MNSC Rhone Trip Day 9: Faire le pont

My last full day in France, and it happens to be the Monday that's right before a holiday - All Saints Day.  Finding things that are open these last few days have been particularly difficult, since many French people have the habit of "faire le pont"... literally to make a bridge, but in essence taking a long weekend.  We had that problem on our trip to Burgundy last year.

Got up this morning and was determined to go grab some breakfast at Blé Sucré.  It's within walking distance from my hotel, and I was dying for some kouign amann.  I had one on my trip last year and have been thinking of it ever since...

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 8: Enfin, Paris!

Another early start to the day, as I get ready to leave Switzerland and go back to France.  B very kindly made us a huge breakfast, and I joked that the spread is about half the size of the 5-star luxury hotels that I had been staying at during the past week...

After getting dropped off at Nyon, I took the local train into Gare Cornavin in Geneva, and boarded the TGV to Paris.  I was wondering why it would take 3 hours for us to make the journey, then it all became clear as we snaked along the river gorge during part of the journey... Can't exactly travel at 200 km/h given this kind of terrain!

The train pulled into Gare de Lyon, and I quickly checked into Hotel Mercure Gare de Lyon - rising above one corner of the train station.  I dropped my luggage quickly and ducked into the Métro below.  I was already late for my lunch appointment with the Specialist and her friends.

More Pierre Hermé macarons

I brought back a whole load of macarons from Pierre Hermé, and was able to try out a bunch of seasonal flavors.

Éden - nice and tropical with the peach and bits of apricot, but there was an extra, exotic dimension provided by the saffron.  Kinda reminds me of the Omani halwa I bought in Muscat.

Jasmin - the delicate, fragrant flavors of the jasmin flowers were so elegant.  Lovely.

Coing et Rose - the lovely, prominent fragrance of the rose petals was immediately apparently, followed by the fruity flavors of quince.

Rose - the pure fragrance of rose and rose petals.  Sweeter than the Coing et Rose.

Crème Brûlée - pretty delicious, definitely got that vanilla flavor...

Infiniment Caramel - is there anything better than salted butter caramel?  There was sooooo much butter here I could taste as it separates due to the warm temperature back in HK...

Pietra - the ganache in the middle tasted almost like Nutella... and there were crunchy bits of hazelnut on the outside.

Mogador - the passion fruit hits you first, then the richness of milk chocolate comes through.  Very cool combination.

Chuao - it looks like a pure Chuao chocolate macaron from the biscuit, but the ganache is actually blackcurrant with blackcurrant berries inside.

Marron et Thé Vert Matcha - very sweet... Both the chestnut biscuit and ganache were extremely sweet, and the matcha (抹茶) ganache center was pretty milky and sweet, too.

Infiniment Chocolat - pure, rich Porcelana chocolate from Venezuela.  Very long finish.

Truffe Blanche et Noisette - how awesome was this?!  This seasonal item was just so special... The fragrance of the white truffles was wonderful... so powerful that I was advised not to put this together with other flavors.  The ganache is made with hazelnuts and actually has big chunks, which to me detracted from the purity of the truffles.  But the flavor and scent of white truffles stays with you even after a while...

Now, all I want for Christmas are the special foie gras macarons...which go on sale in December.  Anyone going to Paris?

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 8: cutting the cheese

My last meal in France.  I got up this morning and took the metro to a familiar neighborhood for breakfast.  Somehow I'd never made it to Eric Kayser before, and I was determined to see if their croissants and pastries were all that.

I arrived around 9ish and sat down with a croissant, pain au chocolat and a canelé.  The croissant was pretty good, but nothing really inspiring like what I had at Blé Sucré yesterday.  The canelé tasted alright, but was kinda soggy...

But the real reason I'm here is actually across the street... Androuet has a shop here, and I continued to hang out in Maison Kayser after finishing my pastries, waiting for the cheese shop to open.  They finally did at 9:40am - only 10 mins after the official opening time.  I was their first customer of the day.

I was in heaven the second I walked in.  They weren't 100% ready, but I already spotted most of the stuff I wanted to bring back home.  I took the medium-sized Vacherin-Mont d'Or (for some reason the shop called it "grand modèle"), the Epoisses from Gaugry, the 30-month Comté, the 24-month Mimolette Extra Vieille, and finally the Cabri Ariégois.  I  asked for them to be packed sous vide, and packed them into my suitcase.  Hopefully they'll be ripe in a week's time...

