Not Eating in Paris

by on September 5, 2012, 2 comments

We did actually do things other than eat (and eat and eat and eat) in Paris. And there are photos to prove it. :)

We visited museums.

Like the Orsay, where apparently you are no longer allowed to take photos. (I thought I must’ve heard incorrectly when the guard warned me the first time, and the second time he really threatened me! So I went to a different floor…)

We returned to the beautiful Musée Rodin. I absolutely love the single-artist museums all over Europe, and I also have a fondness for sculpture, so the Musée Rodin is one of my very favorites. This museum also has special meaning to my husband and me because we came here together over 10 years ago. I actually wrote him an essay about it called “The Secret” (after one of Rodin’s pieces), which ended up being part of a reading we gave at our wedding.

The Musée de l’Orangerie was closed for renovation the entire year I was last in France, so we were very glad to finally see this for the first time. (B decided to create an impressionistic photo of the impressionist artwork. :P)

We didn’t go inside the Louvre this time (beyond the main lobby) but did walk around the outside…

We spent a day in Montmartre.

E took a couple rides on the carousel, we hiked up to Sacré Coeur, walked around Place du Tertre admiring the artists’ work (we found out artists actually have to apply to get a coveted spot at this square), and roamed up and down the hilly streets. We got a bit lost, so ended up not getting to Café des Deux Moulins (of Amélie fame) or the Moulin Rouge.

 

We went shopping.

I already mentioned Paris’s many food markets and shops and our love for Monoprix, which we visited in several cities to pick up groceries and other tidbits like breakfast pastries, kids’ clothing, stationery, and French pharmacy products (what can’t you find at Monoprix?). But we also ventured out to other places, like the flea market at St-Ouen de Clignancourt. I was also eager to finally check out Merci (pictured below), the popular Anthropologie-like store by the creator of Bonpoint. Everything in this shop is just exquisite, from the darling red bug in the courtyard to the bookstore cafe to the exposed wooden beams in the gorgeous loft space. And to top it off, the profits go to charities.

One of my francophile self’s greatest loves is French bookstores and stationery, so this was one of the things I was most looking forward to about being back. The French are known for doing everyday things with style, and stationery is one of those things. When I was a student in Montpellier, I spent many hours in the student bookstores looking at all the pens, notebooks, paper, and art supplies. I don’t know if this is true anymore or if it is true throughout France, but at the time (and this was in 2000-2001), all students at my university in Montpellier were required to turn in handwritten papers. For real! This was quite an adjustment for us American students. But my writerly self was rather charmed by the whole thing. :)

So naturally, one of my musts in Paris was stopping by Gilbert Joseph, the bookstore in the student neighborhood of St. Michel. I picked up a new Waterman fountain pen to replace my old one of 12 years (and I was pleased to find that it still costs only about $10). I also stocked up on Clairefontaine notebooks!! These are expensive to get in the U.S. and are hard to find, so I got myself quite a few in various sizes on this trip. I adore French notebooks and paper because they are made for fountain pen ink, and so they are of thicker and smoother quality than normal. The only thing I’m not fond of is French-ruled paper, so I usually get the gridded kind.

In spite of the perpetual rain, we did lots and lots of strolling through amazing parks and elegant, historic neighborhoods.

Like the Jardin des Tuileries…

… and one of my favorite areas, the ÃŽle Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité…

… and many other neighborhoods, including the Canal St. Martin, which I had never seen before.

We spent plenty of time on the Paris Metro…

… and one time even came across an orchestra playing at one of the stops.

We even attempted to take Parisian metro photobooth pics, inspired by Amélie. :)

And, of course, we saw the Eiffel Tower.

Ah, Paris.

As I mentioned before, there was a time when I had mixed feelings about this city. Of course, there is a huge difference between living in a place and visiting for a short time. So no doubt I had my Parisian rose-tinted glasses on this time ’round. Still, this trip reminded me why I love the French way of life so much: priorities, details, sheer joie de vivre. Paris is a grand city that somehow exudes intimacy at every turn in every corner. People care about things enough that a certain degree of panache is inherent in even the humblest of tasks and objects. (Remember that scene in Amelie where she offers change to a homeless person, and he declines, saying, I don’t work on Sundays?) This is the kind of place where, right in the midst of finals week one time, I found myself invited over for a homemade lunch at another student’s home. It’s the kind of place where the rockstars aren’t so much the athletes or the savvy businessmen or the technological geniuses, but the philosophers, the poets… even your local boulanger!

