Rungis - Poissonnerie (Paris)

RUNGIS MARCHE INTERNATIONAL

My friends and I are 'foodies'; so we had a friend of a friend set up an appointment for us at 'foodie heaven'. The only problem was that the appointment was at 5:00 AM. We finished dinner at Le Grand Pan and did not sleep until 1:00 AM, so you can imagine how difficult it was for all of us to wake up at 3:30 AM to make it to our appointment in time. But foodies are not rational people; so we forced ourselves out of bed at such a ghastly hour for a trip to a 'market'.

We drove 20 minutes out of Paris to arrive at 5:00 on a dark and chilly Spring morning in Rungis, the largest food market in the world. Rungis, on the outskirts of Paris, is a wholesale food market - to the trade only. Previously located in central Paris in an area still called Les Halles, it was moved in the early 1970s to ease congestion in the city.

The market covers 573 acres, an area larger than Monaco. It welcomes 26,000 cars every day and nourishes one-fifth of the French population. Meat, fruit, vegetables, fish, and flowers converge here from across France, Europe, and the world before scattering to supermarket aisles or the finest Paris restaurants (information quoted from cm.com).

Rungis can actually be a city in itself. Since Rungis has so many people working and visiting it; it has banks, post offices, hairdressers, hotels, restaurants, etc. to cater to all these people.

Another amazing thing at Rungis is the amount of tourist. Bus loads of them; as far away as China. There are also private tour guides who apparently charge 200 euros for a private tour. I am sure some of the food traders at Rungis are not happy about the amount of tourist coming through the food halls.

We had a rendez-vous in front of a sea-food restaurant to meet our guide. Our young guide arrived and greeted us. He worked for 'Classic Fine Foods', a company that scouts the best produce for restaurant, hotels, etc. in other countries.

He started our tour at the fish hall. We payed two euros for a plastic coat and cap for sanitary reasons. Apparently, it would have been better to arrive at the fish hall around 2:00 AM because that is when all the action takes place. When we arrived, the majority of the fish traders were cleaning up and starting to put the fish away. Luckily we were able to see some fish.


The grand fish hall.


Its as large as an airplane hanger.


Lobster and crab claws.


All types of fish.


Scallops.











The fish traders.


Sea urchins.


Sea spiders.


All types of shell fish.


Craw fish.


Craw fish and lobsters.


Monk fish.


Sea snails.


Marlin.



Barracuda.

http://www.rungisinternational.com/

A classic Vietnamese Sandwich (New York Times)

I love banh mi - the Vietnamese sandwich. The New York Times has a great article about this fantastic and full of contradictions sandwich.

I was hungry after reading the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/dining/08banh.html

Le Grand Pan (Paris)

The recent Fooding award for ‘Best Bistro in Paris’ Le Grand Pan is a fantastic bistro in the 15th arrondissment. Young chef Benoît Gauthier who trained with Christian Etchebest at the nearby Le Troquet has come up with a great concept at Le Grand Pan, a great restaurant in one of the remoter parts of Paris. Le Grand Pan is all about satisfying earthy, carnivorous appetites. Its all about meats.

Meat in huge chunks, with very little done to it except the application of scorching heat, is the house specialty. The chalkboard on the wall announces, as Pan’s permanent fixtures, a platter of charcuterie to be followed by cote de boeuf, cote de porc or cote de veau, all in servings for two (but they look like they can feed a family of ten).

I am very upset with myself. We were so hungry so when the entrées arrived, I forgot to take the photos. We had a dish of morilles, a dish of St. Jacques and a grande plat of charcuterie (which was amazing). I will be going back to Le Grand Pan and promise to remember to take the photos next time.


Le Grand Pan's decor is simple bistro. A nice bar at the entrance for people waiting for their table. Wood table and chairs. Everyone sitting very close to each other.


The fourth dish was cote de boeuf. The beef was cooked perfectly. The texture and taste were amazing.


The fifth dish was cote de porc. Who would have thought that pork can taste so good. Basic but brilliant.


The sixth dish was cote de veau. After the beef and pork, what can we say about the veau. Stunningly good.


