Posts Tagged Paris
Steak and Beef in Paris
Posted by tzuyen in Food, Paris, Uncategorized on March 2, 2012
Onglet / Hanger steak - common find in local markets in Paris
Steak in Paris is lean, well cooked and flavourful. Breads of cattle are often displayed and cuts like skirt and hanger are very common. The culture is to have the steak cooked ‘saignant’ which means ‘bloody’. Contrary to what others might tell you, à point is not exactly what medium-rare is to Australia – à point is slightly less cooked than medium-rare in real life results. Oddly enough, the first 10 pages on Google search for the internal meat temperature for saignant (pretty much meaning rare) in french is 60-63 C!! This is completely and utterly wrong. Let me set this straight in terms of what the words and temperatures should be below. The numbers are the final internal temperature of the meat. Unless you are cooking sous vide, you need to remove the meat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes in a warm place before you serve. A rough guide is to remove the meat 5 C before the desired final temperature if you want to put it in a warm oven at about 60 degrees. If you place it near your stove, it is usually cooler there compared to an oven so taking it off 3 degrees below and let it rest.
Bleu = less cooked than rare: <50 C (A quick sear on both sides and serve. Usually best on a thinner cut of steak. Inside is essentially warm and raw. I don’t think measuring temperature here is useful)
Saignant = rare: 52-54 C
À point = medium rare: 56-58 C (Rose – a term often reserved for veal, duck and game at this temperature)
Demi anglais ( a term not usually used) = medium: 60-62 C
Cuit = medium well: 64-66 C
Bien cuit = well done: >68-70 C – essentially no pink colour remaining.
French people in Paris seem to be overly proud that they don’t like meat cooked past medium. It is not the first (or the second) time that I have heard something to this effect – “we (French) think eating bien cuit is no no no”. But really, there many people outside France who would agree and and think that to cook a steak beyond medium is a sin. I have to say though, ordering steak saignant or à point in France gets pretty consistent results. In Australia, the number one fear of ordering steak at a not so expensive restaurant is getting overcooked steak. No, it’s not ok.
Overall, I do enjoy leaner steak but I have grown more accustomed to a bit more marbling. Not overly marbled like 11+ wagyu, but something like a score of 3-4 which gives it a juicier taste than lean steak. Too fatty and the steak looses the meaty bite.
Steak from Le Severo with a sear on the outside that is full flavour and almost crisp. The blood pudding here was out of the world. Don't get the steak tartare - it is about 400 g of raw beef.
Le Relais de Venise - L'Entrecôte - a chain serving up perfectly cooked steak with a special green sauce. It comes with fries and a walnut salad. Nothing else savory on the menu (what menu?). The steak is served to you twice to ensure the meat is warm - a pleasant surprise when you wish you had one more bite. We think the sauce contains some anchovies, green peppercorns and liver.
Steak tartare - found in nearly every bistro or brasserie. This one chopped coarsely with sun-dried tomatoes
Line outside Le Relais de Venise - L'Entrecôte
Intermediate Cuisine, Le Cordon Bleu Paris
Posted by tzuyen in Le Cordon Bleu, Literature on December 16, 2011
“I don’t know what you are doing over there, but I am cooking real food here.”
Intensive Intermediate Cuisine was 5 weeks of cooking regional French food. We stuffed an animal into another animal, wrapped up deliciousness with fat and more fat, blended vegetables to make flans and custard-textured material out of fish. Sauces and jus were perfected for taste, seasoning and consistency. Carving birds and filleting fish were rehearsed. The learning curve was rather flat compared to Basic Cuisine. It was more about minimizing errors than learning new techniques.
I am cooking real food here. That was my reply back across the room when someone alerted the class that they smelled something burnt. 6 days a week, 6-12 hours of classes per day. There were long days when sitting through another demonstration seemed too much. There were hungry days from, ironically, not enough time to eat. I made sure I tasted, and re-tasted my food on those days. Some people were pushed and it was really during times of tiredness and stress that tempers flared. I heard there was a little pushing to the sink, equipment missing and nearly always found at the end of practical, assistants not quite willing to do their job to grab stuff from the basement, cuts and burns were not infrequent. The coolest and the calmest? A gentleman with many years of working as a chef. Never a flinch, a step too quick or a voice too loud. We were a competitive class and I am no exception. But hey, what better way to improve when feeling pushed?
Group A (AKA A-Team), Intermediate Cuisine, Nov-Dec 2011. Chef Guillaume.
Le Cordon Bleu was for fun or hobby to some. For others it was their entry into the career of being a chef, or to up-skill in their established career as a chef. A few wanted to get into a food-related industry. For me coming to Paris was for hobby. I have had so much fun. Friends at school rock. The pubs next to school are our second homes. However the class went, we would so often unwind and relax with a drink. I could count the number of alcohol-free days in the last 5 weeks in one hand. The time of my life wound be the best description. The school kitchen is hot, intense and I enjoy every moment of it. The “go-go-go” energy and being alert with all senses is euphoric. Couple of classes we worked in groups and they were the finest hours of school. Here are some sounds bites.
