paris | Sugared & Spiced

2013/03/132015/08/05

[Paris] Pierre Sang Boyer

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Pierre Sang Boyer

Add: 55 rue Oberkampf, 75011 Paris
Tel: N/A
Hours: 12~2:30pm, 7~10:30pm (open daily)
Website: pierresangboyer.com
Price: [lunch] €20~25 [dinner] €35, wine pairing +€30
Visited on: Jan 2013

I don’t follow food TV, but apparently Pierre Sang Boyer was one of the contestants in Top Chef France 2011 who really impressed. His recently opened restaurant on rue Oberkampf has piqued the interest of curious foodies with its “freestyle” haute cuisine at affordable prices. And by “freestyle”, I mean that the menu can change mid-service depending on how much market-fresh ingredients they’ve got in stock. The dishes are thus predictably unpredictable, and the only thing one can anticipate from the Korean French chef is an evident Asian touch in the cooking. No reservations, so come right when the place opens, or 90 minutes after for the second seating. I’d go for the kitchen-facing bar seats where one can see the chefs in action, but small tables are also available on the side.

For dinner, Pierre Sang offers a 6-course no-choice dinner for €35, and wine pairing adds another €30. Lunch is lighter, with a 2-course option (€20) and a 3-course option (€30).

1st course: fresh sea bream with rice, quinoa, beetroot shavings, and a puddle of olive oil dotted with soy sauce. It was kind of like eating a deconstructed sushi without the seaweed…very light and refreshing.

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2013/03/132015/08/05

[Paris] Ten Belles

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Ten Belles

Add: 10 rue de la Grange aux Belles, 75010 Paris
Tel: +33 6 22 71 28 15
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 8am-6pm [Sat & Sun] 9am-7pm
Website: www.tenbelles.com
Price: [coffee] €3~5 [sandwiches] €5.50 [pastries] €1.50~4.50
Visited on: Mar 2013

A cozy little artisan coffee shop in the quirky Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood, put together by famed Parisian barista Thomas Lehoux and the folks behind Le Bal Café. This place is almost always packed for many good reasons – glorious coffee, delicious pastries, and friendly faces. I really love how I hear “à bientôt/see you soon” instead of “au revoir/goodbye” every time I leave the cafe…yes, see you again soon.

A counter lined with cookies, scones, brownies, crumbles, and more!

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2013/03/132015/10/17

[Paris] Café Saint-Régis

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Café Saint-Régis

Add: 6 Rue Jean du Bellay, 75004 Paris
Tel: +33 1 43 54 59 41
Hours: 6:30am~2am (open daily)
Price: [breakfast] €7
Website: www.cafesaintregisparis.com
Visited on: Mar 2013

I probably would’ve never discovered Café Saint-Régis if Paris in Four Months didn’t suggest this place for our meet up (so first of all, thank you :). This old school Parisian café isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but it’s a charming and comfortable place to rest tired feet or fill empty stomachs if you happen to be wandering in the Notre Dame area. The cherry on top? Free wi-fi.

Can’t comment on the dishes here since we only stopped by for breakfast (€7), which includes freshly-squeezed orange juice, croissant/tartine, and a hot drink of choice (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate).

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2013/03/122015/08/05

[Paris] Bones

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Bones

Add: 43 rue Godefroy Caviagnac, 75011 Paris
Tel: +33 9 80 75 32 08
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 6pm~late (closed Sun & Mon)
Price: €40~47/set
Visited on: Feb 2013

I liked what I saw the moment I stepped into Bones – a brick and concrete interior brought alive by warm lighting and a lively crowd. This new restaurant by Australian chef James Henry (previously at Au Passage) is still shy of two months old, but has already generated quite a buzz in the F&B community. On the night of my visit, for example, we spotted the chef from Septime and the sous chef from Frenchie. So what’s served? A no-choice, four-course tasting menu (€40) that changes daily according to what’s fresh on the market.

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2013/03/092015/08/05

[Paris] Hugo & Victor

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Hugo & Victor

Add: 40 Boulevard Raspail, 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 1 44 39 97 73
Hours: [Mon-Wed] 9am~7pm [Thu-Fri] 9am~8pm [Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 10am~6pm
Website: www.hugovictor.com
Price: €5.20~6.90/pastry
Visited on: Mar 2013

Haute patisserie by Hugues Pouget, formerly the pastry chef at three Michelin-starred Guy Savoy. For first time visitors who are confused by the arrangement of the pastries, here’s the basic logic: pastries are grouped by flavors, and there are three star flavors – chocolate, vanilla, and caramel – that are available in the boutique throughout the year, while five transient flavors change with the season. Pastries are also categorized as either “Hugo” – new interpretations of the classics, or “Victor” – traditional desserts done with a slight twist. Voilà.

Hugo & Victor is especially well-known for its jewelry shop-like design, with beautiful pastries to match. All patisseries are individually displayed in a glass case encrusted on the wall, each with a personal spotlight and detailed description.

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2013/03/042015/08/05

[Paris] Jacques Genin

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Jacques Genin

Add: 133 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 77 29 01
Hours: Tue-Sun 11am~7pm (8pm on Sat, closed on Mon)
Website: jacquesgenin.fr
Price: [desserts] €6.50~13.00 [drinks] €4.50~11.00
Visited on: Mar 2013

BREAKING NEWS: Jacques Genin has started selling pastries in his boutique again!

