Vietnam and Shanghai

Highlights of my February trip to Asia. The best restaurants were the ones that are not for tourists.










How will I abbreviate three weeks of eating all over Asia? I'll start with Vietnam where I discovered aromatic, flavorful and complex food everyday. I found that the best places to go are not the ones in the guide books. If you tell your hotel concierge that you are really looking for authentic cuisine, he will send you to simple and very cheap places where you will discover gastronomic treasures.

In both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, you can't go wrong with Nha Hang Ngon. Sitting at communal tables and perusing an endless list of wonderful dishes, you can just choose and be assured that you will be served something delicious. Of course, I have the cilantro problem but with the card I handed to the waiter written in his language, I had nothing to fear. Meals are cheap and excellent. The first night I discovered the restaurant was during the Tet holiday (Chinese New Year) which consists of 10 days of joyous celebration, dancing in the streets, riding around the city on noisy motor cycles and days off from work. I started with Banh Xeo which was a large and tender Vietnamese rice pancake filled with mung bean sprouts, shrimp and exotic lettuces, served with a spicy dipping sauce. The people who sat at the table with me lucked out with a half coconut that had whole fresh shrimps hanging off its side. I continued with Bun Cha Gio: vermicelli and fried spring rolls served with an herb and fish sauce. Next came gorgeous pork rolls that were crunchy with a sugar crust. You dip the rolls into an aromatic peanut sauce. Finally, skewered beef that also comes with its own wonderful sauce. Is it possible that with the New Year's supplement charge my bill came to $7.50 ??? I pondered this question throughout the trip.

In Hanoi, I also went to Nha Hang Ngon for lunch and had a regional dish: Bun Bo Hue. It is a flavorful beef noodle soup: the noodles are what makes the dish. With that, I chose Tom Hap Cuon Banh Trang. My waiter filled each of the paper thin shells with vegetables and steamed shrimp one by one. He was so grateful for the $1 tip I gave him that he offered me a tour of the restaurant. The atmosphere is very upbeat and fun. I could have gone to this place everyday.

The thing to get in Vietnam, of course, is Pho. It's full of cilantro but they can leave it off. A great place to go is Pho 24 which is an excellent chain where they serve Pho from morning until night. You can choose what you want to go into it and the chicken Pho is my favorite. This is the dish to have at breakfast (like croissants in France), but I could never get myself to eat it in the morning.

After ten days in Vietnam with the wonderful cuisine and variety of ingredients used creatively, I vowed to find some good places in Paris. Thusfar, I have come up with zilch.

Off to Shanghai where I have friends and also was lucky enough to find the Pei Mansion Hotel--a boutique Art Deco hotel in a lovely area. As I was only going to be in Shanghai for three days, I requested that the hotel organize a tour for me. Martin and Jimmy spent a day with me, during which we drove to the highlights and took lovely walks. It was unseasonably freezing and so it was hard to stay outside for very long, but I got enough of a taste of the city to promise myself that I would return during a future spring season.

For lunch, Martin chose to take me to a 5-star hotel (The Regal Shanghai East Asia Hotel) where we had a veritable Cantonese banquet. The Chinese tend to order more than anyone can eat as this is the way they express hospitality. I am sure we had 20 dishes and of course, could not finish the lunch. There were spring rolls stuffed with shredded chicken, a baked turnip cake, savory and sweet dumplings. barbecued pork with a honey spicy sauce, fish congee (a rice porridge) with garlic, seafood soup, egg custard tart, pork dumplings, rice flour roll with shredded chicken and black mushrooms etc. etc. Martin explained that some of the dishes were excellent examples of the Cantonese style and ordered them precisely because he wanted me to try them. Foodie that I am, I tasted everything. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

My friends, Robert and Maria took me to the most famous dumpling place in China with branches all over the country. This is a very popular place and even with a reservation, we had to wait, but it was worth it. The name of the place is Din Tai Fung. Basically you order different types of bao (dumplings) and baozi (larger buns) that are filled with wonderful things like pork and vegetables, black truffle with chicken, just pork, just chicken, sauteed cantonese vegetables. You dip each into a vinegary sauce. It is hard not to eat them all. They are served in bamboo steamers and for the bao, you get about 9 per order. The larger baozi come in threes. It is not an expensive way to dine and is truly excellent.