- “Sorry, it’s my shoes, I walk too fast” said the chef when something smelled burnt (again)
- As chef emptied a bottle of white wine in the stock pot he said “we are making big mama fumet (fish stock) here!”
- A student tried to answer a question in demonstration. The chef paused and and looked at him on a slanted angle. “I think I will reserve a place for Intermediate for you…”
- Translator saw a bug on the floor and went about to chase it. The chef exclaimed “Ratatouille!?”
- We are meant to caress the fish like we do with women
- Is there a better pronunciation for “bien” than “beeennnner”?
- “Are there any other question apart from the obvious, where is the bacon?”
- A little self-congratulations: I plated my coq au vin (pre-marinated) dish in 60 minutes during practical. Even the chef was wondering what happened when she looked at the clock. And yes, it tasted good.
- Olive oil was apparently expensive according to one chef. Another chef then proceeded to cover up his olive oil bottle and call it the mysterious oil during demonstrations.
- “Make your dream come true” was the favorite line from the chef in charge of Intermediate.
My last practical class
Exam day:
School ended all too quickly for me. We had our practical exam yesterday and it was a spectacular one from my point of view. We either had to cook veal with risotto and asparagus or monk fish with chicken jus, artichoke and a type of fluffy savory pancake. I had the fish and I was pushed for time. In the prior practicals, I finished the veal in 2 hours and the monk fish very close to 2.5 hours. We had 2.5 hours for the exam and we also had to make bearnaise sauce during this time. Every minute late was -2% and if you were late by 7-8 minutes then good luck to passing. Seemed ridiculous when the stations were not set up properly, especially for the students who entered earlier. Never mind the clocks ticking. Move!
12:32 – Doors open for me and another student. We were the 4th pair. 2 students entered every 10 minutes in a staggered format so that the food can be served to the external judges immediately when finished. There was 3 fish and 1 veal left to pick from. Lucky her, she got the veal. I noted to my self, we were allowed in 2 minutes late. Not good enough.
12:40 – I am set up, stoves and oven on, knives out. Calm and collected. Monk fish skin was easily torn off and then filleted. They have the most simple central bones. I spent another 5-7 minutes cleaning the membrane off the flesh. The fillets were then opposed head-to-tail, seasoned, wrapped with bacon and chopped parsley. Tighten the plastic film until it looks like a giant sausage. Chill to hold shape.
1: 10 – Pan on the hob to heat up before I hacked into chicken wings to break them up and brown them for the jus. Chopped up mirepoix of onion, shallots, garlic. Multiple mini-deglazes for the chicken wings with water to get maximum colour and flavour. De-greased the pan, dumped my chopped aromatics and let them brown too. Some more deglazing before covering the pan with water to let the juices simmer. Throw in some thyme and bay leaf for good measure.
1:30 – Start my reduction for the bearnaise sauce. Shallots, chervil, tarragon, peppercorn, cider vinegar and white wine.
1:35 – My friend on the far end who entered 30 minutes looked stressed. Shit. he is usually quite fast too. If he is feeling the heat then something is not going right.
1:35 – Start turning the artichoke. Trim until a disk is left, cut it into wedges and remove all the choke to prevent discoloration. All the acid in the world wont help here. A splash of vinegar from in front of me in the water anyway. I stopped half way on the artichokes before thinking I needed to start the batter for the pancake to let it rise.
1:40 – Batter for the pancake. Wheat flour, rye flour, potato starch, yolks, milk and fresh yeast. Milk tepid to kick start the yeast. Stashed it on the shelf above the stove to keep warm. Egg whites in a very clean bowl in the fridge. Back to the artichokes. Chucked the artichokes in a pan with butter to cook. I noticed for the first time I am behind my own mental schedule. Move damn it!
1:55 – Haha what is that small saucepan doing on my stove. It’s black! who would leave it there. Fuck… it’s my reduction for my bearnaise. Yes, blame it on an unfamiliar class room and stove. A few more descriptive words muttered under my breath. It took me just 2 minutes to get a new one going. I was getting frustrated at my end of the kitchen where no taps or sink is free. The dishwasher man is swamped on the only sink on this side. Even grabbing the paper towel from the dispenser was a struggle. Note to self, I can complain all day but the food wont cook.
2:00 – Blanch the cauliflower and broccoli florets, crisp up some diced bacon for the pancake. Someone took the few pieces of bacon in my fridge that I left after wrapping up the fridge. Where is the fucking bacon? It’s 2 pm and my mental time marker should be just finishing the bearnaise right now. Go go go! Check oven to make sure it was on and hot.