I checked-in my very full suitcase, filled with jars of jam and unpasteurized soft cheese... coming in just under 29kg.  With my bag of Pierre Hermé macarons in hand, I boarded my flight and headed home.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 7: 25-nen buri

I have one last day in Paris and this was my day to run errands.  I had flat out refused to entertain any pleas to help secure Hermès handbags or anything of the kind.  The errands would all be food-related.

I pinged the elves in the morning, and Legolas Jr suggested that I check out the kouign amann at Blé Sucré.  It was a little out of the way for me... east of Place de la Bastille.  But the pictures on David Lebovitz's website looked interesting enough, so I hopped on the metro and went looking for breakfast.

I took a kouign amann, a croissant, coffee and sat down outside.  The pastries were cold, but still delicious.  The layers of the kouign amann were sweet and interesting.  Pretty good, I would say.  The croissant was really good... the type where the layers were stiff and brittle, which would break instead of bend under pressure.  Absolutely loved it.  Good job, Legolas Jr!

Next stop was Mora in Les Halles, to get some copper canelé molds for a friend in Taipei.  Unfortunately the shop was out of stock today, and I didn't find what I wanted until my third shop... and at twice the original budget.  Oh well...

Lunch was at Spoon Food and Wine, with my old friend Ralph.  Ralph and I went to school together in Tokyo, and haven't seen each other for close to 25 years.  I missed the opportunity to catch up with him last year, so I made sure to book lunch with him early this time around.  I had wanted something light so this was the perfect place for us.

Herbes et salades de nos maraîchers, concombre et yaourt - this was alright, although the yogurt threw me off a little.

Légumes et fruits d'automne cuisinés en cookpot, panais à croquer - this was pretty interesting...slightly heavier than a salad but it was all veg and nice. 

I'm starting my detox program so I didn't have any wine. 

It was good catching up with Ralph, as we each talked about what we've been up to since our teenage days in Tokyo.  I'm sure I'll have a few more food and wine encounters with him in the coming years...

A quick stop at the Virgin Megastore after lunch to get my Mylène Farmer fix, and I'm off to get my next fix at Pierre Hermé.  Guess what?  STILL no Ispahan macarons!  What do I have to do to get my hands on some?!

I pick up a bunch of small gift boxes for my friends back in HK, and proceed to get 2 boxes of the truffe blanche & noisette.  Ralph had told me about these babies and I was ecstatic to see a whole bunch of them.  I had apparently bought enough to earn a free macaron to taste in the shop, and I of course asked for the white truffle... What a wonderful creation!  The fragrance of the white truffle was so upfront...

Next I moved over and picked up 10 jars of confiture, made specially for Pierre Hermé by Christine Ferber.  Most of these were signature macaron flavors, such as Ispahan, Satine, Envie...  Can't wait to try all these babies!

A few hours later I sat in my hotel room pondering about my last dinner in France.  I was solo and didn't want a big and elaborate meal... and I actually contemplated going to McDonald's...  I read about "Crêpe Alley" just a couple of blocks away from the hotel, and trek up to see if I can get into Crêperie de Josselin.  Unfortunately there was a big group of people waiting outside, so I walked a few more steps and lined up outside Le Petit Josselin.

I didn't want a big meal, so I asked for the Andouille de Guéméné as a simple instead of the regular couple.  I just love the burnt taste of the blé noir galette... and of course find the pungent flavors of intestines irresistible. I was in heaven.

A perfect way to end the day.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 6: back to Paris

Our final day in Burgundy started with a visit to Lucien Le Moine this morning.  Tasting notes can be found here.

We had lunch with Mounir and Rotem from Lucien Le Moine at Caveau des Arches. 

I started with the salade de roquette to keep things light.  This was pretty good as it had Parmesan, cauliflower, carrots...etc.

Magret de canard, griottines - the minute I saw the word "griottines" I knew I was done.  These wonderfully sweet cherries were perfect to go with the duck breast.  The duck was perhaps a little bit more done than "rosé", but still very tender and delicious.  The sauce was just unbelieveable... red wine reduction together with the sweetness from the cherries.

