portal of the upper chapel of Saint-Chapelle:

Behold, the tallest skyscraper in Paris - Tour Montparnasse:

A panoramic view of the Parisian urban landscape including the most iconic feature: the Eiffel Tower. Click on image for larger view:

Zooming in on the unmistakable golden dome of Les Invalides:

And zooming in on the Eiffel Tower as seen from Montparnasse Tower - another one to add to the many photos I've already posted up:

Stay tuned for more on our Paris trip!

Sunday 18 August 2013

Sunday Organic Market @ Marché Raspail, Paris

One of the things I love doing when travelling to a new place is to check out where the locals shop for food supplies - be it at the supermarket, convenience store or a market. In my search for markets near our hotel, I found Marché Raspail, touted to be the most glamourous and the most expensive market on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche, south of the river Seine), where French celebrities get their groceries (not that we would know one if we saw one!). The market runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, but I understand that the exclusively biologique (organic) market is only on Sundays. So on the morning of our Day 2 in Paris (which was a Sunday), we headed out with glee and empty stomaches for Marché Raspail. Along this length of the Boulevard Raspail, we browsed through a lovely variety of edible goodies, although there were also plenty of stalls selling inedible items such as soaps, flowers, scarves and household items. Seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables, the fish and the meat, and the lovely blocks of cheese and tubs of yogurt, made me wish we had a fridge and a kitchen in Paris to use. We had to settle for immediate gratification, filling our tummies with delicious baked goodies, and buying half a rotisserie chicken to have later for lunch.

One of a number of bakery stalls selling all sorts of delicious-looking pastries, tarts, biscuits and breads. We bought a few things including a croissant for the boy to munch on, a buttery brioche for me and a pastry for hubby:

The pastry hubby chose, which was buttery and had a layer of berries in the middle:

One of the many stalls selling fresh organic produce:

At the northern end of the market, there was a particularly popular food stall with a long queue. It was the delicious aroma wafting from hot griddles that pulled us in to have a closer look:

Les Gustalins was the name of the stall, and galettes d'oignon pomme de terre (onion-and-potato pancakes) was the name of that yummy charry pancake-like objects on the hot plates. Delicious eaten hot fresh off the plate, and the burnt cheese gave a nice crunch to the pancake:

Les Gustalins also sold tarts and pies, both savoury and sweet, made with organic fruits and vegetables. Pumpkin, onion, tomato, rhubarb, apple, mushrooms and cheese - just to name a few:

In addition to the potato galette, we also purchased a pumpkin tart and a citron tart from the stall. Delicious crispy pastry and lightly seasoned filling/topping. The citron tart was a nice something-sweet to finish our market-bought lunch:

This bio market is definitely worth a look at if you're in Paris on a Sunday. Everything is indeed quite pricey, but they are all certified organic!

Marché Raspail
Boulevard Raspail
From Rue du Cherche-Midi to Rue de Rennes
6th Arrondissement
Nearest Metro stops: Sèvre-Babylone and Rennes
Sunday (organic market): 9:00am to 15:00pm
Tuesday and Friday: 7:00am to 14:30pm

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Charming bistro eats @ Bistrot Le P'tit Troquet, Paris (France)

This little restaurant came on my foodie radar primarily due to its location near the Eiffel Tower, where we planned to spend the evening of our first day in Paris. I actually had other plans for the afternoon and evening, with reservations at another restaurant, but one of the most important thing required when travelling with a young child is flexibility. We decided to cancel our original plan and satisfy our boy's yearn to see the Eiffel Tower. The earliest time Bistrot Le P'tit Troquet could accept a booking at such late notice was 9:30pm, which was indeed very late for our family who is accustomed to eating dinner around 6pm to accommodate our son's early bedtime. Since our body clocks were out of whack anyway after crossing several timezones on a long-haul overnight flight from Hong Kong, we decided to take the time slot and play it by ear. The evening actually worked out quite nicely. We had a leisurely time admiring the tower, and the late dinner meant that it was nightfall by the time we were finished (the sun sets around 10pm in Paris during summer), so we could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. We were absolutely exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel after 12am, but we got to see the most famous Parisian landmark in both the daytime and nighttime, and also enjoy a great dinner at a cosy bistro nearby.