During my travels, I met a Canadian resident of the city. She knew where to go and directed me to Di Shui Dong on Maoming Road. Speaking not a word of Chinese and going alone, I had no trouble finding the place and ordering as the servers were kind and patient and because the menus are a collection of photos of the dishes. This is Hunan style cooking which means very spicy. It was terrific and very cheap. I had Stir Fried Smoked Tofu with Hunan Beans and cayenne pepper--very hot and spicy. With this, I chose stir-fried roasted green beans, egg plant and smokey bacon. Rice cut the fire and I also chose Singha Beer with my meal and green tea afterwards. Two large dishes and drinks came to the equivalent of $14.

I can't resist publishing a photo of the stunning Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish that Robert, Maria, and I ordered at Song Helou on the Bund. For Valentine's Day we treated ourselves to a wonderful Mandarin dinner in this restaurant with a beautiful view. Other highlights were Stew-Fred River Eel, Four Oil Stewed Vegetables and of course, Steamed Bao with Mushrooms. And we couldn't resist the crunchy Pan Fried Bao filled with Pork. It was a beautiful and lovely way to mark my last night in Shanghai (for now).

My trips to Asia have always been very successful. I find that the people are kind and helpful and I enjoy experiencing the culture and discovering the culinary treasures. As I flew away from Shanghai back to Paris, I made a pact with myself that it would not be long before I took another trip to Vietnam and China (Shanghai).

Frenchie!!

A wonderful new French restaurant that is greatly in demand. The limited menu is the brain child of a young and very creative chef.




A wonderful new French restaurant that is greatly in demand. The limited menu is the brain child of a young and very creative chef.

I had seen Frenchie in the Guide Michelin and was interested because it had the "Bib Gourmand" designation which is awarded to restaurants where you can expect to get an inexpensive meal of excellent quality. I wanted to go there, but when I called and listened to the "reservations rules" I knew that getting a table would be a challenging endeavor.

Frenchie is open for dinner during the week and takes reservations during the week only from 3 to 5. I called, got through eventually, and just asked for the first table they had available. I was eager try Frenchie and thought of going alone, but when I told my friend, Adriana, that I had nailed a table in a competitive restaurant, she was game to join me. We had a delectable experience.

It is a small unassuming place with about 20 seats on a side street near the lively rue de Montorgueil: a shopping street bar none. The small youthful staff is completely bilingual and the chef, Grégory Marchand, worked with Jamie Oliver in London and in NY. He is creative and enthusiastic and creates marvelous dishes in his tiny kitchen with a window into the restaurant.

The menu, comprised of two choices of three dishes (plus a special foie gras torchon, agrumes) as a pre-appetizer, changes daily. They suggest that a duo order every dish so that everything can be tasted and tested.

The meal was thoroughly delicious and we had a wonderful time. First came fresh crab salad with preserved lemon and spring onions; sweetbreads with mushrooms and a wild greens salad. Both dishes were excellent, complex and beautifully presented. Our main courses were a beautiful rosy trout with lemon oil, wild asparagus and smoked baby potatoes and a thick piece of beef with carrots, ginger and beans from the South of France. It was best to start with the trout and have the beef afterwards--moving from light to heavier fare.

The cheese dish is optional and our night we skipped the wonderful blue cheese from Causses--in the south of France, served with lemon zests and amarena cherries. We wanted to go directly to the passion fruit tart garnished with caramel au beurre salé (made with salt butter) and the luscious and light panna cotta with an avocado purée and bits of chocolate pearls. Such a satisfying and exciting dinner.

The prices are very reasonable for food of this caliber (38 euros for three courses) as promised by the Guide Michelin and frankly, I can't wait to go back.

A Hidden Jewel in Bohemian Paris: Caffe dei Cioppi

A tiny hole in the wall where they serve spectacular Italian food






Just four months after Federica Mancioppi and Fabrizio Ferrara opened their tiny Italian lunch restaurant, it received the coveted Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. Fast forward two years and the restaurant is always filled at lunch and is going to start serving dinner as well.

I was thrilled to get one of the 17 seats in this tiny place with an open kitchen and a relaxed atmosphere. That day, Federica was at the stove and paused to talk to me and, yes, to have me taste some of her wonderful creations.

This is an authentic Italian trattoria with creative takes on old faithfuls, like the wonderful sausage and zucchini-filled lasagna. The artichoke risotto was spectacular: perfect consistency to the rice that had been stirred in an extremely flavorful broth.

The menu changes daily and there are several appetizers including interesting bruschetta, soups, salad plates; several main courses such as risotto, a few pasta dishes, and meat or fish offerings. The day I was there, Federica was serving a delectable Penne à la Norma with slowly cooked eggplant and tomatoes and garnished with ricotta salata--which is ricotta in its hard form. I had the perfect seat at the counter, and was able to see each dish as it passed from the open kitchen to the server's hands. The thick piece of tuna served on a beautiful bed of spring vegetables was greatly appreciated by the two men who sat at the counter with me.