2:10 – Start the bearnaise with a sabayon with the acidic reduction, egg yolks and some water. Season early to dissolve the salt well. Whisk hard and fast over a baine marie. I glances around the room. More calm over the veal side. Our line? My friend on the far left is looking rather rattled. He has to finish in 20 minutes. Chef is counting the minutes ever so often. Whisk whisk whisk… Ok, ready for clarified butter. Strain sauce, chop some more fresh chervil and tarragon. Taste, happy with seasoning. Scrap into ramekin for judging. Deliver to the chef.. and where did he go? No time to wait for him.
2:25 – Running out of time fast. My friend on the fish plated his. There were some loud noises and some worried looks from that side of the kitchen but I was too busy to care now. We exchanged glances while crossing paths and I swear there was the devil in both our eyes. I don’t think he has seen me getting stressed.
Steam coming out of my head
2:25 – I grabbed the fish out of the blast chiller to let it warm up a bit. Strained the chicken jus. Looks a bit pale for my liking and I shook my head – shit..sigh. Where is the damn colour!!! I gave the small saucepan a shake and the browner liquid appeared. Good, it was just a layer of fat above. Magnifique chef! Let it reduce slowly.
2:25 – Whisk egg whites for the pancake. I walked around the room looking for a pan to cook the fish while whisking the shit out of the whites. A pinch of salt for the judge’s palate- 3 retired French real chefs. Mixed the batter, and added some pepper. I needed a second pan for pancakes. “Anyone got another pancake pan!?”
2:30 – Unwrap the fish out of the plastic film and tie portions with kitchen twine so they hold when I cut it into rounds .
2:40 – All set to cook fish and pancakes. 20 minutes left. You are joking. There was calm from the veal side which was even more unsettling. This was time for the second student to plate monk fish – I don’t even know what happened. Too deep in my station. My heart rate was easily at the 120 mark. The third student on the monk fish was plating his. It was probably the first time I have seem him move a little faster than normal.
2:45 – 2 pancakes on, fish getting a blast of heat from the stove to colour. Fish straight into the oven, mental clock -for the fish = 7 minutes and out.
2:50 – First 2 pancakes. Seemed a bit thin. Do I have time for a second or not? Jesus… just start another 2. Worry about it later. The handles were getting hot but by this time it didn’t really matter if my fingers were bien cuit or not.
2:52 – Actually, I wasn’t aware of the time by now. Chef is going down the line announcing minutes left to each student. Some more loud noises – this time from a friend on the veal side. Gosh, what could happen now? They looked quite in control all day. No time. Back to my side. Fish out, feels good. Definitely cooked. Was it over cooked? I poked my knife in one, looks ok. Some slightly more translucent in the middle. Good sign. But really, what can I do now? Forgot to check seasoning here. Please bacon… make love and saltiness to the fish.
2: 55 – Remove the kitchen twine from the fish, pat dry and place on the tray. Flipped the other 2 pancakes (now the handles were freaking hot) straight onto my hands. Second batch seemed better. By fingers seemed even better cooked. But I had no time to check and gambled the inside of the thicker ones were cooked. Slapped them on the tray. Some garnish and frantic attempts to position the food so that it looked like someone who was half in control made it.
2:58 – Tasted my chicken jus. It was a while since we made jus and every chef reduces it to different consistency. Mine was still fairly runny. 30 seconds on high should be fine. Shit..I hope it doesn’t get too salty. Poured it into the ramekin and put a plastic film over the top so no film can form on top of the jus.
2:59 – “Chef , j’ai fini.” I placed a piece of parsley on the pancakes and some chiffonade parsley on the fish as I announced to the chef I have finished. Old chefs like branches of green. I took a few deep breaths. The last 40 minutes felt like 5 seconds. I put my hands on the bench and just starred into my station, wondering where the hell went wrong with my timing. It was a tough dish, I thought to myself.
3:00 – The assistant came to take my plate down for tasting. ”You have everything?” she asked. I wasn’t really looking. “Oui” I said. Some more self-reflection at the stove. Fuck. what is in this saucepan? “wait wait!” It was my artichokes. Completely forgot about it after I cooked it soft. I was supposed to finish it with a little chicken jus. The assistant was at the door already with my dish. She apparently didn’t hear me. I chased her out the door with my pan thinking that she has refused to allow me to add the artichokes. I stopped her above the stairs. “My artichokes. I am sorry” breathing heavy. She was happy to wait. Wow. I placed 9 pieces on the plate before she continued to walk to the judging room.
What happened?
