Eurostar Train Meal - London to Paris

Travelling from London to Paris, I decided to take the Eurostar train instead of the plane. The price was cheaper going by train, you don't have to go through the hassle of airport security, and the thought of going through the chunnel was really cool to me!

Paris Gare du Nord

Not knowing when I would be able to do this again, I decided to go all out and travel business class. I'm a sucker for the business class lounges...who doesn't want to feel pamperd and be able to relax over free food, coffee, and magazines before travelling?

The Eurostar menu was designed closely with Alain Roux, chef patron at the 3 Michelin star reastaurant, Waterside Inn in Bray near Windsor.

There were two choices for breakfast. I decided to go with the English breakfast: an herb omelette with a chicken herb sausage, mushrooms, roast tomato, and bubble & squeak. The chicken herb sausage was really good! The rest was good but tasted like any other airline meal.

English Breakfast

The second option was organic ham with red Leicester, and homemade raisin loaf.

Organic Ham, Red Leicester, and Homemade Raisin Loaf

All breakfasts also came with bread, pastries, organic yogurt, orange juice, and your choice of wine, hot chocolate, tea, or coffee.

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Roger La Grenouille, Paris

We got to celebrate Super J's boyfriends's fabulous birthday while in Paris. They wanted to go to a traditional French restaurant that night, so we headed to Roger La Grenouille, or Roger the Frog...what a cute name! This restaurant has been in service for over 80 years, and the decor of the place really shows it.

As the name implies, Roger La Grenouille specializes in frogs...more specifically frog's legs. They serve 9 different frog leg dishes organized in 3 sections: classical, creation, and original savours. Classical frog legs include Provençale (sliced garlic & parsley), and creamy white wine sauce with chives. Creation comes in flavors like "Niçoise" (candied lemon, dried tomatoes, and black olives), and "Grenobloise" (capers, fried bread cubes, and lemon juice). Original savours have an international twist combining ingredients like tandoori, fresh mint, and chorizo.

There are hints of the frog theme beyond what is offered on the menu like this toilet paper holder in the washroom. When Super J saw it, she made me go in and take a photo. Haha.

Frog Toilet Paper Holder

Our meal started with a dish mini olives, and a dish of radish and butter.

Radish and Butter

   

As an appetizer, we ordered a big plate of juicy Burgundy Snails to share. They were smothered in butter and herbs, and were probably the best escargots I had ever had! I couldn't help but soak my bread in the butter sauce when we were finished.

Burgundy Snails
  

Of course, we couldn't come to Roger La Grenouille without trying the frog's legs. We decided to order off the Original Savours section, and chose the "Andalouse" frog legs. This was a plate of meaty frog's legs tossed with chorizo sausage, piquillo peppers, candied lemons, and basil. The flavor combination was fantastic, and the addition of candied lemons was a nice way to balance the salty chorizo sausage. After the escargots and frog legs, I wished I had ordered more of each!

"Andalouse" Frog Legs

For my main meal, I ordered the "aioli" roasted cod with vegetables. The fish was cooked very nicely, but the entire meal was a bit bland...especially after all the butter, sausages, and candied lemons in the previous dishes.

"Aioli" Roasted Cod and Vegetables

 Super J ordered the poached chicken breast with creamy lemon sauce. What beautiful presentation!

Poached Chicken Breast with Creamy Lemon Sauce

The birthday boy ordered the seared rib steak of 350g. This was served with home made "Béarnaise" sauce, and french fries. We loved the way the fries were served...reminded us of Jenga building blocks!

Seared Rib Steak

For dessert, Super J and I shared the strawberry salad, coconut cake, and fresh mint ice cream. It was a great way to end our meal.

Coconut Cake, Strawberry Salad, and Fresh Mint Ice Cream

This is a very charming restaurant with the full French experience. Next time, I am going to indulge in just the escargots and frog legs over a nice bottle of wine!

Roger La Grenouille
26-28 Rue des Grands Augustins
75006 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 56 24 24 34

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Nouveau Village Chez Momo, Paris

When I got word that my REALLY REALLY good friend, Super J was in Paris, my priority was to meet up with her. We had agreed to meet up at the Saint-Michel fountain, and when we saw each other, we started screaming while hugging and dancing around in circles. I swear, it was like a scene in the movies!

She was in  Paris with a group of friends, and before we joined the group, we decided to grab a quick drink, just the two of us, to catch up. When we finally got caught up on one year's worth of juicy gossip, we headed to Le Nouveau Village in the Latin Quarter.

