L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Chef of the Century

PARIS -- This timely entry is dedicated to the most badass chef around, Anthony Bourdain, who recently aired his 100th episode of No Reservations.  He returns to Paris with Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert and while eating their way around the city, they meet up with no other than Eric's mentor himself, Mr. Joel Robuchon.  No big deal.

Named “Chef of the Century” by the Gault Milau, holder of 27 Michelin stars (the most, ever.) and a pioneer in his art, you can't help but ask, "What’s this guy all about?"  Robuchon made a name for himself by breaking apart from old-fashioned, boring French cuisine and taking a more modern spin towards cooking based on fresh ingredients and creativity, yet keeping the techniques that made french food  famous in the first place. Lets be real, you can only have so much Duck Confit and Boeuf Bourguignon before you decide to boycott French cuisine and start following Emeril Lagasse.

Hopefully, you'll eat at Joel Robuchon's L’Atelier in Paris before it comes to that.  This is hands down my favouritest restaurant on this planet. True to Robuchon’s esthetic, the restaurant features two U-shaped bars that wrap around an entirely open kitchen, which was surprisingly calm, especially since the only other open kitchen I had seen was Hell's Kitchen.  The chic and informal setting was refreshing after lunching at the rather conservative and old school (not to mention pricier) Joel Robuchon’s La Table in the 16e arrondissement of Paris.

Our a la carte choices: Le Homard Bleu 75€ and Le Crab Royale 60€

The Menu Decouverte (tasting menu) offers 9 dishes at 150€.  Between 2 girls, we ordered one set menu to share, along with a (whole) lobster salad and Le Crab Royale (king crab chunks sandwiched between two thin radish slices).

Aside from the attentive staff and awesome ambiance, the food is simply spectacular and really lives up to any expectations you could possibly have.  I can still remember my first taste of that Langoustine Ravioli and its foie gras truffle sauce mmmm...damn, i'm starving now.


However, this doesn’t come cheap; lunch for two hongray girls (with champagne) came out to around 350€.  (Fyi: the menu doesn't change from lunch to dinner, and neither do the prices.)

First 5 courses:

Caviar on toast with mascapone cheese, Le Crab Royale, Soft Shell Crab on an avocado puree, Langoustine ravioli with a truffle-infused foie gras sauce served with savoy cabbage,  Foie Gras with asparagus, glazed turnips and apricot

Don't get fooled by the small portions, the food is filling and the set menu is plenty for one. 

Girolle mushrooms (Chanterelle)  and bits of foie gras in a foie gras foam, Sole filet in a artichoke sauce, Foie Gras stuffed quail served with truffled mash (personal fav)

If you're still hungry after this, fill up on their specialty breads, or the famous creamy mash potatoes!

 

The only average part of the meal was the dessert:

Chestnut Macaron-like biscuits, Lemon mousse

The most recent restaurant opening by Robuchon was in Taipei, Taiwan in the upscale Bella Vita mall, which I tried a couple weeks back.  Curious? Wait for L'Atelier Part 2 in the next entry..


L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon 
5 rue de Montalembert 
Paris, 75007 
01 42 22 56 56
www.joel-robuchon.com/ 

bisous bisous!

angie.loves.robuchon x

So You Think You Know Pizza?

TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- Move aside New York, your pizza is so passé.  Chicago Deep Dish? Never was a fan.
Time to move on to more creative, "new-age" pizza flavours.  Check out what Taiwan's Pizza Hut has to offer:

Sukiyaki Beef: beef marinated in a sweet soya sauce, burdock, red bell pepper, onion, with a tangy sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame.  "Tornado" Crust

Classic Hawaiian Pie.  Mozarella and Cheddar stuffed Tornado Crust

Remember PH's stuffed crust?  Imagine chopping that into 3 pieces and placing them perpendicular to the slice. You can actually rip off the individual bite-sized cheese breads, yummm.

Japanese Takoyaki Flavour: octopus, green pepper, onions, mushrooms topped with seaweed, sweet mayo, and sesame seeds.  "Crown" Pizza Crust with mini sausages. Insane.

Korean Kimchi BBQ: Kimchi, spicy BBQ pork.

Why can't we have these flavours stateside instead of overly cheesy pasta dishes and oil-drenched sandwiches?


Now, a quick flashback to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut. 

White Clam Pie: Fresh clams, grated cheese, olive oil, fresh garlic and oregano.

This pizza was divine, we took a food trip out to CT last summer and this was the first stop on the list.  But like many seafood dishes, it gets a little fishy once cold.  Not cool for slow eaters like myself.

Next stop, Naples!

angie.loves.pizzahut x

Raw Sushi Bistro

TAIPEI - Raw Sushi Bistro.  Located across the street from Taipei 101, this new super-cool Japanese restaurant is a nice break from strict sushi and sashimi dinners we're spoiled with in Taiwan.  Owned by a Taiwanese sushi chef from Texas, many of Raw's dishes have a fusion touch, whether its the jalapeno sauce served with the New Yorker Roll (beef, tempera shrimp and avocado, meh), or the Sashimi Mango Ceviche (salmon and tuna tartar tossed with pine nuts and served with toasted baguette slices).