Here’s the back story. In Jan 2013, Genin put out a note saying that he is discontinuing his line of pastries so as to focus on his original passion – chocolate. (A more accurate reason is actually that Genin was experiencing some personnel issue in the kitchen due to his eccentric management style, but that’s a gossip we will save for another time.) In any case, this was an unfortunate and heart-breaking news to hear. Sure, the man is first and foremost an outstanding chocolatier – his factory supplies chocolates, caramels, and petits fours to more than 200 top French hotels and restaurants including Plaza Athénée, Hôtel de Crillon, and Le Meurice – but his beautiful pastries are also some of the best one can find in Paris. So when rumor has it that Genin’s boutique has re-started selling some pastries, I flocked over to verify whether this is true…and happily, YES.

Chocolates, caramels, and pâtes des fruits, all impeccably arranged in jewelry box-like display cases.

The pastries are no longer on display (the below picture was taken last year) and are available for dine in only, for now. Large size pastry (e.g. tarte au citron for 6 pax) can be pre-ordered in advance for take-out.

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2013/03/032015/08/05

[Paris] Jean-Paul Hévin

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Jean-Paul Hévin

Add*: 231 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Tel: +33 1 55 35 35 96
Hours: 10am~7:30pm
Website: www.jeanpaulhevin.com
Price: €4~7/pastry
Visited on: Jan 2013

Chocolate bonbons, chocolate truffles, chocolate cakes, chocolate ganache-filled macarons, hot chocolates…why yes, Jean-Paul Hévin must be the ultimate wonderland for chocolate lovers. I don’t claim to be a chocoholic myself, but the chocolate desserts here are indeed difficult to resist. Good news for those in Asia: JPH also operates several boutiques in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China!

*4 locations available in Paris, check website for detail.

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2013/03/022015/08/05

[Paris] Des Gateaux et Du Pain

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Des Gateaux et Du Pain

Add: 63 boulevard Pasteur, 75015 Paris
Tel: 01 45 38 94 16
Hours: [Wed-Mon] 8am-8pm (closed Tue)
Website: www.desgateauxetdupain.com
Price: €5~6/pastry
Visited on: Jan 2013

At Des Gateaux et Du Pain, everything is perfect. Claire Damon is one of the very few (or the only?) female chefs with her own pastry shop in Paris, and her attention to detail is on full display in both her pastry and bread selections. There is never an overwhelming array of choices, but all – and by all I really mean all – is refined. The shop itself resembles a jewelry box, a mostly black interior with dramatic lighting illuminating the pastry gems. Elegant, and a lot more sober than a typical patisserie.

I’ve visited Des Gateaux et Du Pain a few times before but never managed to take pictures, so let’s start with the saint honoré caramel mangue (€5.40) I had on my most recent visit. What it is: sweet tart crust, mango cream, mango cream puffs, and caramel chantilly cream perfumed with sweet spices of vanilla, anise, and cinnamon. The mango cream was absolutely delightful – strong but not too intense – and worked surprisingly well with the sweet spice chantilly (I’m not a huge fan of anise in desserts, but the flavors blended rather harmoniously in this case.) And of course, it looks perfect on all angles.

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2012/12/172015/08/05

[Paris] La Pâtisserie des Rêves

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La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Add: 93 rue du Bac, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 42 84 00 82
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 9am-8pm [Sun] 9am-4pm
Website: www.lapatisseriedesreves.com
Price: [individual desserts] €5.5~6.9
Visited on: Dec 2012

La Pâtisserie des Rêves, “the pastry shop of dreams”, is indeed a dreamy place. Colorful shelves, bell jar displays, and Christmas lights adorning the window year-round…cute, very cute. But what has been driving Parisians to La Pâtisserie des Rêves since its opening in 2009 is, but of course, the desserts themselves. The pastry shop is most famed for its Paris-Brest, but a few other of its deliciously crafted pastries are also worth getting fat for.

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2012/12/112015/08/05

[Paris] Yam’Tcha

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Yam’Tcha

Add: 4 rue Sauval, 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 40 26 08 07
Hours: 12~3:30pm, 7~10:30pm (closed Sun, Mon & Tue lunch)
Website: www.yamtcha.com
Price: [lunch] €60~100/set [dinner] €100 [tea/wine pairing] €20~45
Visited on: Nov 2012

The name “Yam’Tcha” conjures up images of boisterous dim sum joints in Hong Kong, but that’s far from what goes on in this dainty little restaurant near Le Louvre. Chef Adeline Grattard (a fellow Ferrandi graduate, by the way) worked under Pascal Barbot at L’Astrance before spending two years at Bo Innovation, a 2 Michelin stars restaurant in Hong Kong famously known for its ground-breaking Chinese dishes. Now back in Paris, Chef Grattard is creating her own blend of Sino Franco cuisine, which has received much enthusiastic acclaim including one Michelin star soon after the restaurant opened.

The restaurant decor is warm and casual, with Chinese elements dotting here and there.