2007 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - mineral, flint, a bit ripe, high acidity on the palate.  Later on became ripe and sweeet on the palate, with rounded, buttery notes while still flinty.  Honestly this was a little muted for a Coche-Dury...

2006 Rousseau Chambertin - sharp and alcoholic, mint, a little Chinese medicine, root-like, black cherries.  Much later on the nose was really really sweet, but palate kinda died and turned pretty disgusting, like drinking bleach…

A pretty enjoyable lunch, and certainly much better than dinner last night...

We took the long ride back to Paris after lunch, and it rained the whole way.  At one point I noticed that all the animals grazing on pasture were white:  sheep, horses and cattle.  Our driver told me that the cattle were of the famous Charolais breed - which some of us had enjoyed at lunch earlier.

Back in Paris, I checked into the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse and immediately ran some errands before heading out to dinner.

We regrouped at Il Vino d'Enrico Bernardo to celebrate Lord Rayas' birthday.  Even Juliano, who missed out on the entire trip to Burgundy, flew in to join the party.  The lovely wives of Lord Rayas and Juliano also graced us with their presence, so we finally had ladies at our table for the first time in quite a few days...

The restaurant was established by Enrico Bernardo, formerly of Four Seasons George V who won the title of Best Sommelier of the World back in 2004.  The concept is refreshing, and really takes food and wine matching to heart.  There was no food menu.  The diner chooses the wines from the list, and the kitchen sends out dishes to match the wines.

The amuse bouches:

Cream of beet root

Tempura of Parmesan

Rabbit Terrine

2007 Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - big, explosive toasty nose with flint, minerals, fresh lemon.  The acidity was a bit high.  Drunk together with fish, the acidity disappeared completely, leaving only ripe, sweetness and a round and lovely wine.  Better than the Coche-Dury at lunch today.

Tartar of sea bream with wasabi crème fraîche, chives and caviar - this was pretty good, and the wasabi wasn't too strong to detract from the wines.

2006 Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - really sweet, lovely and beautiful... decadent.  Sweet straw, honey, nectar, buttery corn.  Smooth and round on the palate.  Absolutely awesome.

Pan-seared scallops with broccoli sauce, topped with konbu and orange - the scallops were done very well here.  The broccoli sauce was a little bland, but the piece of konbu (昆布) was incredibly salty.

Tagliolini with butter and white truffles - this was simply awesome!  The tagliolini was done very nicely, with plenty of yummy butter.  Of course white truffles made the dish, although we were a little surprised that they chose to shave the truffles in the kitchen and not at the table.

1996 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlée - nice and open, with a bit of smoke, black fruits, herbs and spices, sweet fruit, a little preserved prunes.  Medium acidity at first but later more acidic, and a bit tannic on the finish.

We celebrated with a birthday cake, which I no longer had the space for in my stomach...

The food was excellent, well-deserving of the restaurant's macaron.  This was definitely a good way to wrap up our Burgundy trip.  I was glad to be able to celebrate Lord Rayas' birthday with him in Paris.

Wedding in Reims day 7: victory!

It's the last full day of my trip, and I received a call in the morning advising me of the presence of two Birkin bags at the Hermès store on Avenue George V. I was on my way out the door anyway, and I rushed over immediately.

I was met by my very helpful friend who knew one of the salespeople at the store. He had arranged to "hold" two bags for me, and I pretended that I was keen to buy one for the gf. Gf played along, looked over the two bags, and eventually settled on the one in "ciel", the new color for this season. Thanks to my kind friend who has gone the extra mile for me, my dear cousin would now have her very first Birkin.

Victory having achieved, we moved on to the Hermès flagship store on Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where we spent time exchanging the 28cm Kelly purchased on Saturday for a model in 32cm. Here we were making another friend happy.

I took my friend out to lunch at Hotel Le Bristol. We wanted something quick and casual, so we dined at in the lobby instead of the 3-star restaurant. I grabbed a simple steak tartare, which was OK. While I cannot imagine it to be otherwise, I wondered about whether the beef was really fresh...

We had another mission to complete after lunch, so we strolled down Avenue Montaigne for a tour of the boutiques. At Chanel, we finish our final mission of purchasing yet another handbag for a friend. Then it's back to the Left Bank around Saint Germain. We are back at Madeleine Gély to pick up the tassle we ordered for the umbrella. It wasn't ready, unfortunately. But we end up chatting with the saleslady who offered us a glass of Champagne, and before you know it, I was shelling out some more Euros for another pretty umbrella.