I leaned against the door for a few seconds to recover after yet another close call. I went back to the kitchen and ate one of the artichokes. Under seasoned for sure. Greasy. I had not time to check these. Sigh. My mind was all mushed up already thinking what the hell happened today. I never had a chance to taste the pancakes. The fish looked fine but I could have gave it more colour and a dab of salt. The garnish for the pancakes were a bit soggy already. The jus and the pancakes were both elements that were highly subjective as well so no control over that. I really wanted to finish strong but it felt like the opposite. I cleaned up and walked out of the kitchen, taking a 10 second pause to reflect that this will be the last time I walk out of this place for a long time. I probably sat in the Winter Garden ( an communal area at school) drinking a can of Oringina for a good 5 minutes by myself. Some people were happy with their food I heard. Some had a few mistakes like me. I know I passed but I wasn’t really here to make passable food. I have had better days and this was not the day for the exception. Too many variables on this dish. If only I had the veal where I think the cooking end-points were more well-defined. At least you can stick a thermometer in the veal. Tzu, get over it.
Well, it’s beer time and hugs. Even with all the drama, there is nothing quite like an ice-cold beer hitting you after coming hot out of the kitchen. Coldplay concert tonight!
How much what!?
Today we got our certificates. I did better than I thought for the exam. Actually quite well for the exam. I remembered the 3rd monk fish student during the exam. It was very humbling to see him move with precision without being hurried. He was the gentleman who is a chef already. Never a move too fast or a moment too stressed. He didn’t really care about numbers but he did really well on the exam a with at least 4-5% above the rest. It goes to how good he really was.
I had a very good prior average for the practical classes evaluation so I ended up having the highest total term score in the class. I really didn’t think on the back of that exam I was going to finish this well. But the judges thought otherwise. And our group of 8 had (unknowingly) all the top 5 students in the class. The A-team. The numbers don’t mean much in the end. What really counts as our main Intermediate chef said is what is on the plate. I think most people know where they stand themselves and many just don’t care (good for them). Cooking is one of the many things in life that if you try hard enough, you can do well. There is always some agreement to what is good or bad. Bring me to the game and I will push myself in this environment. It’s just unfortunate that the school grades us with numbers everyday. A better system, I propose, would be either a pass/fail or a ABCDE grading. A more personal feedback on what the chefs thought on the exam dish would be much more informative than numbers. Plus, doing well at school hardly reflects on how you will do in a busy kitchen. I am under no delusion of that kind.
I was very happy to hear from a friend who overheard chefs talking about me in the corridor as we were cooking. They noticed that I was fast and did very well in class. Something the chef didn’t really notice in the first term because I had black hair and glasses. Now that I am the only Asian in the group it was obvious to him. That’s all I needed to know – until I come back in a few year to finish the last and final term.
Knives cleaned and packed. See you again Le Cordon Bleu Paris
Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Basic Cuisine
Posted by tzuyen in Le Cordon Bleu, Literature on November 23, 2011
This serves as a gentle reminder of the greatest times of my life when I am alone on a night-shift in a completely unrelated field of work. (Or, when I get early onset dementia).
What I got out of Basic Cuisine:
- Organization and cleanliness at every moment of cooking. Workflow from dirty to clean, raw to cooked, separation of raw and cooked food. The chefs that walk around in class will tell you off for cleanliness even as the sauce is in the process of overflowing. Vegetable peels never touch the cutting board.
- Timing: Multitasking and always planning ahead. Heat up water or pans first before cutting something so you don’t have to wait. You can only peel or chop sometime so fast, so to save time (and not taking short cuts) you need to think ahead. There is much to improve here in a real-world restaurant where multiple dishes are cooking at the same time
- Consistency: cutting vegetables to identical size and shapes is fundamental. Never mind the half of carrot that needs to be trimmed off to obtain brunoise. The trimmings do go to the school kitchen to prepare stocks.
- Learning how to cut and clean vegetables, whole fish and birds
- Making stocks and jus – I still remember the first chicken jus I made was a pale yellow colour. Never made that mistake again.
- Seasoning: salt and often pepper to everything at every stage except sauces and stocks. The level of saltiness asked for is always more than I would do at home. So taste – it is nice – and double the salt and you have achieved restaurant seasoning. For some students it is the opposite.
Practical class
What I thought was good:
- Every minute of school. Heat, sweat and whatever the kitchen can throw at me.
- The sound of sizzling pan with a layer of sucre (caramalized sugars and protein) – deglaze!
- The look and feel of a sauce that is ‘nappe’ as I push the liquid in the small saucepan with a spoon. Usually I am ready to plate at that time and the look of a sauce as it is disturbed with a spoon just does it for me. ‘Nappe’ is the French word to describe a the consistency of a sauce that can coat a spoon and then leave a trail when brushed with a finger.