For all these reasons and more, I hope I’ll have the opportunity to live in this country again some day.

– – – – –

In preparing for our trip, I found myself stumbling into the great rabbit hole of Paris blogs and websites by expats of various origins. I am indebted to these wonderful sites for helping us plan our time there. (Warning: It is very hard to find your way out of Parisian food blogosphere, so click at your own risk! :)

… Just to name a few!

– – – – –

Update: The last photo of the Eiffel Tower reflections was a winner in the Inspired Art Challenge at Minted and is now available for order here. As the photographer, I do receive a small commission on orders of that print but otherwise am not affiliated with Minted.

For more posts on France, see…
Eating in Paris
The Bastille Quarter
Bistrot Paul Bert
Markets (Paris)
Oh, the Cheeses We Ate
Markets (Provence)
Aix-en-Provence
(La Vraie) Bouillabaisse in Marseille
Provençal Specialties in Nice

Eating in Paris

by on August 29, 2012, 2 comments

It’s been a while since we talked about France here. And I actually still have so much more to share. I hope you are not sick of hearing about our France trip yet. :)

So what more could we possibly have eaten in Paris in between Le Bistrot Paul Bert, the wonderful markets, the great little food shops around our apartment in the Bastille, and all the lovely cheeses we tried?

Well, there’s crêpes at la Crêperie Josselin, for one (67 rue du Montparnasse). This little restaurant is decorated in traditional Breton style — dim, dark wood, and small booths. And the staff is so friendly! The restaurant serves beautiful traditional Breton crêpes de sarrasin (also known as galettes de sarrasin) made of buckwheat. We ordered a small pitcher of delicious hard cider that you drink out of little bowls. Then I got a sausage and cheese crêpe, and B got one filled with goatcheese and honey.

A French person once told me that it is impossible to make excellent crêpes at home because you just don’t have the equipment for it. So I’m always appreciative of the perfectly crispy yet spongey, thin, pancake-like texture of a good French crêpe, and the crêpes de sarrasin are my favorite for their more hearty taste.

No trip to Paris is complete without a falafel sandwich from L’As du Falafel (34 Rue des Rosiers). It was fun even just waiting in line for one! (There are two lines — one for dining in and one for takeout, and the takeout line actually goes pretty quickly, especially with someone taking your order while you wait.) I loved their sign that said “Toujours imité, jamais egalé” (Always imitated, never equalled). :) I don’t think I’ve ever even had a falafel sandwich before, so I don’t have much by way of comparison, but the falafels themselves were indeed fluffy, with a nice and crispy exterior. And they were perfect with all the toppings, like pickled red cabbage, hummus, and harissa. I think it would’ve been best to get a bit of everything in one bite, but I ended up mostly eating things separately with a fork. Will have to work on that next time — as well as try some of their other offerings!

After our falafel sandwich, we walked over to Mariage Frères nearby to check out their famous teas (35 Rue du Bourg Tibourg and other locations). They have a little café in the back, but since we had baby E with us we figured sitting down for a leisurely tea and snacks was not going to be very leisurely. :) So instead I picked up some French Blue Earl Gray to bring home. It is so aromatic! I would love to try cooking or baking with it, like infusing it into some whipped cream or using it to flavor pastries. I have since also found a few Mariage Frerès teas at Williams-Sonoma.