We booked the first seating at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, and stepped in soon after the restaurant opened. We were seated at the counter with our backs to the window, true to the L'Atelier style, and I chose to go with the menu découverte to see what the chef could offer.

I ordered a bottle of the 2007 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er cru La Forest. The wine was a little disappointing. Lots of oak and very ripe, with some lemon citrus. A little acidic on the palate.

The amuse bouche was an eggshell filled with foie gras mousse at the bottom and parmesan foam at the top. It was pretty tasty, but may have benefitted from the paprika on the side.

Le crabe royal aux fines lamelles de raves épicées - this is a good crab meat salad, topped with slices and strips of turnips. Pretty Japanese in terms of both taste and presentation.

L'asperge verte en cappuccino et ses jeunes pousses d'oseille - the asparagus cappuccino was pretty good, with young sorrel shoots and some cream on top. Pretty easy to pick up the cup and just drink it down...

Le foie gras de canard chaud, griottes, lamelles de rhubarbe rose et jus acidulé à l'hibiscus - perfect execution, still soft and juicy inside. The oily taste was delicious. Perfectly balanced with some rhubarb and arugula on top, added with some black pepper to give it some kick.

L'œuf cocotte et sa crème légère de morilles - pretty yummy stuff. Parsley cream at the bottom of the glass topped with a steamed egg foam with morel mushrooms. Very nice and just what I'd expect from Robuchon.

Le bar cuit sur sa peau aux jeunes asperges vertes avec un jus d'écrevisses - seabass is always popular, because the texture is just so nice. Here it's served with some green asparagus and crayfish foam. I'm beginning to notice the popularity of crayfish on this trip, as I've had so many meals involving one form or another of this shellfish.

Le ris de veau clouté de laurier frais à la feuille de romaine farcie - I normally love veal sweetbread for the creaminess, but in this case I think it may have just been a liiiittle too creamy. But taste-wise there was nothing to complain about.

Les herbes parfumées en saveur de printemps, sabayon à la Chartreuse - a very yummy melange of basil sorbet, raspberries with some sabayon cream.

Le dôme glace à la vanille de Tahiti, crème gianduja, coque au cœur de guanaja - these days chefs seem to think it's amusing to put out chocolate shells and then pour hot chocolate on top to melt them. I guess it's visually amusing...

We walked out feeling satiated without being stuffed or drunk, which is a nice change. I do have to say, though, that while every meal at L'Atelier (including Hong Kong) has been pretty good, there was never any WOW factor. I guess Joël just wanted to create something casual and good, without trying to blow you away. Hence the casual counter seating and pricing.

Wedding in Reims day 6: playing tourist in Versailles

We had a late start to the day, both due to the late night and our decision to change rooms at the hotel. Fortunately room 62 was available with no smelly bed, so we didn't have to worry about changing hotels on a Sunday.

We walked north on rue Vieille du Temple deeper into the Marais, passing by a popular boulangerie/pâtisserie where we picked up a giant sablé aux fraises and a giant palmier. We would save these for the afternoon. But first, gotta find somewhere casual for lunch...

We settled on Les Philosophes, a café with some outdoor seating facing rue Vieille du Temple. It looked busy so the food couldn't have been that bad. And sure enough, we weren't disappointed.

I started with assiette de rillettes - whose size I underestimated along with the amount of bread that I would consume. This was slightly less fatty than what I'd normally find at Brasserie on the Eighth in Hong Kong, but delicious nonetheless.

For main course I would order - yes, you guessed it - andouillette de la ville de Rodez! I figured that this would be my last chance to have it for a while, so what the heck... The sausage was yummy, and just about the best out of the three on this trip. I do have to say, though, that the look of this thing was a little disturbing...

The surprisingly thing about this place is the wine list. For a café of this size and calibre, the list was disproportionately heavy in Guigal LaLaLa's. What's more the prices for these wines were very reasonable, too, especially for a restaurant. If it had been dinner time, I would have seriously considered opening a bottle...