- Ok, seriously. The chefs have high standards and are attentive to every detail. In demonstration I always see the chefs check their plates to make sure there are no finger prints. They will plate, re-plate and re-shuffle the prawns if they do not sit the way they want. They probably made that dish for the millionth time but will still make it perfect. I reflected on this point and find this an incredible lesson.
- The chefs are all very good and have their own style. All can easily hold, or once held Michelin-starred restaurant or won more prestigious chef awards. To be critiqued by them is the best lessons every learnt in cooking. Even if you don’t agree, remember taste is subjective but a messy station is fact.
- Political correctness is not paramount to chefs. A girl was told by a chef she was not Vietnamese because of the way she cut up a whole chicken. English and Americans have jokes thrown at them.
- Male chefs (most are male) have some preferences for girls – a good thing because I don’t want them to hold my hand as I am whipping a mayonnaise.
- Even if my dish was good, I really appreciate comments on how to improve taste, method or change plating.
Duck à l'orange
What I thought was bad:
- Nothing. The areas that are negative just don’t even hold weight to the good things about school. Yes, the chicken supreme dish (white sauce on white meat on white rice) doesn’t taste good but you learn how to poach a chicken, make a stock, make bechamel and cook rice on pan (I admit, never better than a rice cooker). If you wanted to play with liquid nitrogen go to another school. Also, this is not a holiday cooking school.
Who goes to Basic Cuisine:
- About half school leavers and half who have previous jobs
- 2/3 who think they want to be a chef, 1/3 who are doing it as a hobby or want something to do with food
- 1/3 Europeans, 1/3 from North and South America, 1/3 Asians. There are very few French nationals
Was it difficult:
- Not for me. And not for most students. Language is probably the biggest problem. If you can’t speak English or French then you are in for a long ride.
- This was a 6 month break from my usual work and the very fact that I was able to learn something I love made everything fun.
- I also took a shorter term for wine basics. If I am sitting an exam and sipping on a glass of white wine (a sancerre that tasted like carbernet sauving0non) at the same time then I wont complain.
Exams:
- Written and recipe memorization is not hard.
- Practical exam can be stressful but you are cooking one of the dishes you have already made in a previous practical class. Stressful because cooking is a performance and there is always a slight chance that if my glasses fell and broke… In all seriousness, you do need to score enough on the practical (45% of the the term total) to pass. It is not hard to pass but just don’t drop the pan with your food inside (even if the handle is out of the oven and searing your skin to a nice caramel colour). There is no re-sitting (which I think is rather unfair in the bigger picture considering that you could be injured by someone else).
Does the school prepare you to be a chef?
- Firstly I don’t think anyone should call themselves a chef unless they are working in the professional kitchen as their main job. I am not.
- Finishing the Cuisine Diploma (3 terms) only gives you the basic skills to work in a kitchen station. In the restaurant setting, the ability to communicate and and work as a team is far more important and the school does not provide this knowledge or experience until the stage/internship. Not to mention there are politics, business and money to handle in a restaurant. Owning a restaurant is a completely different game.
- The school places suitable students to restaurant to do a 2 month stage (internship) after successfully completing the Diploma. This will probably be the first time students get a reality check on the passion to be a chef. I believe many high-end restaurants depend on unpaid or minimal wage pay chefs to be financially sustainable (or in certain cases, greedy). But one has to start somewhere.
- Being passionate about food is something that can’t be taught at school. There are plenty of students who could not care less about the knowledge outside the action of cooking. For example, how things are grown, where do products come from, what varieties of food are available and the economics of food.
Basic Cuisine, Group D, September 2011
Quotes of the term (added)
- As we did puff pastry dough the second time, one of the Chinese students was excited that the butter stayed inside the dough and did not get smeared on the marble. In a thick accent “Look! Today no butter! It’s a party!” he also did a little jiggle
- “Excellent c’est quoi chef?” “Excellent c’est bon!”
- Chef looks at a under-cooked fish and exclaims “no worries, you serve sashimi, excellent!”
- “Chef? what could you use instead of rabbit if you can’t get it?” Chef looks up surprised and shocked “Huh? Pas de lapain!? Il n’y a pas de lapin? Je crois qu’on peut utiliser un chat, c’est pareil. Mais vraiment – s’il n’y a pas de lapin, ne faites pas ce repas!” (Huh? No rabbit!? There is no rabbit? I think one can use a cat, it’s similar. But really, if there is no rabbit then don’t make the recipe!”). Smiles!
- Chef looks into the sink that always gets clogged up and then fills with a grey fluid. “Ah, you guyz like to make zoup huh? zo kind of you.” He the grabs the plunger and smiles.
- There is nothing quite like it when the translator Ben gets off on fats. Licks his lips as he says “Mmm…. that is basically bacon, cooked in fat plus more fat, wrapped in fat” “It is just meant to be!” “It’s all part of the creator’s plan!”