The next subject is a bit of a touchy one: macarons. Before we dive into this, let me start by saying that I am far from a macaron connoisseur. Because, well, to be a connoisseur I would first have to love them. So, yes, I confess that, as many times as I have tried to understand and embrace the macaron craze, I’m afraid I still don’t really get it. To me, they kind of taste like… those Asian wafer cookies from my childhood. (My deepest apologies if I have offended anyone). One of my hopes for Paris was to hit up the most popular macaron shops, thinking surely my deficit of taste here was only because I had not tried a real macaron…

First, we stopped by the famous Pierre Hermé. This place was not what I had anticipated! I was expecting a cute little pâtisserie, and had I not already heard of the Pierre Hermé macarons, I would’ve taken this place for a perfume or jewelry shop. That’s how seriously they take their pastries here. Just look at this store front with window displays of abstract art…

It was so intimidating being inside. And of course no pictures were allowed (but of course I snuck one anyway). There was this noticeable hush over the entire place, signaling that we were in the presence of greatness. It was as though pastry chefs were in the back, carefully piecing these artful pastries together, and if anyone did any more than tiptoe or speak above a whisper, everything would be ruined. (If you’ve ever seen the documentary Kings of Pastry, you’ll know what I mean!) Once I bit into one of their macarons, though, I started to understand what all the fuss was about. But I am getting ahead of myself here…

Before we tasted anything, we also stopped by Ladurée, the famous pastry shop and tea house that invented the modern Parisian macaron. This place was closer to what I had imagined a macaron shop being — opulent, frilly, fancy tea room of the kind that little and big girls alike would want to dress up and have tea at. Just the look of the pretty shop actually made us want to stay and do just that (well, except that I was the only girl :), but we decided it was perhaps best to head home to put E to bed. So we picked up some macarons and headed back to the apartment.

After E’s bedtime ritual and after we had dinner ourselves, it was time to break out the macarons.

I’m afraid I no longer remember all the flavors we tried. But I do remember what I thought.

Now, there is a lot of contention over who makes the better macaron, Pierre Hermé or Ladurée. So, just remember that I am no macaron connoisseur… but… I really thought Pierre Hermé’s were decidedly more complex and refined. The Ladurée macarons were delicious, and I think their shop is a lot more fun. When it comes down to taste, though, the Ladurée macarons may have filled my mouth with their lovely flavors, but the Pierre Hermé macarons held amazing aromas that slowly wafted up through my nose and filled my entire head. (This makes perfect sense when you consider that flavor is really connected to your olfactory sense. More on the science of taste here). And that was when I understood why the Pierre Hermé shop looked more like a perfume store. Have you ever read the book or seen the movie Perfume? I can just imagine the Pierre Hermé pastry chefs experimenting with the flavors and combinations in the back (though, of course, in less morbid fashion than the Perfume story). The other thing was that the Ladurée macarons were single flavored, while the Pierre Hermé ones had various combinations, so there were layers of flavors in your mouth, with the aromas slowly evolving as they lingered in your olfactory passages. They really have elevated the macaron to an art form.

I wouldn’t say that I am now a macaron convert. I would love to have the Pierre Hermé flavor effect applied to, say, crème brûlée, or ice cream, or cupcake, or some other dessert. But I do think I can better understand the obsession with these dainty delicacies now, and I still would love to go back to Paris and have tea and macarons (and other desserts) at the beautiful Ladurée.

Have you had Pierre Hermé or Ladurée macarons? What did you think? What’s your favorite macaron place Stateside? I am always in awe of the beautiful macarons made by Ravenous Couple and all the interesting Asian–inspired flavors they post on their Instagram. :) If I were in town I would request a custom order from them for a certain upcoming celebration (more on that when the time comes :).

Lastly, we had a lot of other foods in Paris that were not tied to a particular standout place.

Like moules et frites… :)

… crème brûlée… and a few cafe crèmes…

… escargots…

… duck confit…

… and lots of steak tartare.

Lest you think all we did in Paris was eat, I have one more post coming up for you on the City of Lights, as well as a few from Provence. Stay tuned!