Fully stuffed, I hopped on the RER C5 to Versailles Rive Gauche. It was getting late as we arrived and started lining up to purchase our entrance tickets. I haven't played tourist in Paris for so long, I forgot how crowded these places can get. The sky was gray so I was totally not in the mood to take pictures of the exterior... When we finally got to the ticket counter, we were told it was too late for us to visit Marie Antoinette's Hameau de la Reine next to the Petit Trianon. It's a pity...maybe I'll just have to come back another time.

We enter the palace and go through the big maze that it is, initially bypassing the halls filled with paintings of the nobility which I found boring. Not that I don't like art, but I didn't come to Versailles to see a bunch of paintings of dukes and duchesses who were full of themselves...

But the palace IS grand - a full reflection of the Sun King's stature and the power of France at the time. Massive paintings on the walls and ceilings. Of course everyone came to see the Hall of Mirrors, the grandest part of the château where Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI. A detour leads to the Queen's Suite, where we see the bed of Marie Antoinette which has been beautifully restored.

At this point I was suddenly hit with exhaustion. The lack of sleep over the last few days - plus carrying around my heavy camera bag - just overwhelmed me. It felt like I'd been hit with a giant hammer, and all my energy just drained away. From this point on I would stagger around, barely wandering around the gardens outside, before taking the return journey back to the hotel.

I dropped my camera gear at the hotel, change into a jacket and tie, and head off to the Four Seasons George V for a dinner at Le Cinq. I've been looking forward to this dinner for a long time, as everyone seems to be in love with this place. It had never been high on my list since it is "only" a 2-star, but I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

I knew that we weren't going to go for the tasting menu - which was a bummer - so we had to pick something a la carte. Our server Franck offered to split the starters for us so we could share them - which was a great idea.

I went through the wine list and picked out something that would be tough to get in Asia: 1973 Trimbach Riesling Clos Saint-Hune - France's single best Riesling. I wanted to see what this wine tastes like after aging. It was so elegant and subtle, not overpowering as I expected. Nose of minerals, lemon, petrol, plastic and honey - all typical Riesling elements - came at you with a velvet glove and gradually opened up. What a wonderful wine.

We were presented with a small basket of calamari and crayfish fritters, which interestingly came with bamboo skewers traditionally found in Japanese yakitori joints. I guess that's another sign that chefs are getting their inspiratons from around the world. Then there's the trio of amuse bouche: marinated octopus with red olives, onions and sundried tomatoes; a small, salty puff pastry that begs the question "Why?"; and an interesting gazpacho made from watermelon, avocado, sesame seeds, cumin and some pop rocks buried at the bottom which tickled our tongues.

Interestingly, this was the second restaurant in Paris which served seaweed butter. It's really, really yummy and I can devour a whole box of this easily...

Green asparagus from the Lubéron region blanched with poultry juice, gnocchi/Jabugo ham, sour ewe cream with matcha tea - this was the "hot and cold" plate that I had heard about. The asparagus was indeed yummy as it is in season. The hot spears had slices of jamon and red olives on top, with some lemon zest gnocchi. It's a classic combo of ham and asparagus.

The cold asparagus spear rested on top of some crème fraîche and there's a dab of caviar on top with lemon zest. The shot glass with the asparagus cream was kinda interesting.

Abalone from the Brittany seacoast wth seaweed butter, watercress fondant, hen broth flavored with lemongrass - I was intrigued by the presence of abalone on the menu, and decided to see how they would do it. One sits on top of a buttered mash with carrots; the other is topped with a nice watercress fondant. The texture of the abalone was pretty nice, not unlike what I've had elsewhere here in Asia.

The cold abalone was chopped and marinated like a tartare, which was pretty nice and sweet. The broth was flavored with a stick of lemongrass, which was a nice combination.

For main course we decided to pass on the roast leg of lamb for two recommended by Franck, which was probably a good thing because the whole thing looked huge. They did it with a whole load of herbs and spices, and I could smell the rosemary and pine leaves from 2 tables away...

Instead I took the suckling pig "Basque Race" from the Aldudes Valley: rack roasted with sage, trotters and cheeks slowly-stewed with spring vegetables. The plate looked lovely - three, actually four different ways to do the pig. But I was suddenly hit with fatigue again, this my appetite waned. Despite the delicious piggy, I just wasn't able to shovel it in. The veggies on the side actually had a hidden treasure: stuffed pig cheeks. I think we were definitely surprised by the size of the portions here.