Le P'tit Troquet resembled a home, with a smaller dining room and a tiny kitchen further back:

Bistrot Le P'tit Troquet is a small place with a charming atmosphere. The staff were friendly and welcoming, and they were happy to help answer our questions. The menu was bilingual with English translation, so ordering was quite simple. There was the choice of a prix-fixe menu where you could order three courses from the regular menu and week's specials board for 33 Euros, or you could opt for the a-la-carte and order entrée for 10 Euros, main course for 19.50 Euros and/or dessert for 9 Euros. One doesn't need to be a math genius to see that the prix-fixe option was better value for money, but it was nice to have the option to eat lighter or heavier. We enjoyed the food, which was delicious in a simple home-style manner.

Hubby's Foie-gras maison, servi avec toasts et chutney de mangue aux epicés (home-made foie gras served with mango and spices chutney, 5 euros extra). Hubby is a great fan of foie gras, but he wasn't expecting this to be served pâté-style. He's not a big fan of pâté, but said this was not too bad. I quite liked it as the flavour wasn't overly rich and gamy like foie gras can be:

My entrée was Gougère aux escargots et pleurotes, beurre persillé (gougère [French cheese puff] with snails, mushrooms and parsley butter). I had no idea what a gougère was, but I figured that I had to have escargot in France, and this was a good choice. It was like a mini-burger with buttery snails and mushrooms, and the flavours and textures all combined very nicely together:

For his main course, hubby chose the Souris d'agneau rôtie au romarin (roasted lamb shank with rosemary). Roast lamb and rosemary is the perfect combination, and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender:

I got my main course from the week's specials board - Duckling aguilettes with cider. The strips of duck breast were tender and moist, and the sweet cider sauce was a lovely accompaniment:

We shared a plate of Assortiment de fromages de Normandie (assorted cheese from Normandy), which held three types of soft cheese - Livarot, Pont-l'Evêque and Camembert (I'm so glad I asked the waitress to write down the names). A great choice if you fancy cheese:

We also got a Tartelette bourdaloue (poire/amandine) et glace au lait d'amande (pear and almond tartlet, served with almond oil ice cream). This was a lovely sweet dessert, and thoroughly enjoyable. Pear and almond - a rather delicious combination:

This is a great little bistro to try out if you're in the area to see the Eiffel Tower. Reservations are highly recommended, as it is only a tiny place.

Bistrot Le P'tit Troquet
28 Rue de l'Exposition
7th Arrondissement
75007 Paris
France
Tel. +33 1 47 05 80 39

Sunday 11 August 2013

Paris Day 1: the Eiffel Tower

This is what we got up to on our first day in Paris. After a lovely soufflé lunch and a nap to refresh us after that 11.5-hour red-eye flight from Hong Kong, we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. Our little boy had been quite obsessed with seeing this structure for a couple of weeks prior to our arrival in France, and he was ecstatic to see it very up close. This first encounter only fed his obsession, and he requested everyday for the next four days to go and see the Eiffel Tower. We saw the tower in the daylight and also all lit up after dusk. The sun sets very late in the summer at close to 10pm, so it was a very late night for us all when we finally got back to our hotel past midnight (especially for our boy whose usual bedtime is at 7:30pm). But it was all worth it. This is an Eiffel Tower-heavy post (to add to the two "day-and-night" photos in this post), and I hope you can appreciate her beauty through these photos.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from Palais de Chaillot in Trocadero, with the fountains in the foreground:

At the right place at the right time! The Fountain of Warsaw at the Gardens of Trocadéro suddenly came on and projected a jet of water over fifty metres! It sprayed those of us who were on either sides of the water feature:

The Eiffel up close:

Silhouetted by the setting sun:

The Champ de Mars is a very popular picnic spot for the Parisians and tourists alike. This shot was taken facing the École Militaire on the far opposite end of Champ de Mars from the Eiffel Tower:

After a very late dinner, we walked through Champ de Mars again towards Trocadéro, and it was dark by this time. This is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the Champ de Mars side (you can see the other side of the tower lit up with the blue and red lights here:

At 11pm, we were treated to a lovely 10-minute twinkling light show as we were making our way back towards Trocadéro Metro station. The Eiffel Tower twinkles nightly on the hour after nightfall:

Stay tuned for more blog updates on our trip!