There is a nice Italian wine list with whites and reds coming from all over Italy. You can also order wine by the glass.

I couldn't decide among the four wonderful desserts: a gorgeous strawberry tart, panna cotta with pistachio and blueberries, a bitter chocolate fondant that I know I would have loved, and the house specialty: Sbrisolana with a marscapone cream. I went for the house dessert and was transported to seventh heaven. The Sbrisolana is a large pie-shaped cookie made of almonds, sugar, flour and corn meal and after it comes out of the oven, it is broken into pieces. The "cookies" are crunchy, rustic and not too sweet. Served with the luscious marscapone cream, this makes for a wonderful end to the meal.

Come spring, they set up tables throughout the Passage de Saint-Bernard (where the restaurant sits--just off the rue du Faubourg St. Antoine) so it is easier to get a reservation. I was told that in the evening, Maurizio is the chef.

Three Japanese Restaurants: Sous les Cerisiers, Lai Lai Ken, Taeko's Restaurant

Very different restaurants in conception and cooking style, Sous les Cerisiers, Lai Lai Ken, and Taeko's Restaurant are three of my favorites. In order, you can expect fusion cuisine, Japanese "Chinese" cuisine and home-cooking or katei ryouri.

Sous les Cerisiers means "under the cherry trees" and the name of the chef/owner, Sakura, means cherry blossom in Japanese. For about two years, she has successfully run this lovely restaurant that has all the touches of a small Japanese inn. The tableware is stunning and of the type you would see in some of the best kaiseki establishments. The room is beautiful and spare with a second room decked out with chairs that are decorated with costumes from the Opera! In addition, there is a cooking school.



For lunch, there are two menus. I went with my friend, Noriko, and we immediately found ourselves back in Japan. I had a lovely noodle salad with wasabi and wakame (a delicious seaweed) with fresh fèves (lima beans) and arugala. So delicate and well-balanced. Next came a steamed piece of succulent bass on a bamboo leaf with cherry-blossom salt. I don't know what that is, but it is good! It was garnished with musubi au gingembre or rice patties flavored with fresh ginger.



Noriko had shrimp tempura with arugala salad and tamari (soy)-sesame sauce: light and lovely.

We chose different desserts. Noriko had the Fromage blanc, sucre à la crème de marron et au thé vert and I had Sorbet orange et passion: that is, creamy fresh cheese mixture with chestnut and green tea cream; orange-passion fruit sorbet.
The atmosphere is refined and the prices are reasonable. At dinner, the menu is more complex and they have delicious sushi au foie gras as a specialty.

I love Lai Lai Ken. It is the first restaurant you come to when you leave either metro Pyramides or metro Palais Royale on the rue St. Anne. Unlike other popular restaurants on the street, this one is large enough to accomodate many people and there is rarely a waiting line. The restaurant serves Japanese "Chinese" food: gyoza, ramen, soba, curry dishes, etc. The menu is very long with many wonderful choices. The staff is efficient and pleasant.

There are so many possible ramen choices and my current favorite is 13b: miso ramen shisei--noodles in a miso broth flavored with ground pork in an extremely spicy sauce. It is red and gorgeous and if you like spicy food, is the thing to order.



In the summer, they have hiyashi ramen shisei which is a dish of cold spicy ramen with assorted vegetables. They also have curry ramen and even curry yakisoba (sautéed soba noodles with curry and vegetables). Before I discovered the spicy ramen dish, I went for ebi yakisoba--sautéed noodles with vegetables and succulent shrimp. Other restaurants on the street serve this dish but theirs is the best: not greasy, full of shrimp, sprouts and vegetables. Sublime.

They have fresh crab in a salad and cha han (Chinese fried rice) with vegetables and shrimp or crab. And there are many sorts of donburi--hot dishes served on a bed of rice. But as I said, the menu is long and you are sure to find something that will tempt you. Most of the dishes are not spicy--I am just particularly fond of spicy food.

Lai Lai Ken is open for both lunch and dinner and closes between 2:45 pm and 6 everyday.

After years of hearing about Taeko's restaurant, and walking by it, I finally had lunch there last week--wonderful. This was a stand in the Marche aux Enfants Rouges in the 3rd arrondissement off la rue de Bretagne. In the early days it was quite small, and you could get katei ryouri (family style cooking) and look for a place to sit. Now you will find that it has expanded with both indoor and outdoor tables. There are many choices and all are lovingly prepared by Taeko-san and her staff daily. The restaurant is open from 12-6 everyday except Monday.