(Clockwise from Top Left) Beef Tataki, Hot Chick, Sugar Mama, New Yorker

Our Fav rolls were Hot Chick (Salmon, Tempura, Avocado, with spicy mayo) and Sugar Mama (white fish, scallops, crab, shrimp) which run at about 500NT --about $15-- a pop.  Feeling adventurous? Try Fuji 151 (smoked salmon, avocado, fish roe, and dun dun dunnnn Barcardi 151!).  Or if you're a little nostalgic and miss your old local sushi takeout spot, they serve all the classic rolls as welll.

Whatever you decide on, don't forget to wash your meal down with an oyster shot... it's almost as good as a shot of chilled Patron.  After all, they do say oysters are an aphrodisiac.  Cheers!


Raw Sushi Bar
16 Xinyi Road, Section 5.
Taipei, Taiwan
02 2345 9198

angie.loves.rien x

In the Eiffel Tower

My view at the Jules Verne

La Tour Eiffel, the most iconic monument of Paris.  The obvious must-see for all tourists, even if the elevator line is two hours long to get to the second level, and another hour-long to reach the top.  Reserve with Jules Verne to skip the line and go straight to the restaurant's private elevator, that leads directly to the restaurant on second level of the tower. (Sadly they don't have one to take you to the top, you'll still have to line up for that).

There is no doubt that the views from this 2-michelin starred Alain Ducasse Resto are amazing.  At 115m above ground, Mama C. and I lunched while looking over the Invalides, Trocadero, Seine, Montparnasse Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Palais de Tokyo, just to name a few.  The coolest part is seeing the attractions through the tower's metal structure, reminding you that you're actually IN the tower.

 

The food was another story.  At 115€ for the 3-course weekend lunch menu, the food was absolutely h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e.  Everything was way too salty, the menu boring, and flavours mediocre at best.  I ordered the Shellfish velouté with mushrooms and chervil infusion (tasted like foamy salt water), the Bresse chicken fricassee with vegetables in a marbled cooking juice (very average and too salty) and the bitter chocolate and raspberry tartlet for dessert (prob best part of the meal).  Mama's C's main dish, John Dory with summer vegetables, was equally salty and disappointing.  

 

Overall opinion: WACK. There are way too many delicious restaurants in paris to be wasting any time and money at JV.  On the plus side, it's nice to finally have some photos from the tower where my hair is actually presentable! Book at least a month in advance (for lunch, and even more for dinner), especially during busy summer months.

Le Jules Verne
Tour Eiffel
Avenue Gustave Eiffel
Paris 75003
01 45 55 61 44

angie.love.rien x

Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective - Petit Palais

 

This expo was easily one of my favourites during my time abroad.  Held at the Petit Palais in Paris, the show is divided into 15 rooms filled with St. Laurent's gorgeously tailored designs...from the start of his career as Christian Dior’s assistant (where he created the Trapeze dress, hallelujah for all-you-can-eat-buffet friendly outfits) to the creation of his own couture house, YSL Rive Gauche.

The expo features his travel-inspired collection, costumes, sophisticated eveningwear, and an entire wall full of his signature “Le Smoking” tuxedos  (my personal fav).  Two other parts of the expo that stood out to me were the nude portraits of St. Laurent from shoot with Jeanloup Sieff (tasteful and covered, you pervs) and the original comic strips of his badass cartoon character “La Vilaine Lulu.”

Open until Aug 29, 2010 I highly recommend going if you haven't already, its so worth it!  I also suggest paying the 5 extra euros to book your tickets online to avoid queueing because in May the lines were massive even early in the morning.  (However, Paris is pretty dead in August so you could try your luck.)  For the intrigued non-Parisians, the official site gives a really good overview of the show is pretty cool on its own as well. 

angie.loves.ysl x

Suan Thai - The Marais

It’s no secret that Asian food in Paris is lacking; with two Chinatowns, a little Japan and countless Chinese Traiteurs around the city, I never understood why decent Asian food is almost non-existent.   

spring rolls yum

Almost, that is. Suan Thai was a pleasant surprise when my mom visited me in Paris.  When she was desperate for a break from duck confit and steak frites and needed some asian-ness in her life.  Small and unpretentious from the outside, this restaurant actually has seating on 2 levels and a simple yet tasteful décor.  Listed as a Bib Gourmand (and with one fourchette) in the 2009 Michelin Hotel and Restaurant Guide, Suan Thai not meets a high culinary standard but it also fulfills the 3-course menu for under 28€ requirement.  In other words, this is the guide's way of telling you that this place is a steal for all you deal lovers!