Although a very touristy restaurant (given the location), Le Nouveau Village serves great Moroccan food! They also offer a free aperitif, which is what lured everyone into the restaurant in the first place :)

The three boys felt like they had something to prove, and decided to order the biggest meal on the menu: the couscous royal for three. It was a massive plate of warm couscous, a massive plate of meats that included meat balls, mutton, chicken, hot sausage, and lamb chops, and a huge bowl of sauce with veggies. The couscous was cooked very nicely, and the meat was well...meaty! :)

Couscous Royal

Us three ladies were so turned off by the amount of food the guys ordered that we all avoided anything with couscous.

I ordered the tagine au poulet et amandes, the chicken and almond tagine. The tagine was absolutely delicious! The crunchy almonds went perfectly with the chicken and the sauce was seasoned very nicely...a highly recommended dish.

Tagine au Poulet et Amandes

Super J ordered tagine au poulet, olives, et citrons: tagine with chicken, olives, and lemon. Also a really good choice.

Tagine au Poulet, Olives, et Citrons

K stuck with a vegetarian option and ordered the tagine au legumes. If you're a veggie fan, order this one!

Tagine au Legumes

We had a great evening of fun and laughs. It's always fun meeting new friends over great food.

Nouveau Village Chez Momo
9 Rue Xavier Privas
75005 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 43 29 75 92

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Le Pré Aux Clercs, Paris

Destination after London was Paris! One of my favorite cities in the world. Lucky me.

In the last few years, I've really come to understand how important friendships are. I've been trying hard to keep in touch with everyone that has touched my life in a meaningful way. While CK can get annoyed because it means more time spent on my phone or laptop, the upside is that there are more people to connect with while travelling! And that's exactly what happened in Paris.

This trip to Paris was a fun one. I had a few groups of friends who were also in Paris the same week so I got to catch up with a lot of people!

My first stop was at Le Pré Aux Clercs in St. Germain. The beauty about this place is that it is right across the street from Ladurée. I was in dire need of macarons that day. As always, the line up was insanely long. We snagged a seat on the terrace of Le Pré Aux Clercs so that I could monitor the line up at Ladurée, and run over when the line died down.

Ladurée Shop

While waiting for the perfect time to pop over to Ladurée, we decided to eat. I had La Niçoise Salad, a salad of tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, sweet peppers and hard boiled egg.

Niçoise Salad

Y had never had a croque-monsieur, so we encouraged her to try it. It was delicious...the thick layer of Gruyere on top made all the difference!

Croque-Monsieur

JW had the Margret de Canard Façon "Bistrot", grilled duck breast in Parisian tradition with herbs and mashed potatoes.

Margret de Canard Façon "Bistrot"

In the middle of my meal, I did get a chance to run over to Ladurée, and the three of us shared my macarons for dessert :)

Le Pré Aux Clercs
30 Rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 43 54 41 73

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Bofinger, Paris

When I asked my Parisian friend, Philippe, to recommend a good restaurant in Paris, he replied Bofinger. It is a very traditional French restaurant he said, good food...very popular. He regrettably could not join us that evening, so he sketched us a quick map of how to get there, and sent us off.

Bofinger is a historical Parisian brasserie. Over 100 years old, Bofinger has a reputation as a place where French presidents, prime minsters, politicians and writers frequently dine and meet up.

While the food was not knock your socks off spectacular, there were elements that were done superbly (like their foie gras), and the whole vibe of the place screamed old world French. It is a place worth checking out.

Our meal started with pretzels and olives.

Pretzels and Olives

My appetizer was the home made foie gras with brioche toast. The foie gras was just perfect...delicate, smooth, and rich.

Home Made Foie Gras

Brioche Toast

My main was the medium rare duck breast with polenta. I didn't care much for the polenta but the duck was cooked very nicely. It was suprisingly tender...not even the slightest bit chewy.

Duck Breast with Polenta

My American friend, Y, ordered a steak well done with diet pepsi. The one thing about the French is that they are not shy about being snobs. When the waiter heard Y's order, he was completely flabbergasted. He rolled his eyes, and started to insult Americans in front of her. After a good minute of listening to how Americans don't know good food, he stood there expecting her to change her order. Y was firm on her order and refused to change it. From that point on, we were invisible to them. I found the whole situation humorous, and had quite the laugh. Y felt otherwise...she was both embarrased and angry...I didn't blame her for feeling that way.

Well Done Steak

Her steak was served with fries, tomatoes, beans, and gravy.