For more posts on France, see…
The Bastille Quarter
Bistrot Paul Bert
Markets (Paris)
Oh, the Cheeses We Ate
Not Eating in Paris
Markets (Provence)
Aix-en-Provence
(La Vraie) Bouillabaisse in Marseille
Provençal Specialties in Nice

Moganshan

by on August 15, 2012, 1 comment

I haven’t yet had much opportunity to venture into the Chinese countryside. After our anniversary trip to Moganshan a few weeks ago, I’ve decided we must do this more often. With the industrialization of many Chinese cities, escape to a more natural and serene setting isn’t just a nice, leisurely thing to do — it’s almost a necessary measure to restore your sanity and replenish your oxygen supply! :)

Moganshan, being about three hours outside of Shanghai and a little over an hour outside of Hangzhou, has served as an escape from city life for over a century to all kinds of people, from foreign missionaries to Shanghai mobsters and even to Chang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong! It’s not hard to see why…

Given that our trip was a bit of a last-minute idea, many of the properties here were booked, but we were able to get an “earth hut” at Naked Stables, an eco-resort run by a company called Naked Retreats, which also runs a property of restored farmhouses called Naked Home Village (also based on ecologically sustainable principles).

I loved the earth huts! They’re made of cement and compacted earth, and the architecture is inspired by African rondavels (the founder is South African). Many of them sit on hillsides, so they almost feel like treehouses.

There are also some pretty crazy villas at Naked Stables available for short stays or even for sale!

During our time at Moganshan we also got to sample some of the foods cooked at Naked Stables. Naked boasts ingredients sourced from either their own organic farm or directly from the producer (local whenever possible). Not every dish was amazing, and obviously we only sampled a small selection of what they had, but there were a few standouts, including a hand-pulled noodle soup where I thought the highlight was the giant crispy bamboo shoots. They also serve a great burger, which is hard to find over here!

I actually would’ve liked to check out the Naked Home Village, as it is made up of the original farmhouses of an actual village that the founder stumbled upon. It’s further up the mountain and so is more remote. And given the history of the structures, it seems to retain more of the original feel of the locale. Each house in the Home Village is also assigned an ayi (housekeeper) who cooks local dishes that many reviewers have said good things about. About half of the farmhouses are also meant for larger groups, so it seems like a fun place to go for a family reunion or church retreat or even just a gathering of friends. Each of these farmhouses has its own kitchen, so you also have the option of cooking your own meals, whether with ingredients you bring yourself or DIY meal sets purchased there.

I also had the chance to take some walks around the area, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I came upon rice paddies, tea plantations, bamboo groves, corn fields, and running streams. It was breathtaking. And I didn’t encounter a single person!

Our stay was definitely a respite from city life. And I was not the only one who had a nice time. :)

Steamed Land Crabs with Carib Beer

by on August 6, 2012, 1 comment

I found these land crabs at the market downtown in St. George’s one day when I was down there buying souvenirs with friends. They were sold by the bunch, about 4-5 to each bunch, still squirming around on the ground. Since these were land crabs, they stayed alive the whole ride home, and even throughout the day. I kept them back on my balcony, just in case. The locals make a Caribbean crab and dumpling curry with the crabs, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the floury dumplings and overwhelming curry flavor, so I decided just to steam them with some local beer. Here’s how to cook and prepare them.

Steamed Land Crabs with Carib Beer
serves 2

4-5 small land crabs
2 bottles beer (Carib or other brand)
1 bunch scallions
5-inch chunk of ginger, sliced thickly

1. Soak the crabs in water to clean them. They are still alive, so be very careful. I kept them tied up so I wouldn’t get pinched.

2. Using tongs, clean off what you can of the crabs. I held the crabs with tongs in one hand while I used chopsticks and a sponge to scrub in the other.

3. Meanwhile, lay the stalks of scallions in the pot after you’ve rinsed them. Lay the slice of ginger down too. Pour the beer over the scallions and ginger.

4. Once it starts to boil, place your crabs in the pot and cover.

5. Let it steam for about 20 minutes. The crabs should be orange when cooked.

6. Take them out of the pot and wait until they are cool enough to handle. At this point, a lot of the legs fell off on their own.

7. Here’s how to remove the back from the body. Notice the triangular flap on the underside of the crab? Pull that up. Wedge your fingers in between the back shell and the body and pull firmly. The body should detach from the back shell, leaving all the goopy, yummy stuff inside.

8. I like to quarter the body to make picking out the meat easier.

Serve with dipping sauce of choice (drawn butter, lemon juice with salt + pepper, or my favorite – a combination of garlic, fish sauce, lime juice, and chili.) Happy cracking!