- A chef always self-congratulates as he tastes his own food during demonstration “excellent!” “incroyable!” “impeccable!” “parfait!” Actually, his food tastes the best out of all the demonstrations.
- One of the chefs always like to show how the fish or bird might have swam or walked when it was alive by moving it’s tail or legs (or head). He then proceeds to play with the head after chopping it off.
I am high on life. Living in Paris, about 100 metres from the Eiffel Tower, going to cooking school and meeting people with the same passion. Currently I am attending the Intermediate Cuisine (intensive) course. Unfortunately I don’t have time to do the Superior course. I have no idea how disappointing it will be to leave in January and not be able to start Superior with my friends. I am giving it at least 5-6 years before I could take another break like this. I want to prove myself wrong.
Cafe Pushkin – Paris
Posted by tzuyen in Paris, Patisserie on November 16, 2011
If one is looking for a break from the same old pastries that is ubiquitous in Paris then visit Cafe Pushkin (click link at the bottom of the page that loads), located on the ground floor of Printemps department store. Originating in Moscow, it has now stores in Paris and New York – although the stores in Moscow and New York seem to be much bigger with 19th century decor and serves more than just pastries and desserts.
No problem, because their sweets are already seriously delicious and original. There is one small bar to sit and eat the dessert with tea or coffee. You just pick what you want from the display and they serve it up. However, the bar is small and rather uncomfortable. Highlights in my opinion include their “rolls” which consist of layers of poppy seed, fruits and a million other wonderful things that go inside. There is also a layered honey cake and a very complex strudel. Nothing I had was too sweet at all. I wont pretend I know what are inside these gems.
Printemps, Ground Floor of the Women’s Store (just between the two main buildings underneath the foot bridge) 64, bd Haussmann. Open Monday to Saturday 9:35 am to 8 pm (10 pm Thursday) +33 (0) 1 42 82 43 31
Roll - I wish I could tell you what is exactly inside but I have no idea
Strudel with layers of flavours and textures
Macarons with a difference
A very summery dessert with a surprise inside
Paris store - very different to the Moscow and the New York stores
Macarons in Paris
Posted by tzuyen in Paris, Patisserie, Photography on November 2, 2011
Before I start, I am going to say that this is by no means an exhaustive list of the best macarons in Paris. The main reason is that I am not yet diabetic. Also, I do not make them. That out of the way, macarons are freaking delicious when they are done well. Have 2 at a time (better, share 4 with a friend). Try them from the most well known shops and eat them within a few hours after buying them to avoid drying or damage. Get common flavours (to compared between shops) and interesting flavours to open your mind. I have realized that there is a spectrum of density for the shell and the filling that can all be great – it’s personal preference really. The 3 most important aspects for me are:
- Texture of the shell is airy and not dried up
- Flavour is prominent and not artificial
- Macarons are invariably sweet, but there is a balance still. Too sweet then you can’t taste the flavour. Balance please.
Here are a few of the best shops and simple gorgeous. I will add more. Sorry, I can’t take these back to Australia.
Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki - macarons on the wall decoration
Aoki - here you can find Japanese flavours such as various teas, yuzu and sesame
Laduree - very famous and for a good reason. If I was to pick one shop for macarons then this is it.
Their salted caramel macaron (not pictured) is a must try. Though the filling is thicker and denser than their other flavours, it is an explosion of salted caramel
Patisserie Pain de Sucre
Patisserie Pain de Sucre - more on the denser side. They have an espelette/saffron flavour.
Looks good and will not disappoint
Weiss - a chocolate company. Very genuine flavours. I am pretty sure it was the best pistachio I have had so far.
Café Pouchkine - originating from Russia, brings a new range of flavours and textures with very refined techniques. Here are double flavoured macaron shells.
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris
Posted by tzuyen in Paris, Restaurant, Travel on October 28, 2011
“Paris! The food will be great!” – most people would say. I would completely agree with patisserie – there is no other places like Paris for the most amazing sweet, cakes and desserts. Much of the Western world communicate using French terminology during pastry making. French food is also (obviously) the best in France. Bistros and brasseries, the traditional French fair can be found in so many (too many) corners and streets. Moving out of these zones, however, I find Paris a little lacking compared to Melbourne. There are good Japanese and Vietnamese no doubt but not as prevalent. In Melbourne, the number of different cuisines, easily accessible, is phenomenal. Forgive me if I am wrong as I have only been here for 2 months.
So, French food is good here. Joël Robuchon is “a star” – with 27 Michelin stars – the most in the world to date. He is also a restaurateur as he owns/operates many restaurants around the world. To see him cook when you eat is probably going to be extremely rare. But the point is, you already missed that time. It was more than 30 years ago when he was awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France – a very prestigious recognition that he is the best in the field. His work modernized French cuisine and also brought in influences from Japan, where he also taught.
