Raclette

I <3 La Vache qui Rit cheese ! There's paprika, blue, jambon flavors. How fun!


Les aperitifs


YES

I still don't like oysters

But I will prep and serve them to those who do; no problem!

Me with papy. He's 96 and definitely loves oysters. He kept eating some every few shucks.

Just a few things I love about France

You can't top French butter. Whatever I've had at the French Laundry or elsewhere, I don't care. Yum.


They eat more beets


And nothing beats a TUB of rillettes d'oie !!! (Made with goose)

Joyeux Noël !

Foie gras !(Sauternes/Champagne)






Magret de canard, red wine and shallot sauce


PDT




And of course, la Bûche !

Une bûche « couture » au Salon de thé Angelina - Paris, France

Met up with a friend in Paris, Sophie, at Le Salon de thé Angelina. She recommended the chocolat chaud, or hot chocolate which was excellent, and very rich. A very delicious, French hot chocolate with freshly whipped crème chantilly.


We also had the pleasure of trying the new "bûche couture" courtesy of Chef Sébastien Bauer whom Sophie had worked with in the past.

Here is the description in French:

Cette bûche très frivole et féminine renferme un coeur onctueux aux marrons et pommes confites et un confit de yuzu et citron vert. Ce coeur est entouré d’une ganache au chocolat au lait et yuzu, d’un croustillant à la noix de pécan caramélisée, le tout sur un biscuit sans farine au chocolat… un mélange élégant d’une intense douceur à la fois fondant et croquant.

In English:

This bûche is very frivolous and feminine. The heart contains creamy chestnuts, candied apples, and candied yuzu and lime. The core is surrounded by a ganache with milk chocolate and yuzu, crispy caramelized pecans, all in a flourless chocolate crust... an elegant mix of intense sweetness which is both creamy and crunchy.

Please excuse the flash as I wanted to show the layers of the buche. Extremely rich. Three bites were sufficient. It was a very busy liaison of flavors. A really intense bûche. Go try it if you can!



Le Salon de thé Angelina
226, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
01 42 60 82 00

Le Marché de Noël à La Place Saint-Sulpice, 6ème

Went to my favorite quartier and my old hood to check out the Marché de Noël.





I miss this place.

L'Astrance ***

Since making reservations in October, I have been anxiously waiting to eat at what would be my first 3*** Michelin restaurant experience in France. I happily dined with Ulla, our chef/professor, Sébastian, and my friend, Nina. I'm going to make this post short and sweet, and well illustrated with photos.

Go Ferrandi !


Second day in France and I didn't even touch the butter !


*Special thanks to Ulla and Nina for their wonderful & vibrant photo-taking abilities!

Brioche tiède
Crème fouettée à la truffe blanche et pistache.
Palet amande et pomme verte au praliné.



Velouté de pain grillé. At first, they wouldn't tell us what this was. I immediately tasted bacon and charcoal flavor (in a fabulous way, obviously. Think BBQ ummm!)


Foie gras mariné au verjus, galette de champignon de Paris, pâte de citron confit. One of Pascal Barbot's signature dishes. Very light as well !


Langoustines dorées, velouté d’huîtres, beurre de Kombu, herbe à huître . I have never been a big fan of oysters, but this was quite nice. The langoustine was so perfectly cooked.


Turbot cuit meunière, chou et sarrasin, coulis d’oursin. This dish was GREAT. I love turbot!


Razor clam with olive oil and thyme.


Quasi de veau grillé, parmesan fondu, lentilles cuisinées à la truffe noire. The server called the truffles "champignons de saison" or "mushrooms of the season". HAHAHAH.


Selle d’agneau grillée, condiment curry noir, poireaux, soja et câpres. In addition, there was a purée of black garlic, which I love. We had previously tasted the black curry when Chef Pascal Barbot came to our class for a demonstration. I could have done without the olives.


Piment et citronnelle en sorbet. I absolutely love things spicy, sweet, and citrusy. What a great sorbet; nicely balanced, but a bit too sweet for me. The sweetness was fine for everyone else.


Vacherin glacé à la noix de coco et litchi, crème au beurre à la rose, gelée tagette.


Tartelette aux fruits de la passion et yuzu. Perfect. I love passion fruit and yuzu. !!!


Croustillant au chocolat blanc, cappuccino amande et agrumes. This was everyone's favorite. You couldn't really taste the white chocolate (which was nice since I am generally not a big fan of it.). Again, a perfect balance of citrus and almond.


Lait de poule au jasmin. Also with vanilla bean.


Mignardises, fruits frais. I was so incredibly full by the time this came around. Tasted his famous madeleines that my friend Chris who staged at L'Astrance had explained to me how they required 1000 steps to make. I'd have to say the best madeleines I have had. They were crunchy on the outside, and soft in the inside.


As for the fruit, I only had the clementines which were perfect.


Simply put, everything on this menu was very French, but very light, and very fresh. I enjoyed eating the well executed courses made with seasonal produce. The dishes were all very well balanced. Despite all the lightness of the menu, I could barely finish the tasting! But that's just me. =)

I am a HUGE fan of the service here. There is absolutely no pretention. Everyone is extremely attentive without being obstrusive. Also, the servers tend to joke around a lot making the meal very nice but light-hearted and enjoyable. In fact, when Nina and I arrived, they joked and said our reservation wasn't until next week just to see the reaction on our faces. ahhahaha. Everyone was extremely wonderful and friendly.

After dinner, Chef Pascal Barbot came out to say hello. Sébastian and Pascal were old colleagues together at L'Arpège. Actually, Sébastian had just eaten at L'Astrance last week! La chance !





After a bit of chatting, we took a nice little (and I mean little) tour of the kitchen.

7 cooks work in this kitchen. There is another little nook for pastry on the other side which can somewhat be seen in the video below.


Magnifique !


L’Astrance
4, rue Beethoven
Paris 75016
Tél : 01 40 50 84 40

C'est la saison: Bûche de Noël !

Saw Diana today for a brief moment. She gave me two Bûche de Noël!

A traditional bûche - with buttercream rum.


Dark chocolate genoise, milk chocolate and dark chocolate mousse, fresh rasberries. This was bomb-ass !


Merci, Diana !

Bonjour de Paris !

BLD Restaurant - Los Angeles, CA

We decided on brunch for the final meal of my trip down South. I love breakfast - any time of the day. We also met up with my friends Erhan and Shirin whom we learned live two blocks away from Miki and Joel. Small world !

Grapefruit Brûlée - warm throughout, juicy, delicious


Brioche French toast, Blueberry compote, Crème fraîche - this was a bit overcooked on the outside. Also, the brioche wasn't soaked thoroughly with the custard. It was sort of like cutting through toast and dipping it in syrup. Not bad though.


Ricotta blueberry pancakes - heavenly !!! Some of the best pancakes I have eaten !


Ode to Butterfields - poached eggs, sliced flat-iron steak, Cabernet Sauvignon hollandaise, home-made muffin, and really good potatoes.


Andrew, Joel, Miki


Erhan, me, Shirin


Very nice place for brunch, nice ambiance. Those pancakes are a MUST-try. Will be back for those.

BLD Restaurant
7450 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036-2701
(323) 930-9744