I've been dreaming about enjoying the cheese selection here at Le Cinq, as it could only be even better than what Jeremy has at sister restaurant Caprice in Hong Kong. But there was no way I could fit that in without doing some serious damage.

We decided to skip dessert, but still got a pre-dessert of raspberries and cream. I couldn't pass up the petits fours, though, and got myself a canelé and some nougats.

I'm exhausted, stuffed and drunk, so what else can I do but ride the métro back to the hotel and collapse?

Wedding in Reims day 5: a wish fulfilled

It's the day after the wedding, and everyone feels a little exhausted. We bid our farewells after breakfast and begin to go our separate ways. I've got a little time left in Reims and decide to revisit the Notre Dame and do some final bit of Champagne shopping.

I've always loved the Notre Dame in Reims. It's not as grand as the one in Paris, and because of its location it receives far less tourists. But it is the site for the coronation of every King of France for many centuries, so it does have its own special place in history. Last but not least, it has the set of stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall depicting the life of Jesus. This alone makes it very, very special in my book.

I have a bit more time left and continue my quest for Champagne. I did eventually find a shop next to Notre Dame that carried Jacques Selosse wines, but they would only sell one bottle to each customer, and you had to buy something else of equivalent value. Painful, but I was out of options. I deliberated a bit and settled on a bottle of Jacques Selosse Exquise, a wine supposedly made for chefs like Pierre Gagnaire to accompany their desserts. Given that only 1,000 bottles of this are made each year, I was content to walk away with my single bottle...

The TGV journey back to Paris was mostly uneventful, except for a nearby neighbor who really needed a good bath. Soon I found myself checking into the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais. This is a charming boutique hotel near the Hôtel de Ville in the Marais, named after the author of the Marriage of Figaro. The hotel itself is tiny, and so were the rooms as it turns out. We barely had enough room to open up our large suitcase. I'm used to small Parisien hotel rooms but this one took the cake...

Right as I was settling into my cozy room, I received a call from my helpful friend telling me that a pair of Birkins were available at the Hermès flagship store on Faubourg St-Honoré, but I only had half an hour before the store closed. We rushed over and managed to sneak through the door just past the official closing time.

Unfortunately, we were told that there were no more Birkins for the day, and once again the saleslady suggested that we return on Monday at an earlier time. We did however manage to pick up a Kelly for another friend, and befriended a new contact for our upcoming return on Monday. Hopefully I would be able to accomplish my mission then...

We weren't really hungry for a while, so we ended up having dinner late. I finally got the chance to go to Le Train Bleu, the classic brasserie in the Gare de Lyon. I've been wanting to come here ever since I saw "Nikita" during my college days. The desire heightened when my friend Cathy gave me "Les Plus Beaux Restaurants de Paris" a couple of years later, and the restaurant featured prominently on the book's cover. The dining room just looked so beautiful and grand, and it did not disappoint in real life!

I started with saucisson pistaché à la Lyonnaise en brioche, sauce Périgueux. I was intrigued by the idea of stuffing the big sausage inside the brioche, and I just couldn't resist another meal with sausage. The black truffle sauce was very, very nice...

Soufflé de sandre, sauce Nantua aux queues d'ecrevisses, tombée d'épinards primeur et pois gourmands - this is a savory soufflé made from zander with crayfish sauce, on a bed of spinach, mushrooms and crayfish tails. This was pretty tasty, but not surprisingly a bit heavy...

We shared a refreshing dessert of rose gelée, yuzu sorbet with red fruits. The different sweet and sour red fruits worked in harmony with the sorbet and the jelly, and I really, really liked this one.

It was almost midnight by the time we were done, making it another long day... Final note: the hotel bed in room 22 was actually 2 single beds put together. For some reason, the center of the bed smelled like old gym socks... I guess this was just a day for us to experience the smelly side of France...

Wedding in Reims day 3: a date with Pierre Gagnaire

It's the day before the wedding, and the couple has arranged for separate boys' and girls' day out - both in Paris. We boarded our respective tour coaches and spent the next 2 hours on the road to Paris.

The main event for the boys was lunch at Pierre Gagnaire's flagship Michelin 3-star restaurant in Hotel Balzac. Fifteen of us took up the private room at the back of the restaurant, and a gourmet fest unfolded over the next 3 hours.