Fries, Tomatoes, and Beans

Gravy

For dessert, I forced Y to order the cherry clafoutis. By that point, she had had enough of the place but I convinced her to stay for dessert. Y loved her clafoutis, and did not regret ordering it.

Cherry Clafoutis

My dessert was the apricot soup. This was just perfect for me...tart and light.

Apricot Soup

Bofinger
5-7 Rue de la Bastille
75004 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 42 72 87 82

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Laduree, Paris

While I was in Paris, the only place I really wanted to check out was Pierre Herme. The moment I checked into my hotel, I went straight to concierge for directions on how to get to the shop.

I started explaining to concierge about how I was excited to try a Pierre Herme macaron, and her eye brow instantly raised. "Oh, you want macarons? You know, if you really want the best traditional macarons and cakes, Ladurée is where you want to go. If you want to try modern macarons, then go to Pierre Herme." After a bit more discussion, she finally convinced me to go to Ladurée first. I figured I could check out Pierre Herme afterwards.

If you're a food enthusiast, I'm sure you've read countless articles and posts about Ladurée. Laduree is most famous for their macarons. According to David Lebovits, the four shops in Paris sell 12,000 macarons a day. That's ALOT of macarons!

It turns out, macarons didn't always have that creamy ganache filling that you see today. They actually had no filling. The two macaron shells were joined together while still warm, allowing the shells to fuse together as they cooled. It was Pierre Desfontaines (second cousin to Louis Ernest Ladurée) that suggested adding a filling to this almond delight.

Today, once baked and filled, Ladurée macarons are set aside for 2 days before hitting the store front. This is apparently the perfect length of time to achieve the perfect texture and taste. It's all a science.

There was a huge line up outside the store when I arrived. After waiting patiently for 20 minutes, I ordered my macarons.

I had 6 different flavors: licorice, black current violet, orange blossom, caramel with salted butter, rose, and cherry.

Macarons

As you can imagine, the texture and flavors were perfect. Of all the flavors I tried, my favorite, surprisingly, was by far black licorice. The sweetness of the almonds and sugar, combined with the subtle anise flavor was a winning combination. The rose and caramel flavors were also high on my list.

Ladurée is very anal about taking photos in the shop. So many people got yelled at for taking out their cameras. I wanted to buy one of their cakes just so I could get a photo, but decided that was just crazy.

I may not be a cake fan, but I do love candy:

Candy from Ladurée

Candy from Ladurée

In the end, I didn't go to Pierre Herme. Like Ladurée, the line up was long. I was running late for my date - a boat tour along the Seine - and just didn't have the time to wait.

La prochaine fois, next time!

Ladurée
21 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 44 07 64 87

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La Petite Scierie, Paris

Bonjour mes amies! I'm taking you on a little tour to Paris today.

For some odd reason, when I think of Paris, the words 'mais, oui oui, non non!' blurt out of my mouth. Translated, it just means 'But, yes yes, no no,' so I'm not really sure where I got that from. I learned a little bit of French growing up, but I am by no means fluent in the language as you can see.

La Petite Scierie was the first little shop I stumbled upon on my recent trip to Paris. This cute little shop is steps away from the Notre Dame cathedral, and specializes in foie gras.

Notre Dame Cathedral

I know I'm digressing, but look at the gorgeous Gothic detail.

Gothic Detail on Notre Dame Cathedral

The moment you step into their tiny shop, you will be overwhelmed with all there is - despite the size of the place. You will first notice the beautiful 17th century stone wall behind the shop counter. And when you peek around your shoulder, you will see jars and jars of home made foie gras, rillettes, confits, and pickled vegetables.

La Petite Scierie

While I was slowly trying to take it all in, I was warmly greeted by the shop owner who was excited to educate and talk to us about foie gras.

La Petite Scierie

"Before we talk about foie gras, we must first try some!", the owner says. My friend and I were handed a sample of their foie gras along with a small glass of Coteaux du Layon, a sweet white wine from the Loire Valley wine region of France. The foie gras was heavenly! This is no exaggeration. Foie gras has never been the same since this experience.

Foie Gras

Everything sold in the shop is produced on their farm in Pouilly-sur-Loire, and the production of their foie gras is limited. They do not ship any of their products, so you will have to make a trip to the shop if you want to try some.

Here are some more photos from my trip. Sit back, and imagine yourself eating foie gras while sipping some Coteaux du Layon while you enjoy these photos:

La Petite Scierie
60 rue Saint Louis en l’Ile
75004 Paris, France
Telephone: 01 55 42 14 88

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