The meats came with a side of salad.


The fries deserve extra-special mention. They were huge chunks of fries; so crispy on the outside but so tender and soft inside. Apparently, I read that they were double-cooked. Since, I am not a chef, I have no idea what that means but I will find out.deep-fried.

The service was also great. A young man who was switched on about the food and wine. On top of that he had a great sense of humour. What a great evening!

Le Grand Pan
20 rue Rosenwald
75015 Paris
01 42 50 02 50

Le Hide (Paris)

One of our favourite bistros for lunch in Paris; Le Hide. It is walking distance from the apartment and the food is absolutely fabulous.


Le Hide is full of contradictions. Chef Hide Kobayashi is Japanese but cooks some of the most old-school traditional French food that you'll find in the capital. Chef Koba has been trained with Dominique Bouchet and Joël Robuchon, and you can tell from his food that chef Koba knows what he is doing. On top of this; chef Koba has priced his lunch & menus at very reasonable prices in an area that is not known to be cheap.


The first dish was a salad gourmande. The salad was topped with fois gras. I know, salads are suppose to be good for your health; but, the description of the salad sounded so good that we needed to try it. It did live up to its name...gourmande.


The second dish was snails. What I liked about chef Koba's version is that the snails were not over whelmed with garlic. Normally, after eating snails, I cannot taste anything else because the over dose of garlic which kills all other tastes. Instead, these snails had the very nice combination of shallots and garlic. It added a different flavour element to a simple dish.


The third dish was lamb with salad. The portion was enormous (which we did not mind). The lamb was so tender and tasty. A wonderful dish.


The fourth dish was pork with rissoto. I think I had a kilo of risotto...but it was so good. The pork was cooked perfectly and it was so full of flavour. I wish I could cook such simple dishes and make them taste so good as chef Koba.


The dessert was cafe gourmande (we were stuffed with food so we decided to share the dessert). The dessert consisted of a flourless chocolate cake, creme brullé, caramel ice cream and a cup of coffee. The chocolate cake was a bit too dry (disappointing), the creme brullé was fine and tasty but the caramel ice cream was the star. After a bite, we got a sweet caramelly taste which lingered on the tongue for bit and then the sweet taste disappeared and a hint a salty taste appeared. Amazing.


The dinning room is small and the decor is simple.


Le Hide (Koba's Bistro)
Cuisine Francaise traditionnelle
10, rue du General Lanrezac
75017 Paris
01 45 74 15 81
www.lehide.fr

L'Ami Jean (Paris)

Choosing a bistro in Paris is a daunting experience. There are so many to choose from. More than that, there are just so many good places to choose from. Every time we are come back there are more bistros to try. However; we always go back to L'Ami Jean. Simply because; first we love the Basque food and second is that the chef Stéphan Jégo is such an amazing chef; who used to work at La Regalade. Its a ritual that we are very happy to do.


L'Ami Jean has such a huge following that you have to reserve a table several months in advance (I am not kidding!!!). It is a very small dinning room and it has an even smaller kitchen. You sit so close to your neighbors that you can hear every word they say. I am always in amazement that such wonderful food comes out of that small kitchen.


The food is from the Basque area. On the menu there is a thing called the 'carte blanche' menu; meaning that if the chef is in the mood, he will cook a set menu consisting of several dishes. It will depend what the chef wants to cook for you that evening. Since we were in a celebratory mood and hungry; we decided to take the carte blanche menu. We asked the waiter to ask the chef if he was in the mood to cook the menu for us. Lucky for us, the chef said yes.











The first dish was white asparagus soup with crispy lardons. The waiter first delivered the bowl with the crispy lardons and we waited a minute before the soup was poured into the bowl. The mix of the the lardons and the asparagus soup was amazing. Creamy but light. Full of the asparaus flavour. A very nice beginning.


The wine we started with was Domain de Roally 2006. We ordered a white wine but the waitress recommended this wine instead. We were very happy that we listened to her. The wine was rich, lush, intensely fruity with marvelous weight and length. It was powerful, yet fresh and lively, and its aromas of buttery, roasted nuts lingered on.