We started with some Champagne - Jacquesson Cuvée N° 733. This was smooth on the palate if slightly flat, with lemon citrus nose and not too dry on the palate.

As is typical with any meal at Pierre Gagnaire's restaurants, there were the usual numerous amuse bouches, including little white truffle balls and some almond sablé. I lost track of all the different stuff.

Nage émulsionnée de colinot à la coriandre fraîche. Pannequet de tourteau, pressé de lapereau au combawa. Fèvs, petits pois, dés de spek et betteraves rouges - a wonderful dish with crab meat wrapped in a green leaf crêpe, with sprinkles of young rabbit ham, green peas, pineapple flakes and red beets in kaffir lime sauce. Many different flavors but they worked in harmony. A cold starter that gets things going.

Œuf au plat version PG; asperges vertes et blanches aux écorces d'agrumes. Bisque de crustacés au poivre vert - I love it when chefs play with eggs. This was fun because the egg whites were deep-fried while the yolk remained liquid. The yummy shellfish bisque provided the main flavor for the dish, while the green and white asparagus provided the counter-balance to the heavy taste of the shellfish.

I ordered up the 2003 Coche-Dury Meursault as it seemed reasonably priced. Wow! This wine just blew me away. Very heavy toast on the nose with sweet, buttery popcorn. A little sweet on the palate. This was just an amazing wine that just kept giving. I can't believe that this was just a village wine! It's easy to see why everyone begs Jean-François for more allocation...

Tranches de barbue pochée dans un beurre au laurier; artichauts poivrades & radis noirs croquant. Salade d'épinards Lee - the butter-poached brill was pretty nice, and interestingly paired with radish, artichoke and spinach.

Moving on to a red, this time the 2003 Roumier Chambolle-Musigny. Big nose of mint, eucalyptus and black fruits.  My mistake was not ordering this earlier, so the wine didn't have too much time to breathe before we drank it. But it did well under the circumstances.

Agneau de lait de Lozère: pièce tendre au vadouvan, aubergine et pâte de tamarin. Bouillon oriental, semoule fine au safran - this milk-fed lamb from the south of France was absolutely yummy. Pierre Gagnaire loves to blend Oriental spices into his dishes, and here was a prime example - Indian spice blend vadouvan and tamarind. All this on a bed of a saffron-flavored semolina.

Next came a series of desserts - again a signature at Pierre Gagnaire's restaurants. Along with the usual series of petits-fours, we started with a Sauternes gelée topped with gold leaf, in framboise and rose sauce. This was so refreshing and yummy.

Then there was the chocolate banana cake wth kaffir lime on top. My piece, however, came with a lit candle and a white chocolate plaque wishing me happy birthday... The groom finally was able to "get" me after his failed attempt at Michael Mina 6 months ago. Pretty decent.

The "egg" that showed up next had a thin layer of caramelized kiwi for egg white, a "yolk" of mango sorbet topped with passion fruit sauce, all on a bed of orange rind. Very interesting as well.

Finally we had a chocolate concoction filled with caramelized orange rind and cherries. Good way to finish up the lunch.

We were all stuffed to the brim from this wonderful lunch. The gang split up for the next two hours and wandered around Paris for a bit. As there was no way any of us could eat any more for a few more hours, we decided to board the bus and head back to Reims.

I started feeling the hunger pangs a little just before 10pm, and decided to go to the hotel bar and order something to eat. The moussaka d'agneau looked interesting and it's been a while since I've had it. When it came in a air-tight glass jar, I was a bit stunned. It's cold?! That's doesn't look like any moussaka I've ever had... Another look at the bar menu, and I see the small print at the bottom indicating that all the dishes are served cold, out of glass jars like this one. Oh well. It was basically rillettes with eggplant blended in, instead of the minced lamb that I was expected. Chalk up another new experience...

Better get to bed soon...got a big day ahead of me.

Wedding in Reims day 1: failed missions

I'm back in France for the second time this month. This time I'm here to attend a friend's wedding in Reims, but I have arranged to spend some extra time in Paris.

I arrived in the morning and quickly dropped off my luggage at Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme. The room wasn't yet ready, but it didn't matter. I needed to dash out quickly anyway...