You can choose your own main dish for the bento (box lunch) which comes with rice and a variety of fresh and salads and beautifully prepared vegetables such as eggplant with chopped pork, glass noodles with tofu, spinach with sesame seeds (ohitashi).



There is a sashimi plate and maki with either fish or vegetables. Moving down the menu choices, you will find about 8 donburi listed. Donburi are cooked dishes traditionally served on top of a bowl of rice. Taeko-san offers the savory grilled mackerel, sardines in a light spicy sauce, wonderful sautéed tofu in a tempura sauce, for example. All the donburi come with small portions of the day's vegetables. For desserts there are a variety of Japanese-flavored ice creams and green tea cake.

I chose boulettes de tofu aux crevettes in a bento and it was excellent. These were two fat tofu patties filled with fresh shrimp served along with the variety of vegetables I described and rice. I also ordered hijiki salad (a type of seaweed that I particularly enjoy) and had that as another side dish. Next time I will get a different bento or a donburi. (Can't wait!)

If you want to eat in the restaurant, Taeko-san will seat you and take your order. Everything is simple and authentic. For basic delicious Japanese food served in a picturesque locale, run, don't walk to Taeko's restaurant.

Some new bistrots in Paris: Philou and Le Petit Pontoise Aussi

After a prolonged voyage to SE Asia and Shanghai, I settled in to my life in Paris with a bang: the discovery two new bistrots--one in my neighborhood and the other a new annex of an old favorite in the 5th arrondissement.

I read about Philou in Télérama, the Parisian weekly culture magazine and then saw that my favorite food critic, Gilles Pudlowski, named it "best bargain" of the year. It was precisely that and more. I took my cousin, Alyssa there for dinner and she said that it was one of the best meals that she had had in a long time.

The bistrot is very plain, cozy and full of activity, as it fills up quickly with an enthusiastic crowd. The service is friendly and the food just fine.



We both chose the same menu, so it was truly like we were dining as guests in someone's home. We had Saint Jacques marinés au citron et pomme, Magret de canard, aubergine confite au miel, and shared a fondant au chocolat, granité au thé. The first dish, cold scallops that had been marinated in lemon were served with a lovely apple purée. Next came the duck breast, cooked to your liking and served with slow-cooked eggplant flavored with a bit of honey. Both of these dishes were prepared in inventively classic ways by which I mean they were not so far out as to be more complex than good, but also not prepared in the old-fashioned way.



Philou (the name of the owner and chef) recommended a wonderful Gamay Coteaux d'Ancenis 2009 and this went well with both our dishes. One can order wine by the 1/2 carafe or by the bottle.

Coming from the same family of die-hard chocolate lovers, Alyssa and I had no choice but to order the dessert I mentioned: the molten dark chocolate cake. Nothing fancy but it was served with a dish of tea flavored ices.

The three-course menu at Philou is 30 euros and it is a steal!

Every year, Eric and I celebrate each other's birthday by with one of us treating the other (birthday person) to dinner. It was Eric's birthday and he was in the mood for a nice atmosphere and a French bistrot that was open on a Monday. That is not the easiest thing to find so I decided to go back to Le Petit Pontoise which is open everyday. I wrote about this restaurant last fall.

"Lucky" for us, they got mixed up about the reservation so there was no table for us when we arrived. I say that we were lucky because we got to try their new annex, Le Petit Pontoise Aussi: same direction, different menu--the best of all worlds for me as I am always on the lookout for a new place.

We were seated in no time, and to make up for their gaffe, they offered us a lovely apérif and then we settled in to reading the menu. The Salade Océane was spectacular: lightly cooked scallops, grilled and de-shelled shrimp, smoked salmon and gravlax on a bed of mesclun. It was quite a copious appetizer.



I chose Filet of Sole Meunière for my main course and that is a wonderful and simple dish that never disappoints.


Eric had Tournedos--the best cut of beef--classically served with a sauce aux trois poivres--a sauce made of three different types of peppercorns. The meat was excellent, but oddly enough for France, a bit overcooked and not rare enough for Eric. It was, nevertheless, delicious.

The Tiramisu au framboise (raspberry) was creamy, not too sweet, and lovely: a wonderful finish to an excellent meal. Both Le Petit Pontoise and Le Petit Pontoise Aussi have a la carte menus and are both authentic and classic bistrots that I highly recommend.