A month ago, I had the pleasure of eating at the L’Atelier in Paris. A bar-style seating, informal, not stuffy and serving fine-dining – a major shift in French food. One could chose individual dishes or take the degustation menu (menu découverte). Naturally, we took the later since this it would be a long time before I return to Paris again. I thought the food was excellent. The garnish for the pork was a little too salty and the coffee, caramel dessert a little ordinary. The foie gras was seriously beyond awesome – and why not stuff it into the quail! The famous pomme purée was full of buttery smoothness. A small portion is all you need. Service was great and the advantage of bar seating is the ability to dine alone easily or to break up the conversation a little. By the way, I believe after school (if I did finish my 3rd term) I have the opportunity, if I am good enough, to do a 2 month internship here. Quel dommage! I only have time to finish the second term.
Bar-style fine dining
Amuse Bouche - I think it was a cold crab soup
Crayfish
chestnut veloute
Foie gras - seared. Certainly the best foie gras I have had.
Poachd egg, chanterelle mushroom
Fish
Pork
Quail, stuffed with foie gras, potato puree with truffles. This mash potato is a famous signature of Joël Robuchon. Nearly 50:50 butter to potato
A simple, light and delicious raspberry desert.
Coffee, caramel dessert.
Le Chateaubriand
Posted by tzuyen in Literature, Paris, Restaurant on September 26, 2011
I chuckled when I read in The Age that diners in Melbourne are lining up for hours at some of the more well known restaurants. Ironically, The Age and a particular TV show seem to be the very reason why eating out in Melbourne could feel more like planning a holiday with a friend to Europe. The idea of a ‘state-media’ source of information is not appetizing. In contrast, would you believe that we had not made a reservation and ate at the 9th best restaurant on the S.Pellegrino list? Le Chateaubriand has one seating for reservations and a second one, depending on their capacity for walk-in diners. We waited in line for just under 2 hours to be seated, though the first few in line were seated in about 1 hour. As the first seating started to clear, we took their tables. The line was far shorter than the one outside Mamasita or Pho Chu The.
This is Paris. People here seem not to care where is the ‘in’ place to eat. I was able to make a reservation for dinner at L’Atelier by Joel Robuchon at Saint-Germain for roughly 2 weeks in advance. The casual, fine dining restaurant has 2 Michelin stars and is again high up on the S.Pellegrino’s list. A friend of mine managed to reserve a late lunch on a Sunday by calling on the same day. Try that with Movida on a Sunday and have the reception staff think you are either joking or obviously a tourist.
There were about 15 people in the que. The chef came outside at about 9:30 and counted the numbers and told the last few people that they wont be able to get a seat.
Waiter outside having a smoke. How French.
Let’s talk about Le Chateaubriand. Inaki Aizparte is a self-taught chef who often serves up dishes with few, contrasting and sometimes challenging ingredients. If eating is seen as art, then his food is post-modern art. Art doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing or technically flawless to leave an impact. A classical Dutch landscape is soothing but the melting clock in the Persistence of Memory by Dali has more impact. By the same analogy, the S.Pellegrino’s list is not about the best tasting food in the world. Chefs, food writers, critics from around the world vote on what is ‘best’ and not who serves up the most expensive truffle. On that basis, restaurants that push boundaries, leave diners with exciting memories and perhaps challenge our perceptions will get noticed. If there wasn’t progression, we would all be eating potatoes thinly sliced and fried in foaming butter and garlic (our recent demonstration at school) – not that there is anything not tasty about that!
So, forget the reviews that say “food was horrible, cold, tiny and expensive” or “for a restaurant placed 9th, it served up inedible food”. One comes prepared to have their conceptions challenged. Throw away the stuffy, traditional French setting and sit in a relaxing, warm dining hall with a wine bar. This is what we had on the Thursday 22nd of September. Five amuse bouches, 3 mains, a cheese plate or 2 sweet dishes. Judge for yourself.
Amuse bouche - choux pastry with cheese, ceviche shot and fried fish.
Beans and parsley. Clean and not overpowering.
Consomme, radish, foie gras and coffee beans.
Herring (I think), carrots, physalis (a yellow fruit resembling a small tomato but with a very concentrated tomato and mildly tart flavour)
Sea bream, celery, pourpier, manzanilla - a mixed salad of unusual leaves with a slightly grassy taste and succulent texture.
Milk fed lamb, artichokes, anchovies, burnt lemon. Multiple cuts and textures of lamb, including sweetbread and kidney.
Cheese or dessert - Fourme d'Amber (a blue resembling Roquefort), Brillat Saverin (a wonderful soft cheese with a very floral and light bitterness), Ossau Iraty (a firm sheep milk cheese)
Lait Ribot (a white milk based sorbet like fromage blanc), herbs, brown butter.