Thursday 8 August 2013

Sublime soufflés @ La Cuisine de Philippe, Paris (France)

We are back home in Hong Kong, after two glorious weeks in Europe! As mentioned previously, we were in France for a week, and then we spent another week in Italy. I took more than 1000 photos in that two weeks, so I will be quite busy sharing about our trip for at least the next two months! But first, I present to you our very first meal in beautiful Paris, which also happened to be one of our best and cheapest meal we ate in Paris!

Entrance to La Cuisine de Philippe:

I found La Cuisine de Philippe through various internet sources while researching for places to eat in Paris, and this little place got consistently good reviews in both the English and French languages everywhere I looked. A plus was that this charming restaurant is located close to the hotel we stayed at, and I didn't hesitate to send off an email to our hotel to help us make reservations for lunch time on the Saturday that we arrived in Paris. The restaurant is located next to Jardin du Luxemburg, so after strolling through the lovely garden, we arrived at 12pm on the dot when La Cuisine de Philippe opened for lunch. We were the first customers, and the lady who greeted us was very friendly and most gracious in answering all our questions. She didn't even mind at all when our 4.5-year-old boy quit practicing proper dining etiquette within the first half-hour of being seated.

Cosy restaurant:

The menu was in French, half of which I could understand from my limited French knowledge, but the lady serving at the front (who I assume is Chef Philippe's wife) could speak some English to clarify anything that was unclear. Ordering was straightforward: either order a two-course meal (entree + main, or main + dessert) for 23 Euros, or a three-course meal for 27 Euros. There were four choices for each course from the regular menu, or you could select from the plat du jour (daily specials) board. A glass of wine was included, and the white that hubby ordered was pretty darn good - not too strong-tasting or dry, and we found that all other house wines we had that week in France weren't as enjoyable as that first glass of white we had at La Cuisine de Philippe. The house specialises in soufflés, which hubby adores, so it should come as no surprise that half of our meal consisted of soufflé dishes.

Hubby chose his entrée from the daily specials board - Soufflé Chèvre Frais et Basilic (soufflé with goat cheese and basil). This had an amazing flavour, and the goat cheese wasn't overwhelming at all. The basil lent a fresh herbal note, and this was a rather enjoyable savoury soufflé:

I got the Oeufs Poché en Meurette, Petits Lardons et Croûtons (eggs poached in red wine with small pieces of bacon and croutons) for my entrée to share with my son who loves eggs. The eggs were perfectly poached (runny yolks were perfect with the slices of crusty baguette), and the sauce was rich with the earthy flavours of the mushrooms and the salty meatiness of the bacon:

Hubby's main was Hachis Parmentier de Canard (duck shepherd's pie), which was tasty in a homely manner. I loved the presentation of the sliced vegetables (background) which looked like a floral arrangement:

Check out that tender duck flesh:

I ordered the Filet de bar à l'Americaine (sea bass fillets with sauce americaine) from the daily specials board. The fish flesh was sweet, and I loved the sauce which was full of umami seafood flavours:

Hidden underneath the vegetables that accompanied my sea bass plate was a lovely savoury soufflé-type pudding:

For dessert, hubby chose from the daily specials board, the Soufflé Framboise (raspberry soufflé), which was quite gorgeous and luscious on the palate:

For my 'dessert' course, I went for something savoury (and thankfully the restaurant was fine with that selection!) and ordered Soufflé aux Champignons (mushrooms soufflé). It was fantastic! This is an excellent choice for mushroom-lovers:

That was a lot of soufflés in one meal, but we enjoyed everyone of them. We highly recommend including La Cuisine de Philippe in your Paris food itinerary! It is only a small restaurant with about 10 tables, so it is better to make reservations especially for dinner-time and weekends.

La Cuisine de Philippe
25 Rue Servandoni
6th Arrondissement
75006 Paris
France
Tel. +33 1 43 29 76 37