The second dish was scallop on la moelle with cepes (thank goodness they are in season because I love those little things) and topped with a slice of crispy Spanish bacon. What an incredible dish.


The third dish was l'eperlans. The presentation already was incredible. These tiny little things were amazing. We were amazed how delicious this dish was. We were trying to figure out the herbs that was used for this dish because it was so good. We finally gave up and just ate.


The fourth dish was sweet bread and lamb with cepes. A fantastic combination. The sweet bread and lamb were cooked perfectly and tasted so good.


The fifth dish was Basque cheese with cherry confiture. A very nice break before dessert. I do like hard cheeses and this one did not disappoint.


The sixth dish was riz aux lait (rice pudding). This is one of the most famous desserts around. Everyone, I know who has been to L'Ami Jean talk about this dessert. After eating so much because everything is so yummy, we never think of having dessert. However; when this dessert is put on the table, no one can resist having some of this incredible dessert. It is the creamiest and tastiest dessert. It sounds so simple but you need to try to see what everyone is talking about. Simply amazing.


The seventh dish was chocolate mousse and a strawberry in cream. A very nice ending to our wonderful dinner.


L'Ami Jean
27 rue Malar
75007 Paris
01 47 05 86 89

Le Comptoir Restaurant (Paris)

After a nice walk from Le Bon Marché, we arrived at one of our preferred bistros in St. Germain. The bistro is called Le Comptoir.

You are guaranteed to be cramped in classic style at Le Comptoir, a Left Bank bistro in the Carrefour de l'Odéon. Yves Camdeborde was never a three-star chef, but he ran La Régalade, a far-from-central but a wildly popular bistro, so it's not a surprise that this bistro is the toughest reservation in town (for dinner).


However; we always preferred to eat lunch at Le Comptoir. Its a great place to people watch. Normally, you have to stand in a queue and wait about 15-20 minutes for a table. We were very lucky today because we only waited about 15 minutes. Since it was such a beautiful day, we definately wanted to sit outside.


The first dish was salad nicoise. A lovely salad with all the right fresh ingredients. We agreed that we did not like salad nicoise with grilled tuna. A good can of tuna can make the salad just as good. With grilled tuna you cannot mix in the tuna and get that flavour throughout the salad. The vinigrette was also very good. It did not use balsamic vinegar with usually over whelms the taste of the sauce.


The second salad that we shared was salad gourmand. This salad consisted of green salad, green beens, artichokes and fois gras. A very nice combination.



The third dish was grilled tuna with grilled vegetables. The tuna was cooked raw, almost sashimi style. A light lunch but it was an enormous portion.


The fourth dish was a slice of choux farci. Beautifully presented and it tasted as great as it looked.


The fifth dish was slice of roasted poulard. A huge slice of tender chicken wrapped around with a slice of lardon laying in a wonderfu light creamy sauce.


The sixth dish was joues de boeuf. One of my favourite dishes. It comes carrots and maccaroni pasta simmering in the jus of the beef cheeks. So yummy.


With such wonderful weather, atmosphere and food; we had another perfect lunch at Le comptoir.

Le Comptoir
9 Carrefour de l'Odéon 6th Arr.
Saint Germain
Paris, France
33-1-43-27-07-50

Back in Sunny Paris

We are back in Paris for our Songkran holiday. We arrived in Paris early in the morning and had a lunch appointment with friends in the afternoon.


We parked the car right next to Le Bon Marché (my favourite place to go shopping in Paris) and walked to the restaurant because it was such a beautiful and sunny day in Paris. Walking through the park next to Le Bon Marché. Watching people have their lunch in the sunshine. It really is nice to be back in Paris.


Crossing the road and getting close to St. Sulpice.


Arrived in St. Sulpice church (which is being renovated). Here are Parisians enjoying the sun at a cafe near Yves Saint Laurent.


We stopped to take a look at all the wonderful and beautiful pastries at Pierre Hermé (a must if you are in the St. Sulpice area) before continuing our walk to the restaurant for lunch. We were getting close to the restaurant and I am feeling happy an very hungry.