Chocolate and mushrooms. Very good quality melted chocolate with a fruity and earthy note that is dragged on by the mushrooms. It's a concept dish. Most people who recently wrote about the restaurant was not impressed with this one. I liked it. But then again, I did not think this was a dessert in the traditional sense.
At the end of the meal, the cheerful man from Peru who we met while queuing up summed it up. He looked very happy from the wine he had enjoyed. Gesturing with his finger in rapid movements across his chest:
“It was a such an experience. The food was like pa! pa! pa! pa!”
Coutume – cafe joy in Paris
Walking down Rue de Babylone a couple of weeks ago I noticed a cafe with startling resemblance to what one might find in Australia (apart from the ice cream cart at the front). It was closed that day and I took a mental note to return next time. As I entered Coutume a week later, I noticed torn paint work, light bulbs hanging naked from the ceiling, siphon apparatus with the unmistakable halogen heat source (Hario) and the tall, cold drip coffee maker. At the back of the shop was a roaster separated from the cafe with transparent plastic. I have no doubt I have found my favorite bench to sit on. Perfect to do some cooking school homework when they are not too busy.
A mini ice cream cart on the right
“Hello, how are you!?” one of the staff said to me as I waited to order. Sounded like someone who knew me. And it was. Antoine, who I met in Melbourne a few years ago, used to have a coffee roasting shop in the suburbs of Melbourne. I remember he said that he wanted to open a cafe in one of the French colonies in the tropics. He would have his own roaster and espresso bar by the beach. I didn’t remember he was going to Paris. But here we are few years down the track under the same roof. I call it coffee foot prints. He introduced me to Tom from Canberra who, together, opened this cafe. They serve single origin, blends, siphon, cold drip and milk based espresso drinks in all its glory. A piccolo latte (my favorite) was easily done. Milk well textured and served without being burnt. For purchase are beans and brewing equipment (pour over, siphon, espresso machines.
Paris as a whole is just beginning to realize coffee is far more than the swill they are used to. A ironic fact is how a city ( or nation) so obsessed with food, drinks and leisure is so late in coffee development. Their deep worship of tradition and the respect of how things are done as they used to be (thinks of chopping vegetables in triangular ‘paysanne’ shape at school) is proving to be a major contributor to their slow embrace of the coffee movement. The competition will heat up though and I really wish Coutume the best in leading this revolution.
Piccolo
75007, Paris
Tuesday – Friday 8am – 7 pm, Saturday – Sunday (10am – 7pm)
La Pâtisserie des Rêves – Paris Brest
Posted by tzuyen in Paris, Patisserie on September 10, 2011
I was settling the bill after an excellent coffee at cafe Coutume. I said “I am heading to La Pâtisserie des Rêves for their Paris Brest again.”
“That place is out of control.” That was the reply.
Paris Brest
Rêves has been awarded the best Paris Brest for three consecutive years. This mind blowing dessert was originally created to help fuel cyclists on the 1200 km Paris to Brest race. It is essentially a choux pastry filled with praline cream, shaped into a wheel shape. The idea might have came from modifying an eclair into the shape of a wheel. The version from Rêves is made of 6 connected choux pastry, filled with a hazel nut (?maybe almonds too) praline cream. Under the cream is a think liquid coulant of chocolate and hazel nut that taste quite like Nutella. What makes this one taste so good is no doubt the richness of the cream, filled with unmissable hazel nut power. The cream had a ‘bite’ to it – dense from the nuts blended through it.
I went twice because I ate the first one before I could take a photo. The shop is beautiful too. The selection of pastry is displayed under glass domes. When you have decided, the staff will go behind the counter and retrieve the individual pastry from their optimum storage condition.
Store design reflected in their website
Look only. They will retrieve your purchase from the back where each dessert is stored optimally
If one ever made it back to my apartment, I will cut it up properly
93 Rue du Bac. 75007 Paris
Tuesday to Saturday 9am – 8pm, Sunday 9am – 4pm. 111 Rue de Longchamp. 75016 Paris Tuesday to Friday 10am – 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am – 8pm
Du Pain et des Idées – Pain des Amis
Posted by tzuyen in Paris, Patisserie on September 4, 2011
It was 6pm and there was warm bread coming out of this 2008 best bakery in Paris – Du Pain et des Idées. Warm, yeasty and nutty aromas poured out from the shop. I got a small slab of the super crusty Pain des Amis (bread of friends) and it lasted only 4 blocks away – on the way to dinner. The special part of this bread was the thick crust that is so full of flavour, no doubt contributed by long fermentation process. A special flour piled up in the corner of the store would be another clue. It was very nutty, caramel and almost toffee like smell. Each mouthful bring up more and more layers of flavours.