My first stop in the city was the Hermès store on Avenue George V. My mission was to get a Birkin for my dear cousin. I was lead to believe that the store would open at 9:30am (which seemed a little early) so I rushed over in a taxi. As I arrived around 9:40am, my fears of late arrival dissipated as I realized the store doesn't open until 10:15am. This means a half-hour wait, and given my determination to be the first person to enter the store, I had no choice but to stand outside the door in the cold. The staff and I would eye each other as they prepped for the opening.

I entered the store when the doors opened, and immediately asked to purchase a Birkin. The sales lady asked me which colors I preferred, and for a moment I imagined that there would actually be a good selection to choose from. But no, my hopes were dashed a few moments later when she returned. She informed me that they had received no bags that day, and suggested that I either come back tomorrow or try the main store on Faubourg Saint-Honoré. An inquiry about the new "shoulder" Kelly also turned up negative, so I would disappoint yet another friend.  I'm not sure whether the lady was telling the truth, but it's entirely possible that the staff didn't want to sell the bag to an Asian guy in casual wear who has just gotten off a long-haul flight...

A little dejected, I returned to the hotel and cleaned myself up as it's time for lunch. Bistrot Saint Germain was recommended by a friend of a friend as a place to go for andouillette, and it happens to be within walking distance from the hotel. The place was cozy and pretty busy when we arrived.

I shared an order of escargot à la bourguignonne, which was not too bad.

But the main event was the grilled AAAAA andouillette with fries. I loooooove this stuff. What's not to like about chopped intestine stuffed inside a sausage casing? It's lightly grilled and sprinkled with lots of parsley. Once it's cut open, that distinctive smell hits the nose...yum! I dab on some of the sharp Dijon mustard, but actually prefer the natural taste.

We pay a visit to Notre Dame, as it's been over 10 years since my last. The number of tourists has multiplied and I'm amazed at the number of people swarming inside the cathedral. I've never really taken any good pictures so it's a good opportunity for me. The 12th century wooden carvings depicting Jesus' ressurection was pretty interesting. A priest asked me where I was from, then proceeded to lend me a handout in simplified Chinese, describing the stories being told by the panels.

The weather which has been patchy all day has cleared up by the time we left Notre Dame, and we walked along the banks of the Seine before heading over to Angelina for that to-die-for hot chocolate.

We ordered the famous chocolat chaud à l'ancienne - as well as the chocolat chaud au chocolat blanc - and one of their trademark Mont Blancs. This is all pretty ambitious given were less than two hours away from dinner.

Well, the hot chocolate was every bit as rich and thick as I remembered, which is why I can only take it once every 10 years or so... The white chocolate was worse - it was much sweeter and creamier, and I started getting a bit nauseous... I still prefer the dark chocolate, but without the whipped cream. The Mont Blanc was a huge thing with lots of chestnut mousse on top, and it also was a little too sweet...

We strolled back to the hotel and it starts to rain again on the way. I took a nap to recharge my batteries, and ended up sleeping through past our reservation at Le Train Bleu. This is just as well, since I was still not hungry thanks to the hot chocolate...

When I finally got a little hungry, I decided to venture out and hit Juveniles, Tim Johnston's wine bar. I found out about the bar due to David Powell's Torbreck Juveniles, which is a wine he first made specifically for the wine bar. I've always loved this wine, and I imagined sitting in the Paris wine bar drinking the namesake wine. But it was not to be. No Juveniles on the wine list, but the waiter recommended a substitute.

The 2005 Greenstone Heathcote Shiraz - the winery's first release - reminded me completely of Torbreck's Juveniles... meaning it was a lot more Rhone than Aussie. Nose of eucalyptus, mint, bacon fat, smoked meats, concentrated minerals and iron. A good wine but slightly oxidized, no doubt because this is being served by the glass and not poured from a fresh bottle.

For food I started with soupe de courgette de ma Tante Minty. A nice zucchini soup that was light and easygoing, with a sprinkle of paprika to add some kick.

The crostini à la Ron, jambon cru, tomates confites et parmesan was also nice and relatively light. The pesto sauce and the tomato was a great combination. This was just the right thing for me, as I wasn't overly hungry.

Having satiated my hunger, I walked back down rue des Petits-Champs past the string of Japanese and Chinese restaurants. A quick detour past the Opéra Garnier and I'm back at the hotel, calling it a night.