Bref. So mama and I decided to ordered a la carte, starting with spring rolls (very crispy and a nice change from microwaved day-old nems, thanks a lot Chinese TRAITORS) and shrimp cakes (meh) for appetizers.  Followed by sautéed Liseron vegetables (delish) and a lemony steamed whole fish, which tasted as dead as it looked.. if you get what i mean.  All that lemon sauce did nothing for the smell of the taste of this thing.  We had about 3 bites.. combined.  However, the pineapple + shrimp fried rice made our meal all worthwhile.  Lightly flavoured with curry powder, the pineapple bits gave a nice little tang to every bite.

Overall, I enjoyed this meal.  Everything beautifully presented and the prices were quite reasonable also.  Our bill came to about 70€ for lunch, but we had ordered way too much food and that stinky fish accounted for a large chunk of it. (We actually went back 2 days later and the only thing we ordered again was the pineapple fried rice.)

Most people lunching around us chose from the set menus (prices starting at 13.50€ for unch on weekdays), which featured options such as papaya beef salad, seafood salad along with chicken / shrimp / pork curries.

Bon appetit!

Suan Thai

41 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie
75004 Paris, France
01 42 77 10 20

Biz! angie.loves.rien x

a toy that tells time

Ice Watch - a bright, playful addition to the summertime, kind of like the reinvented Baby-G of the 21st century.  There are endless colours and materials to match every taste: Choose from three sizes (S, M, L) and three different bands (silicone, transparent links, or plastic links) to build the toy of your choice.  If you feel like being fancy they even have blinged out watch faces!  I opted for the yellow silicone for 89€, but the prices start at 59€ depending on the model.
 
Sold out at Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, but Be Watch at 12 Rue des Archives, Paris still holds a huge inventory.  Visit this Belgian watchmaker's website for a full list of retail outlets all over the world (and a clip of David Guetta sporting the red silicone version in his One Love music video!).


biz! angie.loves.icewatch x

La Tour d'Argent

Duck man on display

It doesn't get more classicaly French than this restaurant.  Established in 1582, this resto is located in its original buildling on Quai de la Tournelle on the rive gauche across from the Ile St. Louis.  From its 6th floor panoramic dining room, the view is to die for.  With the large buildings of La Defense in the distance on one end and the Bois de Vincennes on the other, the towers of Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur seem to be at arm's reach.  (But we Paris peeps know that is not at all the case).

Amuse Bouche

At 65€, the 3 course lunch menu was just mediocre.  I had poached / roasted fish "dumplings" to start, the "cannette" with apricots as my main, and a fraisier dessert.  None of the courses were exceptional, even if I did earn my duck #1090401 postcard. (It's a tradition, they started counting in 1890 and go through roughly 15,000 of their own farm-raised ducks per year.)

However, going to La Tour d'Argent is not just about the food, it really is about the experience.  Even at lunch on a Tuesday, there was at least one waiter for each table, ready to answer every question we had - trust me, we asked everything from the history of the resto to the murano glass ducks on the table.  The current owner, André Terrail (quite the bogosse), even stopped by to say hi.  However, the worst part of the place was the dated decor - yellow table cloth, silver goblets and printed carpets.  And not in a vintage chic or classy way.  As RN puts it, it needs either a woman's or a gay man's touch to bring it back to life.  Now I understand how it went from three michelin stars to just one..
 

As you exit, you pass by hundreds of signatures and photos of celebrities, heads of states, royalty, that have once ate at the Tour d'Argent. L-R: Kennedy, Trudeau, Giuliani

I would return, because I didn't get the try the infamous "Pressed Duck" - signature dish invented by this resto - which is not in any of the set menus, and I was quite disappointed.

Across the street, there is also a Tour d'Argent boutique where they sell wine from their reserve of 480,000 bottles, foie gras from their farm-raised ducks, and honey from the bees that live in attic above the restaurant.

Enjoy!

angie.loves.rien x

Coucou world!

Another blog you ask? Yes, except this time I am for real.

On my last day in Paris, I sat at a cafe on Rue Montorgeuil with my godbrother Yann as we reminisced the last 10 months of my life (the best years ever fyi) spent in Paris and traveling around Europe.  As I flipped through my raggedy red moleskin past pages of ticket stubs, business cards, drawings, and grocery lists, Yann creepily spied over my shoulder and suggested that I should start a blog to share my experiences.. especially because he is soon traveling to barcelona and the suggestions will be helpful to him (busted!).

After literally hours, 4 cups of coffee, and a packet of clops later, we finally came up with this name: Eye Love Rien - aka "I Love Nothing" for you non-francophones. The perfect words to describe my insatiable need to find the perfect plate of pates, the most stylish pair of vintage Roger Vivier's, the freshest sorbet in town, or the best websites for luxury vacations or deals (for cheap!). Then of course, there is always my wandering eye for all intriguing window displays, passers-by, and menus.  For your entertainment, here are some names we considered:  Ass Ass Praline, Patate Volante, AnJai la patate, patate dans une bouteille, Bitch-ass Bitch Blog... just to name a few (Thanks Yann).

I'm still looking for guest bloggers so anyone interested in writing about hip new bars, hidden boutiques, cheap eats, or complaining about bad service in parisian cafes please contact me.

Bisous and a bientot!

angie.loves.rien x