Adventure #233: Fish La Boissonnerie (Paris)

We spent the morning visiting Musee d'Orsay. It was great for the kids to see some of Monet's water lily series after our recent visit to Monet's Garden in Giverny.

After the museum, we went for lunch at Fish La Boissonnerie in 6e, our final gut busting lunch in Paris before we leave. The restaurant is run by a Kiwi and a Cuban with an Englishman in the kitchen.....in Paris.....interesting. This set-up makes the restaurant particularly popular with English speakers.

Very interesting frontage.

Boiled egg with potato salad. Delicious.

Lamb liver with melon and pickled onions. A little taken aback when the dish first arrived.  The liver looked a bit dry. But it turned out great. The sweetness of the melon and the sourness of the pickled onion went really well with the liver.

Pork with vegetables on a sweet potato mash. Pork is moist and tasty. Went really well with the sweet mash.

Steak with parmesan polenta and courgettes. Beef is a mouth watering medium rare. Love the polenta.

Tuna with cabbage and cucumber with black current sauce. Another wonderful dish with still pink tuna.

Apricot crumble. Different but yummy.

Banana bread with chocolate ganache.

G wanted the cherries pannacotta but they ran out. G was really disappointed and must have looked the part coz the waitress came back with whatever they have left of this dish just for him!

Very good food in a cosy setting. 

Our last gourmet meal in Paris.....with preparation, the food we had on this trip is generally good. Very pleased but starting to miss Oriental food......... 

Adventure #232: Jeanne B (Paris)

After a great lunch at L'ourcine, we spent the afternoon wandering around Montmatre.  It was very touristy and I think I saw someone being pick-pocketed!  Glad all our things were intact throughout the trip. 

There were lots of restaurants in this area but somehow you get the feeling all were tourist traps.  Most of the restaurants we walked past were full to the brim but when you looked at the food that was on their tables, you were glad that you weren't having that for dinner.  Anticipating that, we did some research as to recommended restaurants in the area and decided upon a deli cum restaurant called Jeanne B, also off the beaten path and main tourist drag.  We didn't book ahead but they managed to squeeze us in for an early dinner if we could finish in an hour and the half.  We always do!

Loved the deli style layout.

The wine list. How creative!

Carpaccio de tomatoes. Small but refreshing.

Homemade foie gras.  We didn't have much of this during this trip, so maybe one before we leave.  Very rich!

The signature dish, lobster sandwich. Simple yet delicious.

Also ordered this rabbit pie.  Popular with the little one, as long as she didn't know it's rabbit.

Prune tart.  Love the fruit tarts in France.  The tanginess, yum.

Meringue floating on chocolate sauce.  Well, the kids literally took over this one.

A good and simple meal in a very relaxing atmosphere.  Good choice.  No way we will eat in any of the tourist joints we saw along the way.

Adventure #231: L'ourcine (Paris)

We finally arrived in Paris, the capital of gourmet food! We only have 2 and a half days here! So much good food, so little time.........

After much time spent on the internet, taking into account where we were staying and where we wanted to visit, G narrowed our food destinations down to a few places.  

Today, we ventured out to a restaurant in the suburbs.  When we got there, it took us a while to find it.  The people in the suburbs are so much friendlier as several people stopped to ask us if we were lost!  We were the first patrons for lunch and wondered if we made the right choice.  However, it soon began to fill up and by the time we left, the place was nearly full.  Not bad given that the restaurant was definitely off the beaten path.

Bistro style dining.  
No fancy decor here but we came for the food not the decor.

Amuse bouche made of carrots, bacon bits and croutons.  Mouth wateringly delicious. Can't wait for our first course!

Salmon with salad and octopus ink sauce.  Looks so colourful and appetizing and it tasted refreshingly fabulous.

Terrine of foie gras with pickled mushroom.  The pickled mushrooms went amazingly well with the foie gras.  It doesn't look like much but the juxtaposition of flavours and textures were exquisite.

Crab with avocado mousse (The crab is hidden under the mousse). 
Made from my two favourite ingredients!!!   Very, very tasty!!!

Pork with vegetables.  Pork was succulent. Not as amazing as the beef cheek below but still very good.

Braised beef cheek stuffed in tomato.  The beef was tender and moist and the vegetable mix was so fresh and cooked al-dente.  The tomato sandwich was a delightful twist.

Fish pie. This was meant for the little one but it was so delicious, I had quite a few mouthfuls!  If we all weren't so full from our own dishes, we would have gobbled this up as well.

A dessert made from melons, honey, ginger and lime. Delicious and a great summer dessert.  G loved the combo as he is partial to ginger and lime.

I went for my favourite cherries.

We were very glad we made the extra effort to trek out specifically in search of this restaurant.  It is not often that G does this but he made a beeline to the chef's kitchen and complimented their cooking.  They probably didn't fully understand what he was saying but I am sure they understood his thumbs up sign.  In terms of value for money, it's definitely one of the best lunches we have ever had. 

Adventure #230: l'Etape Gourmande (Villandry)

After the wonderful lunch at Villa Margot, we hung around the beach area for a while (at the insistence of the little one) and then drove to Carnac for a quick visit to see the stone hedges.  Once done, we then made the journey to our next destination, the Loire Valley.

The alignment at Carnac

   
Almost 4 hours later, we arrived at Villandry.

Our accommodation for the next 2 nights, a little place right next to Chateau Villandry. Small but with such a beautiful garden!

After the long drive, we thought we will take a leisurely stroll to the restaurant for dinner.......not realizing it was 1km uphill!!!

As with most places in France, most people prefer alfresco dining.  Us included.

Soft boiled egg with tomato, smoked bacon, cream with herbs and dips.  Different. Not too bad.

Stuffed piquillo peppers with herbed goat cheese.  I like goat cheese, so I enjoyed this more than G.

Confit rabbit with citrus fruit in sparkling Vouvray wine with orange juice.  It was good but that is all.  I expected something better.

Small round of veal, vegetable and apple dressing, tartar sauce. Both G and the older one ordered this.  It took a long time to come and it was really dry.  They didn't enjoy this at all.

Kids meal - chicken with mashed potatoes.  I think this was better than the veal!

Kids meal dessert

Apricot in a fruit jelly with rosemary, whipped cream, Vouvray sorbet and biscuit.  The best dish on the night!

The atmosphere and setting was nice but that's where it ends.  The food was disappointing.