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

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

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