New Addition to the Kunitoraya Family: Kunitoraya 2

Revisiting a favorite udon haunt and being introduced to the newest addition to its empire

I have already waxed eloquent about the wonderful udon restaurant, Kunitoraya (the first photo on this post) about a year ago. Recently, Kunitoraya opened another restaurant (the second photo on the post) that is quite fancy, serves wonderful food, and is about twice the price.

In both restaurants, you will get a wonderful meal and smiling service, but the first one is definitely a lot more casual and is in-and-out dining. The new Kunitoraya is, in general, a total dining experience with a lovely decor and the expectation that you will pass an agreeable moment at your table. And it is best to reserve.

For dinner, you can expect to see a variety of tapas as appetizers: Japanese salads, tofu in many different forms, raw fish with lovely sauces, etc. They even serve foie gras maison and also grilled Iberian sliced pork. In addition to the à la carte menu, there are a variety of prix-fixe menus that are served at both lunch and dinner--many of which are designed around the restaurants' own home-made udon. Here, you can choose among kakiage (sliced vegetables, meat, or fish that are lightly battered and deep fried); dishes served in hot or cold bouillon and dishes made to be dipped in a lovely cold broth. At the end of the meal comes the udon.

This Kunitoraya offers donburi at lunch. This is a bowl of rice topped with fish or meat in sauce. They also make their own very chic onigiri. These are usually triangular-shaped rice patties enveloped in seaweed and featuring fish, vegetables or preserved plums that are sold in 24-hour stores. The version here is quite beautiful: two large cubes of rice are served with the fillings in mounds on top. The seaweed comes as two leaves standing between the filled cubes. To add even more variety, two nabe are served (for a minimum of two people). These are Japanese stews and there is a choice of either pork and udon or duck and udon. The omakase (chef's choice menu) is quite elaborate and creative.

Don't forget to taste some of the delicious desserts: French desserts, I might add. I had a smooth crème brulée flavored with Ho Ji Cha (a grilled tea that I particularly like).

Kunitoraya 2 is a Japanese experience at Japanese prices. But if you go there, you can count on a delicious, memorable and very pleasant afternoon or evening.

Thoumieux and L'Ecailler--two classic restaurants

I recently dined in two old faithfuls. Thoumieux has been totally reconceived by a multi-starred chef, and L'Ecailler will never disappoint.

Thoumieux is a classic restaurant with a solid reputation but I have always found classic French cuisine heavy and boring. The big news is that a Michelin-starred chef Jean-François Piège left his prestigious post at the Crillon (where he had two stars) to revamp Thoumieux. Working with the famous Thierry Costes (a terrific architect), he had the restaurant entirely renovated and he also thoroughly reworked the menu. Now they feature wonderful salads, modern fish and meat dishes and thoroughly delicious desserts. I went there with my oldest high school friend, Judy and her son, Noah and we had a ball. I started with a very classic French salad, le frisée aux lardons, but this time the lardons were ground into a paste that covered the bottom of the dish so every bite of the salad had a hint of smokey bacon flavor. Judy ordered a wonderful souffléed pizza (a big round hollow ball of pizza dough garnished with creamy burrata, olive paste, arugala and just-cooked tuna. Noah had a wonderful entrecôte served with creamy mashed potatoes. I opted for the scallops (this is the height of the season) atop a mound of truffled macaroni lightly baked in a cream sauce. We each ordered our own excellent glass of wine. Judy and Noah chose a red Bordeaux and I had a flavorful white Burgundy. For dessert was a just-churned vanilla ice cream topped with caramelized hazelnuts. A great meal for not too much money. The room is beautiful (one expects perfection from Costes) with beautiful art-nouveau light fixtures and a lot of atmosphere.

A few days later, I joined another childhood friend and her family to go to L'Ecailler du Bistrot. If you remember my post on Le Bistrot du Paul Bert, you will know what bistrot they are talking about. L'Ecailler is under the same direction as Le Paul Bert but specializes in fish and oysters and shellfish. I have been there many times. We started with the enormous Belons 000 (the lower the number, the larger the oyster) and they were a combination of succulent, meaty and delicate oysters with a wonderful briny flavor. After that, I had the tasty Coquilles St. Jacques d'Erquy coming straight from Brittany and served in their shells. We also had beautiful plates of smoked salmon with dill cream and interesting crab nems (spring rolls). Janet chose the simply grilled calamari served on a bed of delicious tomato-flavored rice. With the meal, we had a Puligny Montrachet from the reknowned Leflaive Vineyard which was amazingly delicious and reasonably priced. I feel lucky to have this place so close to my house. It is always a wonderful restaurant choice.